Smoking tail lights

L86 All Terrain · July 12, 2017

My bud had his 2013 tinted with 5%, until he got rear ended, charged with improper lighting and almost got refused by his insurance company for the damage. But hey, we gotta look cool right?

SuperSierra · July 13, 2017

My bud had his 2013 tinted with 5%, until he got rear ended, charged with improper lighting and almost got refused by his insurance company for the damage. But hey, we gotta look cool right?

Well 5% is black and there for not smoked. Might as well be black paint.

Right side tinted, drive side smoked.

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Shane T. · July 13, 2017

Well 5% is black and there for not smoked. Might as well be black paint.

Right side tinted, drive side smoked.

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I would feel comfortable with the left side.

SuperSierra · July 13, 2017

I would feel comfortable with the left side.

Me too.

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Penguin VII · July 13, 2017

Just to throw a few things out there. I plastidipped mine initially (wanted to see how I liked the look and use as a placeholder until I decided to tint them for real). The flat black looks like crap in my opinion and the plastidip glossifier didn't do anything after 5x coats so if you're looking into it you're probably going to need to find a painter and have them mix clear with some black to smoke them. They do look great once done.

That said, you should ask yourself if it's worth the headaches. I live in NH and although local PD doesn't care in any of the areas I visit or drive through some of the state police (green machine, yay) are total dicks about it. You should look into local and state laws before you pull the trigger or end up with a possible ticket and points on your license (yay for more expensive insurance premiums). I believe all the recon tails are DOT certified and will be legal in all 50 so that may be another option. (think it has something to do with the housing being smoked and not the cap, not sure though)

Lastly, if you tint them in a way you're applying film or spray over the factory housing, do yourself a favor and upgrade the internal lights to leds. The light is still bright enough but especially the reverse lights suck on back roads, and if you've got tinted rear windows like I've got, forget about it.

Eddie 70 · July 15, 2017

<p>I bought My truck off the dealers lot with tinted/smoked tail lights. I have many compliments from th dealer. They are sprayed so it is not removable. At first I thought of removing them and replacing them with a set of stickers. Sure just like the poster above you can see them in the dark, but sure how well they can be seen when the sun is shining on the back of the truck and that is when I am watching my mirrors.</p>

SuperSierra · July 15, 2017

<p>I bought My truck off the dealers lot with tinted/smoked tail lights. I have many compliments from th dealer. They are sprayed so it is not removable. At first I thought of removing them and replacing them with a set of stickers. Sure just like the poster above you can see them in the dark, but sure how well they can be seen when the sun is shining on the back of the truck and that is when I am watching my mirrors.</p>

You can remove the spray on stuff, takes like 10 seconds

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arcasey · July 18, 2017

This is 20% tint, with the running lights on only. When the actual break lights come on it's probably 10 times brighter. If you can't see that, you shouldn't have a driver's license.

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Nobody pointed out the obvious but your pictures taken at night is no argument for the problems with tinted tail lights. A tail light with 5% tint will be visible when it's dark outside. The problem occurs during the day when you have ambient light from the sun to wash out the brightness of the tail light bulbs. This is the reason that there are regulations on how bright a tail light must be and how much of that light is projected outward.

Don't get me wrong, tinted tail lights do look good but all you're doing is increasing the likelihood of being involved in an accident. Why play with those odds?

SuperSierra · July 18, 2017

Nobody pointed out the obvious but your pictures taken at night is no argument for the problems with tinted tail lights. A tail light with 5% tint will be visible when it's dark outside. The problem occurs during the day when you have ambient light from the sun to wash out the brightness of the tail light bulbs. This is the reason that there are regulations on how bright a tail light must be and how much of that light is projected outward.

Don't get me wrong, tinted tail lights do look good but all you're doing is increasing the likelihood of being involved in an accident. Why play with those odds?

Some vehicles come with smoked tail lights from the factory for example Buick Regal

Buick LaCrosse not smoked

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arcasey · July 18, 2017

Some vehicles come with smoked tail lights from the factory for example Buick Regal

Buick LaCrosse not smoked

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I am aware. I can bet that the "smoked from the factory" tail lights meet the illumination standards set forth by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. I can also bet that most of the tinted or smoked after market tail lights do not....

Again, I'm not knocking the look. They look great but from a law perspective and a function perspective it's little asinine to smoke or tint tail lights, head lights, or any other "safety equipment" without ensuring that it meets the required standards. My opinion though and I know not everyone is going to agree with that.

SuperSierra · July 21, 2017

Here are smoked taillights during a sunny day. Still being "clear and red in colour". Not 100% black.

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Frans14silver · July 22, 2017

Matte black on tail lights is a joke lol

SilveradoSaver · July 22, 2017

Matte black on tail lights is a joke lol

Agreed. I'm all for upgrading tail lights to LED or different styles, but I don't think I'd ever smoke them. If you got rear-ended I'm sure this would become an issue no matter time of day.

Silver16 · July 22, 2017

Stock is good enough and why would you dim a safety system? Might as well drive around with the pin outta grenade.

SuperSierra · July 22, 2017

Common misconception, but vht night shade is transparent. (allowing light to pass through so that objects behind can be distinctly seen.)

If you don't like it, no one is forcing your hand to do it, he made this page to ask questions about tinting taillights and so far people are saying they lost their insurance because of this, I personally would like to see the police write up for the incident and to know exactly what product they used.

I believe tires that stick out past your vehicle fenders is more illegal and can cause more damage then slightly tinted lights, but still people do that as well.

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