as most of yall probably know by now, i have a 100% stock '07 scion tC in black sand pearl (you know, that pearlescent black color that isn't quite dark enough to be black.. drives me nuts lol). unlike many of yall on this forum, i was never deliberately in the car scene, and im here mostly to support my bf paul and help with administrative things

brief background so you know where i'm coming from:
the car does have sadly typical origins of being gifted to me by my parents, but it was against my requests to let me work for my own car. there were a lot of factors that led me to receive the car that i did, how i did, when i did.. but let's just say i didn't ask for a tC and leave it at that. i'm grateful to have the car, i just wouldn't have chosen the car on my own.

ANYWAY, throughout the years the tC has taken a lot of beatings. for 2 full years, my younger sister drove it and abused it (think: cranking up the bass like she had subs, staining the interior with black eyeliner, pulling off the trunk handle, curb rash, etc). i kind of gave up on taking care of the car after that, but i know that i shouldn't let it deterioriate or get worse.

so from now on, i'm going to try to take care of it more, even if i think it's a POS and i don't care for "modding" my own car. this is where yall come in!

i'm not into messing with performance chit on my car bc i'm not concerned about that stuff. i just want it to look a little better than stock, esp because almost every other person on my campus has the same black tc. i walk out to my apt complex's parking lot every day and pause to figure out which one is mine (you'd think i were kidding). so recommend what/how i should change a few cosmetic things to make the thing look less stupid!


what i've been thinkin about today:

1. debadge front grille (heat, fishing line, safe adhesive remover)
2. debadge the "tC" emblem on the back (same as above)
3. take the rear scion emblem off to paint black and put back on
4. tint/smoke out tail lights + third brake light a little. what do yall think: overlays, spray tint, covers, etc?
5. buff the chit out of my headlights bc they are GROSSSS!
6. swap out antenna for s2k one or something similar
7. tint (should i do the same % all around? how dark is best for my needs + looks? blahblah)

i need to start routinely cleaning my car as well. hopefully in the future i can get pwettier wheels too

i do think many cars look better when they're lowered, but knowing that my sister may need to drive the car once in a blue moon, i'm not sure if i'd wanna do that.

this makes MAISA very happy!!! i love it!!! but honestly basics is all you need! debadge/tint/smoked lights/HIDs(which you already got)/ maybe HID fogs and i do agree with the lower the better as you know butttt as you said with your sis driving, NOT EVERYONE CAN DRIVE A DROPPED CAR lol it takes some getting used to..but you can always go with some adjustable coilovers to have it low but not TTOOOOO low! cause unfortunatly springs you get what cha get and after time they actually get lower...cause springs are significantly cheaper! but honestly a good claybar for your paint and routine cleans..and the above mods..you should be golden

trish wrote:

what i've been thinkin about today:

1. debadge front grille (heat, fishing line, safe adhesive remover)
2. debadge the "tC" emblem on the back (same as above)
3. take the rear scion emblem off to paint black and put back on
4. tint/smoke out tail lights + third brake light a little. what do yall think: overlays, spray tint, covers, etc?
5. buff the chit out of my headlights bc they are GROSSSS!
6. swap out antenna for s2k one or something similar
7. tint (should i do the same % all around? how dark is best for my needs + looks? blahblah)

i need to start routinely cleaning my car as well. hopefully in the future i can get pwettier wheels too

i do think many cars look better when they're lowered, but knowing that my sister may need to drive the car once in a blue moon, i'm not sure if i'd wanna do that.

as for the list you have...i think we can do all of that in a weekends babe. but the tail lights thing, ite more of a what you like more thing. the overlay will look cleaner then the niteshade i used on my G. but then you will be covering the whole thing. and thats what the cops dont like. that is the reason why i went with the spray and taped off the part that the lights shines.

and as far as looks goes, i think i like the lower fog lights let sky's car. it makes it look clean and you will have more visibility too

^ yeah.. we'll just have to wait till like late next month to even start :( as for the tail lights, the only thing i'm concerned with when it comes to spray tint is the ease of taking it off if i need to in the future. there are overlays with cutouts, but they are a lot more expensive IN COMPARISON to spray.. hmm

Mase! wrote:

this makes MAISA very happy!!! i love it!!! but honestly basics is all you need! debadge/tint/smoked lights/HIDs(which you already got)/ maybe HID fogs and i do agree with the lower the better as you know butttt as you said with your sis driving, NOT EVERYONE CAN DRIVE A DROPPED CAR lol it takes some getting used to..but you can always go with some adjustable coilovers to have it low but not TTOOOOO low! cause unfortunatly springs you get what cha get and after time they actually get lower...cause springs are significantly cheaper! but honestly a good claybar for your paint and routine cleans..and the above mods..you should be golden

hehe yeah i forgot to mention the bulbs i got, but i may or may not go back to my regular ones when i see paul (left them at his place).. i don't like knowing that i'm blinding oncoming traffic. i guess in the future i want to do HIDs the proper way.

I think if you lower the car, it's like night and day. lower and tint, then detail. shave and paint wheels.

JAYREMIX wrote:

I think if you lower the car, it's like night and day. lower and tint, then detail. shave and paint wheels.

+1 w/ spacers.

I own 2 xBs and my fiance has a 2010 tC. I can help ya with anything you need. I do think the stock grille looks like crap, but there is a place in manasas(sp) VA that makes custom grilles painted almost any color you want. I can post a pic of her front end later today when i am home. i think 4 piece was around 150 bucks.



the other things, are all things you can do pretty cheaply.

She has the trd springs on her car, i have a place where you can get them cheaper, let me know if your interested.

thanks for the info, chiz!!! i'll let you know if i need your help

chiz...how much for them springs??? PM me bro

and why do you need to know more about the trd springs, hmmmmmm babe?

not a big fan of them grills tho..

trish wrote:

and why do you need to know more about the trd springs, hmmmmmm babe?

vroooooooooooooooooooom

just slap a HK sticker on it and you're SET!

Lets turbocharge it!

ummmm NO....lol

Ahhhhhhhh com'on. Boosted applications are my specialty.

I say dont tint the tails, keep it clean with the red tails. Get HID's 6000k?? and 6000k fog lights would be so dope. maybe lowering springs and a lip :DD. Engine bay maybe custom paint the engine cover? cai or sri? simple and clean mods haha.

thanks for the input, son!! yeeeee

x2 with son's post, first work on suspension, then hid's and fogs!

trish wrote:

thanks for the input, son!! yeeeee

anytime I can help (: and Yeeeeeeee hahaha.

yay another scion!
IMO tien s techs. trds springs are not even a drop to me. racelandus.com does make coils for the tc if youre on a budget (329) but you get what you pay for.
and like son says 6000k hids will be sick! vrds fogs look the greatest on the tc IMO.
Fujita CAI is actually been proven for power gains on the tC and xB as i saw charts for it in a magazine a few months ago. and find a trd exhaust.
and go with the RS1 lip, its a clean look! throw on some wheels and spacers and call it a day.

I think Son got it right on the money. And as far as that 4pc grille goes, I think it would look okay if it was painted and not so reflective

I think I have 9005 HIDs in 6000K if anyone wants them, I know these are the low beams on the Scion. Had them for my Civic's high beams but they didn't work very well because of how long they took to heat up and how infrequently I used them... but for low beams or fogs they should work great.

i bought some generic 5000k bulbs, but like i've mentioned before in a diff thread, i wanna do HIDs justice in the near future. projectors and all that jazz.


also, i mentioned that i prob can't drop my car (too much.. or at all? hmm) because my little sister will prob drive it once in a while and i dont trust her hahahaah. we shall see


thanks again for all the suggestions, very helpful

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