squarehat

I ran the wires down into the fuse box and left them hanging there, so all the shop had to do was figure out the right wires (and make the actual connections). Since they didn't have to do anything to too time consuming (I did the pulling the wires under the headliner, down the A-pillar, and into the kick panel ahead of time), it was just a half hour of labor--something like $38 with tax. I had it done at a local chain audio shop that's in the Cleveland metro area. Out in CA, I'm sure there are even more shops to call.

I just noticed your sig said Gentex EC/Compass/HomeLink mirror. Is it the one for Nissan/Infiniti? That's the one I've got. Good luck with it, let me know if I can help. Just clicked the link, it appears it is. $185 is a good deal, I paid $260 at the parts counter of my local Nissan dealer for mine.

I've got a Gentex mirror on my '96 ES (same mount). The factory mirror is held on by some very stubborn adhesive, and there's a rubber damper between the glass and the metal mount. It took me a dozen glass shops to find one willing to do the job (most howled that the windshield would break). Finally, I found a shop willing to do it. The tech there had seen the Lexus mirrors before, and knew that the trick was to attack the rubber vibration damper. He took a putty knife and ball peen hammer, and started tapping away, while another tech pushed down on the windshield from the outside to keep it from flexing to the breaking point. They got it off in about 30 seconds, and the tech cleaned the residue off with solvent, and mounted the American-style mirror button for me. Didn't charge me a cent :) I slipped the tech a crisp $20, and told him that he had absolutely made my day for helping me pull of a mod they said couldn't be done :) Once I had the mirror mounted, it was time to wire. Pulled off the A-pillar trim (snaps off, starts above driver's window, goes down into dash. Slipped the wire behind the edge of the headliner (remove the screws for the driver's side sun visor and center sun visor to pull the headliner back). Removed a piece of weatherstripping at the bottom of the A-pillar, to run the wires down into the dash. Pulled lower dash panel out (4 bolts, two of which were hidden). Run the wires into the fuse panel to something switched with ignition, such as the cig lighter) using fuse taps. Secure the wires to the A-pillar wire bundle with zip ties. Replace headliner, A-pillar trim, and weatherstripping. My mirror was a bit more complicated to wire, as it had a separate power feed for the dimmer and compass (switched with ignition) and the HomeLink garage opener (always on). I had a stereo shop wire the "always on" portion for me. Unfortunately, they didn't replace that weatherstrip by the dash, and I had to buy a new one for $23 at the dealer.

What engine does the Windom 2.5 have (V6, I6, or I4)? And what does "Lexter" mean? Sorry if this has been answered before, but the only Japanese model I'm familiar with is the 3.0G, which seems to be equivalent to the North American-spec ES300.

I believe "Angel Eyes" is a trademark of Hella, the German company that does the lighting for BMW, Audi, and others.

One nice feature that the GS400 has that was deleted in the 430 is E-shift. Lexus cut it out of the redesigned '01 models to make the vehicles ULEV-compliant. Incidentally, in 2001 it found its way into the IS300 and GS300. It's not the same as a manual by any means, I've driven several IS300's with the feature, but it can be fun for backroads use. The computer locks you out of any shift it doesn't like, and you can only specify a range of gears, rather than a particular gear. It's a tough choice between Black Onyx and Spectra Blue Metallic, for sure. I also like the Alpine Silver used on the earlier GS4's, its a purer silver than the newer Millenium Silver (I believe Alpine Silver is only on the 98-99). Edit: Not sure if this is important to you, but I believe you can't have both navigation and the Nakimichi upgrade together. Cars were equipped with one or the other, from what I've read.

CL is ClubLexus at www.cublexus.com Huge site, has active forums on all the Lexus vehicles, plus great forums on lighting and wheels (be forewarned, the wheels forum people are a tad snobbish).

The headlights do pop up on eBay occasionally. Note that the 95-96 headlights have a slight smoke tint and three lines across the housing. The 92-94 are not tinted and lack the line. Often a seller will list the 92-94 as being "92-96" as they don't know any better. They'll fit, but it won't match your other light cosmetically. So make sure it's a 95-96 light:)

That's a good question, Zeta. The tires are 205/65-15 Michelin MXV4 Plus mounted on the stock split 3-spoke 1996 rims (tires have about 15K on them). There's a lot of sidewall on those, so bending a rim is not my inclination. In addition, visual inspection by myself (for the outside of the rims) and by the mechanics at the dealership during the rotations produces absolutely no indication of any bends. On two separate occasions (during my 80K and 85K services) the dealer dunked the worst tire (front left at 80K, which was the rear right at 85K), and found no leak. I don't know if bad valve stems could be a culprit. Back to the original topic, I wish I could check out one of these retrofits in person. I know plenty of people with superwhite halogens, and a few with factory HID, but nobody with a true HID retrofit.

On a couple of very humid days last summer, the A/C on my '96 randomly started blowing warm, humid air, and the green light on the A/C button started blinking. I turned the system off for a couple of minutes, and when I turned the climate control back on, the problem went away. This only happened 2 or 3 times all summer, however. Not sure if this was the expansion valve acting up, or what else. Hopefully it'll hold out.--Pricey 90K mile service around the corner, and I may need new wheels and/or tires (have been losing 10PSI a month on a couple of my tires).

Thanks for the link, Zeta. :) I now may may end up replacing my wheels instead of upgrading my lights. I've got slow leaks in two of my wheels (lose about 10PSI a month), whereas my SilverStars seem to be getting the job done in the lighting department. Cutoff does look pretty good, I must say. I'll keep my options open.

Magnetic, Do you have one of these CATZ kits? I'm interested in the 4500K kit. I'm just concerned about how well the ES projectors cut the beam off. I don't want a bunch of angry people flashing me, or so obvious that I have a non-DOT legal conversion that I'm pulled over. I'd be interested in seeing some pics, Liteswap had a pic, but it was for the 5500K kit, and just a side view of the housing, not a pic of the beam pattern, or a pic of the oncoming car at a distance (to see if there are glare "halos" above the lights. If the projectors cut the lights off, I will just make sure they're aimed low. If there are halos, then I will have to reconsider. And btw, I do plan on donating to the charity. I lost somebody close to me to lymphoma, so this would be a win-win way for me to upgrade my car and give to a charity that I believe in.

Hello everybody! A lot of familiar people from over at a my usual hangout: Zeta, Steviej, meZoom!, SW03ES, skperformance, I'm sure there are more. Finally decided to register, I've been lurking around for a bit. --Steve