Tail light advice for GTI

[kaoticice]

Hi guys,
I've been thinking of either diy lightly smoking the taillight or possibly purchasing an aftermarket taillight, depending on the cost/effort that is required.
I've done a few research on diy smoke taillights; (plz correct me if im wrong)
The equipments i need is;
1) clear coat
2) spray tint
So the question is how much do these costs?? and where to find them??
Any other related advice is appreciated.
thanks,
Ed

[william]

Hi guys,
I've been thinking of either diy lightly smoking the taillight or possibly purchasing an aftermarket taillight, depending on the cost/effort that is required.
I've done a few research on diy smoke taillights; (plz correct me if im wrong)
The equipments i need is;
1) clear coat
2) spray tint
So the question is how much do these costs?? and where to find them??
Any other related advice is appreciated.
thanks,
Ed

there is a product calls nightshades in a can then you clear coat but its hard to get a good finish and the boys in blue can tell your.

better off getting them tinted with 70 to 95% tint depending on how dark you want them or even considering r32 rear tails

[zz2]

i tried to smoke my stock tails with VHT night shades tinting spray but it was just a massive waist of time. i couldnt get a shiny decent quality finish. i then tried one of those ebay tint film kits and that was even more of a waste of time

in the end i just thought SCREW IT and went out and bought some genuine R32 tails and even although the price was a bit steep i couldnt be happier :)


http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/01/IMG_7667-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/01/aIMG_7525-1.jpg


its just a really nice OEM mod that makes a massive difference to the cars rear end

[KWICKS]

Hobby shop for your paints where you won't be ripped off.

[kaoticice]

I was really interested in those r32 tail light initially, but the price tag is simply ... :eek: (approximately $600+ right?)
These LED one looks good too http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newforum/upload/showthread.php?t=17265
but im unsure where to find them and how much they cost. :frown:
Ed

Edit: zz2 ur car is hot!!

[gtimk5]

I can get R32/Pirelli tailights for $560 all up, genuine. 4 pieces
I like them better than aftermarket ones

[zz2]

I can get R32/Pirelli tailights for $560 all up, genuine. 4 pieces
I like them better than aftermarket ones

i got mine for cost price from my parts desk. kinda helps when you're mates with the parts manager :biggrin:

at the time it was about the same price if i was to order them from an overseas site like TM Tuning or Parts 4 Euro but that involved a lot of stuffing around with waiting and shipping etc. the dealer took 3 days to get mine in from Sydney

[mark4323]

These LED one looks good too http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newforum/upload/showthread.php?t=17265
but im unsure where to find them and how much they cost. :frown:


You can get them from TMTUNING.

[Yevvy]

1) VHT Night Shades - $18.95 from Auto1
2) Clear Coat Auto1 - $13.95 from Auto1, duh! :)
3) Wet and dry sand paper - $1.80 from Bunnings

I did mine 2 weeks ago. put 3 light coats of Night Shades, and finished with 3 light coats of clear coat. I didn't care about a shiny finish, so i was happy with the result. If you want a shiny finish, just use ~2000 grid vet and dry sand paper before applying the clear coats. Used http://smoke-tail-lights.howtocar.net/ website as a reference. If you want i can can post pics tomorrow. Hope this helps :)

Or get one of these, they are hot!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q134xPgSwVY&feature=PlayList&p=717B8139BF2F7ED7&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=91

[maca]

Yeah i've got the sameee problem.. I want to darken my Jetta's tail lights but still want the shine. Or even just blacken the red parts surrounding the LED's....

[bazzle]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wgFu5-V9ao&feature=related

[kaoticice]

^ i love those oem leds.. They look sxy

@ mark4323 How much did the transport cost ya?

@ Yevvy, thx for the advice.. it really doesnt look expensive to do a diy i guess. I was planning to lightly smoke it to create an r32 look.
I'll see how it goes

Cheers,
Ed

[mark4323]

^ i love those oem leds.. They look sxy

@ mark4323 How much did the transport cost ya?


Cheers,
Ed

Sorry, I don't remember. I bought a few items and it was quite reasonable. I bought when the USD was nearly 1:1.

Also, when you get them here you have to get the fog and reversing lenses swapped. You can DIY or send them to a place in Melbourne that does it.

[kaoticice]

I think i've decided to smoke the light instead of purchasing another one. At the moment i have 2 taillights, one of them is the original one and the other is an aftermarket that my brother used. Looked like this http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/05/BSBIohmkKGrHgoHCMEjlLl0rDjBKBBdMrPL_1JPG-1.jpg
To be honest, i dont like the look of that the aftermarket one, and i decided to use it for experimenting purpose and getting experience on smoking the taillight. If i don't like the outcome, then i shall purchase another taillight. :biggrin:
Probably gonna start next week, so much assignment atm.
Thankx
Ed

[85turbo]

these are the lights i WILL be buying.
they are hellishly expensive, bit i love the look of them.

they are OEM quality RHD versions and made by Hella.

http://tinyurl.com/r3jl55

Jason.

[WEDEL.1]

I like the R32 lights, standard looking, but just that little custom.

Maris

[gtimk5]

My R32's should be here wednesday, just in time to be fitted for the nats.
Andrew:)

[zz2]

these are the lights i WILL be buying.
they are hellishly expensive, bit i love the look of them.

they are OEM quality RHD versions and made by Hella.

http://tinyurl.com/r3jl55

Jason.

dude, dont!

please

[Yevvy]

if you get these, you MUST tint them extremely dark like in the video in my previous post. cos without it they look like

[85turbo]

dude, dont!

please

Why ? Care to elaborate ?

Jason

[gtimk5]

By keeping an original look, I think the Golf looks classier and less ricey.
Everyones different though and its up to the individuals personal taste.
Those Hellas are damn expensive!!!!
Andrew :)

[85turbo]

i agree 100%.

it all comes down to individual tastes.
personally, i think the dark Hella's will work very well with my car's body colour.
(Dark maroon metallic)

Jason.

[kaoticice]

maybe i shud just stick with stock??? xD .. naa but even looking at the stock already looked good. Just wanna look a lil different i guess.

[zz2]

Why ? Care to elaborate ?

Jason

its just a matter of personal taste but in my books they look horrible.
they ruin the look of the car and are just too rice. i have seen those exact lights on a few mk5s and it looked shockin. im not really a fan of any LED tails for the mk5 but if you really want to go down that path there are much better alternatives out there and for a lot less

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VW-Golf-MK5-R32-GTI-GT-TDI-LED-Tail-Light-Cluster-RED_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1205Q7c66Q3a2 Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a1Q7c293Q3 a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem 5631b6dc9dQQitemZ370201255069QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fT ruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

or

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VW-Golf-MK5-GTI-R32-TDI-LED-Smoke-Tail-Light-Assembly_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1205Q7c6 6Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a1Q7c 293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhash Zitem48359b484dQQitemZ310137014349QQptZMotorsQ5fCa rQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

at the end of the day its your money and your car so as long as it makes you happy thats all that matters :)

[85turbo]

thanks for the links.

those ebay ones (if im not mistaken) only use leds for the tail and brake. not the indicators. the Hella ones are all led (except the reverse and fog)

i have been trying to find some that are both, but apart from the Hella ones, i have not been able to find any that i like.
im not even a fan of the OEM led tails.

i think a light tinting treatment could make the Hella's look heaps better. (not black, but just enough to tame some of the chrome)
i think i will try the Hella ones and see if i like them. if not, i can always sell them again.....

Jason.

[TDIESEL]

Here's some to consider. Cost $278 USD (including postage) and took about 4 days to arrive on my doorstep.

4388
4389

[zz2]

Here's some to consider. Cost a bit over $300 AUD and took about 4 days to arrive on my doorstep.

4388
4389

theyre the best looking LEDs ive seen yet!

[TDIESEL]

theyre the best looking LEDs ive seen yet!
The tail and brake lights are the only led part. Indicators, reverse and fog are still normal bulbs but a fraction of the cost of OEM LED's I can live with that:biggrin:

[kaoticice]

^ those are sweet looking lights.. cant even start imagining it on a black gti ... *droooolzz*

[chewy7]

Got any pics of those tail lights in operation mate?

[TDIESEL]

Who's ready for some LED action?
4415

4416

4417

4418

4419

[TDIESEL]

And some more. I think I've covered all possible light combinations for everyone that has asked. :biggrin:

The fog light is actually much redder (is that a word?) in real life.

4420

4421

[sixfootchoc]

i got mine for cost price from my parts desk. kinda helps when you're mates with the parts manager :biggrin:

at the time it was about the same price if i was to order them from an overseas site like TM Tuning or Parts 4 Euro but that involved a lot of stuffing around with waiting and shipping etc. the dealer took 3 days to get mine in from Sydney

Hah, I just told VW OP what price Mark got them for and they matched it.

Nothing better out there than OEM tinted tails IMHO

[maca]

The fog light is actually much redder (is that a word?) in real life.



The reverse light would be a crap load brighter too.. I've read so many replies about people complaining that it's not bright enough!

Ok I read somewhere on a thread about pulling the actual cluster apart and doing stuff to your tail lights. Some were bolt together and some were moulded. My question is: Are the Jetta clusters easy to pull apart? I really want to smoke the red parts of the tail lights (excluding the fog) but don't want to cheapen it by simply tinting the outside layer.. Any help appreciated!