Has anybody tinted their aftermarket tail lights?

[Volland]

I'm interested in picking up these tail lights, as I really like the design:
https://marsperformance.com.au/MARS-Per ... edan-07-19

However, I feel like the red outer part is a little too bright. So I thought of tinting it a little darker, similiarly to the Golf R's tail light colour. I don't want it too dark, so I was thinking 1 coat of VHT Nightshade should do the trick. Has anybody tried this?

Also I'm aware that Mars has other styles available on their website such as this one: https://marsperformance.com.au/Mars-Per ... edan-07-18

However, I'm not too fond of the chrome look

[bumblebee]

There is plenty of entertaining topics to talk of and this is most certainly one of them and quite possibly in the top ten of fun topics to talk about when it comes to vehicles.
There is usually two sides of the camp.
One side will be the camp who say "but we want tinted lights cos they look cool" and the camp that say " nope tinted lights are not cool , they are quite the opposite"

I fall in the "nope not cool" camp

Let me give you a few things to think about.

If you live in Australia there is a document called ADR.
This document contains all kinds of info that specifies what the vehicles must comply with to be eligible to be used safely on our roads.

This document is then modified by each state and territory around the country to their own needs , wants , desires.
Unfortunately in the ADR it states that tinted rear lights are banned. End of story.

Having said that , here's a few other things to think about.

When you tint your rear lights it makes then far more difficult to see when you hit the brakes or heaven forbid use the indicators.

Your car will look cool until it gets hot and then the story just goes down hill Rapidly after that.

Once your hit and if the insurance company gets involved they generally like to do a bit of an investigation , and so do the police as well funny enough.
The insurance company policy for pretty much all car insurance company will state that your car must be able to pass the laws of the state it is registered in and if it can't pass it then they don't have to insure it and if you lied to them about it and your in an accident , then they don't have to pay a single cent and you are on your own regardless of who is at fault.

So after you have had your accident and you car is damaged and the insurance company is getting it fixed , there is a good chance you may be in hospital.
Don't know if you have had any time as a patient in a hospital before but it usually isn't what I would call my idea of "fun"

And yes there is companies who do sell tinted lights however just is they can sell them doesn't mean it's legal to put them on your car.

If you wish to participate in this exercise of putting tinted lights on your vehicle, beware that you can be fined for it , and when you do please don't go round on social media telling everyone how hard done by you are cos the police were doing their job.

I do know a few lads who have been pinged for it and since then they have changed their minds and come across to the "not cool" camp as well.

If you happen to live outside the shores of Australia I urge you to have a good look at your local laws and see what they have to say on this topic.

Hopefully you make the right decision and reduce the chances of being in an accident and having your car damaged and off the road for some weeks just because you wished to have a car that was "cool"

Happy motoring!!

[lancerdarryl]

I'm with bumblebee on this one.Why would you want to make your taillights harder to see? It's not worth the aggravation when you have a Landcruiser parked in your boot.

[Lancer1993]

I used a very light covering of Nightshade on my stock lights, unless its parked next to another CJ you would not know it had been done. I did it like 4-5 years ago and have been over 16,000 km interstate on two trips with no issues over 5 states.

Saw a Ford this morning they were black, plus he was speeding and not indicating to change lanes, a crash waiting to happen!

[Volland]

Thanks for the replies guys. I guess tinting the tail lights is out of the picture since I live in Australia.

In saying that, I am still interested in installing aftermarket tail lights but I don't want them to be too dark.

Which aftermarket tail lights would you recommend, and are they even ADR approved?

[bumblebee]

Best of luck finding any aftermarket lights that's are ADR approved for the lancer
There is most certainly ones for trailers etc but the lancer... Mmm... Good luck
If you do find any let us know, I'm yet to find any

Don't get me wrong there is some very nice ones around , I saw some the other day that looked like they were off an Audi with the sliding indicator light and man did it look sexy

However I have my doubt it is ADR approved

[Tidus0]

When you use other cars (stocks) by comparison, the manufacturers need to send them in for inspection to ensure they pass our laws.

Back in the day at least with the CH model, for some of the options Mitsubishi had made with the tail lights they didn’t want to spend the money getting them checked so they weren’t available in the Australian market.

[bumblebee]

Back in the day at least with the CH model, for some of the options Mitsubishi had made with the tail lights they didn’t want to spend the money getting them checked so they weren’t available in the Australian market.

Spot on
Keep the costs down
Cos the more they spend on stuff like this the more they jack the prices up for us to buy and it's a competitive enough market place as it is

[Mystique]

In all honesty, it would be a waste of money to spend that much money on a set of aftermarket tail lights and then go ahead and tint them.

I bought a set of tail lights from Mars Performance last year,

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhSYpFKnoDj

I would maybe recommend spending the extra $40-60 and get the darker version

There's a RA driving around my city with those tail lights, and quiet honestly, looks horrible. I mean it's your car, by all means do whatever you like

Just as an FYI. The quality from Mars is fantastic, I have had mine for 18 months and haven't had a single issue with them.

[Gleno]

My Rear aftermarket tinted Tail lights from DEPO have E4 stamped on the inside of the light, unsure though if that means it's ADR approved, however when i changed from NSW to QLD rego,there was no issue getting a roadworthy after the mechanic seen the E4 stamp, also when i was living in NSW had no issue getting a pink slip annualy with these tailights. The only thing is, if my tail lights get busted from a rear ender, no doubt My insurance will put in replacement OEM ones, as you cant source my aftermarket tailights anymore. Luckily for me, the 3 or so rear enders i have been involved in, the tail lights were not damaged.

[bumblebee]

E4 is euro standard not Australia standard