I've spent a few hours this weekend fitting a couple of LR accessories to my SVR, the rechargeable torch and the illuminated stainless loadspace threshold.

It used to be the case that accessories were priced excluding installation and the dealer would quote. They are now priced including dealer installation but it's always the case that the book installation times (18 minutes for the torch, 30 for the loadspace threshold) put them under pressure. Since the installation involves what you might call craft skills - the ability to cut a hole in the right place or mount something straight - time spent getting it right yields better quality.

I learned this first hand when seeing the dismal quality of dealer installed mud-flaps on an Evoque - twisted and gappy - so I've always installed these things myself because I can do - and do do - a better job. Fortunately, it's possible to obtain the accessories from a helpful sponsor of this forum discounted by the installation cost so where the dealer installed torch costs something like £220, it can be had for less than half that.

The torch is easy to install but does require the left loadspace wall to be removed without breaking the clips holding it in place and there is no substitute for plastic pry tools which can apply the gentle pressure where it's needed. Grabbing the thing and yanking it off will lead to trouble. Once off, you have to use a jig-saw to cut the aperture required. It is marked on the reverse side so you just drill holes in the corners and cut it out, then finish it off with the file. You also have to cut away some ribbing to allow the holder to be fitted properly. The torch connects to a socket which is part of the wiring loom, so you have to make a hole in the sound adsorbing layer behind the panel to pass the cable through to connect to the wiring loom. The cable could do with being a bit longer - 30cm or so - to make for easy connection. The LED torch is nicely engineered, anodised aluminium and bright enough. It's charged when the ignition is switched on so will always be available as and when you need it. Granted, a mag-lite is a fraction of the cost but I like the carrier to store it.

Here's a picture of the loadspace (yes I know the car is dirty) after the torch was installed. You can also see the standard loadspace threshold which is a pretty low-rent affair compared to the stainless version I had on my Evoque, this in a £100k+ car.

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Looks Nice

Its dark out- where's the picture!!  2012 RRS HSE. Firenze Red.

Here!

As you can see, the illuminated bit is not worth the bother. It's not going to cause any sort of navigational hazard to passing aircraft...

Click image to enlarge

I was expecting lasers shining out of the back!

 2012 RRS HSE. Firenze Red.

Hah hah, I think this might have been the first effort for the Spectre car and deemed a bit tame...

I see it cost me £265 + VAT LOL, £318 including.

The list prices on the LR configurator including VAT and installation are £365 for the non-illuminated version and £482 for this version. They must crack open a bottle every time someone orders one!

At least I saved £167 by installing it myself. Mark

SVR in Estoril Blue

Looks very nice Mark JLR certainly get a nice profit out of their accessories  2003 BMW M5 - 5 Litres of V8 Optimax Slurping Goodness in Carbon Black

2013 SDV6 HSE Black Edition- Orkney Grey with Ebony & Ivory. LR Facelift RAI, Genuine G4 Expedition Rack, 4x Warn SBD-160 Spotlights, Warn 9.5XPS Winch, Mantec Underbody Protection and Sump Guard, Full Easy Lift Suspension Module, LR Light Guards, Light Force HTX230 Hybrid spotlights, 18� Compomotive PD1881 on 265/65/18 BF Goodrich KO2, ARB fridge, TuffTrek awning 😎

Thank you, the message for me is clear. The stainless inserts are worth having, the lighting is not. Mark

SVR in Estoril Blue

Yeah I went the cheap scape option and bought the unserts from Amazon USA for £40ish, 3M tape and they are fitted lol.

If anyone wants pics then let me know, I'm jealous of the torch but can't justify a £100 to swmbo lol. 2014.5 Mariana Black 5.0 Supercharged V8 Autobiography

came across this on ebay, looks like it just goes over the existing one, so may not be as neat as the LR one but

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221894837448?_tr...EBIDX%3AIT

Mark_N wrote:

Here!

As you can see, the illuminated bit is not worth the bother. It's not going to cause any sort of navigational hazard to passing aircraft...

Click image to enlarge

Looks pretty
Are you able to 'upgrade' the LED's to something brighter? ON THE WAY: BMW F21 M140i
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udash wrote:

came across this on ebay, looks like it just goes over the existing one, so may not be as neat as the LR one but

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221894837448?_tr...EBIDX%3AIT

That certainly looks a more cost effective option and much easier to install.

I did smile that the LR pictograms instructions want you to bin the original part, throwing good money after bad. Mark

SVR in Estoril Blue

Beancounter_74 wrote:

Mark_N wrote:

Here!

As you can see, the illuminated bit is not worth the bother. It's not going to cause any sort of navigational hazard to passing aircraft...

Click image to enlarge

Looks pretty
Are you able to 'upgrade' the LED's to something brighter?

Yes, you could replace the two electro-luminescent panels which run along each side with a circuit board populated with diffused white LED's with suitably modified power arrangements - the existing panels run off a high voltage, low current power supply I think - but I am not sure it would be worth the effort.

Still, when the panels go (even) dimmer or the tiny power supply brick you can see in the second photograph gives up, I might spend a rainy day of my retirement doing just that! Beats joining the local bridge club... Mark

SVR in Estoril Blue