The *completed* ES300 Project (thewizard's new car)

[Raza]

The headunit I'm buying has all the jacks on the back for things, but has no front ports (it's just a simple screen with minimal buttons) so I'm running a cable from the back of it to the inside of the center console where the second power port is and I'll flush mount it right next to the power in there. I had a rental car with that arrangement but I don't remember exactly which one it was. It works well if you don't mind your cables going into the console, but since the power would have to be run from there anyway I figured it'd be fine to put the input in there. I rarely use an auxiliary input since I have satellite radio, but I figured if I'm buying a fancy unit with that option I might as well be able to utilize it more easily. Same thing for the USB- it will link with Android or iPhone devices and play media (and charge) straight from the USB port so I figured I'd better hook that up so I'll be able to use it if the mood strikes.

The one I got is designed to replace the ashtray.  I don't smoke in the car, and even if I did, I wouldn't use the ashtray, so it is a great utilization of wasted space.

[thewizard16]

The one I got is designed to replace the ashtray.  I don't smoke in the car, and even if I did, I wouldn't use the ashtray, so it is a great utilization of wasted space.

I like that. I don't know if they have such a thing out there for the ES or not, I was just planning on mounting the new ones manually, but a replacement part would be pretty cool. I'll look into that.

[thewizard16]

Congrats!
Should last you well and not as 'boring' as a 'Yota.

Wanna come work on my cars?
(Van hasn't been washed in months, I scrubbed on the Miata after I got it to get the initial funk out but have lost energy on it..)

Thanks! I don't think I'm going into detailing anytime in the foreseeable future (and I'm pretty slow at it), but if I do I'll let you know.

[thewizard16]

New toys are in and I'm very pleased with how things are turning out so far. Here's what I've added so far:

New headunit:
In the process of wiring this I managed to fry the factory amplifier (trying to save 30 seconds of inconvenience turned into a week of hassle) and had to rip that one out and order/install a replacement. 
To connect to the headunit, I installed flushmount USB and aux-in ports in the bottom of the center console next to the power outlet. Also ran the antenna and installed the tuner box so I could have my XM again.
Also installed a rear view camera and wired it up so that it comes on automatically when I shift in reverse.
Swapped out all the old exterior bulbs to nice LED bulbs
Swapped out the old headlights and foglights to some higher end HIDs which look very sharp- got them aimed today and it appears the old lights were quite poorly aimed
Installed new footwell lighting and swapped the in-door courtesy lights out with matched bulbs.

In total, over 120 ft of wiring has been run/installed in the last couple weeks. Everything looks sharp and everything looks like it could be factory (unless you happen to know that almost none of this stuff was available in 99), so I consider that a victory. I took it up to the shop to have them look things over and get whatever maintenance it needs caught up, so pictures will come later.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

Nice Lexus! What temp HIDs did you go with?

[Raza]

New toys are in and I'm very pleased with how things are turning out so far. Here's what I've added so far:

New headunit:
In the process of wiring this I managed to fry the factory amplifier (trying to save 30 seconds of inconvenience turned into a week of hassle) and had to rip that one out and order/install a replacement. 
To connect to the headunit, I installed flushmount USB and aux-in ports in the bottom of the center console next to the power outlet. Also ran the antenna and installed the tuner box so I could have my XM again.
Also installed a rear view camera and wired it up so that it comes on automatically when I shift in reverse.
Swapped out all the old exterior bulbs to nice LED bulbs
Swapped out the old headlights and foglights to some higher end HIDs which look very sharp- got them aimed today and it appears the old lights were quite poorly aimed
Installed new footwell lighting and swapped the in-door courtesy lights out with matched bulbs.

In total, over 120 ft of wiring has been run/installed in the last couple weeks. Everything looks sharp and everything looks like it could be factory (unless you happen to know that almost none of this stuff was available in 99), so I consider that a victory. I took it up to the shop to have them look things over and get whatever maintenance it needs caught up, so pictures will come later.

That's impressive.  Any pics of the new interior?

[thewizard16]

Nice Lexus! What temp HIDs did you go with?

I put a set of cheapo online ones in there first and that was a mistake. It seemed like they threw light everywhere except the road and their "white" bulbs were still excessively blue. I took those out and put in some much nicer ballasts and relays with the Philips bulbs from XenonDepot that a lot of other people spoke highly of as OEM equivalent replacement bulbs. They cost a good deal more but they do a good job and the color is exactly what I wanted.

That's impressive.  Any pics of the new interior?

I took a few this evening. Not as good as daytime pictures, but I haven't been home in sunlight hours in a while.

Dash with new unit and the car off:


Yes, you can watch a movie, supposedly when the car is in park. (Or really, any time, but that's a bad idea.) You can kind of see the footwell lights in this shot, but for whatever reason they look a bit blue on this setting. They're pretty white with just a tinge of blue, I had hoped for pure white ones (that's what these claimed to be) but it is apparently hard to find those.


Main menu. You can customize which inputs are the big buttons and change the background and lighting to whatever you like. I put a custom background on it, but haven't mixed up any colors on the button lights yet.






Inputs I installed in the bottom of the center console:


Add-on rear camera. Works pretty well, not quite up to new car quality, but way cheaper. I may consider installing a nicer one in a more permanent way later on. It was pretty easy to set it up to where things all switch over automatically on the screen when you shift into reverse, it just involved running a lot of wiring.


Car with new headlights on in the driveway. Nice even light, pretty much solid white (4300k), nice cutoff that has now been properly aimed. I didn't see it at the time, but the light reflecting off the projector lens of the Volvo made an interesting reflection on the house.


I couldn't get a picture where you could both see the headlights without glare and still see the rest of the car, it was one or the other, so I went with the glare. I probably need a nicer camera to pull of shots like that. The parking lights/turn signals are the best replacement bulb superbrightleds had to offer, I'm very pleased with how pure the colors of their bulbs are.

[Cookie Monster]

Very clean install, I like it!

[Raza]

Install looks stock.  Very cool.

[hotrodalex]

[BENZ BOY15]

I love this car! Congrats man!

My friend has one and it's just a very nice ride...it's well put together and it looks good too.

[Secret Chimp]

Where did you get the footwell lights? I'd like to put something like that in both of my cars.

[TurboDan]

Damn! That interior is looking hot! Awesome job.

[thewizard16]

Very clean install, I like it!

Install looks stock.  Very cool.

Thanks guys. It seems to take a lot more work to keep things looking clean/stock while still upgrading the components (apparently 99% of aftermarket customers want their interiors to look like a carbon fiber coated rave is going on), but it was well worth the effort on this car. The Camry's interior looked good but it didn't look like it could be stock, which is my goal with the Lexus.

Where did you get the footwell lights? I'd like to put something like that in both of my cars.

You can go online and order some 12V LED strips (I ordered larger ones and cut them to size) from ebay or a seller like superbrightleds (they make good stuff, but aren't cheap). There are several reputable ones on ebay that I've used in the past for a variety of applications, or if you just search for footwell lighting some companies sell kits that are in all kinds of colors or color changing if that's your thing. Those kits are normally way more than a couple LED strips and some wire connectors though.

I love this car! Congrats man!

My friend has one and it's just a very nice ride...it's well put together and it looks good too.

Damn! That interior is looking hot! Awesome job.

Thanks guys!

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

Where did you get the footwell lights? I'd like to put something like that in both of my cars.

I put the same LEDs in my G8. Look on Ebay they have 5 LED bulbs that fit rite into the socket just like a regular bulb!
Good job on the whole install Wizard! And I've heard nothing but praise about Phillips HID kits! They are expensive but well worth it! 

[thewizard16]

I put the same LEDs in my G8. Look on Ebay they have 5 LED bulbs that fit rite into the socket just like a regular bulb!
Good job on the whole install Wizard! And I've heard nothing but praise about Phillips HID kits! They are expensive but well worth it! 

I have seen those, they are nice if you have footwell bulb sockets to begin with. All of the exterior (and interior for the most part) bulbs on my car were replaced with the LED replacements that fit into existing sockets, which makes things very easy. These are just waterproof strips (a lot of people use them in their boats to light walkways and compartments and such) that I ran a new wire for and connected in with the existing wiring to the individual door's courtesy light.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

I have seen those, they are nice if you have footwell bulb sockets to begin with. All of the exterior (and interior for the most part) bulbs on my car were replaced with the LED replacements that fit into existing sockets, which makes things very easy. These are just waterproof strips (a lot of people use them in their boats to light walkways and compartments and such) that I ran a new wire for and connected in with the existing wiring to the individual door's courtesy light.

OH! Ok I gotcha now!!

[hotrodalex]

I'll probably do something similar in my El Camino. Plan on replacing the dome light with just little LEDs and then might as well put some under the dash/in the footwell too.

[AutobahnSHO]

SHO had no less than 8 interior lights. No dome light though, believe it or not. Two map lights, footwell lights, door lights (4 doors).
Makes a lot of difference.

[thewizard16]

I'll probably do something similar in my El Camino. Plan on replacing the dome light with just little LEDs and then might as well put some under the dash/in the footwell too.

I'm still looking for a dome light I like. The current one I have is a good brightness (the standard one seemed very dim) but it has too much of a blue tint to it. I will probably see how the warm white one from superbright looks, but I'm not sure if it will be as bright as what I have now.

[hotrodalex]

I might do red LEDs to match the seat inserts and such. Or maybe a white dome light and red LEDs in the footwell.

The overhead console that I'm installing has two regular white map lights at the very front. Not sure if I can wire them to work with the doors and the buttons on the console, though. Would require some tricky switch work.

[thewizard16]

I finally got the new driver's door mirror in and replaced. Apparently most people hadn't noticed that the casing on it was broken to begin with, but I think it looks better now. The timing belt has also been changed (as we suspected, it hadn't been touched) and a more detailed inspection was done of the car that fortunately found no problems. The struts will need replaced at some point in the foreseeable future, which is $$$, but other than that the mechanic had nice things to say about it. Today I finally received the original title so I could get it registered and a new Arkansas title issued and I also ran to Lexus to get a copy of the master key made since the seller only had one. The key itself costs ~$65, but then the dealer wanted to charge another $55 in labor to program it. I told them I just wanted it copied, and programmed it myself with instructions found online in two minutes in their parking lot. Ridiculous.

[thewizard16]

I've had an idea for a new (and relatively ambitious to do it right) project for the car: soft ambient lighting. I went with a friend car shopping this week and he bought a new GMC Terrain, which has a very nice soft red glow on the center console and in the armrests, etc. due to strategically placed LEDs to add a soft glow. I don't care much about the door pockets, etc. but the almost imperceptible glow on the console is actually really nice, it adds just enough light you can see your hands when you go to mess with buttons and such, shows off the shiny surfaces a little, and makes the interior feel a little nicer at night. I have noticed a lot of new vehicles seem to be doing this, and if it's done tastefully, I'm a fan. As such, I'm considering trying a DIY version of that in my car. I'm still not sure if I can pull it off or not, but I'm tempted to order either some green LEDs to match the dash color, amber because a lot of car makers seem to like it for their ambient lighting regardless of dash color, or a soft "calming" blue to add a gentle light down on the shifter/console area, and maybe in the door pockets if it doesn't look too ricey. I'd have to dim them down, but that'd be the easy part. Installing them so they're not obvious, running the wiring, and making it so they only run when the headlights are on would be the tricky part.

So my question is: If you thought you could pull it off, would you do it? (Why/why not?) And, if you were to do it, what color would you use? Keep in mind the HVAC buttons and screen are a soft green and I've got the buttons on the stereo set to a very similar green, but the gauges are white with orange needles, so I'd want something that didn't look out of place.

[MrH]

You could do it, but I don't think you will be able to make it look stock, sorry.  Pretty much need to design things from the beginning with ambient lighting in mind.  Takes a lot of prep, part design, and there's a lot to consider (reflections, can you see the LED strip, etc.)

[Cookie Monster]

To be honest, I don't like the soft lighting. My friend's Camry has that weird Plasmacluster or whatever the fuck it's called, plus a light that shines on the shifter (same with the newer Priuses as well). My mom's 7 has that soft lighting as well, and I don't like it either.

I prefer having less light in the cabin distracting me from the road ahead. I really liked not having a center stack when I drove the car around without a headunit for a few weeks a few months ago. The lack of light in the car apart from the gauges was very nice.

Then again my car is very easy to operate by touch alone, since it has 3 knobs and 3 buttons for the HVAC.

If you do do it, I wish you luck! As H says, it seems like it would be hard to get everything hidden properly.

[hotrodalex]

My car has a soft red glow coming from two LEDs in the overhead console. I might do something similar in my El Camino. If you stick with single LED bulbs, it could work. A strip would be too much.

[Char]

Awesome, I love seeing the before an afters.

[sportyaccordy]

IF you didn't order the factory amp, STOP

Why not get an aftermarket 4 channel and replace all the speakers? Odds are it won't sound right w/o the stock HU anyway. And I bet going aftermarket would be about the same $$$.

Did you do a projector retrofit with the HIDs? The beam pattern looks very good for reflectors.

[MexicoCityM3]

I love what you are doing with your car. What a difference from when you got it.

[Laconian]

I rode in my friend's ES300 last night and I made sure to pay attention to the details because I knew you had one. Some of the interior design is dated but everything felt solid solid solid, like how the old overbuilt MBs are reputed to be.