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After buying my first lexus, 2011 LS460L AWD, I ran into a few problems that some of you might already knew from my earlier posts. AC Compressor went, broke my drive belt, made the car overheated. Decided to fix it myself as long as the parts were paid by the used dealership. Reason was to gain more knowledge of my car, and to get it fixed within a few days instead of weeks. But still, I was not satisfied with what I had.........
My first upgrades were LED everything! "Its an Amazing Machine." But it still lacked some of my personal character and touches. So I just had to be a gadget ***** and drop some money and time. In my last car, a 2005 Acura RL A Spec. I had a Valentine One and Roadhawk HD dash cam hardwired to my vehicle. I had a EBC brake setup (same that is going to be on the LS). I'm the type of person who consistently do 90+ cruising on the highway. Ever since i had this setup, I never had one single ticket in the last 4 years. I was issued one, but was later dropped due to my dashcam footage (thats another story ). I was itching to put some gadgets in the car and today was it!
I pretty much wanted to do the same to the LS460.... So here it is
I bought a bunch of stuff for the Car, only had time to put in the first 2 necessary things for my driving.
Front and Rear EBC Dimple/Slotted Rotors w/EBC Yellow Pads
Blue Caliper Paint w/ Fsport Decal
Escort MAX 360
Blackvue DR650S 2 Channel
LED Fog lights 6k with adaptable 3k sleeve (yellow)
Weather Tech Floormats front/rear/trunk (had to trim because of rear seat upgrade)
Sits great right there. I can see all the warnings from my peripheral vision.
Blackvue Dash Cam with radar. Tucked all the wires through headline and that black plastic cover.
Put that extra slot to use. Its discreet and out of the way. Within an arms reach when I want to mute the radar.
I believe it was a clean install. But other professionals might think different. But Im happy with the price of FREE labor lol
Had to take the whole mirror off to mount it.
Had to pull this whole thing out. Not too hard 1 8mm and 10mm. Then its just pulling it off the tabs
This part took the longest and had to be the hardest part. I had to take the bracket off, drill through the plastic and the bracket to make room for the wires.
Finally got it in there how I want. Put some velcro made stay where I want. I made sure it did not affect the functioning of the parking button. Have enough room to push and pull.
How it sits. I know... I know....looks like a lot in the front. BUT I LIKE MY GADGETS!!!
Not too bad from far away
My fogs.... I was hoping they were more yellow. What do you guys think. I can always take the sleeves out to make it white again.
Both Devices are wired and tapped to the Fuse box underneath the dash on the driver side. I used "add a circuit" product.
This is how its wired:
Dashcam: 2 things to wire (Dashcam and Power Magic Pro). Power Magic Pro keeps the dash cam recording even when the car is off until the battery reaches a certain voltage, then it will be shut off. Therefore when wiring I wired the Dashcam to the accessory fuse. The Power magic Pro needs to be tapped to a circuit that always has power even if the car is off. I tapped it to the security fuse. However, I just realized yesterday that there was an extra fuse slot right under the security fuse. I will most likely switch it to that slot. Then you need to ground it. I found a place where a lot of the car wires were grounded underneath the cover on the bottom left of driver side.
Radar: You will need the "Escort SmartCord" to hardwire. I tapped the red wire (power cable) directly to the accessory line the dash cam had. Reason being, it will only turn on only when I turn the ignition on. Then Ran the phone jack cable up to the radar. Grounded the same place of the dash cam. I decided to put the smart cord underneath the parking brake. People can put it other places if they want. But I believe that is the most discreet spot. Also it is in an arm's reach to just push the button.
All wire were ran through the plastic cover on top of the mirror, across the headliner, down the pillar airbags, and down under the driver side dash.
There are better dash cams out there. The one I wanted to get was the Roadhawk HD 2 which has 2k quality. However, the setup would have been way too bulky. Blackvue is more convenient with its built in wifi connection and front/rear cameras. I originally was going to a Valentine one Setup in there w/ conceal display. However I would of have to cut the hardwood trim above the parking,afs, heated steering wheel buttons to fit it in the conceal display. I went with the MAX 360 because it is a lot more quiet because of all the junk filtering. Since we have a High end car, i decided to go with the more quiet variant that doesn't beep to every single signal we drive across.
Looks good........ Nice write up with pix!
The only suggestion I would make is to install a grommet around the metal hole where you passed the wires through to the switch below the parking brake button.
BTW! Looks like Christmas in October at your place with all the new goodies.
I was thinking the same thing with a grommet. However due to lack of tools and a vise. My drilling was not great to find a good grommet to fit. What I did to prevent the wires from shorting if they got cut on the metal was wrapping it with electrical tape. I wrapped approximately 5 inches from the start of the switch, so it would protect the wires from getting sliced from the sharp metal.
Good work. I would keep the sleeves on, the white light makes it harder to see when it rains at night. I actually just received my 3000K HID kit. Can you post a link of where you got the parts to hardwire the radar detector? I hardwired my dashcam but wasn't sure how to do the Escort.
Most Escorts will use the "Direct Wire smart cord." I originally was going to swap my valentine over, however my old mount (made by RadarMount) from previous car did not fit the lexus. So I was like F it, I'm just gonna buy a whole new setup and keep the valentine in my old car. When you get the mount, MAKE SURE you buy the Blendmount for the car. This mount gives you the best adaptability vs the cheap ones for $35. Anyone that have ever owned a premium radar detector should know how it feels driving without it. You just feel naked and unprotected lol
Now when wiring the Radar, Tap it into an accessory fuse. Or if you wired the dash cam to the ACC fuse already, just tap into the same line. You must still ground it separately though. I took the inline fuse out on mine which came with the Direct wire smart cord. Make sure you test it first before putting everything back together to see if the fuse would blow. I doubt it will so, you will be good.
Looks good. Nice install. Nice looking thumb! Can't see why you'd cover the plate? Especially when the one behind it is clearly visible. hahaha But nice ride.
jasone36- Thanks!. Everything is easier with the correct tools. I have interior panel removal tools which made it easy and not damage anything. I technically didn't drill into the dash. The Parking brake module was a separate device by itself. Once the metal frame was taken off, the module separated from the dash. If I had the proper drill bit, the hole would've been a lot smoother and nicer. So I just started drilling a bunch of small holes until I saw what I liked lol.
10-05-16, 07:32 PM
Super Protection Package. Radar/Dashcam Hardwired to my first Lexus.
). I was itching to put some gadgets in the car and today was it!
