Check this guy out.

http://houston.craigslist.org/pts/1686854823.html

My worry is it will be Ticket Hell. And since they will be painted....Ill be SOL.

Thoughts? Comments?

 

From personal experience, do not get the smoked headlights. I had them on my car for 2 months and got pulled over 3 times because the cop said they didn't look bright enough. No tickets though (since I am a cop). I know exactly what they were talking about because I could barely see 50 feet in front of my car when it was dark out. Took them off and put my other pair of headlights back on and haven't been pulled over since.

 

Suggestions from past experience...

Smoking taillights using paint comes out best...but only when done right. So first of all, if you are planning on having yours done, make sure you have them taken off and ask him for examples of his work so you can see how they look in the daytime AND when they are lit up (stick a flashlight behind it or something) to check how clear the paintjob is (any dots, blobs, inconsistancies, and etc). You wanna make sure he can do it right otherwise like you said you will be SOL if he ****eds up your taillights.

If you are buying a set off him (since it looks like he has a pair of 99-04's for sale) make sure you check them out the same way as any other examples he may have. Since he probably uses used cores, make sure the "mirror-plated disco-ball textured" (lol) insides are not flaking off.


Right now I am basically using vinyl tint after a horrible experience with a seller on eBay. He sold me smoked taillights for my car and the paintjob came out excellent but the insides of the taillights were ****ed up and he refused to replace them. He sells a lot on ebay so I thought he had a good reputation but I guess not. eBay nor PayPal couldn't do anything because his buy-it-now auction was sold to someone else and he told me he could honor the same price by just sending me paypal money request...so the purchase didn't exactly go through ebay. His username is smoked_lights .... beware!

I guess if you are worried about tickets, it also depends on how dark you wanna go. Mine are pretty dark and I live in the **** state of CA so I always gotta be on the lookout lol. I think what helps me is my 3rd brakelight on my Cobra wing is REALLY bright so no one can really say they can't notice my car braking lol

 

I live in central texas, and have had tinted lights on two of my past vehicles, never had ANY trouble from it. I was even pulled over 5x (not for lights specifically) and they didn't say anything about them.

If I lived in a metroplex I probably would be concerned about cops then, and also it depends HOW dark they are. (mine were completely blacked out) I plan on lightly SMOKING my tails, just for a subtle difference.

 

the best would be painted IF they come out with a shine (better than smoked from AM bc you can remove the paint if needed maybe)

just have them lightly smoke, not blacked out and you shouldnt have a prob, as long as the job is done right

it appears to be a legit operation...prob a body guy looking for a little extra coin.

 

Tinted as dark as shown on the fellow's website will get you pulled over here in NE Florida.

One thing to know here is that the statutes, FS 316.221 (tail lights) and 316.234 (signal/stop lights) both specify visibility distances as the requirement. These are 1000 feet at dusk for tail lights, and 300 feet in "normal sunlight" for signal and stop lights. The statutes also state that:

"An object, material, or covering that alters the taillamp's visibility from 1,000 (300) feet may not be placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied over a taillamp (stop lamp)"

So as long as you meet the visibility requirements tinting is OK. I researched all this because I have these tail light housings (I searched a long time for these, they have the OEM lens style which reduces the "rice" factor...



I got pulled over and ticketed about six months after installing them.

However I got it thrown out in court because the cop did not properly determine whether or not they met the requirements, he just wrote me up for having tinted tail lights. I did have to remind/educate the judge as to what the statutes said (when you get to be over 60 you can get away with stuff like that).

I have since verified that they do meet the requirements--I carry copies of the statutes in my glovebox, should be a nice pissing match next time I get pulled over...

 

^^ ahah cliff that's awesome.

but what define "visible from 1000 ft away" an old cop could have terrible sight lol

i dont see how they can meter the lights or make a determination on the side of the road.

 

I think it completely depends on where you are located. I'm probably going to screw myself by saying this but you can see my headlights in my sig.. my tail lights are smoked (painted professionally) as well. And here is a picture of the tail lights on my DD.. and I haven't been hassled yet.

 

your headlights look smoked....those tail lights look blacked out, unless its the lack of sun that makes them look that way.

 

we have a shop doing them around here and I haven't heard of them being harassed.