I haven't gotten to mount these on my RS 2.0 yet, but I just blacked out the inside of the taillights. I had planned on just getting rid of the red reflectors, but once I had them apart it looked better keeping the reflectors and making the insides dark. The pics aren't the best, but what do you think. Keep the stock lights or go with the blacked out look. I've got both pair, so maybe I'll just switch em once in awhile.

http://www.totallyboardz.com/scion/blklts2t.jpg
http://www.totallyboardz.com/scion/blklts1t.jpg

depends on the color xB its going on.

Yellow

Killer man! i'm doing the same thing, but just the top half. How does it look from the side (edge) view? Also, what did you use to do it? Any sealing problems?

the right tail (in the pic) looks darker.

sen-

Why not just black out the whole light? Then someone won't just barely see your little brake light showing no they will just ram the hell out of your box and you will be dead.

Why not just black out the whole light? Then someone won't just barely see your little brake light showing no they will just ram the hell out of your box and you will be dead.

Umm, no. If you only do a few coats 80-90% of the light is still transmitted...

get some really good led lights, then you're in business, btw, what was your process of blacking/smoking these tails... and are the two lights in the pic smoked to different levels?

I'm thinking that the stock brake lights aren't that bright in the first place, so why make them darker?

I dunno. Around where I drive, the brighter the better. I know I don't want some monkey smashing into my Box because they could not see the brake lights.

These aren't smoked. The inside is painted and the lens is left clear.

The brake and turn signal lamps are not significantly darker. The bulbs are still exposed, and you can see the light fine. Trust me, I've been driving around with this setup for months and haven't had any problems.

LED bulbs are not, I repeat, not brighter than incandescent bulbs. They never will be. Your best bet is to stick with the ones Scion gave you.

There won't be any sealant issues, as the tail lights are sealed with a foam bead that isn't affected by repeated opening of the light. It's the headlight you want to worry about.

In any event, good looking out.

hey max, i still dont get it.. is the 'reflector area' painted black?

and the only reason i suggest led, is because w/a reputable brand, ive noticed (only at night) better penetration thru the smoke film (bluebat type stuff) tho you're right, nothing is brighter than the incandescent included.

as for openeing the tail, im trying right now, but i cant seem to get the tabs to go back far enough...care to do a quick run down for me again?

thx

Looks great. Can't wait to see them on your car.

Bat™

Hmm yeh I can't figure it out. The one's on the right look painted inside but the ones on the left look smoke tinted (it seems you can still see silver in the reflector...) or is that just lighting. What's up totallyboardz?

Okay... The one on the left is a stock taillight. I didn't even open it up yet. The one on the right I opened up and blacked out all of the silver. I used black vinyl instead of paint just in case I didn't like the look. But, now that the one is done, I think I'm going to stick with it.
I didn't touch the actual lens. It is still perfectly clear. I left both of the red reflectors in the housing to keep it legal. There really shouldn't be too much of a difference in visibility. Safety and legality were the reasons I did it this way. I wanted something different than the stock tails (my girlfriend said to leave em alone because she liked the stock look) but I didn't want to go with the altezza look lights or leave them clear.

As for removing the lens, I ended up using a dremel to shave a little off of the taps. Once I get everything the way I want it I'll just glue em tight. For forty buck for a set of taillights on eBay, I think this was a good deal.

Fedex just showed up. Yeahhh... My speaker box is here. You will all want to see this. I'll post pics of the lights when I get them on tonight. I have to get them in because the box is probably going to cover the access panels.

Cool thanks for the info.

wait, check out this thread before you cut the tabs.

http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=32717&highlight=clear%2A+tail%2A+light%2A


Click the first guy's included link for pictures.

yeah, thats the thread I went by, but the lenses started to crack when I did it that way. Just taking a little off with a dremel let things slide apart easier and now that there back together, you can hardly tell.

It looks good! I like it!

Got them mounted on the xB along with putting in my custom box this afternoon. I'll post pics ASAP (probably Sunday, got to work the next two days).

Why not just black out the whole light? Then someone won't just barely see your little brake light showing no they will just ram the hell out of your box and you will be dead.

Now that I have the lights in, they are just as bright as before. I really can't tell much of a difference when I had the stock light on one side and the blacked out light on the other.

It helps to put the tail light in the oven for a few minutes (5 at 250) to soften up the plastic and prevent things from breaking. Just be careful not to melt it.

Funny, I did three sets of tail lights without cracking/breaking anything.

:shrug: Just a suggestion. But I guess by whatevers means, que no?

Back on topic, your tails look sick!

Nicely done.

i had no probs with lenses, i left the reflective silver surface inside and used VHT NiteShades on the inside of the lens, but i did tape off the reflector area- cops here are very picky
about 2 good coats were plenty for the effect i was after
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/boboso/CIMG0674.jpg
and the stock bulbs are FAR brighter than anything else out there
I spent my whole lunch hour in and out of a rice-shop comparing expensive bulbs to the stockers
stock wins this time, better than $30 brake light bulbs

I'm all about blacking out the silver behind the reflector. It still reflects like normal, but it's darker red in daylight.

I think i'm going to try both techniques on mine...

I like the blackout ones. But I worry about brightness. I guess we need to see some comparison shots when light are installed and on.

I just got them in and got it out of the garage. I'll get some pics tomorrow during the day. Didn't look much different.

Here are some pics of my almost finished work I started last week. I removed the entire interior, sound deadened everything, installed power inverter, xbox, two headrest lcds, new headunit, custom sub enclosure (thanks phatfront), amp rack, cap, etc... etc... Need to finish wiring up the rear and install the second voltimeter and subs once painted.

http://www.totallyboardz.com/scion/blklts9.jpg
http://www.totallyboardz.com/scion/blklts5.jpg
http://www.totallyboardz.com/scion/blklts7.jpg
http://www.totallyboardz.com/scion/blklts8.jpg
http://www.totallyboardz.com/scion/blklts6.jpg

Much better than stock.
Still waiting on my Nish tails.

Sweet setup as well.
Can't wait to see the finished product. :clap:

nice trunk set up and them tails look awsome