Neo

HAHA. Almost a given Dave. :)

Well, a car is only as good as the care the previous owner gave it. It seems like you did not have a good feeling about the car and the experience, but you bought it anyway. Hopefully, you will be able to get things taken cared of. The door sounds like the actuator went. It is actually a common issue with older Lexus. Sad but it happens. As long as the dealer is willing to fix it, it will just be some invonvenience in time. Same thing with the headlights. You can bring it up with the dealer. Headlight housings weather and yellow over time if not cared for, including cleaning and storage (garaged or not). Good luck with the repair.

I believe both will be coming in the Fall of 06 as an 07 model.

I think it is too big for the car but that's just me. To your credit, you did drop it enough to offset the height. What are the specs of the rims and tires? Any fender mods? Any neg camber involved? Rubbing? And I don't think many said it could not be done. It was more that it shouldn't be done or it couldn't be done without sacrificing looks and ride on a luxury car. It is your car, however, and I'm glad YOU did what YOU wanted to YOUR car. :)

Huh? Driving around?

Gotcha. As I am not familiar with the ES lineage, I will leave that confirmation to the ES crew. :)

It is japanese only for now. It is coming to the US. The only question is when but it could be as early as Fall 06 as an 07 model. Lexus just released it first in Japan.

HIDs come in 2 flavors: projector-based and reflector-based. The reflector-based ones have (obviously) reflectors in them but the reflector configuration is different than the reflector configuration in halogen housings. I think all he is saying there is that this is a list of some cars that came with reflector-based HIDs. For you, you have halogen housings. Putting a HID kit into these halogen housings is not the same as having housings with reflectors configured for HID lighting from the factory. You are right that putting in a HID kit (and I am staying away from the HID look-a-like halogen bulbs :)) in a halogen housing will potentially cause glare and cutoff problems. Since all manufacturers shape the reflectors differently, some will be better than others. The reflectors in a reflector-based HID system will shape the reflector configuration to reduce glare and shape the cutoff since it is expecting HID-based lighting.

But as we keep saying, the reflector in HID housings are different than the reflector in halogen housings. The OEM reflector setups account for the HID light and control them differently than the halogen reflector. If you take a HID setup (ballast and bulb) and install them in halogen housings, then it is not the most optimal way to do it. What you really want to do for best OEM results is buy the full OEM HID setup (assuming such an option exist) which includes housings (that has HID reflectors), ballasts, and bulbs for your car. I agree. If you do not have HIDs, any kind of retrofit (just bulbs, bulb/ballast, full OEM, projectors) are considered illegal. Some setup are harder to catch than others and unless the output is really bad, I don't think an officer will pull you over just for that. I agree that this is not the point to adding HIDs and my opinion is that it looks bad too. Blue for the sake of blue is :chairshot: ;)

This is one place where the spray has an advantage. ;) :D

G2 does a really good job. Mine looked good after 2 1/2 years when I traded in my car. If you think it might set up too soon, just mix half of the material and do two wheels. Then when you are ready, mix the other half. ← This is what I'd do too if you cannot get all 4 wheels off the ground. As for brush vs spray, both are equally good and can be equally bad. I've heard stories both ways. I sprayed my rears and it is still holding up after 2+ years.

Try Exact Motorsport in Milpitas. http://www.exactmotorsports.com/

OEM HIDs do not require projectors. There are both reflector and projector based HIDs. This has already been said but I just wanted to confirm. Now, with reflector setups, putting in OEM HIDs from another car does not make your own car OEM. You would technically need to retrofit the entire HID system (if your car has available HIDs) from your car make and model. Most of the time, this is not feasable since the auto-leveling is a HUGE PITA and no one does this. Bulb and ballast does not make a setup OEM. Even if you got the OEM (for your car) ballasts and bulbs and put it into halogen housings, that is not optimal either. The reflectors in the housing of HID and halogen setups are different. They are setup to optimize (projection, cutoff, glare) the light that it is expecting. HIDs in halogen housings are hit and miss as you can get "lucky" with the results. In general, you do get more light, just not as focused. As for the whole legality of it all, anytime you modify your car, there is a good likelihood that you have added something illegal. This can include intake, exhausts, headers, suspension, lighting, ... heck, driving without a front license plate (for aesthetic reasons) in many states is illegal. If you like how your car is set up and is willing to take the risk of problems with law enforcement, just enjoy it. There are people who will not modify their car at all and others who go hog wild. There is really not worth the effort to get upset over someone else's opinions. Take it for what it is and move on. It will always be one of those "agree to disagree" issues. Just my .02. :D

This is probably because you can do some damage if you play around in this area. I am sure the dealer (or probably the owner) should be able to reset it but it is always a risk playing with hidden menus. I remember some brave souls messing with it but I cannot remember which forum that was on. :(

My only caveat to color choice is to stay away from flashy colors (yellow, blue, and especially red) if you are painting the OEM calipers. The GS calipers are 2 pistons and although pretty good, they are not in the big brakes (Brembo, AP Racing, StopTech, Endless, ...) league. The stand out colors, like red, should be reserved for true big brakes. Painting calipers give the car an extra something and can be nice. It only gets questionable when the brakes are trying to be something it is not. Now, this is only my opinion and anyone can obviously do whatever they want to their own car. ;) :D As for actually painting it, you can do the spray paint method or the brush on method. The kits that are brush on usually require the paint to get used right away one it has been opened. This means you need to give yourself enough time to do the project. The spray paint does not have such requirements but there is always the issue or overspray particles in the air. Just make sure you are in a ventilated area and the car is well covered whereever no paint is being sprayed. The optimal way is to remove the caliper but this takes a lot more work. You will have to basically do an install (brake bleeding and all) once the work is done. If you cannot do this, you can try to reach as much as you can. Once the wheels are on, most of the back side is really not that visible. If you are planning on caliper stickers, the best way I've found is to put on several color coats (more to do with the spray method). Make sure you follow the directions on painting multi coats because you have to make sure each coat is dry enough for the next coat. Do not rush. Once this layer is done, apply the sticker. Then apply multiple layers of clear coat. This coat can be as glossy as you like depending on the spray type you get. The clear coat not only gives the color a little punch, but it "seals" in the sticker too. I am sure I forgot something but this should be a good starting point. Good luck with it.

Disclaimer: I am basing my answers on another Lexus car, namely 98-05 GS, but I am hoping Lexus built their cars similarly. I just wanted to give some insight. Take it as you please. :) My mom has an 03 ES but I've never looked into modding it. ;) Anyway, it should be doable for you to swap the same year headlight housings. You may have to do some investigation on the wiring because you will either need to splice some wires or build an adapter harness. Lexus HIDs tend to come with an auto-leveling system. You will not get this feature since there are other wiring and sensors involved. You will just have to manually aim the lights to an acceptable (to you and other cars around you) position. Of course, an ES guru may come along and :chairshot: me for giving misleading info. :D

Differences can be because of - Brand name - manufacturing (as mentioned above) - design (1/2/3 pc) - quality - styles - finish It really comes down to your plans, budget, and tolerance for quality. Sometimes, these don't match up and you have to make a compromise (or two ;)) somewhere.

Well, you do get a "newer" car with the later years. Plus, the body changed a bit over the years. :)

Similar but not the same. Pretty much competing formats.

Sounds like a pretty good deal if the car is in good condition. Congrats on the purchase.

Did you try the instructions on the Homelink site? http://www.homelink.com/home/home.tml Go into the Training tab. It does take a couple of extra steps if you have a rolling code type of opener.

Did you also replace the rotors? If not, did the shop test drive the car? Did they resurface the rotors? If there are no shakes or vibrations, then resurfacing the rotors is not necessary. In your case, there is. The old pads and rotors may have bedded in a certain way where they work (and wear) a certain way. With new pads, they are not mated to the rotors the way the previous one is. Now, vibrations can be from other problems but since it seems like everything was fine until this brake job and assuming the job was done ok, this would be my guess.

Did you bring your own CDs to test out the two systems?

If you are willing to travel to Carson, I'd recommend TM Engineering. That's where I get most of my work done.

I have a feeling this is on hold pending this: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...topic=24635&hl=