My ICELEDs are installed! Woot!

It took most of the day to do it, but they are in.. talk about some modding =P

All of my lights are protected from bottoming out by an 1/8th inch thick steel L bar that runs the full length of each tube, and the tube is attacked to the inside of them.

The sides, the bar is sheet metal screwed into the frame...

The front, the bar is mounted to the bar that goes down the center of the engine compartment that the engine mounts are attached to...

The rear was quite interesting. I have some reenforced shelving type brackets with thick guage steel attached to the underside of my spare tire bucket type area in the trunk, and the steel L beam attached to that, so it hangs down just between the tires. It looks almost like a wing except it's on the underside instead of up above. even though my car is lowered, I managed to get it about 2 inches off of the ground, and based on where it's located between the tires, I could still hit speed bumps hard and not hit those on the ground as they are between the tires, so the tires would lift up the car at that point. Only way those are bottoming out is if I drive over one of those sidewalk type barriers used in parking lots.. =)

So yes, it can be done with a 2003 eclipse! Hell yeah!

told you so

anything can be installed anywhere... some might be harder than others... but it all can be done.

Well now my front bar is damaged cause the dumbasses at the "hand car wash" place I took it to decided to attempt to drive it through their automated part first, and crushed the front bar with the tracks on the ground...

Can you get some pics of the installed tubes? I'd like to see how you did it. I have a PT Cruiser, and the sides and front worked out nicely, but I'm not thrilled with the back tube. I keep trying different spots, but either there isn't much throw, or I can see the LEDs.

GoldenRod wrote:

Can you get some pics of the installed tubes? I'd like to see how you did it. I have a PT Cruiser, and the sides and front worked out nicely, but I'm not thrilled with the back tube. I keep trying different spots, but either there isn't much throw, or I can see the LEDs.

ask BHF from ICELED forums... she has a PT, and hers throws pretty well!

Mav wrote:

Well now my front bar is damaged cause the dumbasses at the "hand car wash" place I took it to decided to attempt to drive it through their automated part first, and crushed the front bar with the tracks on the ground...

I didn't even go a day with out getting broke? i would make them pay for that if you told them not to take it down the automated part.

hehe my light bar in the front got damaged twice in one day.. poor thing =(

The incident at the car wash place, I didn't see them do it, but they came to me saying that the lightbar was too low. They completely denied actually driving it in and causing damage but it was obvious they did. I suppose it's partly my fault as I didn't even consider them driving it through that, let alone it bottoming out on those bars. And the fluckers didn't speak english, so I had to go around the back to find the person who spoke english, and by then it was too late... I'm definately never taking my car there again. It used to be a great place, but it was apparently bought out by someone else, and they lie through their teeth. I couldn't even get the owner's name from the guy. I had to call the City's Business Licensing dept to get his name which was completely different then the name they gave me.

later that day after I got it home, cut the zip ties, drilled out the sheared off screws and rebolted everything down, I put some new zip ties on that I got from Napa as it was the only place that had the burly zip ties like what came with the kit. The problem however was that the zip ties were designed for running cable, so they had a big hole on the clip side where you could run wire through it. I didn't think anything ot it at the time. Those extra long clips ended up protruding down an additional inch or so... I ended up leaving a parking lot that had a huge dip between it and the street, and it was low enough for one of those extra long clips to bottom out which caused it to snap off. I dragged the light tube without knowing it for half a block at speeds up to 45Mph before I got a chance to pull over to check...

The side black rubber part was completely ripped apart, and some of the plastic was ground down. Luckily I had a single large cheapo zip tie laying around in the car I was able to lock it down with temporarily so I could get it home and put some more big ones on it. This time I cut off the big holes on the end and I threaded the zip ties in the opposite direction and have the ends pointing up instead of down.

The tube still functions perfectly, and from what I can tell, it's still water tight, but I am gonna ask Phil if I can order just a replacement ruber end cap. I'll stick it on with a buncha silicone, and zip tie it nice and tight just in case =)

I must say though, these tubes can really take a beating and keep on going. To think at the car was place the tube was hit hard enough to leave 2 little indents in the tube from hitting 2 of the LEDs, and it sheared 2 sheet metal screws clean off, yet it still survived with no internal damage is just amazing.

Damn, that thing is going throw hell and back. If that was a normal tube it would have been gone the first time if got hit.

Mav wrote:

hehe my light bar in the front got damaged twice in one day.. poor thing =( The incident at the car wash place, I didn't see them do it, but they came to me saying that the lightbar was too low. They completely denied actually driving it in and causing damage but it was obvious they did. I suppose it's partly my fault as I didn't even consider them driving it through that, let alone it bottoming out on those bars. And the fluckers didn't speak english, so I had to go around the back to find the person who spoke english, and by then it was too late... I'm definately never taking my car there again. It used to be a great place, but it was apparently bought out by someone else, and they lie through their teeth. I couldn't even get the owner's name from the guy. I had to call the City's Business Licensing dept to get his name which was completely different then the name they gave me. later that day after I got it home, cut the zip ties, drilled out the sheared off screws and rebolted everything down, I put some new zip ties on that I got from Napa as it was the only place that had the burly zip ties like what came with the kit. The problem however was that the zip ties were designed for running cable, so they had a big hole on the clip side where you could run wire through it. I didn't think anything ot it at the time. Those extra long clips ended up protruding down an additional inch or so... I ended up leaving a parking lot that had a huge dip between it and the street, and it was low enough for one of those extra long clips to bottom out which caused it to snap off. I dragged the light tube without knowing it for half a block at speeds up to 45Mph before I got a chance to pull over to check... The side black rubber part was completely ripped apart, and some of the plastic was ground down. Luckily I had a single large cheapo zip tie laying around in the car I was able to lock it down with temporarily so I could get it home and put some more big ones on it. This time I cut off the big holes on the end and I threaded the zip ties in the opposite direction and have the ends pointing up instead of down. The tube still functions perfectly, and from what I can tell, it's still water tight, but I am gonna ask Phil if I can order just a replacement ruber end cap. I'll stick it on with a buncha silicone, and zip tie it nice and tight just in case =) I must say though, these tubes can really take a beating and keep on going. To think at the car was place the tube was hit hard enough to leave 2 little indents in the tube from hitting 2 of the LEDs, and it sheared 2 sheet metal screws clean off, yet it still survived with no internal damage is just amazing.

i'd pay $800 for any product that seems as durable/strong as this. The wire they use is the same as we use for the lights in the night clubs... NIGHT CLUB LIGHTS... you know, those big ass 250V lights that hook up to a controller and everything has to be building spec fire code sufficient... and all this in a car... no doubt it's the best thing out there.

Are you sure about that? I could have sworn those lighting were using 1 step down in guage.. and the control cable is an XLR cable... I may be wrong, as it's been a while since I've run lighting for any concerts, but I just remember them slightly thicker guage.

Anyways, these are extremely durable, and I'm glad I made the choice I made. $800 is a lot to pay for an underbody kit, but nobody has a kit like mine, and the price I would have payed to replace the front tube TWICE, I would have already been up to around $400 if I got a regular UB kit... and that's just in 1 days worth of work =P I just hope my poor lighting doesn't take any more abuse. I think I'm going to rebuild my front mounting braket to make it even more protective of the lighting. Maybe have the metal bar come down a little more, and have a lip that goes under the light too, so if it bottoms out, it hits the lip of steel rather then the light.. I think the front lighting is the hardest to protect because it's the one that has to be the most open, and the one that's the first in line to get hit...

Mav wrote:

Are you sure about that? I could have sworn those lighting were using 1 step down in guage.. and the control cable is an XLR cable... I may be wrong, as it's been a while since I've run lighting for any concerts, but I just remember them slightly thicker guage. Anyways, these are extremely durable, and I'm glad I made the choice I made. $800 is a lot to pay for an underbody kit, but nobody has a kit like mine, and the price I would have payed to replace the front tube TWICE, I would have already been up to around $400 if I got a regular UB kit... and that's just in 1 days worth of work =P I just hope my poor lighting doesn't take any more abuse. I think I'm going to rebuild my front mounting braket to make it even more protective of the lighting. Maybe have the metal bar come down a little more, and have a lip that goes under the light too, so if it bottoms out, it hits the lip of steel rather then the light.. I think the front lighting is the hardest to protect because it's the one that has to be the most open, and the one that's the first in line to get hit...

guage is the same for the smaller lights, but not as thick as some like the alien or the spider. and they do have an xlr looking plug on the end, but you spice them on anyway... i just did Club Adrenaline around here thanksgiving week, so i was able to compare. my car parked outside of the club with ufo on was going to the music in the club :-) that was pretty cool. anyway see if you can't get a peice of industrial shelving corner peice. this stuff is strong enough to withstand the weight of you car in case you do hit. also, take a picture... maybe someone will have an ideal. i actually did a car (not for iceled, just a led ub kit) where we recessed the tube above the molding, and cut out the strip in the molding for the led's to shine thru...

On mine, the I'd have to cut out a part of the main rail that the engine is mounted to, which would not be a good idea =P But I will have pics soon enough =)

ADDICTED2ICELED wrote:

GoldenRod wrote: Can you get some pics of the installed tubes? I'd like to see how you did it. I have a PT Cruiser, and the sides and front worked out nicely, but I'm not thrilled with the back tube. I keep trying different spots, but either there isn't much throw, or I can see the LEDs. ask BHF from ICELED forums... she has a PT, and hers throws pretty well!

BHF...ooh thats me. I lurk over here too! If ya need any assistance let me know.

and goldenrod is over there too well, it's no secret who i am in the iceled forums

I used to go over to those forums too.... but it made me want to buy the kit so bad I had to stop going over there.... (for financial reasons )