e-codes or j-codes? thoughts?

[phillips2024]

Curious to see what you guys think. Im torn between the dark tint of the j-code or the clear plastic of the e-code. What do you guys think?

Audacious' car sporting jcode:



sobz car sporting ecodes:

[richib86]

unless J stands for jimmy mod then i think you made the term up lol

[phillips2024]

i very well could have

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...ont-reflectors

Edit: from my research the "j-code" is just a DIY term for tinting the amber lenses...

[audisarecool]

Loving the "jcode"

[A5RIZ]

Had my lights taken apart and painted ( call it J code whatever )

Still like the e-codes better

Sorry for the bad pic

[audisarecool]

Had my lights taken apart and painted ( call it J code whatever )

Still like the e-codes better

Sorry for the bad pic

don't mean to threadjack, but might you have any other pictures of your car with those wheels? Thanks!

[CONTROL TWO]

jcodes are clean and easy.. ive done quite a few sets now - if anyone local to me wants help, just let me know!

[richib86]

will someone please clarify J codes please... lol

[svander]

if anyone local to me wants help, just let me know!

Where exactly is SJ?

[phillips2024]

the "jcodes" look awesome and having a black car I am leaning more towards this option. I am looking into purchasing a roll of 5"x30' bmw shadowline MATTE vinyl.

@control two. do you recommend matte or gloss vinyl?

will someone please clarify J codes please... lol

check the link i posted earlier

[FITZ TITS]

The clear looks sharp on the black. And the black looks great on the red, as it ties together the rest of the car's theme. If you're going with a stealth look with dark colored wheels, I'd say j-code. If you're going for a bright sharp look with silver/polished wheels, then go e-code.

[richib86]

i did check it, the answer i was looking for wasnt there lol

the "jcodes" look awesome and having a black car I am leaning more towards this option. I am looking into purchasing a roll of 5"x30' bmw shadowline MATTE vinyl.

@control two. do you recommend matte or gloss vinyl?



check the link i posted earlier

[CONTROL TWO]

Where exactly is SJ?

san jose, ca (bay area)

@richi - joey mods are a B6 term

@ phillips - i paint the reflector semi-gloss black ( i guess it's pretty matte) with some direct-to-plastic paint a few coats and dont even bother with a clear coat (the reflector easily pops out and can be painted outside of the housing)

[richib86]

wow total brain fart... i meant joey, not jimmy. and you're right i knew that from the b6 days i just wasnt aware we renamed it j-codes lol i like the term

san jose, ca (bay area)

@richi - joey mods are a B6 term

@ phillips - i paint the reflector semi-gloss black ( i guess it's pretty matte) with some direct-to-plastic paint a few coats and dont even bother with a clear coat (the reflector easily pops out and can be painted outside of the housing)

[NJDeVsFaN]

Definitely J-codes. I've done about 10 sets thus far with no problems. Even had someone on Audizine ship their set to me from Florida to do it for them

[phillips2024]

san jose, ca (bay area)

@richi - joey mods are a B6 term

@ phillips - i paint the reflector semi-gloss black ( i guess it's pretty matte) with some direct-to-plastic paint a few coats and dont even bother with a clear coat (the reflector easily pops out and can be painted outside of the housing)

hm.. interesting. I do have some black plastidip left. Maybe ill give that a go and see how it looks. By chance, do you know what brand paint you used on your projects?

[Akrion]

So funny that I was experimenting today with exactly the same thing and was considering all options to paint/tint/vanyl/etc. those reflectors. The link for the DIY was very helpful but quite a risky undertaking if for some reason the sealing back process does not work as expected.

"j-code" would look more aggressive on your car (considering the "gray" color). "e-code" would look more elegant/clean IMO.

[phillips2024]

So funny that I was experimenting today with exactly the same thing and was considering all options to paint/tint/vanyl/etc. those reflectors. The link for the DIY was very helpful but quite a risky undertaking if for some reason the sealing back process does not work as expected.

"j-code" would look more aggressive on your car (considering the "gray" color). "e-code" would look more elegant/clean IMO.

I followed the DIY, and currently have my headlights apart and reflectors out; it wasnt bad at all. From looking at it, i have no concerns with reusing the silicone.

Definitely J-codes. I've done about 10 sets thus far with no problems. Even had someone on Audizine ship their set to me from Florida to do it for them

What are you using on the reflectors?

[Akrion]

I followed the DIY, and currently have my headlights apart and reflectors out; it wasnt bad at all. From looking at it, i have no concerns with reusing the silicone.

Interesting ... Good to know that it is not that big of a deal ... would you share what heat gun did you use and if the time was really 30min to un-seal 1 light?

[CONTROL TWO]

hm.. interesting. I do have some black plastidip left. Maybe ill give that a go and see how it looks. By chance, do you know what brand paint you used on your projects?

i used rustoleum direct-to-plastic in black.. has a picture of a plastic lawn chair gettin sprayed an obnoxious shade of red on the can

also wouldnt be too worried about the re-sealing process as long as you didn't completely mess the silicone seal up while taking them apart in the first place. i havent had condensation issues at all

[CONTROL TWO]

Interesting ... Good to know that it is not that big of a deal ... would you share what heat gun did you use and if the time was really 30min to un-seal 1 light?

i use a porter heat gun with 2 settings for fan and progressive setting for heat.. takes ~30 min depending on your technique and patience

[phillips2024]

its an ECG heat gun

and honestly, ~10 min per light for me

[Akrion]

10x for the help/info guys! I appreciate it. I think I have found my next project

[NJDeVsFaN]

I followed the DIY, and currently have my headlights apart and reflectors out; it wasnt bad at all. From looking at it, i have no concerns with reusing the silicone.




What are you using on the reflectors?

I used vinyl.

[JOS4AUDI]

J codes for sure one of my favorite mods. Especially on my black car I love it. I've done it twice on the B8, and once on my B7. Never leaked or fogged up. Your local auto parts store should sell VHT night shades. That worked the best for me. It's a spray tint for lenses. Good luck

[phillips2024]

im going to plastidip them tonight and see how it turns out. Ill be sure to post pics. If that doesnt work I am going to get some matte vinyl.

[Audacious]

Plastidip should work out nicely. IMO, the biggest issue for me was price. E-codes: $1300. DIY: $20 and a couple hours. Both look great, but I don't think I could choose one over the other.

[ahcow]

I like the jcode because my car is black.

[H8D-S4]

I might have to take you up on the help, I'm local to SJ and just picked up my S4. Would look sweet on my GW

jcodes are clean and easy.. ive done quite a few sets now - if anyone local to me wants help, just let me know!

[Alex@TAG]

We recomend doing the E-Codes... We ahve done several sets of them and they come out beautiful. OEM without any worrying or anything...

PM me for special pricing :)

[phillips2024]

thank you for the input everyone. I ended up plastidipping them and i could not be happier! they look great. Also a heads up, there is a set of clear ecode reflectors for sale in the b8 a4 section.

heres a few pics i took:





poor lighting right now so tomorrow morning I will roll the car outside and take some pics

[CreoSTi]

Looks good! I went with ecodes only for the fact that I have 2 more years on my lease (I'll return the car to stock, then sell off the parts). I've "cleared" out the headlights on a lot of my previous cars, though, and it's a fairly straight forward process.

[phillips2024]

Looks good! I went with ecodes only for the fact that I have 2 more years on my lease (I'll return the car to stock, then sell off the parts). I've "cleared" out the headlights on a lot of my previous cars, though, and it's a fairly straight forward process.

makes sense. Ya the process is easy, I took the headlights of my last car apart as well, painted them and installed some CCFL rings (similar to the bmw style). As for the jcode I def recommend this mod to everyone interested. Its easy and will clean up the front a lot! I followed the DIY link below and used plastidip

[Akrion]

What I am very interested to know is if you do something like this:



And then use the same 3M Di-noc for the reflector ... now how would that look on an Ibis + Ti ...

[CONTROL TWO]

the thing with di-noc is that it is thicker than other vinyls so getting it to contour to the corners of the reflector might be tricky

[Akrion]

the thing with di-noc is that it is thicker than other vinyls so getting it to contour to the corners of the reflector might be tricky

Tricky even with a heat gun?

[CONTROL TWO]

i have only wrapped flat surfaces with it, so i cant say for sure, but i'd say you'd need enough heat that it'd start to warp the weave pattern and make it look .. mehh.. cheap??

[phillips2024]

maybe you can ask for a sample? test that then make a decision

[Akrion]

maybe you can ask for a sample? test that then make a decision

Yep. I have 3M Di-noc coming next week ... will experiment

[DUBSPORTN]

J code here