Tailights?

[BeachRunnerSD]

Hey all, I didn't see another thread on here about it, so I figured why not?

Just wondering what you all have done to make the tails look a little meaner. They look good out of the box, but I was wondering if anyone had smoked or blacked them out, or anything else to make them "not stock". Looking into getting them tinted with the rest of my '15 Trail in a few days here so lets hear it!

With all this love for the headlights, why not give some to the tails?

 

[BenSD]

Hey all, I didn't see another thread on here about it, so I figured why not?

Just wondering what you all have done to make the tails look a little meaner. They look good out of the box, but I was wondering if anyone had smoked or blacked them out, or anything else to make them "not stock". Looking into getting them tinted with the rest of my '15 Trail in a few days here so lets hear it!

With all this love for the headlights, why not give some to the tails?

They look pretty awesome as is. IMO, trying to paint them or tint them will just look douchey. I honestly hate it when people do that - it just makes it very hard to see turn signals or brake lights. Why on earth would you do something that would put someone else's safety in jeopardy? I wonder how many accidents are caused by tinted tail lights? I saw someone who sprayed the turn signal area with some sort of tint paint, but it just looked like a mistake.

 

[Jesse1983]

Douche here :hello:

My douchy tails

 

[BenSD]

Douche here :hello:

My douchy tails

I don't understand intentionally going out of your way to make the turn signals hard to see during the day? I've seen other people with tail lights like that on the freeway, and when the light is less than ideal (driving toward the sun) it was VERY difficult to see the turn signal. Whenever I see that, it seems like it's the driver's way of saying "F You, I don't feel like communicating with other drivers like a fully functional human" but maybe that's just my interpretation. There are times for form over function, but IMO, turn signals should be a matter of function over form.

 

[PNTRDPROO]

Douche here :hello:

My douchy tails

That looks good

 

[PNTRDPROO]

I don't understand intentionally going out of your way to make the turn signals hard to see during the day? I've seen other people with tail lights like that on the freeway, and when the light is less than ideal (driving toward the sun) it was VERY difficult to see the turn signal. Whenever I see that, it seems like it's the driver's way of saying "F You, I don't feel like communicating with other drivers like a fully functional human" but maybe that's just my interpretation. There are times for form over function, but IMO, turn signals should be a matter of function over form.

Im with you to an extent. I think it would be much more dangerous if he tinted the brake light portion however... I see that he at least had safety in mind a little bit leaving that untouched. I think its way less of a risk failing to convey that youre turning rather than failing to convey that you are stopping.

Maybe Im just too used to nobody using their turn signals in NYC anyway lol

 

[Mooney]

Maybe Im just too used to nobody using their turn signals in NYC anyway lol

Disagree, I find NY'ers seem to consistently use finger as signal.

Guess I'm a douche too, ugliest thing about my '14 is those bulging oversized tail lights. Reminds me of those fish they pull up from the bottom of deep oceans with eyes bugging out.

I'll be changing mine as soon as I can find a nice smoked replacement, LED's blaze through them fine.

 

[PNTRDPROO]

Disagree, I find NY'ers seems to consistently use finger as signal.

Touche....



I for one, love the 14+ tails and think they look gorgeous as is. The 10-13 tails look way too plain to me. In fact, if I had a pre-14 4Runner Id swap in 14+ tails for the looks and functionality of LED

 

[joesrcool]

Bought it this way, but will be swapping in 14+ tail lights eventually. It does make it look pretty mean.

IMG_5196 by jplynch87, on Flickr

 

[Engineer]

Bought it this way, but will be swapping in 14+ tail lights eventually. It does make it look pretty mean.

IMG_5196 by jplynch87, on Flickr

Doesn't look as bad as I figured, and to the OP some of these gents need to take a chill pill. I ASSUME you are not talking about spray painting them black or using those cheesy auto zone covers that are almost jet black but more like the photo above. Would that reduce visibility.....yes, but heavier tires and additional weight also reduce braking distance but I don't see people crying wolf over those.

 

[1engineer]

I don't understand intentionally going out of your way to make the turn signals hard to see during the day? I've seen other people with tail lights like that on the freeway, and when the light is less than ideal (driving toward the sun) it was VERY difficult to see the turn signal. Whenever I see that, it seems like it's the driver's way of saying "F You, I don't feel like communicating with other drivers like a fully functional human" but maybe that's just my interpretation. There are times for form over function, but IMO, turn signals should be a matter of function over form.

[MENTION=48772]Jesse1983[/MENTION]

In 2009 (latest data available) there were 10.8 MILLION auto accidents in the US. (source http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s1103.pdf )

Out of that 10.8 Million, 28% of those were rear end collisions (source NHTSA shown at NHTSA: 28% of crashes are rear-end collisions. | Safe BrakingSafe Braking)

That means 3.02 MILLION rear end collisions in 2009.
Now, do you think there were 3.02 million guys running around with their tail lights blacked out that caused these wrecks? Or maybe people were:
Talking on phone
Texting
Eating
Reading
Putting on makeup
Drinking
Adjusting radio
LOOKING SOMEWHERE ELSE (!!!!!!!!!)
Old (actually while doing my bit or research the big group was ages 25-49)
Those meddling kids
Have terrible reflexes
Sun in eyes
Never washes taillights
Never washes windshield
Hits brakes for no reason
Had tail lights blacked out
Yelling at the kids in the backseat
Reaching into the floor
Sleepy
Talking to passenger
etc

Actually the biggest, by far, reason for rear end collisions is distracted driving, NOT tinted tail lights.

(i am typing this while i am commuting to work btw)/s

 

[rydr1]

[MENTION=48772]Jesse1983[/MENTION]

(i am typing this while i am commuting to work btw)/s

^lol! I would like that talent.

In my opinion there is a difference between painting and tinting taillights. Many like to jump on the bandwagon in California and when tinting taillights began, some where painting them black. How do I know they are painted black, because even at night you could barely see their brake lights on. I had a few close calls andI commented on how stupid the car owner is for painting the tail lights.

On the other hand, the tinting method, and just a a few light coats with the proper tinting rattle can, you can achieve the smoked, not black, look of the lights and still have more than enough light output from the tail lights.

 

[TOY2G]

[MENTION=48772]Jesse1983[/MENTION]

In 2009 (latest data available) there were 10.8 MILLION auto accidents in the US. (source http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s1103.pdf )

Out of that 10.8 Million, 28% of those were rear end collisions (source NHTSA shown at NHTSA: 28% of crashes are rear-end collisions. | Safe BrakingSafe Braking)

That means 3.02 MILLION rear end collisions in 2009.
Now, do you think there were 3.02 million guys running around with their tail lights blacked out that caused these wrecks? Or maybe people were:
Talking on phone
Texting
Eating
Reading
Putting on makeup
Drinking
Adjusting radio
LOOKING SOMEWHERE ELSE (!!!!!!!!!)
Old (actually while doing my bit or research the big group was ages 25-49)
Those meddling kids
Have terrible reflexes
Sun in eyes
Never washes taillights
Never washes windshield
Hits brakes for no reason
Had tail lights blacked out
Yelling at the kids in the backseat
Reaching into the floor
Sleepy
Talking to passenger
etc

Actually the biggest, by far, reason for rear end collisions is distracted driving, NOT tinted tail lights.

(i am typing this while i am commuting to work btw)/s

While I agree that painting the taillights could be a safety issue, I also suspect the number of accidents it causes are in the tenths of a percent range.

I'm pretty sure this had nothing to do with tail lights

 

[Jesse1983]

[MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION]

thanks for the info Greg. of all the cars I've rear-ended, none of them had tinted tail lights. I just wanted my ride to be douchy while also intentionally going out of my way to make the turn signals hard to see during the day. so i can, you know, say F You, I don't feel like communicating with other drivers like a fully functional human. i like parts of my 4R, especially the turn signals, to be a matter of form over function.

 

[Antman]

[MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION]

thanks for the info Greg. of all the cars I've rear-ended, none of them had tinted tail lights. I just wanted my ride to be douchy while also intentionally going out of my way to make the turn signals hard to see during the day. so i can, you know, say F You, I don't feel like communicating with other drivers like a fully functional human. i like parts of my 4R, especially the turn signals, to be a matter of form over function.

F U back.

The only vehicle that ever rear ended me had tinted tail lights so in my book that does make you a douche.

 

[philsey]

(i am typing this while i am commuting to work btw)/s

You guys do know, don't you, that 1E's "commute to work" is moving his coffee and laptop from his kitchen to his sofa?

 

[Jesse1983]

F U back.

The only vehicle that ever rear ended me had tinted tail lights so in my book that does make you a douche.

I've never heard someone cry for so long over a little love tap :Cry:

 

[Antman]

I've never heard someone cry for so long over a little love tap :Cry:

:flipoff:

 

[BenSD]

I guess I'm in the minority here, but I try to drive in a way that I would hope others would do the same to me.

I try to communicate clearly with other drivers by clearly signaling before lane changes -- and I appreciate when others do the same. I'll go out of my way to make room for another driver that needs to get into my lane. When people intentionally don't use their turn signals, it seems like a very selfish move. They expect us to know what they are about to do, and they make it more difficult for other drivers on the road.

Along those same lines, I would never intentionally go out of my way to smoke my tail lights so others would have difficulty seeing my turn signal. That just seems like going out of your way to be difficult to other drivers. That's why I think it's douchey -- people care more about the fact that their car looks "cool" than letting others know what they are about to do on the road. Am I'm alone on this one?

 

[BeachRunnerSD]

I guess I'm in the minority here, but I try to drive in a way that I would hope others would do the same to me.

I try to communicate clearly with other drivers by clearly signaling before lane changes -- and I appreciate when others do the same. I'll go out of my way to make room for another driver that needs to get into my lane. When people intentionally don't use their turn signals, it seems like a very selfish move. They expect us to know what they are about to do, and they make it more difficult for other drivers on the road.

Along those same lines, I would never intentionally go out of my way to smoke my tail lights so others would have difficulty seeing my turn signal. That just seems like going out of your way to be difficult to other drivers. That's why I think it's douchey -- people care more about the fact that their car looks "cool" than letting others know what they are about to do on the road. Am I'm alone on this one?

I think my initial idea for this thread was a little bit misguided, I am not looking to black out the turn signals themselves, rather leaving them white and tinting the rest, just looking for food for thought, really...