S550 to S650 parts swap and interchangeability possibilities

[WolfMxbee]

The ambient lighting in the pocket looks good!

How did you do it, did you just tap another door handle LED into the existing wiring so the pocket would coincide with the door handle light?

Surprisingly no haha, I tried to find the light for the handle by itself cause I know the pocket has a hole for it but I ended up getting this (link below), and tucked it far back so you can't even see it especially from passenger seat, I ran the wires through the speaker trim on the s650 since the plastic separates versus the s550 panel and tapped into the ambient light for the handle buuuut.. my car is a base so never came with or have a connector for ambient lighting but the s650 panel did have it so I wired the handle light to the window switch light circuit. For the light strip I added, I didn't put it all the way forward to the front of the panel because I didn't want concentrated light at the front of the pocket, I like the faded look towards the front so it's mounted in the middle

BELOMI Car LED Strip Light, 12V 24 LEDs RGB Neon Vehicle Interior Atmosphere Lamps, Waterproof Auto Decotaive Ambient Light Accessories, Universal for Vehicles, Trucks, and More（24LED/Ice Blue） https://a.co/d/5iadTbJ

To aquire the light blue I wanted (don't like dark blue) I wired the green and blue wire on the door handle light to power since it's rgb and boom, ice blue, and also I used solder heat shrink connectors, I hate crimp connectors, super cheap on Amazon and had good luck using them for the past couple years

I also painted my aftermarket radio hazard chrome trim

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[Cobra Jet]

Surprisingly no haha, I tried to find the light for the handle by itself cause I know the pocket has a hole for it but I ended up getting this (link below), and tucked it far back so you can't even see it especially from passenger seat, I ran the wires through the speaker trim on the s650 since the plastic separates versus the s550 panel and tapped into the ambient light for the handle buuuut.. my car is a base so never came with or have a connector for ambient lighting but the s650 panel did have it so I wired the handle light to the window switch light circuit. For the light strip I added, I didn't put it all the way forward to the front of the panel because I didn't want concentrated light at the front of the pocket, I like the faded look towards the front so it's mounted in the middle

BELOMI Car LED Strip Light, 12V 24 LEDs RGB Neon Vehicle Interior Atmosphere Lamps, Waterproof Auto Decotaive Ambient Light Accessories, Universal for Vehicles, Trucks, and More（24LED/Ice Blue） https://a.co/d/5iadTbJ

To aquire the light blue I wanted (don't like dark blue) I wired the green and blue wire on the door handle light to power since it's rgb and boom, ice blue, and also I used solder heat shrink connectors, I hate crimp connectors, super cheap on Amazon and had good luck using them for the past couple years

I also painted my aftermarket radio hazard chrome trim

Really good ideas you’re putting together for your ride!

So some other questions:
- You speak of a hole in the pocket of the door panel; I’m assuming the S650 has a predrilled hole and is it illuminated in the S650, or just a drainage hole of sorts? I’m not following anything S650, so it may be a dumb question … LOL

- “solder heat shrink connector”; never used them. So I’m assuming once you have the connector over the wire and the wires are properly twisted, the connector gets slid up over the bare wire and is then heated - solder then melts over the wires? How small do these come? I suck at soldering anything… LOL…

 

[WolfMxbee]

Really good ideas you’re putting together for your ride!

So some other questions:
- You speak of a hole in the pocket of the door panel; I’m assuming the S650 has a predrilled hole and is it illuminated in the S650, or just a drainage hole of sorts? I’m not following anything S650, so it may be a dumb question … LOL

- “solder heat shrink connector”; never used them. So I’m assuming once you have the connector over the wire and the wires are properly twisted, the connector gets slid up over the bare wire and is then heated - solder then melts over the wires? How small do these come? I suck at soldering anything… LOL…

Yee it has a prefilled hole I'm assuming only comes if you have the ambient door lighting door panel, and you are correct the solder connectors, they said don't use a lighter but I do, you just have to be careful not to concentrate the heat in one spot too long, like a couple of seconds and you'll see the plastic shrink and solder melt

TICONN 150 PCS Solder Seal Wire Connectors, Heat Shrink Butt Connectors, Waterproof and Insulated Electrical Wire Terminals, Butt Splice (150PCS) https://a.co/d/0PHy44W

 

[MACHtobers Very Own]

So they look like very very dark metallic, as opposed to just black. Can you confirm? Also, part numbers and prices?

Finally got them in hand. Installing tomorow. They are indeed black and would not call it a dark metallic.

 

[WolfMxbee]

Finally got them in hand. Installing tomorow. They are indeed black and would not call it a dark metallic.

Haha I was looking at forums and came across an old forum of murdered interior trim and I seen your post 2 years ago foreshadowing you getting the dark horse trim looks really good though!! I also thought about playing with the idea of black chrome but the matte black is such a nice accent, at first I was scared and thought it would make my interior look cheap but it feels more expensive lol

 

[WolfMxbee]

Finally got them in hand. Installing tomorow. They are indeed black and would not call it a dark metallic.

Oh also don't forget to cut that little ear off the pull handles

 

[MACHtobers Very Own]

Haha I was looking at forums and came across an old forum of murdered interior trim and I seen your post 2 years ago foreshadowing you getting the dark horse trim looks really good though!! I also thought about playing with the idea of black chrome but the matte black is such a nice accent, at first I was scared and thought it would make my interior look cheap but it feels more expensive lol

lol yep! Ive been super committed and stayed stalking the internet! I know I could have painted them or bought covers but I was so worried about them being heavy touch points. Hopefully it pays off!

 

[Mike Pfeifer]

Haha I was looking at forums and came across an old forum of murdered interior trim and I seen your post 2 years ago foreshadowing you getting the dark horse trim looks really good though!! I also thought about playing with the idea of black chrome but the matte black is such a nice accent, at first I was scared and thought it would make my interior look cheap but it feels more expensive lol

I’ve also been a little worried that all black would “look cheap” which is why I haven’t gone down that road. I liked when the higher end / European cars started with the metal panels (instead of wood or painted plastic) in the interior, so I feel a little conflicted about getting rid of all that.

 

[WolfMxbee]

I’ve also been a little worried that all black would “look cheap” which is why I haven’t gone down that road. I liked when the higher end / European cars started with the metal panels (instead of wood or painted plastic) in the interior, so I feel a little conflicted about getting rid of all that.

I still have my brushed silver dash trim in case but I decided to go black because of the door panels since it has a better design in my opinion of more textured plastic, the black actually looks good but I also ordered a matte carbon fiber steering wheel to complete my setup and plan on going digital dash soon too, even bought the bezel for the digital dash and painted it black which is why my stock cluster bezel still chrome

 

[mookieit]

Was the swap worth it?

I thought the S650 door panel material is more premium than the base S550.

By looking at the photos, it looks like the material is the same, is that right?

 

[WolfMxbee]

Was the swap worth it?

I thought the S650 door panel material is more premium than the base S550.

By looking at the photos, it looks like the material is the same, is that right?

The s650 has a nice padded leather on the top section which is perfect cause I always rest my arm on it, the plastic would get too hot to touch on the s550 panel, and well just the aesthetics changed, in my opinion it was worth it cause Inside it stands out then any other s550 interior besides the alcantara guys that have the whole dash and center console in alcantara

 

[WolfMxbee]

I have confirmed the S650 A pillars won't work, they will and they won't, so the top section where it meets the headliner will, it'll clip in and everything but where it meets the dash, it was redesigned and even if I cut the slide in tabs to meet the dash, it would fit snug but have a big hole/gap that you could look into the dash front the windshield

 

[Cobra Jet]

I have confirmed the S650 A pillars won't work, they will and they won't, so the top section where it meets the headliner will, it'll clip in and everything but where it meets the dash, it was redesigned and even if I cut the slide in tabs to meet the dash, it would fit snug but have a big hole/gap that you could look into the dash front the windshield

Hmmm….

So say you had a set of donor S550 A-pillars:

- could you cut the S550 donors at a low point
- cut the S650 A-pillars near same area
- “merge” the bottom S550 to the top S650 using fiberglass or resin on the back side
- touch up front side at the join
- then just use correct interior dye to paint the finished product?

Sounds like a lot of work, but it may be a solution.

 

[WolfMxbee]

Hmmm….

So say you had a set of donor S550 A-pillars:

- could you cut the S550 donors at a low point
- cut the S650 A-pillars near same area
- “merge” the bottom S550 to the top S650 using fiberglass or resin on the back side
- touch up front side at the join
- then just use correct interior die to paint the finished product?

Sounds like a lot of work, but it may be a solution.

You could absolutely, I mean the texture on the panels is a very light so possibly could blend in very well at the seam between the two pieces

 

[MACHtobers Very Own]

We did it!!!!
Black dark horse pulls and handles in my Mach 1!!! I love it!

few words:

buy the whole door handle assembly with the door lock. My dealership gave me the non recaro assembly so I had to transfer the handle over which was not fun. The passenger side we just moved the entire assembly into place. Much easier!!

also the door pulls I don't know if it's cause they were manufactured differently or later but there's a bit more of a gap when installing. It's really not noticeable at all but my ocd wasn't happy. Trust me it's fine but the chrome one just sat on the door a bit tighter with more of a better fit and finish.

I'm very happy with outcome. Took about 2 hours

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