[ZPirate]

Originally Posted by jamala00

Are you getting those new wheels powder coated? Your car, but my $.02... I think the black wheels look better. I like the style of your new wheels... Again, just my opinion, but ya, your car.

I like the style and look of the wheels too, but I agree with you about the color. Especially on a ZLE with all the black trim. And Rapid blue and black is a great combination because of the contrast in the two colors.

[RapidBlueZLE]

Originally Posted by jamala00

Are you getting those new wheels powder coated? Your car, but my $.02... I think the black wheels look better. I like the style of your new wheels... Again, just my opinion, but ya, your car.

Originally Posted by ZPirate

I like the style and look of the wheels too, but I agree with you about the color. Especially on a ZLE with all the black trim. And Rapid blue and black is a great combination because of the contrast in the two colors.

I do not plan to at this time.

IMO black wheels are pretty overused nowadays and wanted something different

Maybe in the future might do gold/bronze finish on them to live out my Subaru fantasy

[GroundhogSS]

Originally Posted by RapidBlueZLE

I do not plan to at this time.

IMO black wheels are pretty overused nowadays and wanted something different

Maybe in the future might do gold/bronze finish on them to live out my Subaru fantasy

I like your new wheels just like they are. I agree about the black wheels. That's a great looking car. Wish they had that color when I got mine.

[Christian1LE]

Originally Posted by RapidBlueZLE

I do not plan to at this time.

IMO black wheels are pretty overused nowadays and wanted something different

Maybe in the future might do gold/bronze finish on them to live out my Subaru fantasy

If you remember can you post a picture and DM me when the wheels are mounted on your car?

I plan on getting the apex wheels and I was also looking to go with the brushed aluminum look. The stock wheels are already basically black, want something different. The apex wheels will only be used on the track for me.

[ZPirate]

Originally Posted by RapidBlueZLE

I do not plan to at this time.

IMO black wheels are pretty overused nowadays and wanted something different

Maybe in the future might do gold/bronze finish on them to live out my Subaru fantasy

Nothing wrong with wanting something different. My guess is that Chevy went with darker wheels on the 1LE and ZLE because of all the brake dust the OEM brakes produce.

Bronze or gold would certainly be unique and I suspect look nice on Rapid Blue.

[jamala00]

Originally Posted by RapidBlueZLE

I do not plan to at this time.

IMO black wheels are pretty overused nowadays and wanted something different

Maybe in the future might do gold/bronze finish on them to live out my Subaru fantasy

Ya, I bet bronze would look pretty nice. Be sure to post some pics once you get them mounted. I'm sure once they are on the car they will look very nice. Sometimes things are hard to picture until completed.

[Ikelove]

Wishing it would finally arrive.

[The Maverick]

Finished up the last step of my de-fresh!

Unfortunately I had hyperflashing with the turn signals after about four regular flashes. Gen5DIY took a look at things again and revised the adapters they had created for my project (two short harnesses to adapt the '16-18 taillights to the '19+ connector and wiring harness). Popped the taillights out, installed the new adapter wiring harnesses from Gen5DIY, and all appears to be good! With everything working now, I'll finally be getting around to writing up a forum post on the de-fresh project.

How not to zip tie the rear bumper tabs:

When I had the taillights out, I noticed that a couple tabs on the rear bumper cover didn't seem to want to stay securely clipped onto the black bracket that the taillights slide into. I followed a recommendation from a forum post to apply zip ties to the tabs to help secure them. (That fix was designed to address gap and alignment issues that some '16-18 owners were experiencing with the sides of the rear bumper cover.)

The problem I ran into is that the positions in which I originally placed the heads of the zip ties caused the positioning of the taillights to be altered slightly - just enough to prevent the trunk from latching closed!

So I removed the first round of tie straps (see the red "no" photo, taken before I trimmed the zip ties) and tried a second time, this time with the heads of the tie straps oriented downward so they were not interfering with the way the taillights slide into the brackets (as shown in the three other photos). Now the tabs are secure instead of loose or popping out, and the trunk closes and latches under its own momentum again.

Finally, while the taillights were out, I swapped in Sylvania Silverstar 7440 "whiter light" bulbs for the backup lights.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by The Maverick

Finished up the last step of my de-fresh!

Unfortunately I had hyperflashing with the turn signals after about four regular flashes. Gen5DIY took a look at things again and revised the adapters they had created for my project (two short harnesses to adapt the '16-18 taillights to the '19+ connector and wiring harness). Popped the taillights out, installed the new adapter wiring harnesses from Gen5DIY, and all appears to be good! With everything working now, I'll finally be getting around to writing up a forum post on the de-fresh project.

How not to zip tie the rear bumper tabs:

When I had the taillights out, I noticed that a couple tabs on the rear bumper cover didn't seem to want to stay securely clipped onto the black bracket that the taillights slide into. I followed a recommendation from a forum post to apply zip ties to the tabs to help secure them. (That fix was designed to address gap and alignment issues that some '16-18 owners were experiencing with the sides of the rear bumper cover.)

The problem I ran into is that the positions in which I originally placed the heads of the zip ties caused the positioning of the taillights to be altered slightly - just enough to prevent the trunk from latching closed!

So I removed the first round of tie straps (see the red "no" photo, taken before I trimmed the zip ties) and tried a second time, this time with the heads of the tie straps oriented downward so they were not interfering with the way the taillights slide into the brackets (as shown in the three other photos). Now the tabs are secure instead of loose or popping out, and the trunk closes and latches under its own momentum again.

Finally, while the taillights were out, I swapped in Sylvania Silverstar 7440 "whiter light" bulbs for the backup lights.

Still massive respect for your tenacity with this conversion

On your last note, I use Silverstar Ultra low beam bulbs on the wife's SUV and they are much brighter, but burn out much quicker, which the manufacturer duly points out as the tradeoff. Now this may not matter that much for backup lamps, since you don't have those on very often, but I added LED bulbs instead and they light up the entire area behind the car, which helps a lot with the backup camera's image quality.

[2SS Capt]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

Still massive respect for your tenacity with this conversion

On your last note, I use Silverstar Ultra low beam bulbs on the wife's SUV and they are much brighter, but burn out much quicker, which the manufacturer duly points out as the tradeoff. Now this may not matter that much for backup lamps, since you don't have those on very often, but I added LED bulbs instead and they light up the entire area behind the car, which helps a lot with the backup camera's image quality.

Try LED headlights instead of the Silver stars, LEDs are much whiter and brighter, I have retrofitted all of my cars (all have projector style headlamp assemblies).

You can get decent LEDs for under $50 a pair...

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by 2SS Capt

Try LED headlights instead of the Silver stars, LEDs are much whiter and brighter, I have retrofitted all of my cars (all have projector style headlamp assemblies).

You can get decent LEDs for under $50 a pair...

Thanks for the tip, alas, this SUV is older (2016) and has reflector style headlight assemblies, installing LED bulbs in those is ill-advised.

[3.8TransAM]

Debated taking it out 20 different times as the sky went from black to sunny and back all day with rain here or there........................Stupid weather all over the Chicago/NW IN region today dammit

[2SS Capt]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

Thanks for the tip, alas, this SUV is older (2016) and has reflector style headlight assemblies, installing LED bulbs in those is ill-advised.

Wow, a 2016 with reflector style headlights??? Even my 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe has projector lens (and it came with halogen bulbs)...

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by 2SS Capt

Wow, a 2016 with reflector style headlights??? Even my 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe has projector lens (and it came with halogen bulbs)...

Yeah, tell me about it, GM and their penny pinching...