Hi All, i'm a newb here so please go easy on me, feel free to move this thread if it's in the wrong place.

I have an order in for a MY17 vogue sdv8 in firenze red, delivery beginning sept.

I would have probably chosen a different colour but it is a present for the wife and she has commented on a couple of firenze red RRsports (i think the colour looks different on a FFRR due to the slabbier sides, but you know how the womenfolk are about colour!!!)

anyway, onto the earth shatteringly important questions, tints or not and side steps or not.

I don't want the colour to look too blood red (ie bright and bold) because that isn't classy like the rest of the car. In your opinion, would tints help to bring out the darker hues (as per the red one in the banner above) to make it a bit more scarlet/burgandy. does anyone have any pictures of before/after tints on a firenze red example for me to look at.

Also, the demo at my local dealer had deployable side steps which were great. but i'm not paying £3k for steps, do the dealer fit fixed steps look ok? i can't get any images to compare. i also heard an unexpected benefit to them was that they stuck out a bit so helped with car park dings if you set the car to high ride height. can anyone confirm?

I'm sure other questions will pop into my head in due course, but TIA

Greg

Hi, Welcome to fullfatrr

Can't really help with your dilemma though I'm at the wrong end of the scale.....

If it's a surprise present I hope it's the right colour though....

 Pete

__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Parchment over Navy Interior. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand, Jet Interior. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green, Ivory over Aspen Interior (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

For what it is worth, I love the Firenze Red, it is a beautiful colour and fits the L405 well IMHO. But then I do like red cars anyway (no not just Ferraris ).

As for the sidesteps, have a look around the forum, there has been a lot written on them. The deployables seem to have a knack of causing some "discomfort" to the shin/calf from time to time but also people that need them, have learned to live with the deployment quircks if you can call them that. I would not fit sidesteps as they detract from the looks IMHO but I don't need them either being tall enough to slide in and out easily.

Not sure if the fixed side steps would help parking dings.

As for tints, I personally HATE them as they make the car dark inside. I like a lot of light inside my car and tints make it horribly dark (even in Africa in my 4.2). I also don't like the look of tints on a car so when I/Gary searched for the successor of the 4.2 tints were a dealbreaker and I haven't regretted it for a second !!! I love the light interior of my current 5.0. MY 2010 5.0 SC Galway green and sand interior!!
Have the Faultmate MSV2 Extreme to be tinkering with the settings etc. !!

I like tints however, I think that if you have them, then the car looks way better with a black roof, than a floating block of body colour

I'm really sorry and I must stress that this is only my opinion and I have no wish to offend anyone who might actually like tints. BUT, to me tints on anything simply makes it look like the local drug baron's delivery van. There, I've said it! Drives:
2010 FFRR TdV8 Vogue - Stornoway Grey
2010 FFRR TdV8 Vogue SE - Zermatt Silver
1998 BMW E36 M3 GTII

I think side steps are unnecessary as cars automatically go into access mode when you stop.

I just have side bars are no use - bought & should not have done !

My wife has no problem getting into my car, but needs the side steps when getting into the defender

Tints I would say no, but the picture Alistair has makes them look darker than my factory ones

Haylands wrote:

Hi, Welcome to fullfatrr

Can't really help with your dilemma though I'm at the wrong end of the scale.....

If it's a surprise present I hope it's the right colour though....

oh my god...
If my wife reacted like that to a £90k birthday present, it wouldn't be on the drive for very long... I'm sure a spell on the 'loser cruiser' would focus her mind and make her grateful, hahaha

The only reason I have tints as I travel regularly with a dog on the boot, it's mostly for his comfort. I actually like the car without them. I would suggest if you want them get them fitted from the factory as they are not just stuck on like normal tints.

Interested to hear MY17 is out at beginning of September, do you know what changes there are coming compared to MY16.5? Assume facelift version will be out sometime next year?

I have both fixed side steps and tints.

Side Steps- I personally love them and they're good for my tiny missus and 6 year old too. They help a great deal
When I wash my car and allow me to step out of the car as opposed to sliding off the leather seat every time. I also like the look of them but looks are extremely subjective

Tints - Most people here in Oz (myself included) have tints due to the extreme glare and heat that would otherwise ensue without, especially in the summer months. When I lived in the UK I never even knew what they were. Now I've gotten used to them, Id feel naked without tints.

It's coming up to winter here and it's a pleasant 25 or so all week and all ive seen is blue skies for the past 7 days 😄

If I were back in dark rainy UK tho, I really don't know how I'd feel about them.

Ps Alistair that's one shiny Range Rover. Looks like it's got some of coating? Or just freshly waxed? Lovely either way



Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated  2015 SDV8 Autobiography - Black, Cirrus, 22" Style 707 Wheels

It's not mine - just a pic I found to illustrate the point - mine's black

Greg_D wrote:

Haylands wrote:

Hi, Welcome to fullfatrr

Can't really help with your dilemma though I'm at the wrong end of the scale.....

If it's a surprise present I hope it's the right colour though....

oh my god...
If my wife reacted like that to a £90k birthday present, it wouldn't be on the drive for very long... I'm sure a spell on the 'loser cruiser' would focus her mind and make her grateful, hahaha

If my wife reacted to a £90K birthday present like that SHE wouldnt be on the drive for very long

I have tints and fixed steps and would always spec both on any new car. Personal taste thing I know but I like the side profile more with tints than without and I honestly can't agree that they make the rear a dark place. They look much darker from outside looking in than they do from the inside, where they take the edge off the strongest sunlight, which is helpful for any lengthy journey. The biggest plus is that people struggle to see what you are carrying. Now I'd never advocate leaving anything tempting to thieves inside and on display but if you are anything like me shopping involves more than one store and ineveriably things sometimes just get placed there, whilst you are away from the car and they are just away from normal view.
In respect of the steps, I wouldn't be without them. I'm 6ft 2" and without them and even in access mode you can chafe the bolster on the way in. This wouldn't be a problem for short term use but if you hold onto your car it can take its toll. Deplorable ones do look good, way better than the fixed, but then none at at all looks better still. That said, it's just something to go wrong and I've heard of a couple that have. However the big thing about fixed for me is that if you set your car to the high off-road setting before getting out of the car the steps act as a protection against most normal sized car doors being opened on to your shiny paintwork. I'm sure there will be many who disagree but this is just my personal thoughts.

Alistair wrote:

It's not mine - mine's black

Could i trouble someone to take a couple of pictures of their car (with fixed steps) so i can get a proper appreciation of what they look like from around the car

Thanks in advance