Originally Posted by EricB

cut the lens off a severely messed up set of tails.

i remember reading this DIY when it first came out, but i should have referred back to it.. i cracked the lens by the keyhole.

no big deal though, it was really scratched up and had another crack in it too. good practice though.

I used a reinforced dremel cut off wheel and found that speed 25 was perfect and cut right through easily.

I want to keep the lens clear, but i was thinking about painting the housing a dark gunmetal.. thoughts?

also possibly a retrofit for smaller led rings for the turn signal and reverse? or take the 2 reflectors out and make the side opposite of the tail light 1 big turn signal ring and a bulb in the middle for reverse.. Kind of like the S2 lights.

Originally Posted by shakeyourbrakes

^that will probably look real good.

Originally Posted by JamesD31

If you do that post pictures, curious about how that would turn out. I thought of doing something "different" with the reverse lights and turn signal lights, but was too lazy to do it after I put in the LED's.

Mine came out fine, honestly if you do this DIY - if you end up NOT smoking your tail lights, I suggest keeping the red casing over it. It looks a LOT nicer with the casing over it when you do not have the lights on then it does with it off imo.

Originally Posted by iwearmykswiss816

Im thinking about doing this while my car is still taken apart. Now i know its been a while since this was originally posted. Has anyone had any problems with this diy after it was completed? How are they holding up over time?

Originally Posted by JamesD31

I did mine almost a year ago. As long as you do a good job with sealing it up with good silicone, you won't have any leaking problems. I didn't have any real fitment issues either, I need to reopen mine and clean it up (It looks messy due to the silicone) and because I want to see how it would look painting the silver trim pieces black, like I did my headlights. I suggest you have a helping hand, especially when "clamping" them shut (I wrapped em tightly in duck tape).

Wiring is simple, no problems there; I have mine wired to running lights (disconnected the running lights to the bulbs) and have the bulbs just go when the brakes are on.

Trickiest part, was the stupid trunk lock (passenger side) part. I ended up with a big "gap" which I ghetto rigged with weather stripping, as it would of taken too much silicone to fill that up nicely. So, I would know how to use a dremel and know how to take as least off as you can.

Originally Posted by shakeyourbrakes

LED halo headlights -
Many of you guys have seen my other post with pics of my LED halo tail lights I have been working on. Here is a basic DIY for those of you who have always wanted to tackle this project, but didnt want to tear up a few tail lights in the process of figuring it out.
What you need..

1. First off, these tail lights do crack..this method makes it a lot less likely, but be aware, one slip up and you can ruin the tail light. Id recommend getting a spare set off ebay, and if all goes well, sell your current tails back on ebay.

2.Dremmel Diamond Cut-off wheel. (see link: http://www.amazon.com/Anytime-Tools-.../dp/B000FJLWNK) This seemed to slice through the plastic the best, no melting, easy to handle, and a tiny separation line unlike other cut off applications out there.

3.Clear silicone

4. 100mm red LED (SMD) Halo/Angel Eye. You could get away with 110mm or so if your not going to use the stock red lens inside the tail light like I did. With the 100mm, you can attach the ring, and still have a gap to replace the red lens on the inside.
My source on ebay was seller ID ipremiertek*co



5. LED brake bulbs

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Step one- Start dremmeling. Your going to want to go around the perimeter of the clear lens, as close to the black plastic as possible. This will hide most of the cut line. I dont have pics of the process, but its pretty self explanitory when you look at the setup of the tail.

The issue your going to have, is when you get near the key hole on the passenger side tail. The lens is sealed together in this whole section. I found the best way to get around this issue, was to stop, and cut down the black plastic and on the back side of the tail light, avoiding the keyhole altogether. Attached is a pic where you can see the lens separated, with the keyhole section still attached. Sorry its a little blurry but it shows what I mean.
Dont try to cut around the whole lens, thinking this section will pop apart..it wont. You need to leave this connected to the clear lens as one piece



Due to some heat cutting the plastic, your going to have to actually "pop" the lens off the housing. Heres where it can get tricky..if you didnt cut all the way through the plastic you can easily run into cracking. I used a butter knife, and gradually, and gently put it in along the cut line and popped a little section at a time all the way around the lens. It should eventually pop off as a whole piece, just take your time.

Step two- Now that the lens is off, your going to want to pop the inner red lens off. This is attached by two clips, and a little glue I believe. I used a tooth brush handle and stuck it in the bulb hole on the back of the tail lights. A few good whacks, and the lens popped off.

Step three - Mount the LED smd ring with silicone, drill a small hole on the inside of the ring through to the back of the tail light and run the wires through. If your going to keep the red lens on the inside, put it back on with a few spots of silicone or super glue.

This is the tail with the red lens on the inside remounted over the LED ring.. obviously this would be what it would look like if you were to do it with a stock appearance. The red reflector lens seemed to make the halo look wider, but since I was spraying the tails red anyway, I didnt use it



broken down, mid process. I sprayed my tails red after, so I decided not to use the red lens to get a crisper LED look.

Attachment 240130

This is the tail not sprayed red, and without the red lens on the inside

Attachment 240131


Step four- Seal them up. They should fit together like a glove due to the thin cut line with the diamond cutoff wheel. I used clear weathergrade silicone, and like you would with the headlights, sealed all the way around. The way our tails are mounted, most of where you just cut is going to be hid by the trunk. The part you will see should look fairly untouched if you did a good cutting/siliconing job.

Step five- Connecting the wires. (Ill update this later today with wire colors when I get home and take a look) Your going to splice the wires in with two out of the three wires currently going to your brake lights. The "tail light" function is going to be disabled from your brake lights by disconnecting one of the wires, which will leave your tail bulbs to work only as brake bulbs. Same deal as how your 3rd brake light is wired.

Step six-Replace the brake light with a good LED brake bulb, and install the tail lights on the car.
FYI- If you want them red like mine, Ive had the best luck with Krylon Red stained glass spray from Michaels arts and craft stores... covered by several coats of good quality clear spray.

PICS





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