erichen

Some pics of my babe in the shop getting a make over...
Wife thinks I spend too much money on her... Everytime I go there, I think of something new to add... it's been there for 2 months.. will get it back soon... miss the convertible so much!
It started with front headlight bulbs, interior bulbs (previous post), and then progressed to AMG brakes... then video upgrade to the COMMAND unit... TV tuner with antenna... and now, all these lights... Have to hide the bill from the wife! haha!
Want to get some opinions on the halo/angel eye light for the big Benz star in the front grill... the pic only shows a temporary light to get an idea. The actual light will be like the angel eye on the BMW but bigger, to be just the size of the size of the Benz Star. Whatcha all think? nuts?
Some will say the blue lights are overdone but you know what, in person, it looks pretty nice. These are spot LED's, quality stuff. Not your neon bulbs for rice rockets!
The AMG tail lights are not mounted. I had them tinted a shade lighter than the center stripe. They will get mounted next week...
If you like it, great. If you hate it, well, at least you got a laugh out of it! I'll post the final pics in a couple weeks when everything is nice and done and the car is detailed up and clean.

erichen

more pics

erichen

more pics

ChrisSL

Great jobbbbb !!!!!!!

Now can you detail more about the NAV/DVD/COMMAND module ? which dvd to nav converter system did you buy ? does it have any more inputs (for a rear view camera ) ? thx.

rrpnow

holy sh|t... that is by far the best pimped out car ive seen... nice work!

rrpnow

also, i wanna see more pics, like at night or something, if you have any!

LAMAY123

I am with your wife on this...you are nuts! How can you spend money on her and not on "Her"....

But the car is gorgeous!

vraa

I am diggin' what you've done so far!
MORE PICTURES!

erichen

Hey guys and gals, thanks for the comps! I'll get more pictures of the finished product next week or a bit later. It will look better with the tinted AMG tail light. Will probably get it back on Sunday, maybe earlier if it rains on Sunday here in L.A. Mother in law flying back to Taiwan on Sat, get to go and pick up car on the way back from LAX maybe...
And rrpnow, will try to get night time pics for the light show! The modules are actually quite cool, they can be programed into 52 different modes or patterns. They are linked to the sound system and will actually light according to the rhythm and beat. THe interior lights go with the treble and the exterior will respond to the bass. There are also pre-programed patterns for flashing them... gets a bit nauseating after a few minutes but what the heck!
Oh and Lamay, don't worry, I spend plenty on the wife to keep her happy and stay out of my car mod business. She's into handbags, ... you should know how that goes! Plus, I am taking her to Tahiti for our honeymoon.. can't complain about the location.
Chris, the NAV video upgrade was done in FL. I'll have to get the name of the shop. The TV tuner and antenna were added by my tuner guy here in San Gabriel Valley. He's really cool. He programed the TV channels to be dispalyed on the instrument cluster where the radio stations and CD tracks are on the tachometer. I was going to put a rear camera on there as well but we couldn't figure out a good place to hide it. The camera units are not that small and don't look that good exposed. The best place is to hide it under the bumper in the AMG tail grill if you have the AMG bumper. CAn't do it on mine because I have the SL bumper with sports package. heck, just gave me another idea, I'll have him drop the bumper and drill me a hole to hide the camera... haha! gotta go make a call tomorrow...
Hey, you all didn't tell me what you think of the halo in the front benz logo...

CY

not sure about the halo, but I put on the AMG lights earlier today...and my car looks INSANE...love them.

glennbaz

Nice car! Your wife will really appreciate it in the divorce settlement!

ChrisSL

VARIOUS REAR VIEW CAMERAS - http://www.mitocorp.com/flash/backupcameras.htm

Please let us know about that NAV-TV module - website/name/contact ! thx a lot !

erichen

haha Glennbaz, she aint gettin' that! over my dead body! She's like the mistress! hhaha! just kidding! Wife's great. She's a car girl. Not crazy like me but into it. In fact, she's the one that introduced me to my tuner guy. He's been working on her family's cars for many years before we met.
And Chris, thanks for the camera link. May do it later if they come out with something different that will fit the SL a bit better... didn't like the designs much except for the license plate one... but I love my UCLA license plate! I won't ditch that!

So Cal Sam

erichen - you are one wild and crazy guy! I'm a stock car (OEM) sort of guy myself but I think the things you are doing to customize are a lot of fun and you seem like you're really enjoying it which is the most important thing. I live in the LA area too - I would love to see your car at night sometime in person.

ColdIntake1

How much were the brakes if you don't mind?

erichen

Thanks SoCalSam, yes, it's really for me to enjoy and sharing it with fellow MB nuts on this forum is part of the fun! When it all gets done, I'll post pics including night time pics. Maybe I'll drive it to one of the MB meets and we can all have fun and laughter as we watch the crazy light show! Maybe we'll attract UFO's!
As for the stock look (OEM), I am down with that too. My tuner/mechanic friend is top notch and will not do anything that looks cheap. He's turned down some of my crazy ideas because they are too "rice!" All of the options I have put into this car electronics wise have been done to look stock. The video upgrade was done with no alternation to the OEM COMMAND. The lights are all hidden and can be turned off when not in use. Even the interior lights can be off. I am not going to use them while driving, dont' want to attract unwanted attention from the CHP. He could have just screwed in the lights to the underbody or panels, but instead he's going the extra distance to disassemble all the panels to recess the lights from the inside and hiding all the wires next to the factory lines. I know I am paying much more for his labor than the parts.. aye! but, we have high standards! We are crazy but we do it tastefully! haha! when the bling blings are not on that is!
The wheels, brakes, and Carlsson lip and Lorinser spoiler are subtle changes to improve the look over stock...
As for the AMG brakes, paid around 3500 for them (calipers and disc), but then had to add another 1000 or 1500 to get SL55 steering arms and bolts and brackets and rotor covers... To quote my tuner, he could have drilled out the bolt holes for the calipers mount on the old SL500 steering arm, but he will not be responsible for the brake failing and breaking off during a hard brake! That "mickey mouse" job can kill you because the bolt for the AMG brakes are much bigger and widening the hole in the arm will leave only like 5 mm of steel around the rim... so, the whole kit mounted probably ended up around $5500-$6000... including tax and labor... haven't gotten the bill yet... But it's a great deal over Brembo's and other AMG prices I have seen. Honestly, I didnt count on them being that expensive. I thought it was going to be $3500 plus labor... But, I like the brakes where they are, not flying away from me on the freeway!

vantage78

I thought I read somewhere that the stock SL500 brakes are 8-pot brembos in the front, rebadged with the Mercedes logo. Is that true, or am I just totally smoking dope?

erichen

I don't know about the stock SL500 brakes but the AMG brakes I got are 8 piston Brembos made for AMG with AMG logo. The rears I think are 4 pistons.

SL%%

erichen. where did you purchase your AMG brakes both front and rear and how much for everything excluding labaor? thanks

erichen

Got my AMG brakes from my tuner/mechanic. I think he ordered them from MB parts directly. They had a special on them for only $3500 at the time (a couple months ago). Labor was extra. But like I mentioned in my previous post on this thread, I ended up having to get new SL55 steering arms and brackets for the larger caliper brakes to fit onto my SL500. Those are around $1000 to $1500... I forgot the exact price. He showed me the stock drill holes and they are tiny compared to the SL 55 AMG brakes bolts. So, shelled out the money to be safe... can skimp money on accessories and decorations, but not on serious stuff like engines and brakes.

ChristianJan

Geez thats beautiful. Can't wait to see it all put together! Good work

ItalianStallion

Amazing job, beautiful car. I have interior blue neons and have really been tempted to go with a blue underglow kit. I also think the glowing star is pretty crazy (as in cool). Great car! The front lip is also a nice touch. Add a supercharger and nitrous kit to it and your car can probably get a scene in fast & furious 3.

erichen

Thanks Italian Stallion. Got pics of your car with the interior glow? Love to see them. My tuner said to remove the spare tire (since it does not fit anymore due to the bigger brakes) and stick nitrous in there... Then just get a supercharger and I can be in FF III... NOT! They'd kick my ***. I need an SL65 to be in that crowd! All the lights are hidden, so mostly the car still looks stock... no crazy paint job or large tail fins!

Bigdot

was it hard/expensive to do the "halo" around me mbz star? i think a red light behind the grill on my SL would look insane at night!!

pm, or just reply.
Mark

erichen

hi RegMongoose, nice pictures! The halo is the Angel eye type of glas tubing light from the BMW's, except it needed to be bigger... The picture I had was shown without the chrome backing and clear refractors tubing. The set cost around $300 for the parts only, might be cheaper depending on what deal my tuner got for me. I had the option of hooking it up to the headlights (cheaper) or have it's own switch (more expensive but can turn off if you want). I chose the switch so as not to attract attention of the CHP here in California. They pull you over for blue lights or red lgihts or whatever lights they don't like! Red in the grill might be nice but not while you are moving in CA, get a ticket! I was going to put blue LED's in there but thought it made it too busy with all the lights I have on that car already... maybe later! He's got the wires in there already... just need my OK to put the tubes in... haha!