I found these odd laser door mounted puddle lights on ebay so I ordered a set. They were cheap so I said what the heck.
Finally got around to installing and I've got to say, I've had tones of people stop in their tracks in amazement! Even I can't stop looking at them at night!!
I thought they'd be cheap plastic but just the opposite. Really high quality. AND they even came with the drill bit hole saw to make it super easy!!
I just unscrewed the door handle screw under the rubber liner, poped the bottom door card loose, drilled the hole and wired to the door puddle lights.

I LOVE them. Totally unexpected and EVERYBODY notices!! I'm actually going to tape the bottom of the factory red lense so it doesn't shin down, making the laser image to REALLY stand out!!

Now to order for my XF! I think jaguar dealers could sell the heck out of these on new cars!!

 

Got to agree, that looks impressive.

Graham

 

those are cool - a few others have done the same - keep looking at them myself but interior and suspension first

 

Phil,

I will admit your enthusiasm has been fun, but you've lost me. I can always appreciate tasteful customization and creativity, but come on, man. Too much. You're always talking about the attention your car is getting... no doubt that's true... but just because people are looking, that doesn't mean they're appreciating what you've done.

Anyway, you're a grown man, life is short, do what makes you happy. But really?

 

It's the best 40,00 I've spent!!

 

I'm sort of on the fence with The Coupe when it comes to mods to vehicles. For run-of-the-mill cars it would not make much of a difference how much they are altered but for cars that are even semi-classic or have the basic design right-on, I am always hesitant to do anything but minor reversible modifications. I was like that when I had my Corvette since my impression was that when it came time to sell I would have a bigger audience of those that liked these as they were rather than dramatically altered with things like wings, spoilers, side body panels, etc.

The puddle lights though seem fairly tasteful (but perhaps bordering on what I see the ricers do) so it could be something I might consider. Where did you get these from?

Doug

 

each to there own I guess but (dell trotter) always comes to mind when I see these kind of add on,i would keep this for your bmw geeks but not for the jag,

 

Oh, I've gotten a few negative comments, usually from people like you that think these cars are sacrosanct. There are plenty of these out there that look the same as they did when they rolled off the assembly line and more power to them.
I personally feel a persons car is no different than their house, clothes, and jobs. If we all lived the exact same way, it'd be pretty damn boring.
I can also tell you it's the guys on this forum that have the ***** to take some extreme chances with their cars that make this a fun experience. I may not care for some of what they do but I applaud their creativity. I'd never put down anyone for putting their personal stamp on their car, in fact, just the opposite.
Most of my half baked ideas never make it past the conceptual stages and for good reason. They're BAD!! But I didn't buy the car to pamper it and pretend it is some flawless 200,000.00+ Aston Martin either!

If this were an E-type or an Xk120, it would be a completely different story. I've already painstakingly restored an XKE and sold it for a great profit. 100% factory restoration and I'll never do it again. Too difficult, time consuming, and expensive.
Now, it's time to rebel against the uptight classicists and have a little fun. Poke the bears, so to speak!
And by the way, your XK looks great! A bit boring to me but it takes all kinds!

 

OMG!! These are just cars!!! We're not talking the Mona Lisa!! Has anyone even seen what Jaguar is offering on new cars now? Dark wheels, blacked out chrome, spoilers, lit tread plates! The options keep growing!!
It's not like I'm putting blue neon under my car or in my wheels!!
Has anyone even seen the dog and pony show in the XF???? Rolling vents, rising shifter Tron interior lighting? Not very JAAAAAG either!

 

Phil--am totally onboard with folks that want to do whatever they want with their vehicles. After all these things become as much hobbies as they are transportation for the enthusiasts. The only thing I would warn is if you are worried about sellability when it comes time to pass the car to the next person. For me personally, if I was in the market for a used Corvette for example (only using this example because having spent 14 years as an owner and active on the Corvette forum) I have seen that the bone stock ones in excellent condition often sell faster and for more than the highly modified ones. One concern is always that the modified ones were not as carefully babied but the thing is that the market of buyers wanting stock authenticity is larger and willing to pay more.

Again, our Jaguars are not in the classic category but I suspect someone who happens to be in the market for an XK8 of our vintage would be attracted quicker to un-modified models.

But if resale is of no concern this obviously would not apply to you.

Doug

 

Nah, I don't think they're sacrosanct. As I said, I applaud creativity and customization. It's all just a matter of taste, I suppose - and editing.



Agree 100%. Again, it's just a matter of taste and editing. Cram every interesting idea into the same car, shirt, or house, and it begins to lose what made it special, in my opinion. But I certainly agree that a unique personal signature makes everything more interesting.



I agree again, although personally its the creativity in performance enhancement that interests me the most among our forum members. I learn from them every day.

And Phil, my apologies if I came across like an a**hole. I'm not normally that kind of guy. It just seems like every bit you come across on E-Bay is a "great idea" that must be glued to your car immediately.


OK, I deserved that one. I've owned my coupe for two years and I've been spending time bringing the mechanics and performance to their best. I've been saving money for a complete respray, and I do have plans to put my own personal signature on my car, probably by October or so. But I'm going CLEAN and custom, adding a few lines to make the car distinctive, but also REMOVING some detail to clean up the lines, which I think are beautiful.

-2005 rear bumper, hangs lower than my 97, to hide the undercar bits

- X150 side sills, blended to be "of a piece" as they sweep back towards the rear wings

- Boot spoiler, again blended to be a single, seamless piece with the boot lid

NOTE to all: You can get a look at blended X150 sills and boot spoiler HERE.

- Door "ding" strips removed

- Side markers removed and holes filled in rear bumper and front wings

- Possible new-style leapers (small) to replace the front wing side markers - not sure on this yet.

- Antenna removed and hole filled

- Custom paint on my Double-Five wheels - probably something close to gunmetal

- All trim currently in "Dorchester Grey" painted to match the wheels, whatever gunmetal-type color that turns out to be

- Thinking hard about a custom, recessed meshed grill, to sit farther back and enhance the "scoop" look of the nose

So you can see that I don't scoff at customization, but I'm going clean and sleek. Anyway, sorry if I rubbed you the wrong way. All the best.


.

 

The nice thing about what philhef does is that it gives others the opportunity to see what a particular modification would look like... on a Jag like ours.

Even if I don't like a modification that he might perform, I still appreciate that he took the time to share it with us. It keeps interest in the forum, and our cars, up.

I probably won't do this particular modification. I actually think that it is interesting, and he is certainly enjoying it, which works for me. =) If he had done it to a $2,000,000 Duesenberg, I'd be irritated at what he did. Haaah!

It is on the creative side of things, and quite muted in the overall presence of the vehicle.

Philhef's car is about his own fun exploration of what he can do to tweak his particular car. Very cool. I'm glad that he shares in the forum.

 

Yes, while all of that is true, when he is seeking opinions, he has to understand that everyone else is just as entitled to theirs as he is to his.

If you expect everyone else to agree with your opinions and taste and praise you for it then you are not dealing with reality.

While he is certainly entitled to do whatever he wants to do with his car , as we all are, he can't expect that everyone else has the same taste as he does, and he has to understand that as well.

"Honey, do these pants make me look fat?"

"Baby, how do I look in this dress?"

"I decided to get this devil tattoo on my neck, what do you think about it?"

If you don't want honest answers, don't ask the question.

We are all equally entitled to what we like and equally entitled to express that opinion, especially when asked.

 

And I too as a bit harsh!
Oddly enough several things you've mentioned doing are similar to my plans as well. I'm also having a re spray next year and having the arden front lower apron and side sills blended. (Although im thinking about the non flaired sills) I did have them remove that curled lip that locked into the "mouth" from the front apron , hated that! Had the rear side markers left off of the new bumper. Already started removing the door ding strips. And e humps on e bonnet are coming off next week when I have it compound buffed and polished.
I've already spent about 3000.00 under the bonnet just getting everything updated, serviced and replaced. Just want to do a suspension overhaul then that's it!
I'm surprised you want to lose the side leapers in favor of the new style leaper. I was also going to try that , even bought a pair, but the new badging and growlers just don't work on these cars IMHO. I actually bought new wheel growlers but I just don't like them, they seem too new. I'm even waiting on a red front growler (original XK8 style) to replace the new one I put on my grille.

I think most everything I've done has actually been planned and I'm pretty proud of it. It's basically the Classic Arden modifications. I even had the arden side scoops left off the skirts.

I do like your plan to lose the antenna. I just unplugged my fuse! And I too am lowering the rear a bit as well.

So were not sooo different after all!! All you need are some cool laser puddle lights!! Lol

 

Just for reference, here's my offensive XK8! Lol

 

+1 with Jeff.

While I am concentrating on the mechanicals and such for now, I do enjoy seeing the mods so when the day comes I can see what does and does not appeal to me.

Really glad philhef enjoys his cars. His enthusiasm is obvious, shows up even in his punctuation! And looking at jags, custom or not, to me is always enjoyable.

 

This in my opinion is over the line modification. But if its owner loves it, more power to them!!

 

I came from the world of Nissan 300ZX and Infiniti G before my Jags. I can relate on the above over-the-top body kit mods. seems everybody had to have more scoops, flares openings and spoilers than the next. I did my own subtle mods to most of my past rides, just because I liked them and thought they looked good to me. I will probably look to do a few mods to my wife's XK8 to update the look a little and suit her desires as well (needs a hood leaper). I have had my puddle Jag lights for a few months on my STR now and always love seeing it after dark.

 

Interesting discussion........

These puddle lights are on Peter's maybe list I think...........Kinda swaying between really cool and latest thing to too much and back...lol

Well, he's got other things to be looking at before these come up for a decision anyway, so we'll see

 

I got mine for $15 bucks through aliexpress. Took about 10 days to get here in the US.