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Diy Fitting Guide For Alternative Indicators


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#1 -Dab-of-Oppo-

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Posted 19 March 2011 - 07:43 PM

I was never really a fan of the boring looking standard indicators, I just felt with them being round that they did not tie in very well with the more aggressive angular lines of the bodywork. So today I have just finished fitting a new pair of side indicators to my car and thought I might aswell share how I did it and give a reccommendation on which to use.

The ones I got where intended for an Alfa Romeo 147 but suit the VX perfectly IMO. I got mine from Ebay here I went for the smoked ones as they are a nice stealthy black yet are still E marked and road legal unlike the all black ones on their website here which should not be used on the road.

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Unfortunatly they are not a straight fit and some work will need to be done.

Firstly remove the little tabs on the back and flatten them off with your dremel -

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Remove the OEM indicators. They should simply pull out just enough for you to unplug the connector, let it fall inside you can get to it by reaching under the clam later.

Remove the bulb and holder by twisting and fit the new orange bulbs that come with the new indicators. The OEM ones have orange lenses so just use untinted bulbs which are no longer of use with the clear lensed ones. If you are not keen on the 'fried egg' look you can get some silvervision W5's which have a chrome outside but still flash orange.

Mask up the area surrounding the hole -

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It is a very good idea to tape on a sort of protective jig made out of a strong flat material. This will stop you going to far and making the hole too large and could save your paintwork should the drill bit shoot off course.

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To get the new ones to fit you should be aiming to remove the metal retaining tabs either side and level out the clam with the hole in the metal re-inforcement piece that's bonded behind. A cutting wheel on your dremel should make light work of this.

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You can see the re-inforcement bracket from behind

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This mod should be fully reversible as the surface area of the OEM ones will still cover the extended cut out. Obviously they will no longer clip in but you could easilly stick them on if you wanted to return to stock at any point.

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If you have a really snug fit you could simply leave them secured like that. I opted to cut some thin black foam tape to the shape of the back and stuck them down. This will also protect against rubbing and paint damage, seals from water ingress and fills the very minimal gap on the back.

The rest is pretty much self explanatory. Just keep test fitting until they are a snug fit. You should not need to grind down the top and bottom of the inner metal bracket much at all its more the sides you need to concentrate on cutting them back bit by bit until the indicator sits flush.

I found that the front tip did not quite sit flat due to the contour of the bodywork starting to have an affect at this point. There is very little in it though and the 1mm gap will be filled when you fit your foam tape and can only be seen when looking closly from above.

Done, a cost effective mod that gives a very noticable improvement to the looks of the car. B)

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#2 haggi961

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Posted 19 March 2011 - 07:52 PM

Looks good that does and suits the vx nicely, but i dont think i have the balls to cut the clam.

#3 GiGo

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Posted 19 March 2011 - 07:53 PM

Looks good thumbsup I went for the OEM smoked ones, but these do look good!

#4 -Dab-of-Oppo-

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Posted 19 March 2011 - 08:04 PM

Looks good that does and suits the vx nicely, but i dont think i have the balls to cut the clam.


Thanks, they are not quite the exact style I was looking for but pretty close. There is very little cutting of the clam required really. About 2mm of the plastic clam, most is the metal plate behind so you don't need to be that brave! You would really have to fcuk it up to leave un-coverable marks.

#5 2.2_na

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Posted 20 March 2011 - 02:35 AM

Looks good that does and suits the vx nicely, but i dont think i have the balls to cut the clam.


:yeahthat:

#6 chris_uk

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Posted 20 March 2011 - 11:53 AM

Looks good that does and suits the vx nicely, but i dont think i have the balls to cut the clam.



just bring it over.. ill do it with pleasure :P




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