I'm going to be on these forums a lot so I figured I might as well just start a dedicated thread to the mods I'm doing to the car.

I purchased the car about 3 weeks ago and have already made quite a bit of progress. The car came with those ugly ugly chrome mirror caps. So, the very first thing I did was remove them and painted them a gloss black:





After that I read how easy it was to paint the background of the grill's growler badge so I took it off and apart and painted the background in apple red:





The very first free weekend I had I removed the front bumper, removed the grill + 2 bumper inserts, and painted them all in a gloss black to match the mirror caps:




Last night I placed an order for some new 20" wheels which I am very excited about. They said it will be 2-3 weeks until they are delivered:





I also purchased some H&R lowering springs that arrive tomorrow. However, I plan on having them installed at the same time as the wheels to minimize downtime.

Currently the car is at the auto shop getting 35% tint placed on all the windows. I've been driving around feeling completely naked so I'm glad they finally were about to fit me in.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with a local body shop to get an estimate to paint the roof, the chrome window trim, and the chrome 'thing' on top of the side vents in gloss black to match the other previously painted items. I was going to wrap it but I thought I would get an estimate on painting it before I made a decision. I did get a quote of $280 for the wrapping of just the roof.

Here are the mods I will be doing next:

• Mina Performance exhaust
• ECU Tuning
• Painting roof and window trim gloss black
• Paint calipers and install drilled and slotted rotors (purely for aesthetics)
• Swap headlights for the UK version (without the US required amber reflector)

I forgot to mention that I did install K&N filters a few nights ago and I think I notice a little bit of a difference. It seems slightly 'peppier' but nothing too drastic.

Stay tuned for more updates!

 

35% tint installed:




I am planning on painting my calipers this weekend. I just can't decide if I should go with red (to match the grill growler badge background) or black.

Suggestions?

 

I'm thinking (first of all...nice work so far. Tasteful and not over the top) that going with the same color as the badge background would tie those small details together.

Just my $.03.

 

Thanks man and that's what I'm thinking too. I actually photoshopped the calipers red and I think it looks pretty good:




However, I'm going to take my friends advice and wait until I get the new wheels installed before I paint the calipers. Don't want them to not jive well together and be stuck with them. Ya know?

AND, my springs arrived today!

 

That's great work - it's looking really good. I'd go red with the calipers too (just about to do mine).

Do the Mina exhaust - you'll love the sound

 

Thank ya thank ya. Mina exhaust is my very next purchase. I can't wait to really hear the V8 growl. Gets me excited just thinking about it haha

 

I'm brand new to the forums and am currently in the process of purchasing my XF. Just wanted to say I'll be keeping up with your posts and possibly borrowing some ideas for my car

 

Nice mods, as stated not over the top. I also am going to go with red calipers on my XKR as I feel they look better than black. Keep us updated on personalizing your ride.

 

Welcome and good luck with the purchase, you won't be disappointed.

Thank ya sir. My caliper paint gets delivered tomorrow but I won't be able to paint them for 2 weeks because I'm traveling this upcoming weekend to Atlanta. Hopefully my wheels get delivered in a few days so I can have them for the trip.

However, I did install the WeatherTech DigitalFit floor liners today. They fit like they are from the factory. Very nice feeling under the foot.

 

Was it much work to pull the front bumper??

 

Mods look great by the way!

 

It's really not too much work if you've removed bumpers from previous cars before. Just finding the screws, removing them, and then remembering where they go. I have to pull it off again soon because I just purchased some UK headlights. I can snap some pics if you want.

Ahh, thanks man. I'm happy with it so far.

 

[QUOTE=danke;1313566]It's really not too much work if you've removed bumpers from previous cars before. Just finding the screws, removing them, and then remembering where they go. I have to pull it off again soon because I just purchased some UK headlights. I can snap some pics if you want.



I always thought the UK headlights being for right hand drive would not work here in the states.

 

You're right, I meant European lights. The amber reflectors are a US requirement only.

 

[QUOTE=JgaXkr;1314062]The RHD lights without problems could be reprogramming for LHD lights by SDD software

 

Where did you buy the European lights?

 

A member on another Jag forum contacted me and then sold them to me. I got them for a great deal too. $465 for a brand new pair. I'm very excited to install them, I can't wait.

 

Nice mods looking great! Can you or someone post videos of the Mina exhaust for the 5.0 ? I curious to know how it sounds!

Also did you paint the grill and bumper teeth your self? I want to get mine like that so I am wondering how to do it. Looks so nice

 

Thanks.

I did. You have to remove the front bumper and then remove the grill. After that us self-etching primer (3-5 coats), wet sand, gloss black paint (3-5 coats), gloss (2-3 coats).

 

If you look on YouTube there are quite a few videos of the Mina exhaust sound - a bit hard to appreciate on a video / sound clip, but gives you a sense for what to expect