Hey guys.

Well, I just got into modding today - did some debadging, and I'm waiting to get a can of clearcoat tomorrow to finish my black bowtie ( what a pain it was to get that thing out with only a pair of pliers, lol. ). Anyway, I think one of the nicest (easy) mods for the 'balt are the painted headlamps and darkened taillights and headlamp covers.

Thing is, I'm not really eager to get into trouble with the cops, and getting a ticket isn't something I can afford as of now. I know that night shades are rather illegal in most states (I did my research D: ), but I don't plan on going for a complete blackout, just one or two coats max, just to give the taillights that darkened feel. But you know, sometimes people can bitch about the simplest things, so I'd like to play it on the safe side.

I checked the Florida statutes relating to head/tail lights, and what I see is that, if your taillights are red and can be seen from 1000 feet, you're good. In relation to headlamps, the statute says this:

Am I just interpreting this wrongly, or adding eyelids to my headlamps would be a no-no as well? If that's so, shizzle, I'm moving to California.

Anyway, what about the inside of the headlamp? From what I've seen in here, a lot of people do this mod, and it looks awesome, especially in a black Cobalt like mine. Will that little annoying section that says "It has to reflect light" give me cold feet on this?

I'll also see if I can talk to a police officer this week and ask him questions about this. Hopefully he'll be able to give me a clear idea of what is and isn't acceptable around here.

But what do you guys think?

 

cali is the worst state of all for mods anyways

i donno how it it al Fl but i've had cops follow me with tinted tails on my old alero....no probs for me...but mine wernt too dark

i guess its a risk, if your that worried dont do it., if you do , they look 1000 times better with a clear coat over top of them

 

Alright, will take that into consideration, thanks.

And yeah, I dont wanna go too dark. Some of them look good, but I don't wanna be driving a Batcar cover around, y'know?

 

So, what about the painted headlamps? I got the day off tomorrow and monday, and I'm thinking about painting them.

Any cop experience 'cause of your painted lamps?

 

painting the housing DOES NOT affect the reflector. If you are worried and still want to paint your headlights, I suggest a variation of mine. I taped off the "ring" around the reflector housing and it seems to visually look like it would illuminate more where in reality stock or not, they all reflect the same. Here's my headlights:





Just a shot to show the reflector housing is still functional. Yes, my car was not the cleanest when these pictures were taken.

 

Yea its against the law pretty much anywhere... i was ticketed for it about a month ago actually... its just a fix it though... met up with a friend swapped taillights, got it signed off, swapped them back... cost me $20 in court fees... thats it.

Also tinted my eyelids on using niteshadez

FTMFW

VVVVVV

 

I have been tailed by several cops both city and state and none of them have ever stopped me for them being completely blacked out. Mainly because niteshades still allows the light to show thru still and its still red light. Also like previously stated painting the inside of the headlights is not illegal. From that quote you posted they are mainly talking about placing something over the bulb itself that changes the color of the light that it is emitting. That is illegal. I had blue silicone covers over my running lights on a previous car and got an improper use of lights ticket along with 2 points.

 

@WickedSS2005

Ah, okay dude, thanks for that. It was just what I needed to know I actually didn't know if the reflectors should be painted as well, and if the reflection of light would be lessened, but if you say it's not, then it's painting time.

@Beck

But are yours completely blackened out or just smoked? Besides, I don't buy to this "They have to appear red" thing, 'cause Nissan Altimas and some Lexus SUVs have taillights that are completely white/transparent and I don't see cops pulling them over all the time. The bulbs are red, so I think that's enough.

@biniecki

Oh, alright, thanks for clarifying that up. I guess I'll really get to painting tomorrow then.

It sucks that you can't substitute your plate lights to a neon or something, they have to be white. I'd love to have a glowing red neon in there.

Thanks a bunch guys! I'll definetly post pics when I'm finished.

 

mine are blacked out... yes theirs are clear, however they are still bright as hell... just because the niteshadez allows them to shine through red doesnt mean that they are shining as bright as stock... and thats the main concern i think.

 

Yeah, I get what you're saying, but they couldn't pull me over because of one/two coats of NS just because the headlamps aren't bright red, as the lights probably wouldn't be that faded out. The Lexus SUV doesn't have bright red taillamp covers, and yet it roams free.

Btw, I heard a lot of people use nightshade to do their eyelids. But is it removable like Vynil? Or they're both permanent?

 

nah honestly you probably wouldnt get ticketed for them unless you got pulled over for something else... like speeding or wreckless driving or something..

they can be removed by soaking the lights in lacquer thinner for a minute or so, however if you get pulled over, i'd recommend just finding someone on the forum thats in your area to swap em with so u can get them signed off.

two things... one... the Lexus uses Red LEDS so the brake light still lights up red..
two... It still has the red reflectors on the bumper

 

Alright dude, thanks for that info. I'll do a last check with someone in the police force around here. They're easy to come by, since at least two officers live within 200 feet from home :heh: I'll see what I'll do based on what they tell me. I personally don't speed that often and reckless driving isn't a problem I have, so we'll see.