Steven

People still enjoy manuals? Same reasoning maybe

I believe every car (well, most cars) have their good and bad points and every one of those points relates to one's own point of view. It's like arguing about religion, nobody wins but alot of tempers get raised. I like the Aurion because it does what I need it to, I like the look of it, the performance is decent and it's fairly well made.

Agreed. Originally I always had my headlights set on AUTO, but unfortunately that turns them on before the engine has started which can't be good for the ballasts. Although a minor inconvenience, I've now been activating the headlights manually - have ever since I installed the HIDs and nil issues so far. Jaycar now stock a sort of electronic timer so a delay could be set for the headlights so that by the time the engine's started (say about 3 seconds tops) the headlights then activate. Be a fairly simple relay type arrangement, but for the trouble of making it work it's far easier just working them manually.

it also makes you an obvious target to get pulled over all the time, regardless of legality.

I had a gloss black dash in my last car (VT commodore) - it might look alright, but it's not everybodies cup of tea obviously. It's a very distinct look, but then so is carbon fibre. I don't think you could get a suitable vinyl cover for gloss black, meaning painting is your only option which carries some risk. My commodore dash was a brand new OEM item for the monaro's, and actually came with a transparent plastic sealing over the paint to protect it. A gloss black would look great painted, but would be very prone to slight scratches and would require constant maintenance. I would also recommend a pro paint it as gloss black is a very unforgiving color.

search for: 3m carbon link: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/3M-Di-Noc-Carbon-Fi...=item20afed7b58

I believe it's attached from behind, therefore requiring the door trim to be removed. Well today I masked up the pieces after making sure the surfaces were now perfect, set up my gun and off I went. The result? A meter of that carbon fibre stuff now ordered off Ebay. I just can't paint :( I think I'll be adding it similiar to how Ingress originally had his (without air con/radio covered). Also same sort of setup as the Presara's - I believe this will give the neatest result.

I may be wrong here, but I don't think hooking up Ipod or Iphones via the USB will work in any case - at least not how you would like it. Have you ever plugged an Ipod into a computer without using Itunes? All the files are named differently and it doesn't work like a basic USB drive containing mp3's does. I believe without a dedicated Ipod input, you'd have to use the AUX input instead and control the ipod manually.

I've been thinking further about this, and I think I'll see how the painting turns out. Reason being I have the climate control and satnav unit combo, which won't look as good with a carbon fibre effect I don't think due to the silver surrounds (the bit that would be covered) being so small compared to Ingres's dash which allows a decent amount to be laid down. See how things turn out - I reckon though with all the silver bits trimmed in carbon fibre it would create a real sportscar feel inside!

ya.. i covered it.. still not sure whether i want to cut it cos i am terrible with trimming.. don't want to mess up the whole thing until when i have time to fix it.. If you remove the chrome bits from behind, you could just wrap them around the inside edges of the hole then just replace the chrome piece

I can't tell from the pictures because they're fairly small - did you cover over the chrome bits in the storage bins? I was seriously thinking of getting some of this for when I'm on holidays next week, however the electricity bill just turned up... "HOW CAN ONE MAN HAVE THAT MUCH POWER?!" lol

Mate that's incredible! Very nice custom look! Where'd you find the 3M film wrap, are there any other designs? I've just spent the last few days sanding back my current job and priming it properly this time - it's got to the stage where it can be painted, however I'm really liking the custom look the carbon fibre gives. Any chance of seeing it in person? Shoot me a pm if it can be done.

As has already been mentioned, the nature of HIDs means if a kit works, then there's already a certain level of implied quality to them as they wouldn't function unless certain parts were so precise in construction. That "Phillips" kit looks just like the slimline kit I purchased for less than half that price - except mine was chrome instead of black. You will find 99% of them are all the same. For me, I'd recommend finding an Australian based seller - not that they're likely any different quality wise, but for the convenience should a warranty claim be required. Much cheaper to post and quicker too. Quality wise though they're probably no different than a china based seller. I paid about $60 delivered each for my kits from an ebay seller in Melbourne. When you factor in the excessive postage price for items from China, you end up paying about the same. Keep things simple to - regular bulb kits (possible slimline kit also) are what you want. Stay clear of those "bi-xenon" setups, they're very prone to failure.

You would want to look closely at the smart start system that activates the illumination when you approach, and see if there's any unique combination of interior lighting or other devices/switches that would limit the lighting to only when you approach. By this I mean, the following values would always be present when you approach a vehicle with the key, in a smart start car (when the lighting comes on) Interior lighting - On Door buttons - Off (or closed) Engine - Off Dash lighting - Off Reading lights - OFF By looking at it from a logic point, you could design a simple circuit to activate the exterior lights when the above values are like that - however you can also see the above could occur if you were sitting in the drivers seat with the doors closed, and turned on the interior lights. So you'd need to find a true/false circumstance which were true ONLY for when you approached the vehicle and the interior illumination lights for you. In reality though, the interior lighting in the smart start system only comes on when you're pretty much right next to the car, not when you're approaching from a short to medium distance - you'd question if it'd even be worth the time and effort.

well to ensure the car knows who the owner is, some kind of emitter would need to be present on the owners person - otherwise the cars light would be coming on for everybody which would promptly flatten the battery and ruin the affect completely. In that respect, it would be best kept for those with the smart start ignition system, as the car already possess that function to a degree as well. That being once you're within a distance of the car, the interior illumination will come on. Modifying this though so exterior lights come out as well might be difficult as you couldn't just hook to come out with the interior lights otherwise again it would be on at inappropriate times. Some sort of logic processing would be needed, and even then that would depend on several factors. Sounds very nice in theory - if someone has managed it before, I'd like to know how.

Does the Aurion come with an external amplifier? I've been looking through the Navigation and Audio/Visual manuals for the American version, and they all seem to indicate the factory speakers are run off a (basic) factory amplifier. Seems to indicate it's under the front seats but I can't find it. Someone able to shed some light on this?

The bumper really doesn't take very long to remove, and it makes things SO much easier as well.

Mate I rarely venture out of the Aurion section of the forums, and I truly sorry to hear about your misfortune. Your car was amongst the most modified Aurions out there, and the workmanship clearly showed. You have my deepest sympathy, but like others have said at least you and your dad are fine, which is the most important thing. If you were to go for another Aurion, I would strongly recommend the TRD - not just because it's a fantastic car, but it will help you emotionally as well as you could think that something good might actually come from this and will lead to better things down the track! Keep your chin up, things will get better

The chrome bits pop out from behind once you remove those pieces back cover.

That flat panel I've circled in red... that is the bit I assumed you masked off. When its all fitted in the car it looks like that whole console section is one big piece (except for gear surround and storage compartments), with part coated in the silver. Or am I wrong, and the part I've circled is actually a seperate silver piece that can be removed? yep, it can be removed as well. The gear selector bit does come semi-permanently attached to the piece from the factory - ie it requires some plastic "lugs" to be broken off to remove it, something I did when I changed the illumination color. I've since used a combination of screws and silicon to hold it together now. It's coming apart again this weekend, and I'll be trying one last time to get it to spray properly. I think the nozzle on my gun is simply too large too spray it fine enough, but time will tell. If it doesn't work this time, I'll give the paint to a local shop and get them to apply it, shouldn't cost much just to have them apply the paint I provided.

What color clash? I can't see any difference whatsoever. Thats the paint I was telling Scoota about. Motion seconded. Definately keen to see how you masked it all off. I may end up doing a full spray myself. Like I mentioned above, I actually fully disassembled the dash and the storage compartments into individual pieces so I could spray them properly.

It wasn't taped up - it was fully disassembled into only the painted bits. I did sand everything down first, but didn't prime as it was still onto a painted surface. However now I've had some time to see it in daylight, I'm still not happy with how the paint has come out. The gun is still spraying it too thick. I'll see if I can get away just flattening it with some superfine sandpaper, but chances are I'll be repainting it again this weekend

It's unfortunate, but with internet forums most topics that rely on people's varying opinions inevitably results in some degree of trolling. Can't we all just get along? :P

the amplifiers are mostly installed now. I bought them second hand at an absolute bargain so cosmetically they aren't fantastic, but they function well. Everything is using factory mounting locations and nothing was cut etc so it'll be very easy to return to stock. Furthermore, the amps are actually mounting on a hinged board along the top, so that I can still use the ski-port in the backseat if I ever need too. Next up is the fibreglass sub box, which I've already got the back half completed. But that's for another thread :)

pics as promised. The color clash is more obvious in the photos than in person, and despite my best efforts I just couldn't lay down the paint flat enough to look completely stock. It's neat, but not perfect. Also a bit of the stereo controller I'm working my way into the dash. Still needs some work though before I finally install it.