Update:




I've got to do the outers at some point but I'm in the process of retrofitting my headlights and don't actually have stockers to put in until I'm done, so they'll have to wait.

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The biggest complaint about these tails are that the inner ones stick out too much, as you see here:



I hated it so within a few days of getting them I switched to just using the outers. Today I took apart my IPCW inners, took out the LED board, and test fitted it in my stock inners. It's really snug but it fits.



The green you see inside it is the LED board itself which is actually green, and the painters tape I have holding the board in place. I just need to cover up the edge of the board with black elec tape, or if necessary a light layer of tint would make it completely stock looking. And of course, in true IPCW form, the output is ruthless:



Yeah it's a pic from my phone, but I set the exposure to -1 and that's pretty accurate as far as the brightness in my garage.

 

major improvement

 

if you could do the same to the outers, I think you struck gold.

 

Subed

 

not necessarily.. you know how expensive these would be to buy for everyone?

looks much better though

 

It's such a pain in the ass. I'm such a noob and if I can do it, I dunno why IPCW didn't just redesign their reflector housing to make them flush. Pisses me off. If somebody else is thinking of attempting this with their IPCW's, I suggest doing the outers, and then putting your own LED's in the inners. If anyone is thinking of buying IPCW's specifically to do this... don't.

Edit: done the right side and it's all plugged in... sticks out exactly the same amount as a stock tail, i.e. basically flush at the bottom and rounding up to protrude a bit at the top.

 

I say do it if u can and don't care or just leave them alone. I like the look of the ipcw better then the oem and they do stick out but not as bad as ppl make them out to be.

 

So much easier the 2nd time around. I could do all 4 in less than 2 hrs I bet.

I disagree... they stick out pretty ******* far. It's amplified if you go wingless. But I love the brightness and the circle style, so I made it work.

 

i had the ipcw and got rid of them because they stuck out tooo far and i just didnt like it any
more i want oem tails that function the same way.

 

^ Well, I've basically got that now. Both sides are done you've got to get about 6 inches away to tell there's IPCW's inside. Once I tint them you won't be able to tell. Here's an old pic of when I had the 'hybrid' setup.

 

yea i saw that a while back.

i got the ebay tails with stock inner tails and tinted them and thats my current setup

 

i love your rims

take a pic of the tails far back

 

ipcw who? best taillights for the cobalt coupe HANDS DOWN are these:

05-10 Chevy Cobalt L.E.D. Tail Lights - Red/Smoked - Free Shipping

if you have ever seen them on one in person you would know

 

They look better then the IPCWs

 

The sport red LNF isn't mine, just used the pic as an example. Mine's the green one in the pic above. I'll get a bunch of pics tomorrow.

IPCW's have never been the best looking Cobalt tails, nor did I say that... what they do have is unparalleled brightness, durability, and of course they are plug-and-play Corvette style.

 

why would someone care how bright their taillights are? that would be of no benefit to you and would just annoy the people behind you. i guess they are durable but your paying for it and all brands usually last a long time without peeling. the k2 are plug and play and idk even know why we are mentioning corvettes lol

 

the brightness is mentioned because no other LED tails can match the brightness of our stock light bulb tail lights. I've seen those in person and they look really nice, brightness wise.

 

Added finished pics to the OP.

 

Gotta revive this...

Acey, I just got a set of IPCW tails, and thinking about retrofitting them into the stock tails and then tinting/smoking them. A few questions:

• How do you open up tail lights? Oven method?
• Would the outer light's LED board fit in the outer stock housing without trimming?
• How are they holding up to weather/time?
• What did you use to permanently secure the LED board in the housing?

Thanks ahead.

I'll post pics when I get them done.

 

so just tried opening stock tails ... wouldnt budge. did everythingjust like with headlights: oven to 265F, tried prying them apart - nothing...

any advice?

 

I don't think I ever baked my tails. Just used my heat gun on the lowest setting and moved it around the edge, and pried them bitches apart. You will destroy the IPCW ones in the process, if I didn't mention that... but the stock ones will come apart just fine. Probably more cumbersome, but I never was comfortable putting the whole damn thing in the oven.

To secure the LED ring, I just used a few small pieces of electrical tape to hold the ring in place while I pressed the 2 pieces of the taillight back together. It's not going anywhere once the light is reassembled.

As for the outers - never tried. Don't know if it'd fit. And for longevity... they'll last just fine as long as they're sealed up. Never had any issues with mine, kinda reused the stock sealant and added a ring of clear silicone sealant just to be sure.

 

Thank you for a quick and thorough response. I'm planning to retro them into K2 tail lights (people say those are pretty hard to take apart), if they won't get destroyed in the process. I did try to heat the IPCW lights, but didn't help. Might need to cut them apart, but I'll try to take apart K2's first. If they come apart just fine, then I can cut into the IPCWs, if not, they'll stay on the car (I just smoked them with some chrome blackout) until I figure something else out...

 

Yep I really had to crank up the heat on the IPCW's, got them to the point that they were really soft and I warped them beyond repair as I pried them apart.

 

Look nice

 

Sounds like dremel to take them apart is a better option then. I still want to make sure I can take apart the K2s first without warping them or anything.