5th & 6th Generation (2002-2006 & 2007-2011)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 2002-2006 & 2007-2011
Topics of discussion range from fuel economy, safety, modifications, performance all involving America's favorite family car, the Toyota Camry.
First off, I'm new to the mod game and my head is spinning with ideas! This is my FIRST car ever and I only know a little bit.. And if there are any questions here that are answered in another post, I'm sorry. I looked and didn't find what I was looking for.
Here's what I'm working with... 2002 Toyota Camry LE V6. JBL speakers. Very good condition... Now for the questions.
1. Does anyone know where to find a framed or perimeter billet grill for my model? I've googled time and time again but no luck. I can't stand the stock grill..
2. Unfortunately, my car is "Desert Sand Mica" (color)... Needless to say I am not a big fan of this color... What can I expect to pay to get it repainted?
3. If I decided to keep this color I plan on getting a lot of black and chrome accents and I like the way smoked and black out head/tail lights look. How much do they affect the brightness of the lights?
4. Can anyone recommend a good double DIN deck? I'm not looking for nav (I'd never use it and it costs way too much).
5. If I put racing seats in, will the power seating be useless?
6. Does anyone have tweeters? Particularly in this model? I'm thinking of putting some in but I need to know the best placement etc.
7. How much of a difference would a carbon fiber hood make?
8. Does having larger wheels affect your turning radius?
9. Anyone have an opinion on the best size wheel for this model?
10. My boyfriend said he's seen lighted amps for subwoofers but I haven't seen any. Anyone know if there's such a thing and where to get one?
11. Anyone have an opinion on flip trunks?
This is all I can think of for now... Again, PLEASE remember I am very new to all this so if my questions seem stupid, sorry. :P
That grill is definitely close to what I'm looking for. What I want is that grill but with a more defined perimeter. I've seen it once before but not my year. I'm hoping they have it for my model.
And I was thinking 18s would look good and I would definitely drop the car down some.
what about this grille? its off a 2005-2006 SE
if you dont like that one, check eBay as they have a grille with defined chrome trim and a mesh no logo center..
the smoked headlights for your car can be directly swapped from an SE model with no issues and no effect on lighting output, since theyre an original factory light, just smoked black by toyota...theyre readily avalible on eBay....the black chrome badges also come off the SE model, and are easy enough to find (i have an SE so all of the above came on my car)
paint, for a very good paintjob is very expensive, so youre looking in the 3l-5k range...def not worth the money IMO...desert sand mica can look real nice with the black headlights and emblems and a nice set of wheels. also, the chrome trim above the rear liscence plate area can be replaced with a body colored piece from the SE model.
pioneer and alpine both make nice dual DIN head units.
racing seats would delete your power seats.
flip flop trunks are useless IMO, because they often allow the trunk to leak water
17-18in wheels work very well for this model, and dont affect drivability, even with lowering...hell you can even squeeze in 19's if you wanted, but i dont reccomend 20in or higher.
with the JBL system tweeters arent necessary. just go for some good aftermarket speakers if you dont like the JBL. lighted amps and subwoofer boxes are around, ive seen them in many audio shops or custom shops and on the internet....jut look around!
CF hood is a bad idea on a 5th gen...since our hoods have built in grilles, youll need one that can accomadate the grille, and none of the ones ive seen will do that, so they leave a gaping open space where the grille should be...they are light and look ok, but if you want a grille and the ability not to see your horns and radiator, id stick with OEM.
That grill is definitely close to what I'm looking for. What I want is that grill but with a more defined perimeter. I've seen it once before but not my year. I'm hoping they have it for my model.
And I was thinking 18s would look good and I would definitely drop the car down some.
Thanks, work in progress.
The grille Corey is talking about on ebay is the RS grille..nice grille, you can replace the cheap mesh it comes with, with a better quality mesh. I considered it but chose the grille i have now. E&G Classics have a grille but it looks like mine, no defined border, but still nice.
There's a ton of lowering options, TRD (2inch drop on front, 1.4 rear) Eibach (same as TRD just rebadged), Tein S-tech, and H-tech..check the site for lowering heights..you can go coilovers as well..rough ride though. I have Eibachs, and plan on running 19's in the process of ordering them now.
I agree with Corey just get the SE headlights off a Gen5 or Gen 5.5 (these ones are nicer in my opinion) i have the Gen5 headlights in my garage, i swapped them out. For the tails you could get the Gen 5.5 SE lights they're smoked somewhat but hard to find.
For better handling consider a TRD rear swaybar, and TRD strut tower bar, along with the lowering springs your rides handling will be greatly improved over the stock LE setup.
Thanks for all of the information! It really helps. I'm so excited to get started. I know I'm getting wheels for christmas and that was the most important information right now... Knowing that 18s won't affect the driving makes things soo much easier. And if I have to pay that much for a new color, I'll just work with what I have which makes EVERYTHING easier.
As for the grille, I'm head-over-heels for the billet style. I'll check out ebay some more and see what I find.
I'm glad I found out about the useless stuff early! I won't be wasting $500+ on the CB hood and leaky trunks! lol And my boyfriend has been pushing me so hard to get tweeters but now I know it would be a waste. I was thinking that if I put in a sub or two it would overpower the high notes though... I guess not?
The grille Corey is talking about on ebay is the RS grille..nice grille, you can replace the cheap mesh it comes with, with a better quality mesh. I considered it but chose the grille i have now. E&G Classics have a grille but it looks like mine, no defined border, but still nice.
There's a ton of lowering options, TRD (2inch drop on front, 1.4 rear) Eibach (same as TRD just rebadged), Tein S-tech, and H-tech..check the site for lowering heights..you can go coilovers as well..rough ride though. I have Eibachs, and plan on running 19's in the process of ordering them now.
I agree with Corey just get the SE headlights off a Gen5 or Gen 5.5 (these ones are nicer in my opinion) i have the Gen5 headlights in my garage, i swapped them out. For the tails you could get the Gen 5.5 SE lights they're smoked somewhat but hard to find.
For better handling consider a TRD rear swaybar, and TRD strut tower bar, along with the lowering springs your rides handling will be greatly improved over the stock LE setup.
Tinting the windows will improve the looks too!
I was thinking that with my color car, black tint with a little chrome at the top might look good. Either that or just all black. And I'm definitely gonna look into the sway/strut bars and lowering the springs.
You have to take the emblem from your car and put it on that grille..i'd email them to confirm, but i believe if you don't put the emblem, you'll have a blank oval/circle there. Kind of why i never got that grille, i didn't want thet Toyota logo.
You have to take the emblem from your car and put it on that grille..i'd email them to confirm, but i believe if you don't put the emblem, you'll have a blank oval/circle there. Kind of why i never got that grille, i didn't want thet Toyota logo.
Hmmm... I'm gonna email them because if that's the case, I'll be going with the style that you have.
Me neither... :P So the bars on yours aren't straight? Was it damaged or designed that way? If that's the case though, I might just go for the one with the thinner bars... I just hope I hear back about that other grille though and they say there's no hole for the emblem.
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A million questions from a newbie
This is my FIRST car ever and I only know a little bit.. And if there are any questions here that are answered in another post, I'm sorry. I looked and didn't find what I was looking for.
I'll check out ebay some more and see what I find.
Thankya
I hope that's not the case...
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