Tinted lights mod

Just found some old VHT Nightshades and decided to tints my lights on my '06 REG Cab. Figured I would share with you all.

The tint did not come out the best, I did a way better job on my old truck but I am going to sand these down and do them again at some point but for not these are fine the way they are. It started to rain halfway into my prep process so I had to rush since I couldn't leave them half done.

Please let me know what you think, and if you try this yourself post pics!

 

Like it Ive done many sets of taillights with nightshades and have kinda got it down to a science. First ones i did were bad, i mean baaad
I love the tint look but i have the 09+ clear lens/led taillights and cant bring myself to shade over them, theyre too nice... If my truck had come with that style I would definitely have them done.

 

You don't even need to sand them down, I just took the tint off mine because they were too dark.
Get some gas, and put it on a rag and just rub the light and the tint will come right off. It's much easier than sanding them down.

 

I think they are totally illegal and if you get rear ended they can blame it on you. I've never understood why people would want to darken their brake lights.

 

My tails, love the look of them now.

 

In Cali I would not be surprised if they pull you over for it. In mass it depends on how dark you go. I went a little darker than I originally wanted to. But like I said in my OP I am doing them over some time in the near future so they will not be so dark. Plus I need to not tint my backup light as well.

 

Thanks, I was using rubbing alcohol, I am a little apprehensive to use gas since that is a bit too harsh. I would be concerned that would eat away the plastic. I am going to send them because there are some imperfections in the lens themselves I want to get out anyways.

 

Lol why wouldnt you take the 5 min to take the tail light off the truck

 

Even inoperative brake lights don't give an excuse to someone rear-ending you. Anything can be used against you in an accident, but the law, at least in Ca., is clear about who's at fault in a rear-ending. KNOWINGLY driving with illegal equipment might be enough to change that; not because it excuses the other driver, but because they use it as part of your punishment.

 

I believe in MA that if you rear end someone it is always your fault. But don't quote me on that. Anyways lets keep on topic here people...Tail lights....not laws....lol

 

Pure laziness...can't lie there...last time I did this on my Silverado I took all the lights off and did them in a heated garage. This time I left the lights on and it was cold...I know the imperfections are my own fault for being lazy but I didn't care at the time I just wanted to see if I would like it. Now that I know I do I will do a better job next time when it is warmer outside and sunny.

 

Maybe try this write-up? One of the best I've seen for a real clean smoked look.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/lighting/84694-how-tinting-tail-lights-right-way-pics.html

 

I like it but like you said it's too dark. No way in hell I would have tinted the headlights though.

And I know you don't want to talk about law but you will be a contributing factor if you get rear ended with them that dark. I got rear ended while sitting still waiting for traffic to clear in the opposite direction trying to make a left hand turn. Guy ran into the back of my truck doing over 65 MPH. Totally his fault. My lights were factory and the turn signal was on. Insurance company tried to say that my left blinker wasn't on therefore I was partly to blame. It wasn't until they went and looked at the truck in the wrecking yard (with me there) that they realized it actually was in the on position. If they will try to blame me for that don't think for a second they won't blame you as a contributing factor for darker tail lights. Lawyers will sue for anything and a good lawyer will eat you up for that.

 

That looks awesome. That is along the same lines as how I did my Silverado lights before. I am going to do something similar when i redo these.

Very cool

 

Not true at all. If someone has lights that don't work and are driving at night it will be their fault. Sure there are always multiple factors for every accident, but saying it's always the persons fault who rear ended the other driver is simply incorrect. Even if the person is 100% at fault for rear ending a car with tinted rear lights insurance companies and lawyers will at least slap some fault on the driver with the tinted lights. Plus an officer can issue a ticket as well.

 

Not using your blinker, not having your lights on, defective or modified lights, etc. will not automatically make an accident your fault. Not even running a red light will make an accident automatically your fault and I've witnessed that. Those things can shift the blame, but it must be proven that your actions/inactions made the accident unavoidable. At the end of the day, it is illegal to strike a vehicle with yours and it's your responsibility to avoid it no matter what lead to the situation. Our legal system has become clouded with bullshit and little by little this is shifting towards excusing those that don't behave responsibly. These days someone with a better lawyer, or just a better informed person, could win a case for the offender when the victim was just that, a victim. You should also know that if one driver gets cited and convicted of a violation involving an accident, the civil matter is likely sealed against that person; depending on the violation.

Sorry to continue clouding the topic, but it's somewhat related and just thought it prudent to help inform.

 

I definitively don't disagree with that. As stated earlier the insurance company of the person that ran into me while I was sitting still was looking for any way to shift just partial blame in my direction. Wasn't going to happen though.

I like darker tail lights personally. I would just never do it because I know in the end it will be more trouble than it's worth. Now the way SwanksTaco has his done might not be as much of a problem since it doesn't black out any of the Brake lights (blinkers might be a issue though).

 

Your signal switch being on at the wrecking yard doesn't prove it was on and functioning at the time of the accident anyway. I'm surprised it was still on after moving the car, they must not have turned the wheel much. The ins. company might try to intimidate you into agreeing to take partial blame for ANY reason, but I'm pretty sure no court would have ruled against you. I'm glad you didn't have problems.

If the law in your state doesn't allow there to be tint, any degree of tint is just as illegal even if you think the lights are still bright enough. It reduces your likelihood of being stopped for it, but it's still illegal. If they allow some tint then there has to be a specific shade degree you must stay within or a measurement of light that must remain visible. I've read much of the Ca. vehicle code book, thousands of pages of mind-numbing legalese, and in the end there are many different laws concerning lighting that somewhat contradict each-other. It's implied illegal to modify your lights in any way, but then there are specifics as to light output that would have to be measured and proven out of compliance to be convicted for it. Much like exhaust systems can't be modified to be louder than OEM, but it's legal to use aftermarket replacements as long as they're within compliance. I got out of a muffler ticket by simply asking the officer to produce the decibel reading of my car at the time of the citation, he of course didn't have one. Had I just said "it's not that loud" it would have come down to opinion and judges almost always rule in favor of the cop. It actually wasn't very loud, he just wanted to cite me with something because I was at a car hang-out and they cited nearly everyone for something just to break it up.

 

When I tinted the tails on my MR2 I changed out the bulbs to a much brighter bulb. So much so that when I hit the brakes they are actually brighter than the non-tinted OEM, as judged by the reflection off people's retinas behind me

Anytime you tint tail lights I really advise going to a brighter bulb, and they also make nice LED bulbs and mini arrays for some applications as well that can add more light to overcome the tinting effect.

 

Yes I have been looking for LED bulbs, I have not found any that impressed me though. I do plan on putting those in though.

As for the dark tail lights, I plan on redoing them this weekend, properly. This means not darkening the working areas, just the empty space. My headlights I think I will just remove the tint and leave them that way. I will post results when I am done.