[Mo Cruze]

I think im going to attempt to smoke the, myself with this precut film. only thing is i want reverse lights to stay clear. Going to be only a thin piece around bottom of tailight. I dont know if thats going to be a problem. Anyone have experience with this have any tips they can give??? Would be greatly appreciated...Is there some kind of homemade spray i can use?? Will a blowdryer work instead of heat gun??They also have pre cut tints i was thinking of trying. Here is the link..

Pro Precut Smoke Taillight Tint Film Kit Chevrolet Cruze 2010 2014 | eBay (precut smoked cruze tailight kit)

 

[NickD]

Wrong guy to respond to this, getting way to paranoid with the law, daughter was stopped with a burnt out taillight, gave the cops a reason to search her car, delayed her for over a half an hour. Least she was polite so they didn't have to put seven bullets in her.

What I did with my Cruze was to purchase all spare bulbs, why couldn't Chevy use an amber lens for the front, most other cars do this, had to buy amber bulbs, same type as the rear. Fronts are easy.

With the rears, need a crow bar to get those tail light off, so I opened up that grommet a bit and coated it with silicone grease, so just have to carry a Phillips screwdriver, can change that quickly if stopped.

Don't believe they will make an issue out of those trunk lid extra tail lights, have to remove a whole bunch of those push pin rivets to get at those. Uses the same bulb as the quarter panels, but no terminal for the directional signal element.

Now would they stop you if they thing your tail lights are at tad to dim? Good question, since 9/11, they have quadrupled our police force, and all they have to do is to issue tickets for the least insignificant reason.

You don't stop at a stop sign, you park.

 

[30 Ounce]

I am sick and tired of being behind you jerks who smoke their taillights so that they are barely visible! Quit! It's illegal!

 

[Clausses]

30 Ounce, it depends on the state. Some people go to thick. Not too dark. In Missouri, as long as the taillight can emit and reflect light, it's legal. The darkness only barely effects the amount of light emitted. People want to use cheap supplies and half ass everything and then not only does the tint job look shitty, it causes light to not be properly emitted. I think it's your car, you can do what you want. Just do things the right way.

 

[30 Ounce]

It is federal law that says reflectors must be able to be seen from 500 feet with low beams and 1000 feet with high beams. Any tint over your reflectors will make your reflectors useless. As far as being your car do what you want...sorry no. It is a public safety thing that everyone else on the road can see you and your brake lights . I almost wiped a guy out a few weeks ago cause he was doing about 25 mph on a 75 mph road at night cause he had his lights tinted so dark you could barely see them.

 

[boneheaddoctor]

Despite the illegality and claims to the contrary...cops have quota's. If they do not meet those quota's they have **** to pay with their superiors.

Come the end of the month...every month..they begin to look for any reason to ticket someone. And by tinting your lights, you give them a reason to single you out of the crowd. And was was pointed out....bear down on any parking tickets you forgot to pay, etc because that's a routine part of every stop. Along with any outstanding warrants etc.

I also doubt that film is rated for direct UV exposure OR the weather. Its WAY different inside the glass than it is outside of it in the elements.

 

[Mo Cruze]

I am sick and tired of being behind you jerks who smoke their taillights so that they are barely visible! Quit! It's illegal!

You guys are a bunch of puss E's.. Sound like those people who complain get offened and make a big deal out of everything. You should go start a riot on fb or something. And second of all i had my tailight smoked on my last car for years you could see brakes just fine. Just gets rid of that bright red look. Its the people who blackout the lights that you cant see. Get you facts str8 before you start running your mouth like a little girls.

Example of smoked tailights(obviously not too dark and willl see rakes just fine)
2012-03-31_14-33-51_303.jpg Photo by silverram323 | Photobucket

If you want to post something helpful please do. If you want to complain go to FB. Isnt that what its for now a days?

 

[NickD]

Here's a stupid question, are you doing this for yourself or that guy behind you? Do you run behind your car and say oh boy, I have smoked tail lights?

My major concern for that guy behind me is getting rear ended, find a lot of people that like to drive halfway up your exhaust pipe.

One thing I have been tempted to do is to take one of my high powered camera flash units and install that in the rear somehow. So if a guy is following me with the brights on, can get even. But I never have done this.

Yep, very true that cops have to meet their monthly traffic ticket quotas. Find myself followed closely quite a few times, like to tee them off by driving a couple of miles slower than the speed limit. They get bored after awhile and pull off.

Wife kind of gets tired hearing me say, oh boy, there is a cop there to protect us. Worthless to call a cop when your car was hit legally parked, won't even write up a report, only a hundred bucks of damage was done! More like 3,000 bucks.

 

[Mo Cruze]

Nick D. Your right very stupid question. Ive already had this talk with you before. People like to make their car look nice. We understand you want to ride completely stock and all you care about is point A to point B. Everytime i post something about making my car look nicer you make comments like who looks at your taillight o boy! the guy behind you. Get a life dude. Every post you make usually has nothing to do with the topic just sounds like your talking to yourself. What are you talking about? the topic asked for advice on installing smoked film not your life story and negative comments.

 

[NickD]

Okay.

 

[30 Ounce]

You guys are a bunch of puss E's.. Sound like those people who complain get offened and make a big deal out of everything. You should go start a riot on fb or something. And second of all i had my tailight smoked on my last car for years you could see brakes just fine. Just gets rid of that bright red look. Its the people who blackout the lights that you cant see. Get you facts str8 before you start running your mouth like a little girls.

Example of smoked tailights(obviously not too dark and willl see rakes just fine)
2012-03-31_14-33-51_303.jpg Photo by silverram323 | Photobucket

If you want to post something helpful please do. If you want to complain go to FB. Isnt that what its for now a days?

Congratulations Major Dick for being a complete a$$hole. I have no problem with customizing cars. I happen to have some very nice cars that I put a lot of work in. I think these blacked out tail lights are dangerous especially after I almost ran that guy over a few weeks ago.

Bottom line is you don't know me, don't assume **** about me. You don't think I have my facts straight?

S5.3.2Except as provided in S5.3.2.1 through S5.3.2.4 and in paragraphs S5.7 and S7, each vehicle must conform to the following requirements:
(a) Each lamp and reflective device must be installed in a location where it complies with all applicable photometric requirements and visibility requirements, with all obstructions (e.g., mirrors, snow plows, wrecker booms, backhoes, and winches) installed on the vehicle.
(b) A manufacturer must certify compliance of each lamp to one of the following visibility requirement options, and it may not thereafter choose a different option for that vehicle:
(1) When a vehicle is equipped with any lamp listed in Figure 19 of this standard, each such lamp must provide not less than 12.5 square centimeters of unobstructed effective projected luminous lens area in any direction throughout the pattern defined by the corner points specified in Figure 19 for each such lamp; or
(2) When a vehicle is equipped with any lamp listed in Figure 20 of this standard, each such lamp must provide a luminous intensity not less than that specified in Figure 20 in any direction throughout the pattern defined by the corner points specified in Figure 20 for each such lamp. The luminous intensity must be measured in accordance with the photometry test requirements of the applicable SAE Standards and Recommended Practices incorporated by reference or subreference in this standard.
(c) A high mounted stop lamp must have a signal visible to the rear through a horizontal angle from 45 degrees to the left to 45 degrees to the right of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.
(d) High mounted stop lamps required to comply with S5.1.1.27(b) must together have a signal to the rear as specified in S5.3.2(c).
(e) Backup lamps must be mounted on the rear so that the optical center of at least one lamp is visible from any eye point elevation from at least 1828 mm (6 ft) to 610 mm (2 ft) above the horizontal plane on which the vehicle is standing; and from any position in the area, rearward of a vertical plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, 914 mm (3 ft) to the rear of the vehicle and extending 914 mm (3 ft) beyond each side of the vehicle.
S5.3.2.1Clearance lamps may be located at a location other than on the front and rear if necessary to indicate the overall width of a vehicle, or for protection from damage during normal operation of the vehicle, and at such a location they need not meet the photometric output at any test point that is 45 degrees inboard.
S5.3.2.2If any required lamp or reflective device is obstructed by motor vehicle equipment (e.g., mirrors, snow plows, wrecker booms, backhoes, winches, etc.), and cannot meet requirements of S5.3.2, the vehicle must be equipped with an additional lamp or device of the same type which meet all applicable requirements of this standard, including S5.3.2.
S5.3.2.3For signal lamps and reflective devices mounted less than 750 mm above the road surface as measured to the lamp axis of reference, the vertical test point angles located below the horizontal plane subject to photometric and visibility requirements of this standard may be reduced to 5 degrees.
S5.3.2.4As an alternative to S5.3.2(b), each passenger car and motorcycle, and each multipurpose passenger vehicle, truck, trailer and bus that is of less than 2032 mm overall width, that are manufactured on or before September 1, 2011, and each multipurpose passenger vehicle, truck, trailer and bus of 2032 mm or more overall width that is manufactured on or before September 1, 2014, must have each lamp located so that it meets the visibility requirements specified in any applicable SAE Standard or Recommended Practice.
S5.4Equipment combinations. Two or more lamps, reflective devices, or items of associated equipment may be combined if the requirements for each lamp, reflective device, and item of associated equipment are met, with the following exceptions:
(a) No high-mounted stop lamp shall be combined with any other lamp or reflective device, other than with a cargo lamp.

Here's the entire law:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/571.108

 

[NickD]

Should feel honored I was isolated from the other responses to this thread.

Fact of the matter is, automotive manufacturers have to comply with the DOT for lighting, plus other things.

Good advice would be if elect to do so, this modification should be reported to your insurance company. If you don't, and I don't give a darn if the light intensity was decreased by one lux, your are accepting full liability. If rear ended, that guys insurance company will get out of it, and they don't give a darn what the environment is. And if you didn't report this mod to your own insurance company, they won't cover you either.

How do I know this, try working as a engineer in that automotive industry for over 40 years.

So Mo, what is your background?

 

[boneheaddoctor]

Sounds like someone got butt hurt......

and will whine about being picked on for tickets JUST because they are young and male, and not for the real reasons. (speaking as a male who got more than his fair share in my youth)

 

[NickD]

When I was a young male, we could do anything we wanted to, but this sure changed in the early 70's with the demise of the Act of God, and some human had to be blamed for it. When I turned 50, was selected by my company to be their expert witness. Can tell you logic doesn't work, tact and the ability to explain things in very simple terms. Dealing with Harvard attorneys.

With a modification like this, even though an accident, should say so-called accident, that is not even your fault. Not only liable for your vehicle. but the guys vehicle that hit you as well. And heaven help you if injuries are involved, not making this up, but speaking from experience.

Not saying I like these liability laws, for one thing, with the super high cost of insurance, can't even afford to fly a plane anymore. A friend, five years my junior got caught in a hail storm with his plane, did carry liability, has to, is the law, but sure couldn't afford hull insurance, so he is now walking or driving, but sure isn't flying.

Our state recently passed a law leaving retailers exempt, is legal to advertise and even sell this stuff, but watch out if you are the installer. And forget about suing China, may win, but won't collect a cent.

 

[boneheaddoctor]

Here's a stupid question, are you doing this for yourself or that guy behind you? Do you run behind your car and say oh boy, I have smoked tail lights?

My major concern for that guy behind me is getting rear ended, find a lot of people that like to drive halfway up your exhaust pipe.

One thing I have been tempted to do is to take one of my high powered camera flash units and install that in the rear somehow. So if a guy is following me with the brights on, can get even. But I never have done this.

Yep, very true that cops have to meet their monthly traffic ticket quotas. Find myself followed closely quite a few times, like to tee them off by driving a couple of miles slower than the speed limit. They get bored after awhile and pull off.

Wife kind of gets tired hearing me say, oh boy, there is a cop there to protect us. Worthless to call a cop when your car was hit legally parked, won't even write up a report, only a hundred bucks of damage was done! More like 3,000 bucks.

I've done that...or something similar. Three halogen fog lights minus the diffuser lenses out the back window of a hatchback I once owned back in the 80's.

Was hidden by the louvers...used then for tailgaters at night and idiots that liked using their high beams ...PARTICULARLY while tailgating.

Amazingly effective...but that was before cell phones much cell phone cameras. Luckily never got busted for it.

Wasn't smart...and only did it for about 6 months before i removed them.

 

[LS6rally]

Show me this federal law that states they must be visible form 500ft

 

[NickD]

Show me this federal law that states they must be visible form 500ft

Should be here someplace, if you like to read.

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2008-title49-vol6/pdf/CFR-2008-title49-vol6-sec571-108.

This is also interesting:

"Is it legal to sell HID replacement kits?
NHTSA has concluded that it is impossible to produce HID conversion kits (converting a halogen system to HID) that would be compliant with FMVSS No. 108. View more information on HID Conversion Kits."

For your convenience:

"
GOVERNMENT CLAMPS DOWN ON
HID CONVERSION KITS
NHTSA Does Not Recognize “For Off-Road Use Only” Disclaimer
As SEMA has reported in the past, the Nati
onal Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) is targeting high intens
ity discharge (HID) conversion ki
ts for enforcement actions.
NHTSA has concluded that it is impossible
to produce HID conversion kits (converting a
halogen system to HID) that would be complia
nt with the federal lig
hting standard, Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108.
The noncompliant kits frequently include an
HID bulb, ballast, igniter, relay and wiring harn
ess adapters. NHTSA be
lieves this equipment
presents a safety risk to the public since the k
its can be expected to
produce excessive glare to
oncoming motorists. In one investigation,
NHTSA found that an HID conversion headlamp
exceeded the maximum allowable candlepower by over 800 percent.
Halogen equipment uses an electrical current to
heat a metal wire coil filament to incandescence,
while the HID conversion kit’s lig
ht source incorporates a discha
rge arc to produce light. HIDs
require a ballast for operation. Under FMV
SS No. 108’s Section S7.7 (Replaceable light
sources), each replaceable light source for headlamps must be designed to conform to the
dimensions and electrical specifications for the
headlamp source it is intended to replace. For
example, if an HID kit is marketed as replacing
an H1 light source, then it must match the H1’s
wire coil filament size and location, the electr
ical connector size and
location, and the ballast
design for use with an H1 light source (whi
ch is impossible since there is no ballast).
Consequently, companies that are manufacturing
HID light sources (e.g., D1S, D1R, D2S, D2R,
9500, etc...) with incandescent light source ba
ses (e.g., H1, H3, H7, H8, H9, H11, H13, HB1,
HB2, HB3, HB4, HB5, etc...) should
be aware that this light source design would not be a
design that conforms to FMVSS No. 108, and c
ould not be imported and sold in the United
States without violating Federal la
w. (The importer is treated as
the manufacturer and subject to
the same fines and penalties that
apply to a domestic manufacturer.)
NHTSA has also determined that a commonly-used
disclaimer “for off-road use only” has no
legal meaning and is not recogn
ized by the agency as the manuf
acturer, importer
and retailer are
not in a position to control use once a product ha
s been sold. Any equipment offered for sale
which is covered by FMVSS No. 108 (headlamps, taillamps, side markers, etc.) must comply
with the standard. "

 

[cruze2011white]

Tint is illegal to in most states too...what's your point. He asked a simple question about the product.. I like the tint look and most cops could care less about this. Its the blacked out ones they don't like.
Just because they sell something doesn't mean its legal.

 

[30 Ounce]

Show me this federal law that states they must be visible form 500ft

Here you go:
206. Tail lamps and reflectors.
(1) Every motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, and pole trailer and any other vehicle which is beingdrawn at the end of a train of vehicles shall be equipped with at least one tail lamp mounted on the rear,which, when lighted as required in section 204, shall emit a red light plainly visible from a distance of fivehundred feet to the rear; except that, in the case of a train of vehicles, only the tail lamp on the rear-mostvehicle need actually be seen from the distance specified, and except as provided in section 215.5.Furthermore, every such vehicle registered in this state and manufactured or assembled after January 1,1958, shall be equipped with at least two tail lamps mounted on the rear, on the same level and as widelyspaced laterally as practicable, which, when lighted as required in section 204, shall comply with theprovisions of this section.
(2) Every tail lamp upon every vehicle shall be located at a height of not more than seventy-twoinches nor less than twenty inches, to be measured as set forth in section 204 (3).
(3) Either a tail lamp or a separate lamp shall be so constructed and placed as to illuminate with awhite light the rear registration plate and render it clearly legible from a distance of fifty feet to the rear.Any tail lamp, together with any separate lamp for illuminating the rear registration plate, shall be so wiredas to be lighted whenever the head lamps or auxiliary driving lamps are lighted.
(4) Every motor vehicle operated on and after January 1, 1958, upon a highway in the state ofColorado shall carry on the rear, either as part of a tail lamp or separately, one red reflector meeting therequirements of this section; except that vehicles of the type mentioned in section 207 shall be equippedwith reflectors as required in those sections applicable thereto and except as provided in section 215.5.
(5) Every new motor vehicle sold and operated on and after January 1, 1958, upon a highway shallcarry on the rear, whether as a part of the tail lamps or separately, two red reflectors; except that everymotorcycle shall carry at least one reflector meeting the requirements of this section, and vehicles of thetype mentioned in section 207 shall be equipped with reflectors as required in those sections applicablethereto.
(6) Every reflector shall be mounted on the vehicle at a height of not less than twenty inches normore than sixty inches, measured as set forth in section 204 (3) and shall be of such size and characteristicsand so mounted as to be visible at night from all distances within three hundred fifty feet to one hundred feetfrom such vehicle when directly in front of lawful upper beams and head lamps; except that visibility from agreater distance is required by law of reflectors on certain types of vehicles.
(7) Any person who violates any provision of this section commits a class B traffic infraction.

 

[NickD]

Ha, practically all SUV's and Vans have tinted windows, except for the driver's, passenger door windows, and the windshield, but the top of that is tinted. So dark, you practically can't see inside.

Also live in the country (USA) where politicians feel obligated to make laws. If you really want to go nuts, read child car seat laws that are different in all 50 states! In Wisconsin, foster parent laws vary from county to county. With our Governor Walker, just heard on the news this morning where he sign a bunch of new laws into effect to make it a lot easier for a politician to be corrupt.


For our federal congress, sure making laws to protect themselves and lifetime security. For the rest of us, well, we are getting screwed. Insurance companies have a very strong lobby and at times I feel we are in bad need of a second revolution. But its the law!