So I got all cocky and thought that I might do the whole cleared corners type mod. 4 hours later I finished with 1 extra screw, a 3 inch gash below my grille and several misc scrape areas along the bottom of the bumper.

And the best part is I couldn't find the oven method so I used the break stuff method, but it never broke up near where the adhesive is. So now if you look closely you can see a series of jagged yellow that used to be the reflector, and its all orange in there anyway because my bulb is orange :p

So for the rest of you newbies, make sure you lay down a soft surface for the bumper to lay on, get some of those clear bulbs that glow amber on hand first, diagram where the different screws go and jeah.

Anyone know a modder in the seattle area?

 

yikes...compurtrs it is

 

not my computer! ;-)

 

-THE DON

 

All the trouble you had seems odd to me; I got my front bumper off in 10 minutes, and the headlights out in 2... then took a BFS and a rubber hammer and gingerly broke out the amber reflector. not even a scratch! The small pieces came out with a shopvac; the larger ones shook out, and the rest that was still lodged in, I got a skinny awl and dug those out.

Time for some aftermarkets lights! :smile:

 

I had a huge problem doing the hammer method last night on my PW xB. Long story short, I ended up starting with the hammer method, and finishing the job (properly) with the oven method. I have a mystery scratch/rub (looks like the orange reflector smeared the lens) that won't come off, nor do I know how it got there to begin with.

BUT.
They look great, and for my first time doing both methods for this mod, I think I did okay too. In my experience, the oven method is BY FAR easier and should I ever do it again in the future, I won't waste my time with a hammer.

If you need help getting that little piece of reflector out, I truly suggest the oven method. You can PM me if you'd like and I'll tell you what to do, it's really really easy. The hardest part is popping the lens off and it's not overly difficult to do.

I'm a huge proponent of the oven method, now that I've personally used both methods and recommend it.

 

I used the break method and the reflectors came out with ease. Just took a little work to get all the little glittery pieces of reflector out of the lense... whole process took about 1 hour.

Guess I was just lucky.

 

^^^ x2... Sorry to hear that you had a rough time with less than perfect results though... that really sucks. Good luck on future mods or finding someone good to do the mods for you.

 

Im not trying to be rude, but it is common sence that if you lay any painted surface 0n a concrete or asphalt surface, it is going to scratch when you let it move around.

try paintscratch.com, and order you some paint and touch it up!

 

Bummer you had trouble with this particular mod. Don't give up, sometimes things don't always go right but sometimes they do!

 

Where's a link to the oven baking method?

 

Am I the only one that doesn't mind the orange pieces in the turn signals? LOL

 

Not only are they required by federal and state law, I prefer them to be there for safety - they ARE the side reflectors for the front

 

Over the weekend I did mine using the screw driver method with out any problems. Something I would suggest doing though is make your first break in the reflector a little closer to the end that is not connected to the headlight. This way you can pull it out easily and then just pry out the rest of the reflector before you break it with wire cutters/tin snips or what ever you're using. This should help solve the problem of having little yellow pieces stuck in the reflector slot.

I bought some silverstars on Saturday and they look amazing. My wife was a bit freaked out when she walked into the garage and I had the entire front of my car torn apart. But even she agreed the end result was worth it.

 

I like why the reflectors are there (Safety etc), but don't like the Amber color. Is it possible to remove the amber reflectors, and replace them with clear reflectors and then just use Chrome/Amber bulbs?

 

it should be, but an oven baker will have to tell if its possible

 

LOL

Man, sounds like a beeyitch. I didn't understand why everyone was doing that anyways. I don't mind it at all. I might buy some "HID BLUE" headlights covers, just a preference...

I think I'll be leaving mine alone ;)

 

I would like to EVENTUALLY do mine also, but right now it will be impossible, as I only have 1 day off during the week, and I have stuff I need to do during that day....

Also, my painting the tail lights is a 6 month work in progress... lol, so I don't think I want to not getting them done in time to put them back on and go to work the next day...

The reason the tails have taken so long, is that I took them apart before it was warm enough to paint them outside... I did that on purpose, so I just had to simply spray them... then, I moved out a month ago (tomorrow) and decieded that I would paint them the DAY I moved... lol... they are still in the garage at my parents house in the box I sprayed them in... No rush on them, since they were an extra set of lights I got for free from a friend.

 

That's a quote of the actual Washington state law about it...

"I don't write 'em, I jus' read 'em!" --Tomas

Reasonably new vehicles that do not have separate rear side markers have
their rear lights set up with reflectors facing the sides... in any case, new
cars have front and rear side markers either included as part of the
parking/turn/brake lights, or if the styling does not allow them to be seen
well enough to meet federal requirements, they have additional side
reflectors.

(Notice in that very same set of laws I quote to that the front side markers -
those in the turn/parking light on the xB - are REQUIRED to be there and
required to be amber... That's why the US model has those big bulges on the
side of the headlight lens with amber reflectors in them and the JDM model
doesn't - it's a US legal requirement.)

Again, "clearing" the front and rear reflectors to other than amber/red
doesn't mean you will get stopped for them, but it does mean that if you DO
get stopped for something it gives the officer a freebie "gotcha!"

(And if someone nails you from the side at night, and you have screwed with
the reflectors, making them non-legal, you just may be at fault should
someone be smart enough to notice...)

These are, after all, federal SAFETY standards...






Tom

P.S. Making your car more difficult for others to see is, uh, "stoopid."

 

ouch! thats no good...