IMO anything different is great and that really looks sweet. If I had to scuff the lights
to apply it I would not do it personally but if not, hell why not just take it off if it isn't cutting it.

 

I love the look. I vote yes. Do it.

 

i think you guys are right, nightshade is kind of a one way trip i believe but im painting my calipers (dark blue) next week when my caliper kit gets here so ill probably just nightshade them up then while I'm waiting for the calipers to dry.

From what ive heard there is a bit of disassembly to get the tail itself out? im not retarded i know how to disconnect a harness but what about additional bolts/sizes? is there a thread on this?

 

From what ive heard there is a bit of disassembly to get the tail itself out? im not retarded i know how to disconnect a harness but what about additional bolts/sizes? is there a thread on this?

Right you are the lights are 10x harder to remove than the ones on my merc were this is what I did

 

Nightshade fades and is reversible... Goof off and carb cleaner takes it right off. No it does not damage your lights either I've done it to multiple lights over the course of 3 years and they're all fine. Good luck!

 

I just hate the way it looks as it gets dull and I wouldn't want to have to keep applying it ever year.

 

Who cares what anyone else thinks the car is yours scroll down untill you see the thread my focus se that's mine and its already blacked out I think it looks sexy IMO. The only thing I don't like is that there's too many badges on the back looks crappy IMO but its kit my car good job on the lights though oh yea you forgot your reflectors on the bottom of you valance

 

What? Punctuation is a good thing.

Since you asked our opinions, I vote no. It's a pretty nice, economy car. Dress up seems kind of pointless, and is kind of a "HEY LOOK AT ME" attitude I don't understand. If it's a nice classic muscle car, or something high performance I understand, but if it's a ford focus keep it simple.

 

Are the taillights on the sedan that much harder to remove than the hatch? It takes me about 1 minute apiece to remove them from my hatch.

 

I would think it would be easier like what Noriceplease did. I put nightshade on my 02 focus and just taped it off. As long as the tape job is good, it will look good.

 

Why not just use Lamin-X?

 

At least make sure light can still get through...don't be one of those jackasses that tints their lights so much, you can't see them even when it's completely dark.

 

I have to agree with Joey. I almost read ended a guy because he had his tails so dark I couldn't tell that he hit the brakes. I only noticed that for some reason I was suddenly going much faster than him...[rant]

 

I like the look of the tails a lot. If I were the guy whose car is in the picture though I would lose the badges and the extra spoiler. I hate the look of a spoiler on top of an already spoily trunklid.

 

The only way to black out tails IMO [cool]

Looks good!

 

Lol yeah nightshade seems to by my only option right now. Especially since I've got a few cans in my garage right now. Tinting is expensive but on the other hand you get what you pay for.

 

Sorry, but tinting of your tail lights is just a dumb idea...IMHO. There is a reason it is illegal in many states. Those lights are designed for a specific reason (per DOT regulations)....safety for yourself and your fellow drivers. They are designed to provide proper visibility to your fellow drivers both day and night. Tinting them reduces that safety factor. Now the laws do vary from state to state as far as how much light is visible at a set distance. So be sure to check....

I know when I step on the brake I want to know that the guy behind me clearly sees that....day or night!

I do agree they do look cool, on a show car. But if you are doing on your daily driver, I would think twice about.

 

They aren't illegal in Ohio. If I'm blacking my car out, which I am, I have to finish the job with the tails.

 

+1 for teamwork trolling. But -1 for getting extremely defensive. Youre stuck at 0 now, living the dream...

 

Damn. If I can't get imaginary internet points or earn your approval what will I do with myself?

 

If it was possible for the tinting not to affect the brightness of the tail lights then I would totally do it.

 

To the OP, in the pic you posted, it appears the red sections have been totally blacked out, so, in response to your question, yes, it looks tacky and in my opinion unsafe. If this is something you want to do, go for it, it's your car. I think a light tint would look much better and still provide enough illumination for the vehicle behind you to clearly see you have applied your brakes.
On a personal note, other than an aesthetic choice, why would anyone want to make it harder for the vehicle coming up behind you (and possibly not paying close attention to traffic to begin with) to see you are coming to a stop or already stopped?

 

I tell myself all the time I would like to do this along with the plastidip wheels but I then see someone on the road on in a parking lot that has did the same and my opinion is changed as it looks like crap. The wheels are peeling/rough and the taillights are either impossible to see when lit or the tint is fading/chipped and looks like crap.

On the blacked out tail lights I have wondered if I happen to rear end one of those people who would be at fault. There are already enough psychos on the road which is why I am getting a dash cam.

 

Unless they admitted fault you would likely be at fault for not maintaining a safe following distance behind the vehicle in front of you.

 

I think it's fine to tweak things a bit so long as you know you're dealing with a economy car, a sporty economy car for sure but an economy car at it's root.

I've made only one change so far, red stripes on the front grill, and plan to paint my brake calipers and maybe a couple other small things but there will be no wings, or fake engine scoops on my 160hp economy car.

Adding a little flavor is fine so long as that doesn't include rice...


Brian

 

There are certainly levels of tint/darkness that still allows plenty of light through (on most vehicles, anyways, and especially with LED lighting). However that level isn't very dark, and "blacked out" is ridiculously unsafe for you and everyone around you.

 

HEY! That's my car!!! Hahaha

 

You forgot to tint the bottom reflectors lol. And get those badges off of there!

 

the nightshade looks great as is

 

On my last car I Niteshaded a few pieces. 4 years later I decided to put it back to OEM style because I thought it looked like some 16 year old kid's car lol.

I do agree about making the lights dimmer being a bad idea.

There is an old VW Rabbit near here that some young person drives. The tail lights on those cars are already incredibly dim and they Niteshaded them... Now at night the amount of light they put out just looks like your headlights are reflecting off them.

The first time I was behind the car I was flashing my headlights at them for about a quarter mile because I thought their lights were off lol.

 

You need to be seen braking from 500ft this is 100% legal as long as your not plasti dipping or spray painting them which I've seen recently Lololol

 

This is likely different from state to state. If you are darkening the tails, you are reducing light output. Plain and simple. Look at how light 50% tint is, and then consider that reduces light transmittance by half.
This looks darker than 50% tint to me.