(Updated w/pics)New eyes on this Lara!(ZoomZoom's Gen 2)

by **PhreakdOut** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 7:44 pm

Very slick!

Did you debate on removing the orange reflector? I hate the lens but not having it leaves two or three slots in the assembly. You could have painted it but that leaves a huge area of blank looking space.

Just no good solution unless you have a black car. Then black it all out! :wink:

You might want to consider stealth bulbs for the turn signals. The amber bulb looks like the yolk of an egg inside your headlights. They are silver when they're off but illuminate amber when on. I had a similar kind on my Gen2 except they were blue and illuminated in amber.

by **kpxboi0619** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 8:06 pm

what grillle is that? 07 lara's?

by **---CAMRAZY---** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 10:46 pm

I like it a lot!!!!

by **PXLpainter** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 1:34 am

Yeah - that's looks KILLER!!

Man - dunno if I got the nutz to try to take my lights apart though - let alone figure out how the damn things come out!

by **crispone** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 4:35 am

Looks very sharp!

-crisp :evilbat:

by **crispone** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 4:37 am

PXLpainter wrote:I was thinking of doing the exact same thing to mine - only in a flat black so that LIDAR will have a smaller target to shoot at!

Can't wait for you to finish your damn dinner already and get some pics up!

Jeff,

I don't believe COLOR makes any difference in LIDAR detection... just SURFACE AREA and ANGULARITY... I believe...

(UNFORTUNATELY, Mythbusters only tested conventional RADAR, I believe...) :-?

-crisp

by **crispone** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 4:37 am

crispone wrote:
PXLpainter wrote:I was thinking of doing the exact same thing to mine - only in a flat black so that LIDAR will have a smaller target to shoot at!

Can't wait for you to finish your damn dinner already and get some pics up!

Jeff,

I don't believe COLOR makes any difference in LIDAR detection... just SURFACE AREA and ANGULARITY... I believe...

(UNFORTUNATELY, Mythbusters only tested conventional RADAR, I believe...)

-crisp

...although I am OPEN to CORRECTION on this point. :wink:

-crisp

by **Patrik** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 5:41 am

they used the convetional one and laser one

by **Sebas007** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 6:01 am

Maybe you could do a tutorial or DIY post.

kpxboi0619 wrote:what grillle is that? 07 lara's?

kpxboi0619, yeah it's '07 grille...maybe I will get it, if my grille project turns badly

by **rollaevo99** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 6:40 am

it's hard to tell.... I think would be better if it's black paint a bit darker.... anyways, not bad.

by **PoshPepper** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 7:26 am

Looks great. Reminds me of the Gen5 Camry black housed headlights that came on the SE...

So, why didn't you take the amber piece out?

by **Whatever** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 8:52 am

wow I think you did a great job. the headlights looks really really clean. I like it

by **PXLpainter** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 9:11 am

crispone wrote:
crispone wrote:
PXLpainter wrote:I was thinking of doing the exact same thing to mine - only in a flat black so that LIDAR will have a smaller target to shoot at!

Can't wait for you to finish your damn dinner already and get some pics up!

Jeff,

I don't believe COLOR makes any difference in LIDAR detection... just SURFACE AREA and ANGULARITY... I believe...

(UNFORTUNATELY, Mythbusters only tested conventional RADAR, I believe...)

-crisp

...although I am OPEN to CORRECTION on this point.

-crisp

Glad you added that!

LIDAR needs a reflective surface and having a silver metallic car is bad enough but they USUALLY aim for the front Lic Plate (which I don't have - and another reason they want you to have one!) but the other areas they aim are the headlight housings.

So by painting the bezels a non-reflective coating, that makes the target smaller and more of a chance for your LIDAR detector to catch a stray signal while they bounce around the nose of your car looking for one.

Best defense is a flat/matte black paint job all over, no front plates and only projector headlights. Having a long-sloped windshield helps a lot too (not like an XB)

by **Astro** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 9:15 am

Looks great! I'd like to see more pics!!!

by **ClassySolaraGuy** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 9:43 am

All your comments are very much appreciated!

I have some more pics below after all this:

Biggi_e wrote:sort of hard to tell but it still looks great. what did you use to open up your lights? i used a heatgun which took forever

I used my girls hair dryer. It wasn't too bad to get apart but it took some effort to pull them apart. The Gen 2 headlights barely fit in the oven plus I didn't want to risk melting anything.

Sebas007 wrote:On a black Solara it must look even better !! I like it !

Thx man

SolaraBlue wrote:looks clean.

Appreciated!

PhreakdOut wrote:Very slick!

Did you debate on removing the orange reflector? I hate the lens but not having it leaves two or three slots in the assembly. You could have painted it but that leaves a huge area of blank looking space.

Just no good solution unless you have a black car. Then black it all out!

You might want to consider stealth bulbs for the turn signals. The amber bulb looks like the yolk of an egg inside your headlights. They are silver when they're off but illuminate amber when on. I had a similar kind on my Gen2 except they were blue and illuminated in amber.

I was debating about the orange reflector but when I looked at it without it "?" came into my head meaning it just didn't look right to me. I know what bulbs your talking about. They are not the silverstar corner bulbs they are all chrome & illuminate amber when on. I will definitely get them.

kpxboi0619 wrote:what grillle is that? 07 lara's?

Yeah

---CAMRAZY--- wrote:I like it a lot!!!!

Thx Man...

Jes really likes it a lot which made it well worth it. O & the reward

was my fav! :wink:

PXLpainter wrote:Yeah - that's looks KILLER!!

Man - dunno if I got the nutz to try to take my lights apart though - let alone figure out how the damn things come out!

The most time consuming part besides the painting was taking them apart. After that point everything was clearly screwed in by an torx screwdriver. Almost all the pieces inside the headlight come out.

crispone wrote:Looks very sharp!

-crisp

Thanks!

Sebas007 wrote:Maybe you could do a tutorial or DIY post.

This is one project I wouldn't rush. Take your time & you will have the results that reflect your effort & hardwork.

rollaevo99 wrote:it's hard to tell.... I think would be better if it's black paint a bit darker.... anyways, not bad.

I posted some new pics of them. The charcoal metallic was a good balance of show & darkness for my taste. I wanted to keep within the same color family as the Lara.

**PoshPepper** wrote:Looks great. Reminds me of the Gen5 Camry black housed headlights that came on the SE...

So, why didn't you take the amber piece out?

I thought it just didn't look right. Plus I didn't want to run into some a$$ hole cop @ the end of the month giving me fix it tickets for no amber lens. I painted the piece behind the lens dark as well which gave the orange reflector a darker appearance. This way I am safe with the law & don't have that "blank" spot. I sure as hell no that undoing my seal job is not going to be easy.

Whatever wrote:wow I think you did a great job. the headlights looks really really clean. I like it

Thank you

Astro wrote:Looks great! I'd like to see more pics!!!

Here they are:

Before:

Lights on...Time for HID's!

Damn those little pits! I'll be wet sanding them off soon.

Damn...This post was long...LOL!

(Updated w/pics)New eyes on this Lara!(ZoomZoom's Gen 2)

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