tail lights

[jimbo3n21]

hey guys,

I've been doing some researching and pretty soon Im going to night shade my tail lights. but I wanted to no whats the darkest u can go with out being pulled over. because the freaking cops here suck.

[SuperGLS]

That's going to be up to the cops. It's generally illegal to tint them at all.

[jimbo3n21]

yea, i no its up to the cops and its illegal to tint them all.

but i was thinking about tinting them as dark as the trail blazer tail lights.

[BColeman]

What a wasteful thread man. Why ask us? We don't live where you do. You already said the cops there suck. That should be answer enough not to do it. And if you go ahead and do it, darken them however you want to your tastes.

[04 elantra cvvt]

That's going to be up to the cops. It's generally illegal to tint them at all.

+1

yea, i no its up to the cops and its illegal to tint them all.

but i was thinking about tinting them as dark as the trail blazer tail lights.

Trailblazers aren't actually tinted. They just look like it. The lenses are actually clear, and the shading is more of a shadowing effect.

[mlumz]

it really is up to you, but 2 coats of niteshade gives it a decent darkness but you still can see the red underneath so it doesn't to dark

[Munky]

What a wasteful thread man. Why ask us? We don't live where you do. You already said the cops there suck. That should be answer enough not to do it. And if you go ahead and do it, darken them however you want to your tastes.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Free post FTW!

[kylemorg]

Please realize that the people behind you might not be able to see your tail lights when you brake if you tint them, especially on a bright sunny day. It's not just an issue with the cops, it's a safety hazard.

Just like with LED tail light bulbs, all it would take to mess you up would be for the person who hit you to say they couldn't see your tail lights. Then they'll look at your tail lights and find the film. Even though they hit you, you'll be liable for the damage to your car and their car because you have non-DOT approved tail lights.

You're insurance company may refuse to pay for the damage (or injuries) for the same reason; then you'll be sued and screwed.

But hey, it's your car... do what you want. I just hope I'm never behind you on a bright sunny day.

[BColeman]

^ After seeing Scott's ride for HIN Charlotte, I wish I hadn't Nightshaded my tails. The appearance of a nice and shiny tail light is very rewarding. And the safety factor is important too. Though my Nightshades has faded, I wonder how many people really can see my brake lights during the day.

[04GTboySC]

it was hard to see when i was behind you i just didnt want to mention it you should really look into doing the 3rd brake light mod :)

[Ugzz]

^thats the issue, i saw someone with shaded tails and in the sunniest part of the day, you could not see the tails light up AT ALL.. not cool, not cool

[kylemorg]

I'm glad to see that others recognize the danger of this, too.

I had the same experience, Ugzz: I was behind an Audi A4 a while back on Ivory Avenue just of McKnight Road. The Audi had dark tinted tail lights, and I COULDN'T see his tail lights AT ALL during a sunny afternoon.

IMO, it's not worth the risk of
A. Getting pulled over and maybe getting a ticket.
B. Possibly getting rear ended
C. Possibly being held personally liable for all damages and injuries in the accident.

On a similar subject, I tinkered with LED tail light bulbs in 2003, and they were so pitifully dim and didn't have the right light angles to light the reflector that I immediately took them back out.

Why not spend your money on something that isn't potentially unsafe instead?

By the way, notice the disclaimers on these pages:
http://www.jonstintedtails.com/faqs.htm
http://www.trimlineswindon.co.uk/user_data/Faq.htm

They are there for a reason...

[Helras]

while we are on the subject of legality, what if the circle part that lights up was taped off and stayed clear, while the rest of the tail was tinted?

[kylemorg]

^ It sounds like you want to mask the non-illuminated areas. As long as you didn't cover up the full circular area of the illuminated part of the lens and the turn signal, you should be fine. Just make sure the red reflective area isn't masked. I think you'll be OK 'cause at least on the '02 GT the reflector portion is in the middle of the brake light circle.

One thing I must confess to -- I did cover the yellow part of the lens with red clear vinyl from SuperGLS to make it red. However, that mod hardly affected the light output, since the turn signals are SO BRIGHT (brighter than the stop lamps IMO.

This brings up another subject -- altezza tail lights. Part of the reason the fully clear ones and clear covers on factory tail lights are illegal is because they don't have a red passive reflector on them. You need a reflector on the back of the car that reflects red when light hits it at night.

[Krad]

I tinted mines out with "Nite Shade" and I made them almost completely black. But then I used a little rubbing compound on them. Now they look like it's stock.

As for how dark. My friend has a yellow Lancer and he also wanted them tinted after he saw my lights. I still had half the can left so we tinted his so dark that you can't see the red, unless he has his lights on or brakes. So far, no cops have pulled him over.

[CornbreadXD]

Im still debating on tinting my tails, i want to use vinyl though because of the saftey issue w/ nightshades. I'd like to see a comparison between vinyl and nightshades in daylight.

[BColeman]

Because of Scott's comment regarding my ride, I'm walking outside in a few minutes, removing my tails, and taking the rubbing compound to them.

Additionally, if anyone darkens their lenses, the courteous thing, and the safer thing to do is upgrade the bulds. Either get super bright LED ones, or just a brighter stock bulb type. That will help in the safety factor, however, I still forsee problems during the day.

[DJ Hellfire]

Too dark is tacky anyway unless the car is black!

[justintodd]

Im glad i read this thread, just got my can the other day, i never thought people not seeing my brake light during the day, just at night. I think im going to go with the above opinion on finding a perfect circle to tape over the brake light and shade the rest of it, i think that would look pretty tight actually-just in case, i only have 2 points left on my liscence and that would be a ****ty way to lose it.

[exdtuner]

That's going to be up to the cops. It's generally illegal to tint them at all.

I agree. I am from Virginia and cops there just do not tolerate anything. They will pull you over if you sneeze the wrong way. However, in Florida you can get away with nearly anything. All of this based on my experiences of course.

[kylemorg]

i only have 2 points left on my liscence and that would be a ****ty way to lose it.

Dude, then don't do it! It doesn't make your car faster or more fuel efficient -- it's purely a "style" thing. I'd focus on something else that won't potentially get you another ticket!!!

[OPZ]

Or if you do, use a grand prix/am or berreta to compare to. From the factory those are "tinted", at least in my opinion.

Or if you can find one of the smoked covers to match....just don't go any darker then those.

[justintodd]

If i leave a perfect circle untinted for the breakloght on my hatchback, wheres the problem? turns sigs are bright so that shouldnt be a prob. i still have the middle lights to on the hatch...there still is a little risk factor though...i dont know maybe i will wait a little....but i still think it would look sick:D

[kylemorg]

Yeah, it would look sick... sitting in your driveway while you walk or take the bus for a few weeks to a year because your driver's license was suspended. Trust me. I lost my license for 45 days, then drove anyway and got caugh, then my license was revoked for a full year. it reeeeaaaalllyyy sucks.

Right now you should be looking for ways to make your car LESS conspicuous to the cops, not more so.

But if you want to do some useless mod that might make the cop decide to follow you and pull you over rather than ignoring a minor infraction, go ahead. I can't stop you.