zoomie888’s 2002 Toyota RAV4

GARMIN STREETPILOT c320: During my recent trip to Vegas, Alamo offered a GPS systems for rent. $10 a day for a ugly looking cell phone style system. It doesn't matter that it looked so ugly b/c it worked perfectly! I fell in love with the gadget and wanted something for myself....preferably a bit better looking that the Motorola unit they supplied us. (Again, nothing really wrong with it.) After awaking from dreaming about the integrated oem-looking systems like the Pioneer AVIC-D1 and the AVIC-N1 with flip out screen that all cost over $1,000, I looked closer products within my budget of under $400 and decided on this: Cute little gizmo isn't it? Compact and portable. I can see the RPM's at 2,000-5,000 just fine. I don't normally more faster than 85mph, so this works perfectly. REVIEWS: After reading the reviews on the Garmin i3, I knew Garmin was the right product and I was looking in the right direction. Want to read these reviews for yourself? I've narrowed 'em down. Don't go searchin' on google. Save yourself some time and head to these links: http://gpsinformation.us/c320/c320review.html http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007LJHV0/sr=1-1/qid=1139704128/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-6616876-9104766?_encoding=UTF8 http://www.lordpercy.com/streetpilot_c320.htm You can read my other reviews at various sites here: Carreview: http://www.carreview.com/cat/car-audio/navigation/Garmin/PRD_341147_1685crx.aspx#reviews Epinions: (Pending) INTEGRATED OR PORTABLE? Integrated model just looks so much better. I love the oem look, but I hate the price tag of these models. Sure I'd get an integrated DVD player and MP3 player, but I'm not that excited about that and aren't willing to pay the big 4-digit prices. I did find one on ebay for $800...still steep. Portable ended up being a good choice b/c it can easily be moved from car to car. I can let friends and relatives borrow it with ease. The Garmin products are wireless! No more junk on the dash! I love that. The Streetpilot c320 is rechargable so no need for batteries. COMPARISONS: I originally looked at the Garmin Streetpilot i3. It's sold at $265-$300 shipped. The price was very reasonable and within budget. I looked at a lower end model to try to save some money. Discovered an identical one with no color screen. The Garmin StreetPilot i2 was only a bit cheaper at $230-$280. So far the i3 was the better bet. I'm so glad Garmin came out with so many entry level and intermediate models to accomodate all users and their budgets. After looking on craigslist, I found the Garmin Streetpilot c320. Unlike it's predecessors, this model has a new touch screen, larger viewable screen, and rechargable batteries for under $100 more. I paid $350 used. Retail, you'll find this here new at the very cheapest of $379.49 shipped to your door: http://www2.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?ref=mysimon&sku=GRSPC320 If you've found something cheaper, let me know b/c I looked for hours before discovering that site for the lowest price. UPDATE: $251.10 shipped from China on ebay! The seller has only sold 12 things and his electronics are all well over 50% off retail price. Buyer beware! MOUNTING: Being that the screen is quite smaller than the other GPS systems out there (I feel it's the perfect size though and works wonderfully), I didn't want to mount it on the windshield b/c I wouldn't be able to see it as well and pushing the buttons would be impossible. I decided on the mounting it on the center dash before discovering that it fits perfectly in front of the RPM meter. Being that my Rav4 is an automatic, I rarely use the RPM meter anyway. This view is a little higher than how I would normally sit. From the passenger's view you can see how it's mounted by velcro. The unit can be easily removed and quickly locked into the glove compartment for security after exciting the car. I've used this only on one trip so far, but I'm already loving it. The features are great and the price is more than decent. Highly recommended. If you'd like to see how others have mounted their Garmin's on Rav4's, check out the thread at Rav4world.com here: http://rav4world.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1625&start=0 He's fabricated a custom mounting bracket which looks pretty sweet! PAGE 1: Exterior pics and Misc. PAGE 2: Interiors: gauge lights, neons, LED's. PAGE 3: EGR hood deflector pics PAGE 4: Headlight and Foglight bulb upgrades PAGE 5: Undercar Neons PAGE 6: Future modifications PAGE 7: More exterior photos PAGE 8: Remote engine start alarm PAGE 9: Carbon fiber pieces PAGE 10: Air flow management experiment PAGE 11: Koni struts/shocks PAGE 12: Photoshop edited pictures PAGE 13: Scion inspired interior lights PAGE 14: Custom diamond plated stomp pads PAGE 15: New horn! Can you hear me now? PAGE 16: More carbon fiber PAGE 17: Cold Air Intake (CAI) PAGE 18: HID's (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps PAGE 19: Vent Visors PAGE 20: H&R Springs PAGE 21: Talking car mod PAGE 22: Rally Cross Event in Tracy, California PAGE 23: Carbon Fiber mudflap garnish PAGE 24: Carbon Fiber emblem backing PAGE 25: Brake light cover PAGE 26: Radar Detector PAGE 27: GPS Navigator

Carbon Fiber Mudflap garnish I had some left over sheets of carbon fiber from the last time I made the exterior door pillars. After misplacing it for one and a half yrs I finally found the extras! There isn't much left, so after considering a few options I came up with this.... Carbon Fiber Mudflap trimming. I was a bit impatient and instead of making a template like I had with the window pillars, I just placed the cf over the mudflaps and trimmed it, placed it back, trimmed it over and over until it fit. I was a bit off, but hopefully it's not too obvious. PAGE 1: Exterior pics and Misc. PAGE 2: Interiors: gauge lights, neons, LED's. PAGE 3: EGR hood deflector pics PAGE 4: Headlight and Foglight bulb upgrades PAGE 5: Undercar Neons PAGE 6: Future modifications PAGE 7: More exterior photos PAGE 8: Remote engine start alarm PAGE 9: Carbon fiber pieces PAGE 10: Air flow management experiment PAGE 11: Koni struts/shocks PAGE 12: Photoshop edited pictures PAGE 13: Scion inspired interior lights PAGE 14: Custom diamond plated stomp pads PAGE 15: New horn! Can you hear me now? PAGE 16: More carbon fiber PAGE 17: Cold Air Intake (CAI) PAGE 18: HID's (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps PAGE 19: Vent Visors PAGE 20: H&R Springs PAGE 21: Talking car mod PAGE 22: Rally Cross Event in Tracy, California PAGE 23: Carbon Fiber mudflap garnish PAGE 24: Carbon Fiber emblem backing PAGE 25: Brake light cover PAGE 26: Radar Detector PAGE 27: GPS Navigator

Yes, I was eyeing this ebay thing for the longest time and I finally took the plunge and bought the thing. I love it. Get your own by typing in "brake light cover" in ebay and look for this seller: butcher1965. I don't know the guy. But I do know he made this thing to my exact specifications for no additional cost and it arrived in my mailbox in less than 1 week. I got so excited to put this thing on, I kinda did it while it was drizzling. Yes, this is the daytime photo. It doesn't look so hot. But when it hit's dark, get ready.... Yup, that's how it looks. Unfortunately the glare makes it difficult to see from directly behind the car. The closeness of the lettering doesn't really help either, but cars that are approaching me from adjacent lanes can see it as clearly as these photos. So what's USC? No it's not University of Santa Clara. It's University of Spoiled Children....I mean University of Second Choice. No, it's um...uh, University of Southern California. Yes, that's it. They have one of the nation's best undergrad Architecture programs. So is this mod better than a stupid bumper sticker? Hit my guestbook and let me know. PAGE 1: Exterior pics and Misc. PAGE 2: Interiors: gauge lights, neons, LED's. PAGE 3: EGR hood deflector pics PAGE 4: Headlight and Foglight bulb upgrades PAGE 5: Undercar Neons PAGE 6: Future modifications PAGE 7: More exterior photos PAGE 8: Remote engine start alarm PAGE 9: Carbon fiber pieces PAGE 10: Air flow management experiment PAGE 11: Koni struts/shocks PAGE 12: Photoshop edited pictures PAGE 13: Scion inspired interior lights PAGE 14: Custom diamond plated stomp pads PAGE 15: New horn! Can you hear me now? PAGE 16: More carbon fiber PAGE 17: Cold Air Intake (CAI) PAGE 18: HID's (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps PAGE 19: Vent Visors PAGE 20: H&R Springs PAGE 21: Talking car mod PAGE 22: Rally Cross Event in Tracy, California PAGE 23: Carbon Fiber mudflap garnish PAGE 24: Carbon Fiber emblem backing PAGE 25: Brake light cover PAGE 26: Radar Detector PAGE 27: GPS Navigator

Carbon Fiber Emblem Backing I added this little garnish with some extra carbon fiber sheets I had laying around. It's basically exactly what you see. Carbon fiber sheet (0.20mm) slapped behind the emblem of the grille. PAGE 1: Exterior pics and Misc. PAGE 2: Interiors: gauge lights, neons, LED's. PAGE 3: EGR hood deflector pics PAGE 4: Headlight and Foglight bulb upgrades PAGE 5: Undercar Neons PAGE 6: Future modifications PAGE 7: More exterior photos PAGE 8: Remote engine start alarm PAGE 9: Carbon fiber pieces PAGE 10: Air flow management experiment PAGE 11: Koni struts/shocks PAGE 12: Photoshop edited pictures PAGE 13: Scion inspired interior lights PAGE 14: Custom diamond plated stomp pads PAGE 15: New horn! Can you hear me now? PAGE 16: More carbon fiber PAGE 17: Cold Air Intake (CAI) PAGE 18: HID's (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps PAGE 19: Vent Visors PAGE 20: H&R Springs PAGE 21: Talking car mod PAGE 22: Rally Cross Event in Tracy, California PAGE 23: Carbon Fiber mudflap garnish PAGE 24: Carbon Fiber emblem backing PAGE 25: Brake light cover PAGE 26: Radar Detector PAGE 27: GPS Navigator

RADAR DETECTOR: Escort Passport 7500S The seller knew it was sold at $200 at the time he sold it to me. But he still let this $279 product go for $50. I picked it up, installed it and here are the pics: So how does it look like from the front? Pretty stealth eh?....except for the grey wire. I was hoping it would blend into the color of the interior, but unfortunately it's a bit ligher in color. I should have went for black, but got too excited installing it to bother buying a black phone wire. "Hey, where did you get that TRD emblem?...I got mine overseas for $3, but you can get it from ebay for around $7-10. It's just a sticker. At an angle, it's a bit clearer what lies just above the rear view mirror. It barely clears the LED alarm strobe I have installed on there. A look from the inside. It's on auto, but the gadget's sensitivity can be changed to accomodate city or highway driving specifically. Experience for day 1 of using this thing: Everytime a cell phone is used around me or in my car, the gadget goes haywire! I guess it demands occupants of cars to not use their cell phones. Perhaps this is a good thing. FAQ's I've always wanted one of these things but didn't want to pay the high bucks to have one. Check www.craigslist.com for sellers near you! Ebay may also be a good place to buy these items used at big discounts I want one and am ready to buy, but I can't stand having that ugly wire on my dash or hanging from the roof of my car! Hide the wire. Simply mount the radar detector using the provided suction cups and push the wire back into the headliner of the car using a tapped off flat-head screw driver. After you manage to get the wire to the corner of your windshield, you'll need to remove the A-pillar. Believe it or not, it's only held by a couple tabs. Just gently yank the thing and it will come off quite easily. If it's not coming off easily, you're doing it wrong. Find another location to yank. When you've lined the A-pillar with the wire, bring it down to the top of the dash. You will need to remove the fender plastic thingy that is below the steering wheel. There are three screws holding it in place. This instruction is getting a bit long, so for more info check Rav4world for the full tutorial. PAGE 1: Exterior pics and Misc. PAGE 2: Interiors: gauge lights, neons, LED's. PAGE 3: EGR hood deflector pics PAGE 4: Headlight and Foglight bulb upgrades PAGE 5: Undercar Neons PAGE 6: Future modifications PAGE 7: More exterior photos PAGE 8: Remote engine start alarm PAGE 9: Carbon fiber pieces PAGE 10: Air flow management experiment PAGE 11: Koni struts/shocks PAGE 12: Photoshop edited pictures PAGE 13: Scion inspired interior lights PAGE 14: Custom diamond plated stomp pads PAGE 15: New horn! Can you hear me now? PAGE 16: More carbon fiber PAGE 17: Cold Air Intake (CAI) PAGE 18: HID's (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps PAGE 19: Vent Visors PAGE 20: H&R Springs PAGE 21: Talking car mod PAGE 22: Rally Cross Event in Tracy, California PAGE 23: Carbon Fiber mudflap garnish PAGE 24: Carbon Fiber emblem backing PAGE 25: Brake light cover PAGE 26: Radar Detector PAGE 27: GPS Navigator

Snow Photos! Some may argue whether or not the Rav4 was built for these harsh conditions, but either way I've used my rav4 for quite a few trips to the slopes. It hasn't let me down yet. 4wd is awesome! BF Goodrich Traction T/A's were definitely helpful in wet weather. This is after the full day of snowboarding at Sugar Bowl. I'll remember to bring a windshield scraper next time. We had to borrow on from a nice guy at the parking lot. Darn, we forgot to use it for the rear windshield so I took my glove and just ran it across back and forth to rub off the snow. The white glove is now grey. Exactly how dirty is it? It's the dirtiest my car has ever been....ever since 2002 when I got the car. Scalagtites were growing on the under part of the car! Dirt got kicked up from the road and other passing cars. I'm just gunna drive it all dirty for a week before washing it. I know the dirt kinda gets absorbed into the paint and ruins it, but hey....the community needs to see a dirty SUV once in awhile. Too many Hummers around that don't even see anything other than paved street roads in a big city. Yup, even the hood was covered with snow. I'm lucky my windshield wipers were still functioning correctly. The sound going across an icy windshield is not a pleasant sound.

New Car I loved the Rav4, but it wouldn't be worth anything to anyone after 100k miles. Gas mileage at this point after all the mods was around 18mpg...not good. The new car gets over 30mpg on the freeway! I bought this 2005 Mercedes c230 Kompressor used. It was pretty banged up on the outside. After a visit to the autobody shop, it was good as new. Click my member ID to see over 25 pages of photos.

H&R Springs! After my friend encouraged me for 2 yrs to get these springs, the H&R's are finally on the Rav4! Let's see how the ride looked like before. It doesn't look bad. I actually kinda like the stock ride height. Especially since it's a recreational activity vehicle (RAV), the extra ground clearance doesn't hurt when running over random things in the road like bottles and planks of wood suprising me on the highway. Here it is! I'm liking it a lot more than I originally thought I would. I assumed lowering the car would make my wheels look smaller than they already are, but looking at the pics, it doesn't seem that way. Gooood! It's been less than 1 week and I'm still thrilled. The ride is definitely more bumpy that before. I recommend Koni adjustable shocks/struts for any enthusiast. The springs do add better turning ability, but the ride could be more rough than most people would like. So what do you think? Leave me a message in the guestbook. I'd love to hear from ya. WARNING: The glow from the neon kit doesn't look as nice as it used to when the car was higher off the ground. Doesn't blend as well and the tubular shape off the rod is more apparent. I just got curious how it would look if it was dropped superlow. This pic is a photoshop edited version with tinted windows front and back. BEFORE PHOTO (front wheels): This is the measurements of the wheel gap on the FRONT tires before installing the springs. AFTER PHOTO (front wheels): This is the measurements of the wheel gap on the FRONT tires after installing the springs. BEFORE PHOTO (rear wheels): This is the measurements of the wheel gap on the REAR tires before installing the springs. AFTER PHOTO (rear wheels):This is the measurements of the wheel gap on the REAR tires after installing the springs. Here's Ron hard at work helping me compress the stock springs before swapping to the new H&R ones. This mod made possible by Ron. Check out this ride here: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/399984 We have similar mods, but he has a cleaner look while my Rav's got a bit of aggressive offroad attitude. Kinda ironic considering my Rav4's only seen snow while Ron's has endured sand, rocks, mud, water, and other Earthly gunk. Finally got that darn thing off. Would it be fair of me as a observer to say it was a fun project? Thanks again Ron for all the trouble. I really appreciate it. More installation struggles. It doesn't end here. These front springs are huge! Can you tell which one's the H&R and which is stock? Compare the stock and H&R rear springs. They are the same height! Hmmm..... ALIGNMENT: WARNING - ALIGNMENT NEEDED MAJOR ADJUSTMENT. This is the chart of the alignment condition right after installing the springs. Blue means okay and Pink means the alignment exceeds factory specs and needs to be adjusted. The whole rear is way out of wack! If you can read those tiny little numbers in the left and right top corners of the colored boxes, these numbers tell you the range the camber can be in and still be to specification. This is what a camber kit can do for ya! My shop helped me install and align the camber/toe closer to factory specs. If you're out there looking for camber kits to purchase online, forget it. Your shop can attach a universal one like they did with mine: $25. The rears aren't perfect, but they're about .2 degrees off at the most extreme case. The shop guys recommend that I rotate tires front to back every 5,000 miles to save my tires from wearing out too quickly. This alignment ran me $173 (labor and parts included). It was a little more than I was planning to spend, but I'm just glad the ride's realigned and everything's okay now. PAGE 1: Exterior pics and Misc. PAGE 2: Interiors: gauge lights, neons, LED's. PAGE 3: EGR hood deflector pics PAGE 4: Headlight and Foglight bulb upgrades PAGE 5: Undercar Neons PAGE 6: Future modifications PAGE 7: More exterior photos PAGE 8: Remote engine start alarm PAGE 9: Carbon fiber pieces PAGE 10: Air flow management experiment PAGE 11: Koni struts/shocks PAGE 12: Photoshop edited pictures PAGE 13: Scion inspired interior lights PAGE 14: Custom diamond plated stomp pads PAGE 15: New horn! Can you hear me now? PAGE 16: More carbon fiber PAGE 17: Cold Air Intake (CAI) PAGE 18: HID's (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps PAGE 19: Vent Visors PAGE 20: H&R Springs PAGE 21: Talking car mod PAGE 22: Rally Cross Event in Tracy, California PAGE 23: Carbon Fiber mudflap garnish PAGE 24: Carbon Fiber emblem backing PAGE 25: Brake light cover PAGE 26: Radar Detector PAGE 27: GPS Navigator

Rally Cross "Oh my gosh, this freak kept his writeband!" Thanks to "Slayer" from Rav4world.com, we've set up the first Norcal Rav4 Meet. It was held on Sunday, November 6th 2005. With helmet in hand, we headed to Tracy for the last Rally Cross event of the season. This would be my first time racing the Rav4 anywhere other than the streets and getting beat by Audi A4's, Acura Integra's and Scion XB's. After downloading a bunch of rallycross videos online, I was ready! BEFORE THE EVENT: We're all pretty excited and I don't think I'm the only one who can't stop talking about taking our Rav4's to a race where we're almost sure to come in last place. It should be fun and we'll take lots of photos. Hopefully everyone will be safe and we get plenty of dirt and maybe some mud on our cars. Them Subaru's better watch out. Make way for our SUV's! DAY OF THE EVENT: Partying 'til 2:00am the evening before, I was hardly ready to wake up by 6am in time for our meeting at 7am. I made it to the meeting spot at 7:30am (30 min late). Thanks guys for waiting for me! And so sorry to keep you guys drooling over McDonalds. I hope you enjoyed your pancakes and McMuffins. Apparently the helmet I brought wasn't approved b/c it was too old and didn't pass current regulations even though it was labeled SNELL and DOT (Department of Transportation). I borrowed one. There were plenty. You'll see Ron's goofy orange one in the photos. He won the best time by the way. Next time I get the good luck helmet! it must be the sweat soaking in. Here's a bit of the track. The track was definitely longer than most people expected. Apparently last time they had something like this, the track was much shorter and there were less people. Gosh there were tons of people. 93 participants. And here we are at the before-driving meeting to let everyone know the rules, regulations and operation. How about a little parade? Reg and Ron getting to know the track. This might be important so you dont' miss turns. I missed turns anyway. Ugh. Fellas watch out! Miriam's speeding through! She definitely started beating her times between the 1st and 4th runs! Good stuff! Congrats on our first Rally Cross! Ron beat me by almost 10 seconds! How did he do that? What's up with your 2WD? Guess you're just an awesome driver. Teach me how to complete this under 110 seconds. Here's me going through the tracks. Yes, I took off that spare tire cover and now my tires are pretty dirty! Gotta have the famous Rav4 meet-type photos...all lined up. This is a bit bring, but here it is anyway. Like the scenery? How about another view. This one's a bit more interesting. My car's way in the back though. Miriam doesn't yet have a site, so here's a close-up of her Rav4. Let's try spicing up the configuration. Here's a little treat. I'm loving this one! Liking the angle? AFTER THE EVENT: MY TIMES: (4 runs total) 119.583 seconds (knocked down 0 cones) Gotta have some music. There's no radio reception, so I popped in my favorite Korean CD, Baby Vox. I'm running in 4th gear the whole way through. 118.916 seconds (knocked down 0 cones) Trying something a bit different but keeping the music on, I slipped into 2nd gear during the whole run. I couldn't reach high speeds during the last straightaway....maybe we need that 4th gear after all! 115.581 seconds (DNF - Did Not Finish, I missed a turn!) Darn, I missed a turn???? Stupid cones aren't clearly marked...or I'm blind. Music was turned off for this run. I was thinking I needed to concentrate more, but my time just increased! I accidentally slipped from gear 2 to Neutral and revved towards the end of the run w/o moving an inch. I made a friend out there on the track and he recommended the famous e-brake drift turn. It spun my tail around, but ended up slowing me down. I spoke with the Champion and he said the same thing. 120.415 seconds (DNF - Did Not Finish, I missed the same turn!)I had to go in reverse for this one!...I couldn't cut the turn sharp enough and it was either hit the cone, or back up. After thinking for too long, I pushed to reverse and drove out. Darn. CONCLUSION: - I'm definitely doing this again! - I'm starting to care less about the neon lights and crazy fun stuff and thinking more about performance parts more than ever. - Glad I have sports suspension. - It was a blast and we need to have more Rav4's and yes, CRV's out there next time! - Sharing helmets might make your head itch. - Girls can race! - 200,000 miles cars can still run, but sometimes they spew out white and blue smoke! - Old fellas race mini coopers too! Every great day has to end. My little Rav4 was being followed by an aggressive good-looking beast! It's none other than: "Slayer" PAGE 1: Exterior pics and Misc. PAGE 2: Interiors: gauge lights, neons, LED's. PAGE 3: EGR hood deflector pics PAGE 4: Headlight and Foglight bulb upgrades PAGE 5: Undercar Neons PAGE 6: Future modifications PAGE 7: More exterior photos PAGE 8: Remote engine start alarm PAGE 9: Carbon fiber pieces PAGE 10: Air flow management experiment PAGE 11: Koni struts/shocks PAGE 12: Photoshop edited pictures PAGE 13: Scion inspired interior lights PAGE 14: Custom diamond plated stomp pads PAGE 15: New horn! Can you hear me now? PAGE 16: More carbon fiber PAGE 17: Cold Air Intake (CAI) PAGE 18: HID's (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps PAGE 19: Vent Visors PAGE 20: H&R Springs PAGE 21: Talking car mod PAGE 22: Rally Cross Event in Tracy, California PAGE 23: Carbon Fiber mudflap garnish PAGE 24: Carbon Fiber emblem backing PAGE 25: Brake light cover PAGE 26: Radar Detector PAGE 27: GPS Navigator

H&R Springs! After my friend encouraged me for 2 yrs to get these springs, the H&R's are finally on the Rav4! Let's see how the ride looked like before. It doesn't look bad. I actually kinda like the stock ride height. Especially since it's a recreational activity vehicle (RAV), the extra ground clearance doesn't hurt when running over random things in the road like bottles and planks of wood suprising me on the highway. Here it is! I'm liking it a lot more than I originally thought I would. I assumed lowering the car would make my wheels look smaller than they already are, but looking at the pics, it doesn't seem that way. Gooood! It's been less than 1 week and I'm still thrilled. The ride is definitely more bumpy that before. I recommend Koni adjustable shocks/struts for any enthusiast. The springs do add better turning ability, but the ride could be more rough than most people would like. So what do you think? Leave me a message in the guestbook. I'd love to hear from ya. WARNING: The glow from the neon kit doesn't look as nice as it used to when the car was higher off the ground. Doesn't blend as well and the tubular shape off the rod is more apparent. I just got curious how it would look if it was dropped superlow. This pic is a photoshop edited version with tinted windows front and back. BEFORE PHOTO (front wheels): This is the measurements of the wheel gap on the FRONT tires before installing the springs. AFTER PHOTO (front wheels): This is the measurements of the wheel gap on the FRONT tires after installing the springs. BEFORE PHOTO (rear wheels): This is the measurements of the wheel gap on the REAR tires before installing the springs. AFTER PHOTO (rear wheels):This is the measurements of the wheel gap on the REAR tires after installing the springs. Here's Ron hard at work helping me compress the stock springs before swapping to the new H&R ones. This mod made possible by Ron. Check out this ride here: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/399984 We have similar mods, but he has a cleaner look while my Rav's got a bit of aggressive offroad attitude. Kinda ironic considering my Rav4's only seen snow while Ron's has endured sand, rocks, mud, water, and other Earthly gunk. Finally got that darn thing off. Would it be fair of me as a observer to say it was a fun project? Thanks again Ron for all the trouble. I really appreciate it. More installation struggles. It doesn't end here. These front springs are huge! Can you tell which one's the H&R and which is stock? Compare the stock and H&R rear springs. They are the same height! Hmmm..... ALIGNMENT: WARNING - ALIGNMENT NEEDED MAJOR ADJUSTMENT. This is the chart of the alignment condition right after installing the springs. Blue means okay and Pink means the alignment exceeds factory specs and needs to be adjusted. The whole rear is way out of wack! If you can read those tiny little numbers in the left and right top corners of the colored boxes, these numbers tell you the range the camber can be in and still be to specification. This is what a camber kit can do for ya! My shop helped me install and align the camber/toe closer to factory specs. If you're out there looking for camber kits to purchase online, forget it. Your shop can attach a universal one like they did with mine: $25. The rears aren't perfect, but they're about .2 degrees off at the most extreme case. The shop guys recommend that I rotate tires front to back every 5,000 miles to save my tires from wearing out too quickly. This alignment ran me $173 (labor and parts included). It was a little more than I was planning to spend, but I'm just glad the ride's realigned and everything's okay now. PAGE 1: Exterior pics and Misc. PAGE 2: Interiors: gauge lights, neons, LED's. PAGE 3: EGR hood deflector pics PAGE 4: Headlight and Foglight bulb upgrades PAGE 5: Undercar Neons PAGE 6: Future modifications PAGE 7: More exterior photos PAGE 8: Remote engine start alarm PAGE 9: Carbon fiber pieces PAGE 10: Air flow management experiment PAGE 11: Koni struts/shocks PAGE 12: Photoshop edited pictures PAGE 13: Scion inspired interior lights PAGE 14: Custom diamond plated stomp pads PAGE 15: New horn! Can you hear me now? PAGE 16: More carbon fiber PAGE 17: Cold Air Intake (CAI) PAGE 18: HID's (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps PAGE 19: Vent Visors PAGE 20: H&R Springs PAGE 21: Talking car mod PAGE 22: Rally Cross Event in Tracy, California PAGE 23: Carbon Fiber mudflap garnish PAGE 24: Carbon Fiber emblem backing PAGE 25: Brake light cover PAGE 26: Radar Detector PAGE 27: GPS Navigator

TALKING CAR! I've always loved Knight Rider, so this mod was a "must-have" when I saw it available on ebay for under $65 after shipping. You must've heard police cars use public announcement systems that sound like a bull horn. The rav4 now does almost the same thing. Not quite as loud, but still audible by pedestrians down the street. The location of the speaker you see here did not work very well. After seeing this photo, the ebay seller told me that it creates a muffled sound when it's so far back away from the grille. I've since placed it closer to the front end of the car in front of the fuse box (wish me luck accessing the fuse box) and the loudspeaker works great! It's about 7 times louder than before. I guess I may not need a second speaker....hmmmm. This car accessory is much too illegal to show off to any curious eyes that happen to fall upon the interior of the car, so the placement of this microphone was only done for the photo. It's normally either unplugged and kept away or strung along and hidden under the arm rest. UPDATE: I've located a new place to put the microphone! I'm sure my passengers are more excited to have access to it now than I am. The stealth look would be a bit more effective if I drilled a hole to hide the wiring, but I didn't feel like ripping up my car again. So far all the mods can be reversed and returned to stock (except for the 2 holes I already drilled for the LED cupholder lights). With this new location cops and parents will have a harder time locating this gizmo. Here's a closer look of the buttons and other functions. Yes, this little machine makes songs and crazy sounds you've never heard coming from a car. There's even animals sounds. And why would you want that?? When you go to ebay to get your own accessory, you'll find this picture. It's from here: http://www.cogapa.com/ Buy it on ebay from a great seller who ships incredibly quickly. It arrived to my doorstep in 2 days! The seller's ID is extreme-offroadcom. Find him here: http://stores.ebay.com/EXTREME-OFFROAD I believe they are still available for around $65 including shipping. You may visit their website directly at Myautopa.com INSTALLATION: You guys will ask about this, so here it goes. My car already has undercar neons so my shop had already drilled a hole in the floorboard of where the driver sits. This 3/16" hole was used to connect wires from the neons under the car to a switch located near the side mirror adjustment panel. I used this same hole to navigate a wire coming from the hood where the speaker was mounted, into the car. The wire feeds up through the floorboard, under the carpet and into the cavity behind the cupholders. That's where I hide all my wiring. Source of electricity comes from the cigarette lighter. I was too lazy to hardwire it to the battery. The kit comes with all available wiring to hook up to an alarm if you choose to do it. For those who opt to get this mod yourself, enjoy! But remember to place the speaker as close to the front end of the car as possible. The hood insulator will muffle any sounds that are created from the center of the engine bay. For $65 what more do you want? I visited websites where cops order their equipment from and these instruments cost around $250. Coga's a great alternative. PAGE 1: Exterior pics and Misc. PAGE 2: Interiors: gauge lights, neons, LED's. PAGE 3: EGR hood deflector pics PAGE 4: Headlight and Foglight bulb upgrades PAGE 5: Undercar Neons PAGE 6: Future modifications PAGE 7: More exterior photos PAGE 8: Remote engine start alarm PAGE 9: Carbon fiber pieces PAGE 10: Air flow management experiment PAGE 11: Koni struts/shocks PAGE 12: Photoshop edited pictures PAGE 13: Scion inspired interior lights PAGE 14: Custom diamond plated stomp pads PAGE 15: New horn! Can you hear me now? PAGE 16: More carbon fiber PAGE 17: Cold Air Intake (CAI) PAGE 18: HID's (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps PAGE 19: Vent Visors PAGE 20: H&R Springs PAGE 21: Talking car mod PAGE 22: Rally Cross Event in Tracy, California PAGE 23: Carbon Fiber mudflap garnish PAGE 24: Carbon Fiber emblem backing PAGE 25: Brake light cover PAGE 26: Radar Detector PAGE 27: GPS Navigator

New Horn installation Two 138 decibel replacement horns purchased from Kragen Auto (local auto accessories and equipment shop) These things are supposedly twice the loudness of the stock ones we have. NOTE: Often times you will see that there is a low note and high note horn available. I grabbed one of each rather than 2 of the same kind. I found that this was common in the other replacement tutorials I found online that people did on their cars. The low tone is loud, but it's not as irritating as the high one. First you'll need to take off the bumper. Find tutorials here: http://www.compact4wd.com/rav4oz/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=631&SearchTerms=horn,emil http://rav4world.com/tsb/BO009-01.pdf These two prongs are definitely a pain to remove: TIP: The peice that these prongs secure to the car should come off VERY VERY VERY easily. If you find yourself PRYING aggressive, you will break the prongs like I did and your car will look hideous. Pry slowly and softly just enough so that you can poke the tabs that secure it. Use a tool like this to poke at each prong: TIP: There are two hidden screws that you'll need to remove before you can take off the bumper! They are located under the fender guards accessible from the wheel well. To fit your philips screw driver to remove the screws, you will have to turn your tires in one direction to give yourself clearance. Once you get that @#$@#$ off, the rest is easy. I'm not much of a car guy and even I did it. So any of you who attempt a bumper removal should do just fine. The whole project took me 2 hrs but if I were to do it again, I think I could hit it in about 30-45 minutes. This is how your front end will look like naked: The above pictures shows a much larger new horn on the right compared to the stock one on the left. Below you'll see a clearer comparison. From this perspective the difference is even more extreme: FAQ #1: Q: Do I need to unplug the battery before playing with these horn wires? A: No. FAQ #2: Q: Was the wiring tough to do? A: If you can read, you can do it. There's no need for crimping, splicing or anything. Installation is plug and play. Here they are mounted: A little closer look: $32.36 and 2 hrs later, I now have a new improved horn! I'm more proud of my installation than I am excited about the louder sound. If you like doing stuff just to know that you can and to have something a little different, this may be the way to go. If you're only in it for a louder better sound, you may want to try something else. I am not as happy with the new loudness than I had originally hoped. Good luck if you decide to do it. UPDATE: Reactions I got from the horn. "Whoa, that's loud." "It's like a truck!" Pedestrian after jaywalking turns back after getting honked at as if he got hit by a gust of wind. Immediately after installing the horn, I tested it and found that the sound was definitely a lot louder than stock. But after awhile and honking from inside the closed cabin of the car, the sound deadens a bit and doesn't seem nearly as loud as when I first installed it. But that's impossible, so I'm definitely getting desensitized by honking so much. I recommend the horn for someone who wants something fun to do over an afternoon and would like to see some change in their car. Remember that it only costs $33!...or less if you can find the horns for cheaper. I hear PIAA makes horns too, but they're about $50 a pop. I'd love to hear one of those! PAGE 1: Exterior pics and Misc. PAGE 2: Interiors: gauge lights, neons, LED's. PAGE 3: EGR hood deflector pics PAGE 4: Headlight and Foglight bulb upgrades PAGE 5: Undercar Neons PAGE 6: Future modifications PAGE 7: More exterior photos PAGE 8: Remote engine start alarm PAGE 9: Carbon fiber pieces PAGE 10: Air flow management experiment PAGE 11: Koni struts/shocks PAGE 12: Photoshop edited pictures PAGE 13: Scion inspired interior lights PAGE 14: Custom diamond plated stomp pads PAGE 15: New horn! Can you hear me now? PAGE 16: More carbon fiber PAGE 17: Cold Air Intake (CAI) PAGE 18: HID's (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps PAGE 19: Vent Visors PAGE 20: H&R Springs PAGE 21: Talking car mod PAGE 22: Rally Cross Event in Tracy, California PAGE 23: Carbon Fiber mudflap garnish PAGE 24: Carbon Fiber emblem backing PAGE 25: Brake light cover PAGE 26: Radar Detector PAGE 27: GPS Navigator

New Cold Air Intake This is something I've wanted since the Weapon R short ram intake came out for the '01 Toyota Rav4's 2 years ago. My good friend Ron helped me install the celica GTS intake which I purchased from ebay for a pretty good price. Quality of the tube however is horrible. It cut through like butter. Be warned: A nasty hollow sound is created when air runs through it. The gauge of the metal simply isn't thick enough. Ron8818 was nice enough to put this thing together for me today. Look at the big mess we made. Nice shoes Ron!This was before we dug deep and Ron got the filter down deeper in the engine bay behind the foglight. After some fudgeting, the filter's finally in place down where it should be. (Sorry no pics) Just imagine that the filter disappeared into the bumper. Dying for a closer look? I've since replaced the ebay CAI filter with a genuine K&N cone filter. It's the RC-2600 model from AJUSA.com. You can also purchase K&N filters through cardomain.com which has great prices too. Shipping and Handling is FREE and there's NO tax! Comparing Ebay filter w/ K&N filter There are subtle yet, noticable differences between the two. Drivers that are very conscious about the performance of their car will see the improvements the K&N brings to the induction system. Acceleration is much smoother especially beyond the 3000rpm mark. The sound is pretty much the same. I have yet to test miles per gallon efficiency. The cost of the new filter was under $35. There are 3 available universal filters that fit the 2-7/8" tube dimension. As much as I appreciate Ron for his help, my new best friend is none other than the low deep tone produced by this wonderful intake. I noticed no difference in RPM until I reached about 72 mph. At that point the RPM didn't shoot upwards significantly like it would normally do with the stock airbox. I suppose this means that if I drive faster tha 72 mph, I'm actually saving gas! The intake definitely makes driving more fun! UPDATE: After a day and 50 miles of driving I've noticed: 1. Car is more quiet at idle. (Less engine sound and less vibration throughout the cabin) 2. More responsive. Car moves more quickly after depressing the gas pedal. 3. Car coasts more freely and doesn't slow down as apruptly as it did with the K&N drop in filter installed. 4. Increase in gas mileage! Prior to the installation of the intake I was getting 260 miles per tank before the orange light would come up. After the CAI installation, I don't see the orange light until my mileage has hit 300! That's 40 more miles! Amazing. (uh-oh. I think that increase in gas mileage was temperary. My second tank of gas only lasted 240 miles!) UPDATE: After a few tanks of gas, I've noticed: 1. Gas mileage is improved quite significantly on highways. I get 300-315 miles per tank. Street driving however gives me about 240-260 miles before I should really fill up. These numbers may not be accurate though b/c I found that after my gas warning light went on, I can drive my car another at least 25 miles before I need to get gas. 2. When the engine turns off, the cheapo intake which saws in half like plastic makes a very hollow sound as the air is rushing through it. The sound is nasty. 3. Sounds great at pretty much full throttle. 4. I'm still think there is less vibration in the cabin and less noise at idle. That might just be in my head though. TIP: GET YOUR ECU RESET AFTER ANY ENGINE MODIFICATIONS! This is what the cops DON'T see. PAGE 1: Exterior pics and Misc. PAGE 2: Interiors: gauge lights, neons, LED's. PAGE 3: EGR hood deflector pics PAGE 4: Headlight and Foglight bulb upgrades PAGE 5: Undercar Neons PAGE 6: Future modifications PAGE 7: More exterior photos PAGE 8: Remote engine start alarm PAGE 9: Carbon fiber pieces PAGE 10: Air flow management experiment PAGE 11: Koni struts/shocks PAGE 12: Photoshop edited pictures PAGE 13: Scion inspired interior lights PAGE 14: Custom diamond plated stomp pads PAGE 15: New horn! Can you hear me now? PAGE 16: More carbon fiber PAGE 17: Cold Air Intake (CAI) PAGE 18: HID's (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps PAGE 19: Vent Visors PAGE 20: H&R Springs PAGE 21: Talking car mod PAGE 22: Rally Cross Event in Tracy, California PAGE 23: Carbon Fiber mudflap garnish PAGE 24: Carbon Fiber emblem backing PAGE 25: Brake light cover PAGE 26: Radar Detector PAGE 27: GPS Navigator

HID's! You all remember Steve w/the BMW projection headlights right? Well, that buddy of mine hooked me up with his old HID kit and here it is! Transaction went very smoothly. If Steve's got other stuff to sell that you guys want to buy, he's the best! It arrived as if it were new. And he even gave me tips on where to place the ballasts and everything. Couldn't have been better. Thanks Steve!!!! The clear line cutoff that HID's are so famous for. After the HID's have been installed. Lighting up the road. This photo doesn't do the HID's justice. It looks a lot better in real life. Sorry I don't have a before photo. I got so excited about the kit that I installed it the same day it came in the mail. It took forever to figure a place to hide all the wiring...or at least make it clean and not interupt the operation of the car. No one wants ballasts falling into the belts! Steve gave great tips on everything. Good stuff. Thanks again. Can you say glare? Hopefully it doesn't look this bad to other oncoming drivers. I may have to realign the headlights to reduce the glare. I'll be doing that soon. So far two cops have passed me in the opposing side of traffic and have not pulled me over. HID's are good! UPDATE: I checked the alignment and it's within limits. This is how you do it: Face your car towards a wall 20ft away from it. The cutoff line should be equal in height to the height of the installed bulbs. Any higher creates glare and needs to be adjusted. The headlights w/HID's appear blue because the bulbs are still warming up. It takes about 30 seconds to adjust and turn white. This is the BEFORE picture. Nokya's for headlights and foglights. PAGE 1: Exterior pics and Misc. PAGE 2: Interiors: gauge lights, neons, LED's. PAGE 3: EGR hood deflector pics PAGE 4: Headlight and Foglight bulb upgrades PAGE 5: Undercar Neons PAGE 6: Future modifications PAGE 7: More exterior photos PAGE 8: Remote engine start alarm PAGE 9: Carbon fiber pieces PAGE 10: Air flow management experiment PAGE 11: Koni struts/shocks PAGE 12: Photoshop edited pictures PAGE 13: Scion inspired interior lights PAGE 14: Custom diamond plated stomp pads PAGE 15: New horn! Can you hear me now? PAGE 16: More carbon fiber PAGE 17: Cold Air Intake (CAI) PAGE 18: HID's (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps PAGE 19: Vent Visors PAGE 20: H&R Springs PAGE 21: Talking car mod PAGE 22: Rally Cross Event in Tracy, California PAGE 23: Carbon Fiber mudflap garnish PAGE 24: Carbon Fiber emblem backing PAGE 25: Brake light cover PAGE 26: Radar Detector PAGE 27: GPS Navigator

I figure an SUV deserves an aggressive look more so than the cars you see these diamond plated stomp pads in at the import car shows. I bought these plates from ebay for $5.40 a peice cut up my carpets and now we have these! This is it with context to the rest of the car. Sorry the pic is so dark. But at least you see the lit up pads. A little zoomed in! The black border you see there is actually the underside of the carpet. I used the scrap peices to blend the pad with the carpet. Here you see the pair together! I don't like how the shape of the neon rod is so visible. It's a bit blinding and I also prefer the faded look. If I were to do this over, I would make a rectangular shaped pad at the forward portion of the carpet rather than putting the stomp square in the middle of the carpet. If you want to go ahead and do this mod, I recommend that. The square looks a little funny. What do you think? Give me some feedback in the guestbooks page. Thanks! PAGE 1: Exterior pics and Misc. PAGE 2: Interiors: gauge lights, neons, LED's. PAGE 3: EGR hood deflector pics PAGE 4: Headlight and Foglight bulb upgrades PAGE 5: Undercar Neons PAGE 6: Future modifications PAGE 7: More exterior photos PAGE 8: Remote engine start alarm PAGE 9: Carbon fiber pieces PAGE 10: Air flow management experiment PAGE 11: Koni struts/shocks PAGE 12: Photoshop edited pictures PAGE 13: Scion inspired interior lights PAGE 14: Custom diamond plated stomp pads PAGE 15: New horn! Can you hear me now? PAGE 16: More carbon fiber PAGE 17: Cold Air Intake (CAI) PAGE 18: HID's (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps PAGE 19: Vent Visors PAGE 20: H&R Springs PAGE 21: Talking car mod PAGE 22: Rally Cross Event in Tracy, California PAGE 23: Carbon Fiber mudflap garnish PAGE 24: Carbon Fiber emblem backing PAGE 25: Brake light cover PAGE 26: Radar Detector PAGE 27: GPS Navigator

Carbon Fiber guards These real carbon fiber peices are meant to be used as door guards, but given that my car is silver and black peices would offer too much contrast on the side panels of the car, I opted to stick 'em on the side mirrors. Genuine Japanese product. No, they're not signal mirrors. And no, this accessory does not offer much functionality. But I suppose if a car or person accidentally or purposefully hit my side mirrors at just the right point, these carbon peices would save me from some scratches and dents. A little zoomed out. A little closer. This is how other cars'll see mine in their rear view mirror. I hate the blue tint of my headlights from the bulbs I have. Ugh. As a whole. Another angle. Close enough to almost taste the carbon. PAGE 1: Exterior pics and Misc. PAGE 2: Interiors: gauge lights, neons, LED's. PAGE 3: EGR hood deflector pics PAGE 4: Headlight and Foglight bulb upgrades PAGE 5: Undercar Neons PAGE 6: Future modifications PAGE 7: More exterior photos PAGE 8: Remote engine start alarm PAGE 9: Carbon fiber pieces PAGE 10: Air flow management experiment PAGE 11: Koni struts/shocks PAGE 12: Photoshop edited pictures PAGE 13: Scion inspired interior lights PAGE 14: Custom diamond plated stomp pads PAGE 15: New horn! Can you hear me now? PAGE 16: More carbon fiber PAGE 17: Cold Air Intake (CAI) PAGE 18: HID's (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps PAGE 19: Vent Visors PAGE 20: H&R Springs PAGE 21: Talking car mod PAGE 22: Rally Cross Event in Tracy, California PAGE 23: Carbon Fiber mudflap garnish PAGE 24: Carbon Fiber emblem backing PAGE 25: Brake light cover PAGE 26: Radar Detector PAGE 27: GPS Navigator

Most of you know how Koni shocks and struts look like. Basically, they look the same as the stock parts you already have except Koni's are yellow. Chimchim has been very helpful talking me through my concerns and questions about the Koni's. He has 'em too. Check out his site at: http://www.chimchim.net/rav4/ I've been wanting the Koni's for probably 2-3 months. So it wasn't all that long. I recently saw a full Koni suspension set on ebay selling for a great price. The seller was very nice and packaged the parts very well! I commend him and would not have done it better myself. He's having a baby soon. So good luck! WORRIES ABOUT KONI SUSPENSION: - Everyone says it's such a rough ride and comfort level is compromised. In terms of comfort, it doesn't bother me at all. My usual passengers noticed the difference right away. Maybe it's only b/c I took turns a bit sharper. - I had no idea if stock oem springs would be okay with the new performance struts/shocks. After speaking with mechanics and toyota technicians, I've concluded that it is okay to have that setup. Stiffer springs aren't completely necessary. - Price of installation varied from $150-$400 without alignment. You will definitely need alignment. No joke. THE GOOD STUFF: - Car feels solid and can take turns much faster and sharper than the with the stock setup. - The front end diving due to braking before a stop is very minimal. The reverse is true from stop to go. The car no longer leans backwards before moving forward. - Koni's are advertised to last the lifetime of the car. So like the K&N air filter, I hope these mod parts will actually save me money in the long run. THE BAD STUFF: - The car sits up higher than with the stock setup. The Koni inserts for the front shocks come out of the housing over 1". This translates to a higher ride height. I don't like it. Update 8/29/04: After making a side by side comparison of my car with the struts next to an identical 4wd one just like mine, the cars appear to be the exact same height. It turns out the struts didn't make the ride height taller at all. I still wonder why I initially thought it did. Hmm..... If you have questions, comments or observations, please leave a note in the guestbook. Thanks for looking. PAGE 1: Exterior pics and Misc. PAGE 2: Interiors: gauge lights, neons, LED's. PAGE 3: EGR hood deflector pics PAGE 4: Headlight and Foglight bulb upgrades PAGE 5: Undercar Neons PAGE 6: Future modifications PAGE 7: More exterior photos PAGE 8: Remote engine start alarm PAGE 9: Carbon fiber pieces PAGE 10: Air flow management experiment PAGE 11: Koni struts/shocks PAGE 12: Photoshop edited pictures PAGE 13: Scion inspired interior lights PAGE 14: Custom diamond plated stomp pads PAGE 15: New horn! Can you hear me now? PAGE 16: More carbon fiber PAGE 17: Cold Air Intake (CAI) PAGE 18: HID's (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps PAGE 19: Vent Visors PAGE 20: H&R Springs PAGE 21: Talking car mod PAGE 22: Rally Cross Event in Tracy, California PAGE 23: Carbon Fiber mudflap garnish PAGE 24: Carbon Fiber emblem backing PAGE 25: Brake light cover PAGE 26: Radar Detector PAGE 27: GPS Navigator

After seeing a bunch of Photoshop edited pictures, I thought I'd give it a try. What'd you think? Leave all your comments in the guestbook. My favorite rims don't look as good as I thought they would. Double 5-spoke gunmetal with polished deepdish lip. This is the original picture. Here's the Rav4 in a parking lot on my first day of paintballing. I've always loved the grey. Wondering how it looks in red. Have you seen a red rav4 stationed at a fire house? It's somewhere online. Don't know where it is, but it looks lots brighter than this guy. Green's a funky color! Blends in with the environment doesn't it? If only I had a switch that could change the car color on command. How wouldn't that be something? PAGE 1: Exterior pics and Misc. PAGE 2: Interiors: gauge lights, neons, LED's. PAGE 3: EGR hood deflector pics PAGE 4: Headlight and Foglight bulb upgrades PAGE 5: Undercar Neons PAGE 6: Future modifications PAGE 7: More exterior photos PAGE 8: Remote engine start alarm PAGE 9: Carbon fiber pieces PAGE 10: Air flow management experiment PAGE 11: Koni struts/shocks PAGE 12: Photoshop edited pictures PAGE 13: Scion inspired interior lights PAGE 14: Custom diamond plated stomp pads PAGE 15: New horn! Can you hear me now? PAGE 16: More carbon fiber PAGE 17: Cold Air Intake (CAI) PAGE 18: HID's (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps PAGE 19: Vent Visors PAGE 20: H&R Springs PAGE 21: Talking car mod PAGE 22: Rally Cross Event in Tracy, California PAGE 23: Carbon Fiber mudflap garnish PAGE 24: Carbon Fiber emblem backing PAGE 25: Brake light cover PAGE 26: Radar Detector PAGE 27: GPS Navigator

Lighted cupholders inspired by Scion. My friend got a Scion not too long ago and after looking through the brochure and seeing this mod, I wanted it. It's been on my mind for awhile and now it's finally done. I know a few of you will ask how you can have this too, so I took some time to describe the setup. Email any questions to smirky888@yahoo.com Toyota charges over $200 for this mod. You can have yours for under $30. It took me about 1hr and 30minutes. See below. MATERIALS YOU WILL NEED: - philip screw driver - alien wrench - LED lights with a cigarette adapter. Similar to this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dllViewItem&rd=1&item=7935546458&category=33695&sspagename=WDVW I personally prefer red, but blue was the only one I could find. Target stores has a pair for $10 in the automotive section. - cigarette lighter splitter: $12-15 Grab something similar to this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15329&item=7936075047&rd=1 NOT THIS: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dllViewItem&category=1498&item=5733504136&rd=1 because it's too hard to hide. You don't want a big chunky thing visible on your car. - drill - drill bit the size of the head of the LED. - permanent pen HOW TO: 1. Locate your cigarette lighter next to your emergency hand brake. 2. Plug your cigarette splitter into this. 3. Using your philips screw driver, remove this grey foot panel near your passenger side. This is where you will hide your splitter so it wont' be visible. The area looks like this: 4. Using your alien wrench remove the gear shift cover. This will expose the cupholders. Don't lose those 4 bolts. Toyota will charge you a bundle to replace any lost ones. 5. Grab your permanent pen and mark the side of each cupholder where you will later be drilling a hole. The idea is that you will later mount the LED's to shoot through this hole into the cup holder space. NOTE: Some of you will be tempted to drill the hole straight down the center of the cup holder knowing that it will light up the water much better. However, I recommend NOT doing this because if any liquid spills, it will go into the hole and down into the cavity where your gear shift is. For those who insist on doing this, be sure to cover this hole with plexiglass to prevent liquid from getting into the hole. Also remember that if you do choose to drill a hole in the bottom of the cup holder rather than on the side like I have in my setup, the LED lights may blind you and your passengers when there is no water bottle in the cup holder. 6.Take out your drill and carefully drill a hole the size of the head of an LED. You only have once chance, so don't screw up. Take your time on this step. 7. Clean out the hole. 8. Plug your LED lights into the splitter. 9. Feed the LED's up through the cavity of where the gear shift is. 10. Mount the LED's using the double sided tape (that may be included with your LED lights) so that the LED shoots clear through the hole you've drilled and into the space of the cup holder. 11. Put back the gear shift panel. 12. Stuff your cigarette splitter into that cavity near your passenger's feet and replace the panel to hide everything. 13. Wait until it's dark. 14. Go pick up a friend. 15. Drive safely. PAGE 1: Exterior pics and Misc. PAGE 2: Interiors: gauge lights, neons, LED's. PAGE 3: EGR hood deflector pics PAGE 4: Headlight and Foglight bulb upgrades PAGE 5: Undercar Neons PAGE 6: Future modifications PAGE 7: More exterior photos PAGE 8: Remote engine start alarm PAGE 9: Carbon fiber pieces PAGE 10: Air flow management experiment PAGE 11: Koni struts/shocks PAGE 12: Photoshop edited pictures PAGE 13: Scion inspired interior lights PAGE 14: Custom diamond plated stomp pads PAGE 15: New horn! Can you hear me now? PAGE 16: More carbon fiber PAGE 17: Cold Air Intake (CAI) PAGE 18: HID's (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps PAGE 19: Vent Visors PAGE 20: H&R Springs PAGE 21: Talking car mod PAGE 22: Rally Cross Event in Tracy, California PAGE 23: Carbon Fiber mudflap garnish PAGE 24: Carbon Fiber emblem backing PAGE 25: Brake light cover PAGE 26: Radar Detector PAGE 27: GPS Navigator

Thanks to referals from Team Kunfuzion I got these neons installed. The front neon blew during the installation and Promax was nice enough to hook me up with one of their own shorter blue neons. it fits nicely under the front skid plate of the Rav4. Here's some temperary pics before I take some nicer ones. Enjoy, and don't forget to vote. Nice pic from the rear. If only I took the pictures a little earlier, the sunset would show up a bit nicer. Nonetheless, the back end glows pretty bright! The sides are pretty bright also. A lot better than I thought they'd be for $60 a kit. The front neon blew during installation, so my shop PROMAX was nice enough to hook me up w/ a new neon bulb to help w/the front end. For you Rav4 owners, you know the front end has no placement for neons. This smaller neon was placed behind the grille. Yup, stock alloy rims. Don't forget the back seats! Thanks to the tinted rear windows, the neons glow even in the daytime! Have a closer look. These neon 8" tubes from Fry's Electronics store were mounted with plastic zipties. So far they hold a lot better than the double sided sticky tape used to mount the front seat neons. Which Rav4 is mine? Can anyone tell me why the ride on the left looks lower than the one on the right? It's not an illusion. It really is lower. I've seen it appear lower next to multiple rav4's. Are 4wd Rav4's built differently than the 2wd's? UPDATE: It turns out the tire sizes are really different. I remember someone suggested that may be the reason. Thanks. Cops love the neons too! Nah, just kiddin'. His squad car's empty. I came back to my car and the cop car was just sitting there. I couldn't resist, so here's the picture! I felt being a bit daring, so here's another pic alongside the police car. The pics are a bit washed about b/c this is before I figured out the manual setting on my digital camera. Future pics will look better. Catch another glipse of the glow gauges! They're purple this time. Gotta love that sunset! Saving the best pics for last. Yes, that's the Disney Concert Hall. Project just completed last October 2003. Looking good w/the Rav4. I thought I'd try something artistic. Is the angle thing working for me? Yes, that's the backside of the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Hope you like the neons! Lookin' bright. The front end pic. These pictures were taken well after midnight when there aren't too many cars around. Don't wanna be hoggin' the road. Front end's not bad, huh? Sorry for the blurry pics.....shaky hands. I'm going for that commercial look. Is it working? All I need is a tripod, huh? Please rate my pics and rate my ride using the buttons above. Thanks! PAGE 1: Exterior pics and Misc. PAGE 2: Interiors: gauge lights, neons, LED's. PAGE 3: EGR hood deflector pics PAGE 4: Headlight and Foglight bulb upgrades PAGE 5: Undercar Neons PAGE 6: Future modifications PAGE 7: More exterior photos PAGE 8: Remote engine start alarm PAGE 9: Carbon fiber pieces PAGE 10: Air flow management experiment PAGE 11: Koni struts/shocks PAGE 12: Photoshop edited pictures PAGE 13: Scion inspired interior lights PAGE 14: Custom diamond plated stomp pads PAGE 15: New horn! Can you hear me now? PAGE 16: More carbon fiber PAGE 17: Cold Air Intake (CAI) PAGE 18: HID's (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps PAGE 19: Vent Visors PAGE 20: H&R Springs PAGE 21: Talking car mod PAGE 22: Rally Cross Event in Tracy, California PAGE 23: Carbon Fiber mudflap garnish PAGE 24: Carbon Fiber emblem backing PAGE 25: Brake light cover PAGE 26: Radar Detector PAGE 27: GPS Navigator