Best way to blackout tail lights?

[TechBoyJK]

I want to black out my tail lights. Here's a pic of my car with them (same color).

What's the best way to do it? I mostly just see kits in which you have to cut it and wrap it yourself. Anybody done it?

 

[NutBucket]

If you're going to wrap it I would remove the assemblies from the car so you can work on a table. Luckily tail lights are usually pretty easy to remove.

 

[KentState]

Most window tinting shops will apply the film to brake lights as well.

 

[WilliamM2]

Seems pointless now that everyone does it.

And then there's the little matter of it being illegal. Around here you'd just be taking the tint back off every couple of months. Not worth the hassle.

 

[Wingznut]

Seems pointless now that everyone does it.

And then there's the little matter of it being illegal.

And obviously less safe.

If you must do it, use a film (or wrap)... That way you can remove it once you realize how played out it is. Or when you get a ticket. Or a near accident.

 

[Meghan54]

Not pointless if you don't mind being placed at fault for someone rear ending your car. There's a reason blacking out products are labeled "Off road use only." Using them in traffic will only increase your liability in an accident.

 

[Viper GTS]

At least you haven't asked how to black out your headlights like a coworker wanted to do.

Reducing light output for the sake of cosmetic appearance has got to be the height of stupid car mods.

Viper GTS

 

[nerp]

Looks dumb.

 

[Pulsar]

At least you haven't asked how to black out your headlights like a coworker wanted to do.

Reducing light output for the sake of cosmetic appearance has got to be the height of stupid car mods.

Viper GTS

It's right up there with people who buy bright blue bulbs, or even worse put HID 'conversion' bulbs from ebay in their standard incandescent fixtures without changing reflectors.

Or putting fartcans on their Kia or Honda. Or. Or.

So many stupid things that people waste money on.

 

[JulesMaximus]

It's right up there with people who buy bright blue bulbs, or even worse put HID 'conversion' bulbs from ebay in their standard incandescent fixtures without changing reflectors.

Or putting fartcans on their Kia or Honda. Or. Or.

So many stupid things that people waste money on.

I phuken hate people who do that. The light goes everywhere so you blind everyone coming at you. It is rude and I wish cops would ticket people for this... and if they do they should do it more often because it isn't working.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Remove the bulb; cheap.

However, running dark is a recipe for a rear end; and you will be considered completely at fault even if stopped.

 

[xSkyDrAx]

I believe plasti-dip sells a spray on tint for head/tail lights and since it's plasti-dip, it's probably less than 10 bucks a can and you can peel it off if you don't like it.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

I received a ticket for blacked out taillights on my silver MR2. So they ended up costing me $180. Not worth it.
Review the local laws regarding view-able distance of taillights and make sure you dont go too dark.
For instance, here, the law states that tailights need to be visible up to so many hundred feet. So if they are visible in that distance then you can take the ticket to court and argue that you were not breaking the law by blacking out your tailights because they were visible within the confines of the law. But some places state that any obstruction is illegal.

 

[TridenT]

It's right up there with people who buy bright blue bulbs, or even worse put HID 'conversion' bulbs from ebay in their standard incandescent fixtures without changing reflectors.

Or putting fartcans on their Kia or Honda. Or. Or.

So many stupid things that people waste money on.

Yeah. But, even people who have regular bulbs can blind the fuck out of you.

People need to learn how to adjust their headlights and check routinely to make sure it's not going way too fucking high and blinding people.

 

[zaydq]

It's right up there with people who buy bright blue bulbs, or even worse put HID 'conversion' bulbs from ebay in their standard incandescent fixtures without changing reflectors.

Or putting fartcans on their Kia or Honda. Or. Or.

So many stupid things that people waste money on.

If those people would aim their lights, you wouldn't be blinded.

I have a quality HID conversion kit and I had the lights re aimed. Haven't blinded anybody as of yet. I would have had the highs flicked at me if I did.

And, depending on the law in your state/province, tintdd tails can be okay.
Theres usually a minimum light viewing distance that you must comply with. Ive tinted the tail lights on my car and have had no issues with police. I dont lose too much visibility from the covers, but they are more so smoked than they are blacked out.

 

[Zenmervolt]

If those people would aim their lights, you wouldn't be blinded.

I have a quality HID conversion kit and I had the lights re aimed. Haven't blinded anybody as of yet. I would have had the highs flicked at me if I did.

There is no such thing as a "quality HID conversion kit" that uses the stock non-HID housing and optics. The laws of physics make it impossible to get the same beam pattern because the light source itself is a critical factor in the resulting beam pattern. A filament bulb and a HID bulb have differently shaped light sources and place the source of the light in a different position. Either alone would make a proper beam pattern impossible when using a HID bulb in a housing designed for filament bulbs.

Using HID bulbs in a projector housing designed for filament bulbs will yield a sharp cutoff, but it will NOT yield a beam pattern identical to stock and is very likely to result in a beam pattern that is not legal.

As for people not flashing you, that doesn't mean they're not being blinded. I rarely flash someone for that reason because I don't want to be a dick to everyone else on the road by adding another source of glare on top of the guy with bad headlights. Me blinding the three guys behind "el-cheapo-HID-guy" doesn't help things and he's not going to do a damn thing about it anyway so why should I waste my time?

ZV

 

[EagleKeeper]

If those people would aim their lights, you wouldn't be blinded.

I have a quality HID conversion kit and I had the lights re aimed. Haven't blinded anybody as of yet. I would have had the highs flicked at me if I did.

I will flash if there is a problem down the road that one should be aware of, if they do not have lights on when low light visibility or high beams on when approaching on a two land road.

As stated above; anything else is a waste of time; the person will have no real idea why they are being flashed.

 

[nerp]

"quality" HID conversion kit. LOL.

 

[HeXen]

Yeah. But, even people who have regular bulbs can blind the fuck out of you.

People need to learn how to adjust their headlights and check routinely to make sure it's not going way too fucking high and blinding people.

Some of them do it on purpose, they get a kick out of blinding people. The same type of people that turn their brights on when behind you because they don't like the idea that you are making turn which slows them down. The same ones who don't like to use turn signals or cut you off then take the next turn despite no one behind you....those people.
Its all out of pure spite and there are a lot of drivers out there like that.

 

[Viperoni]

VHT Nightshadez is a translucent spray paint that's used to tint lights.
Comes in red or black.
Because it's translucent, you can do heavy or thinner coats to get the amount of tint you want. It does need to be clear-coateded over, preferably a few times.

Should take you a few hours and cost less than $30.

 

[Meghan54]

There is no such thing as a "quality HID conversion kit" that uses the stock non-HID housing and optics. The laws of physics make it impossible to get the same beam pattern because the light source itself is a critical factor in the resulting beam pattern. A filament bulb and a HID bulb have differently shaped light sources and place the source of the light in a different position. Either alone would make a proper beam pattern impossible when using a HID bulb in a housing designed for filament bulbs.

Using HID bulbs in a projector housing designed for filament bulbs will yield a sharp cutoff, but it will NOT yield a beam pattern identical to stock and is very likely to result in a beam pattern that is not legal.

ZV

"But, but but.......the guy on ebay swore they worked just like factory stock!"

You can flap your gums till they bleed, ZV, but your speaking of reality typically falls on deaf ears, unfortunately. Very, very few understand the optics of the headlight enclosure is vastly different when you compare HID to halogens.

But they don't care.....they read it's "just like stock" and that's what they choose to believe. Too bad, really, because it's all the other drivers who pay for their ignorance in blinding oncoming drivers. Wish the cops would ticket/remove these idiots and their cars from the road...pipe dream, I know, but I can wish.

 

[EagleKeeper]

"But, but but.......the guy on ebay swore they worked just like factory stock!"

You can flap your gums till they bleed, ZV, but your speaking of reality typically falls on deaf ears, unfortunately. Very, very few understand the optics of the headlight enclosure is vastly different when you compare HID to halogens.

But they don't care.....they read it's "just like stock" and that's what they choose to believe. Too bad, really, because it's all the other drivers who pay for their ignorance in blinding oncoming drivers. Wish the cops would ticket/remove these idiots and their cars from the road...pipe dream, I know, but I can wish.

Join aux PD and hunt those suckers down.

 

[Wingznut]

VHT Nightshadez is a translucent spray paint that's used to tint lights...
Should take you a few hours and cost less than $30.

Don't forget to add the cost of new taillights when you realize you how dumb tinted taillights are.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Don't forget to add the cost of new taillights when you realize you how dumb tinted taillights are.

One who is dumb enough to do this is not wise enough to realize that it is a dumb idea in the end.

It will take a ticket/accident to wake them up.

 

[mmntech]

It's quite easy to do with the proper tools and minimal investment.

Step 1: Hit yourself in the head with a hammer for being an idiot ricer
Step 2: Brain damage caused by hammer blow will make you forget the whole thing.

Seriously, blacked out tail lights are both lame and police bate. Also LOL at someone actually wanting to rice out a Forte Koup.