20s-Fujita-Painted engine cover-Stillen FR & RR- Debadged-tinted lights

[KpSoLja]

Hi. New to this forum, well actually forums period. I have an 08 Coupe in winter frost and loaded to the top. Mods so far are, 20's, Fujita intake, Stillen front lip & rear wing, debadged, painted front and rear badge, painted engine cover, rewired headlights and taillights, tinted headlight housing and windows. I modded the front turn lights to be park lights and have an HID look and the turn signals as the old park lights. Rear signal is both the park side marker and regular signal light. Figured I would enter this forum with a bang. Enjoy the pics, lol, if I can get them to work that is.
Modified by KpSoLja at 10:57 AM 1/2/2008

[chow]

very nice.

[mikemart]

Welcome to NICO! Great job on your coupe

[SHIFT_COUPE]

Nice looking ride! Welcome to the community.

[nismofool]

that's one nice altima my friend, WELCOME!

Edit:

judging by your "ID", (KPSOLJA) does it stand for Korean Pride Soldier? just curious.

I'm really liking the headlight re-wiring, in a way reminds me of a G.
Modified by nismofool at 1:09 PM 1/1/2008

[GreyZone]

Nice! Welcome! and I have some questions on the wheels (oh, and by the way, it's great to see a fellow white couper with mods!)

What size are your tires, what tire pressure are you running, and how is the ride and handeling compared to stock? I would like to run 20s, but am concerned the ride is going to go to rock hard and overly stiff. What's your experience been?

[2brian0]

Nice looking car. I've done pretty much the same mods as you and am running out of things to do (except for the springs and exhaust when they become more available). One thing I like on your coupe that I would like to copy is your turn signal/parking light mod. Pretty sure I know how to go about doing it but can you provide more info. on it. Any tips/tricks that could make it more smooth than just figuring it out along the way. Oh and what bulbs did you buy? I'm assuming you had to remove the wheel and liner to get at it all? Thanks...
Modified by 2brian0 at 1:54 PM 1/1/2008

[Hussain]

WOW! that looks great! just i think it would look better with the back Nissan sign chrome instead of painted white. but i really like everything else. what % are your lights tinted? how is driving visibility VS no tint on the lights? i have a dark slate coupe and i want to smoke my lights to sorta go with the dark look better. oh ya and welcome to NICO!

[generic808]

Welcome to NICO!

[BlackNWhite]

Welcome to Nico.

Anyways, I think you should've totally debadged the Nissan Hamburger on the back instead of painting it white, it just doesn't seem to flow to me. Besides that, I'm also not in love with the pinstripe along the side, but the rest of the car is a beauty.

I really like the light modding you did with the turn signal. But I'm going to put eyelids on my car so I wouldn't be able to do that.

[KpSoLja]

I'll try to answer most of the questions. yes kpsolja is korean pride. rims are nexxen..245-30-20...ride is stiff but not as stiff as my old e46 m3.. the pinstripe was a dealer thing , all there cars had it.. hamburger on back is held in by two positions pegs that go through the trunk itself if i'm not mistaken, if not then off it comes.. tint on head light makes it seem as if i am driving with only fog lights and not headlights but i'm in the city and there are plenty of street lights. i can't wait on the springs myself. the headlights were modded though the fender and i used the same bulb #'s that are used for the original bulb, just hid looking instead. the ground wire is black and the power wires are green, just switch the two and presto..the tint allows 85% light through, it is from lamin-x. headlight vinyl and not regular tint..let me know if there is something else i can help with.

[spike228]

That really looks good. Only thing is that I'm not feeling the rims. But thats just me

You need a drop asap.

[KpSoLja]

a drop a.s.a.p...well i can't make them manufacture the springs faster. if i could then i would have them on the car. lol. me and about another couple dozen people. lol. i haven't done much but already ran the parts bin dry. front lip and wing is the only custom stuff they have for this car. wheels don't count cause wheels fit any car and the exhaust hasn't even been out but for a few weeks. where are all the parts. strut bars-sway bars-underdrive-reflash ecu-"something". guess we can't expect the JDM to bring us anything. oh well. USA help us out. oh and i like your stock wheels. j/k. not trying to flame. i got them from the dealer for free. can't complain. i guess when you show up at 9pm to get a car they give you anything. 32,000 out the door w/vdc-navi-wing-wheels can't really complain

[generic808]

Did you paint the engine cover yourself? If so, what type of paint? I know it's plastic, but did you use hi-temp? Just curious because I thought about doing that.

By the way, you got mail

[KpSoLja]

yeah i painted it myself. sanded it a bit with 800 then i primed it and used regular auto paint. no need for high temp. the calipers have 500 degree paint on it. i don't see the stock plastic withholding temps high enough for the paint to cook off. make sure you prime and wait. i got restless and needless to say had to use lacquer thinner and start over. lol. oh well.
Modified by KpSoLja at 10:47 AM 1/2/2008

[dangeris]

Welcome to the forums and nice job on the AC!

The front grill looks great! I like the subdue look of the nissan symbol. Did you paint that yourself too? If so, how did you do it. (prep, type of paint, etc).

Front Lip looks good on the AC but I've never been a big fan of the stillen lip ...looks wierd IMO. I noticed in the front angle shot, through the hole on the stillen lip there is a white object. Is this the original bumper of the AC? if so, maybe you should look into putting on some flat black vinyl on that area. just my .02.

Need to drop it next. Not feeling the "stage coach" effect.
Modified by dangeris at 6:31 AM 1/2/2008

[D-Roll]

Welcome! Very nice ride, creative.

[beachcoupe]

looks nice! I see that you're also from Jacksonville.. I've seen a LOT of coupes around here, at least where I am at the beach. I just got a white 2.5, but I know there's 1 white coupe in an apartment complex near here1 blue 3.5 that's belongs to a girl that works at petco so it's always in the parking lot1 silver 3.5 down the street from me1 black one I've seen downtown a couple times, 1 dark slate one I've seen parked at UNF2 red coupes, one of which belongs to a student at orange park HS (I know because of the parking sticker!)add mine and yours, and we have at least 9 coupes around here! fortunately for you, yours is modified and more unique looking

[KpSoLja]

again with the drop. i will when its available. can't do anything yet, you show me springs and i will get them. the front was primed and painted with auto paint from the parts store. i just mist the prime on several times till it covered the whole thing. take your time. its hard to sand the front grill so i didn't. the white through the bumper is the stock front. i need some vinyl to give the appearance of a whole but i didn't want to buy any. vinyl people will charge an arm and a leg for a piece of black vinyl that is in the trash can if they know you want it. i have seen a girl at the beach drive a white coupe. don't know if that is yours. if it isn't then it might be that same one at the apartment. hope it is. trying to keep the count on altima coupes down. lol. beachcoupe if you need help with anything let me know. i will be glad to help. i know everything i have done to the car might be of ones liking but it helps those who haven't seen certain things on this color get a feel for what there car will look like. i wish when i got my lip i could have seen it on white first but i like it and don't think i wasted money. its funny how no one has a lowered 08 but everyone tells me i need to drop it. lol. is there something i don't know about.

[dangeris]

Nope...Everyone here is waiting for the springs to come out. I believe Eibach will be coming out with a proline kit very soon! It'll be a 1" drop. As soon as it comes out, you can bet there will be a mad rush of getting them. The 20's look good on your ride but no matter what type or size rim you get, it'll always look better when dropped. It just takes away the "space" factor.

BTW, Thanks for the tip on the grill painting.

Also..Have you given thought on painting the "chrome" mustaches?

[2brian0]

Just my opinion but it cracks me up how people on forums tell other people what they need to do to their cars or what they don't like about the other persons car. Instead, why not just compliment them on what you do like and leave it at that. It's especially funny when these comments come from people with completely stock cars or their own car doesn't even have the mod. they are telling the other person they "need." Things would be pretty boring if all our cars were the same.

Any way, thanks for posting the info. on the turn signals. Do you remember the bulb number? Would like to buy the new bulbs before I tear the car apart and can't find the bulb number in my search...Now I have a project for tomorrow....and again, nice car.

[dangeris]

What is this turn signal mod that you guys speak of? Is there a post on this mod? If so, can someone post the link? Thanks

[2brian0]

It is the one he mentioned in his o.p. He switched the turn signal and running light wiring and replaced the turn signal bulb with a clear bulb. You can see it in the pictures. Cool little trick/original mod.

[LegendRacer]

Nice Car! love the tinted headlights (was planning on doin it..but i fail at tinting :P)

but for the engine cover, how did u paint it with the nissan badge? did u tap it or did u remove it? I would paint it asap if i can find out how to remove it

[KpSoLja]

thought about the mustache but didn't feel like taking the grill apart again. i did it once and decided against it. not to noticeable on white as say black or slate. i hate the " i would have" modders. its true. i have 15" steel wheels with hub caps but your 20" rims are ugly. lol. oh well. and the you should get this part. but its not out. those really get me. if you want to see what the turn signals on my car look like then have a friend turn on and off your park lights as you look at them. to see what my park lights look like then look at my pics. the top is with park lights on and the bottom is with HID headlights(and park lights of course) on. badge on cover comes off. remove 2 allen bolts and pop off the cover. when you fip it you see the badge is removed by squeezing the little prongs. carefull. very fragile. old turn signal (my new park lights) are 3457 bulbs. make sure you get white. they are already amber.lol you can get APC bulbs from advance discount or pep boys if you cant wait to get them in the mail. when tinting headlights dont use regular tint. you need vinyl. tint has an adhesive that will eat the plastic. i got my tint from lamin-x. good stuff. it is already cut for the headlight. a little time and hot blow dryer just to tuck the edge and your done. 15 minutes for both lights. i had help from my dad. he held the blowdryer. get gloves. blowdryer air burns.lol use a couple latex gloves for your "protection"

Modified by KpSoLja at 2:38 PM 1/2/2008
Modified by KpSoLja at 3:15 PM 1/2/2008

[generic808]

Just my opinion but it cracks me up how people on forums tell other people what they need to do to their cars or what they don't like about the other persons car. Instead, why not just compliment them on what you do like and leave it at that. It's especially funny when these comments come from people with completely stock cars or their own car doesn't even have the mod. they are telling the other person they "need." Things would be pretty boring if all our cars were the same.

[rjdmmfl1]

Just my opinion but it cracks me up how people on forums tell other people what they need to do to their cars or what they don't like about the other persons car. Instead, why not just compliment them on what you do like and leave it at that. It's especially funny when these comments come from people with completely stock cars or their own car doesn't even have the mod. they are telling the other person they "need." Things would be pretty boring if all our cars were the same.

I posted the same thing in a thread of mine earlier... thank god someone else feels the same way... I def love the originality... even if what someone else has done isn't your cup of tea, just respect, keep it positive, and keep it moving. One love for all the mod freaks out there.

[dangeris]

when tinting headlights dont use regular tint. you need vinyl. tint has an adhesive that will eat the plastic. i got my tint from lamin-x. good stuff. it is already cut for the headlight. a little time and hot blow dryer just to tuck the edge and your done. 15 minutes for both lights. i had help from my dad. he held the blowdryer. get gloves. blowdryer air burns.lol use a couple latex gloves for your "protection"

You mentioned that you used lamin-x on your headlight and that it is already cut for the headlight. Where can I purchase this product? is it on a website? Does it come in different percentage of tint? Please tell me,....your coupe looks sweet with them. I've always love the frost white coupe but with the lip and painted grill and the lightly tinted headlights, the whole package looks great!

[2brian0]

Well, thanks to your inspiration and my impatience, I just finished modding my turn signal/running lights. Easy mod just time consuming having to take the wheel and inner lining out. I like the look but only two issues. I went to checker and autozone and could only find regular sylvania (should have checked Pepboys) so my bulbs don't have the same color temp. as my HID's. I'll probably order or go to Pepboys to find ones that match but the contrast is kind of growing on me. Second issue is now I have fast blinkers because the wattage isn't the same on the smaller bulbs but that is not a big deal. I know there is a fix for it, just like for led's but I don't know if the fast blinking is that annoying to spend money to fix it.

Thanks again for the original idea, just made my coupe that more unique.Here's some pics.....

[LongBeachCoupe]

Im so happy i know the answer to this... FYI i was in miami for 2 weeks.. and i love this car... anyways...

You need something inline with the bulb.. you are right... like led.. if the wattage is different, the blink rate will be different...

I am going to do the corner lights when i put in my HIDs...

Can you guys give a little more info on whats required for the install? My guy whose putting in the HIDs for me says he wont fool with wiring because he doesnt have patience.. plug and play only... i will be doing it myself...

Im also intested to see what the eyelids will look like with the clear corners, and what the turn signal will show...