Upgrade advice!

[Kalmado]

I've got around $400 to spend on my 02 Diamond White Pearl Vle and am looking for some suggestions on how to get the most use of that $400 on appearance items. So far I've only decided on a few things that I definitely want done.

reverse glow gauge - $10
tint (1/4 glass & rear windshield) - $150

Right before the motor blew I bought 4 firestone affinity touring 16's so I can't really justify getting low profile tires this summer. This leads me to sort of not want to get wheels yet because I don't know if I want 16" wheels. And speaking of wheels, I can't seem to make up my mind anyways. I'd like to keep them under or around $500, yet everything pictured in the wheels thread for gen 1.5 seems to be pricey!

I don't do my own mechanical work and at the moment am not interested in trying to make my solara fast. It's an automatic anyways lol. What do you guys think I should start with?!

edit: Forgot to mention, everything is stock currently. I'd also like to get a different grill, but have no clue how much they cost or where the best place to get them is. Help a guy out!

[SolaraPete]

Get some lowering springs for sure! Not only do lowered Solara's look sick - you also get to enjoy the better handling/cornering.

[SteveSolara]

Lower, Lip Kit, Custom Grill, Blacked out Headlight housing, HIDs, Plasti Dip the Crap out of the car *Rims*, There are plenty of things you can do, Check out the DIY thread. ( viewforum.php?f=56 )

[Kalmado]

I'm not familiar with Plasti Dip. Can I get some information on that? And lowering doesn't seem too expensive. I may do that right away!

[SteveSolara]

Plasti Dip is a spray on Rubber coating that comes in a variety of colors. The best part about it is if you dont like it you can just simply peel it off. You can get them at Home Depot or walmart

Examples of plasti dip

There is Flat Black Plasti Dip I used it on my Rims, emblems, Grill, interior parts, anything you want to plasti dip




Plasti Dip or paint the Headlight Housing



Black out the Emblems


Black out the inter wood trims



There are endless ideas to use plasti dip, Just got to be creative and you'll like it

As for lowering the car You can just get TEIN Lowering Springs and lower the car on Stock Struts ( not recommended ) But if your on a budget this will do for awhile, its lowers the car about 2 inches once its settled in. I had TEIN on stock struts for about 4 months and it is still riding smooth

[Kalmado]

Wow I'm definitely going to do that to my wheels and grille for a quick fix/change for appearance! I'll save my bucks for next summer to get 18" wheel/tire combo. Also, regarding lowering, I'm very hesitant to do that as I live in Michigan and my city has tons of garbage roads. This is my daily driver and after dropping roughly $4k in mechanical work, I'll be bummed if I were to screw up the appearance(underneath) from lowering it and scraping. With that being said, would a lip kit look retarded w/out the car being lowered?!

[Kalmado]

Just noticed these wheels on my local craigslist this morning. XXR 520's for $250 obo. Only thing I'm not liking is the red stripe. I'd rather paint it white if that's possible. Opinions?!

http://jxn.craigslist.org/pts/3129415984.html

edit: bleh, I think the bolt pattern is 5x100.

[red2ksolara]

Remove the splash gaurds and emblems. Makes a bigger impact than you would think. Plus its free and easy

[Bostonlara]

Remove the splash gaurds and emblems. Makes a bigger impact than you would think. Plus its free and easy

i kinda like the splash guards on mine i obv dont have a lip kit though


ive been searching around too for things to do to mine, are the reverse glows still available or is it hit or miss on the for sale page?

[Brandoe91]

Some things I recommended:
Trd or whiteline rsb + Tein Lowering springs (these will greatly improve handling and look of the car).
Tint fogs yellow and install some 55w HIDS. ( headlight and fogs)
Install some bright white LEDs for the interior and Reverse lights.
Paint the inside of headlights black like Steve said.

[Kalmado]

I was thinking of ordering some smoked fog lamp housing found here, but I think it would be a pain to instal the wiring to the inside of the car.

I'm considering de-badging as well. Thinking about it more and more, I don't think I can afford lowering+struts this summer. If I do that, I also would like to have a winter beater so I don't have to drive a lowered car in the snow. I'll look into the HIDS for sure.

[SteveSolara]

It doesnt lower the car that much that you scrape everywhere. I usually dont scrape much except my drive way cause its a big ass hump LOL. I live near Philly, PA and there is a Crap load of Pot holes and bad roads and i still drive through them fine just cutting it more close, but never rubbed or maxed out the suspension.

[Kalmado]

Sorry guys to bump about a wheel question,but I'm just not sure off set. I'm going to give my local Firestone guy a call tomorrow as their closed on Sundays, but I wanted to get an extra opinion. Please check the link provided and tell me what you guys think! Price seems right and I love the look of these Racing Hart wheels. Should they work for my car?

http://annarbor.craigslist.org/pts/3085471465.html

[SteveSolara]

Zero: The hub mounting surface is even with the center line of the rim.
Positive: The hub mounting surface is more towards the front and generally the style wheel used with FWD vehicles.
Negative: The hub mounting surface is toward the back side of the wheel’s center line.

[Kalmado]

Zero: The hub mounting surface is even with the center line of the rim.
Positive: The hub mounting surface is more towards the front and generally the style wheel used with FWD vehicles.
Negative: The hub mounting surface is toward the back side of the wheel’s center line.

I appreciate the post, but I have to be honest and say reading that is like reading chinese to me. I have no idea what any of that means