GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I'm going to start a new project tomorrow and I've been looking forward to doing it for quite some time now. Any guesses as to what it is? Here's a picture of some of the stuff I will be using:

tinting of headlights/tails?

Buff the wood. Buff Buff the wood.Sorry, the rubbing compound threw me into a Son-In-Law (the movie with Pauley Shore) flashback for some strange reason.

Northvibe called it.I just finished applying a few coats of tint. It looks amazing IMO. Here's a few pics along the way. My house reaks of paint and I feel sorta dizzy. Note to self, never do this again inside.Passenger side removed.The hardest part was reaching into the panel here and removing the nuts. Very awkwardly positioned.This thing also made it very difficult.Tail lights removed.Tail lights removed and before altered.Used rubbing compound after using Windex to clean.It was still too smooth, so I wet sanded it.Comparison between first very thin coat and normal (tinted on left).A few coats later.A few more with and without flash.I'm going to apply a few more layers and then put a few coats of clear coat on top of that.

Here's some more pics:Final level of tint, with and without flash.First coat of clear.

ohhh they look good in that last pic!!! cant wait to see them on

well done --- now get them reinstalled!!

Tail lights have been re-installed! I'm very happy with the end results.

Lets see some installed pics! Looks awesome so far!

Eye spy with my little eye, a bandpass box in the trunk...

Quote, originally posted by ajflan »Lets see some installed pics! Looks awesome so far!Ditto! Where's the installed pics man?!?What all did you use to tint the tails? Can I send you my taillights and have you tint them?

Quote, originally posted by Toasted7 »Ditto! Where's the installed pics man?!?What all did you use to tint the tails? Can I send you my taillights and have you tint them? I used Nite-Shades. It was about $30.00 CDN for a can. Then I used Dupli-Color clear coat to make them shine. Here's a pick of the tint:Kevera said that you can buy soem other stuff too, but I didn't really look around.And yeah, I could definitely do that for you!

Installed pics are here!Here's a before and after shot, with and without flash.Here's tails installed before.And here they are tinted and re-installed.Note: All pictures were taken while the car was running, so the tail lights were on. I will take some without it running if any body wants me to.

Oh sick!Hi Matt its Mike lol. did Nick help you out too? Looks sick man you should take some Night pics with the lights on!

Quote, originally posted by DarkAzn »Oh sick!Hi Matt its Mike lol. did Nick help you out too? Looks sick man you should take some Night pics with the lights on!hahahahahhahahahaha (removed) what are you doing here? rofl you just made my day.Nope, Nick didn't help me out. He's in Windsor, this was a solo project.Yeah I'll try to take some tonight. I can swing by later and show you

Quote, originally posted by Amtron »Note: All pictures were taken while the car was running, so the tail lights were on. I will take some without it running if any body wants me to.Looks really good, but damn they are dark. I wanna see pics @ night...

Quote, originally posted by bull77 »Looks really good, but damn they are dark. I wanna see pics @ night... I will take some tonight. Even though they are dark, they let a suprisingly large amount of light through. Just enough for people not to rear end you lol

Quote, originally posted by Amtron »hahahahahhahahahaha (removed) what are you doing here? rofl you just made my day.Nope, Nick didn't help me out. He's in Windsor, this was a solo project.Yeah I'll try to take some tonight. I can swing by later and show youlol i got lost between Mitsubishi and Toyota and somehow ended up here HAHA! I found you cuz im HAXOR haha!man i wish i can start modding the lancer .

Quote, originally posted by bull77 »Looks really good, but damn they are dark. I wanna see pics @ night... You don't think they are too dark for driving at night? I wonder if you can get a ticket for something like that? They look awesome in the daylight!!!Now I just need to find an extra set of tails to send you so you can tint 'em.

Quote, originally posted by Toasted7 »You don't think they are too dark for driving at night? I wonder if you can get a ticket for something like that? They look awesome in the daylight!!!Now I just need to find an extra set of tails to send you so you can tint 'em.Uhm I dunno about the ticket. I mean probably if you tint them too much, but it depends on the laws in your area. The guy who sold the tint to me said he never heard of any tickets for it, so that's good.

Anyone have suggestions on where to buy an extra set of taillights that are not going to set me back an arm and a leg? I'll have to check junk yards around my area, but I never really have any luck in finding any Vibes there.

Quote, originally posted by Toasted7 »Anyone have suggestions on where to buy an extra set of taillights that are not going to set me back an arm and a leg? I'll have to check junk yards around my area, but I never really have any luck in finding any Vibes there.Did you try this site?: http://www.pamsauto.com/search...=Vibe

Quote, originally posted by 13Vibe03 »I don't like it. The orange peel finish always bothers me. At least you clear coated them. I've seen many that were dull and scuffed.How much does it dim the lights? Are you going to make a cover for the third brake light? I would think it is now super bright compared to the tinted lights. Not that bright is bad!!!I'm going to go outside and make a video to show everyone the darkness @ night. I don't think I will get a 3rd light cover as a safety feature. Because the lights don't let as much light through when braking, I rely on it to be used as a warning I am braking. I MIGHT get the Grafxwerks overlay, but probably not.And about the orange peel, I was thinking of putting one more coat of clear on it to make it more smooth, lots have people have told me to on different sites. However, everyone who has seen it in person hasn't noticed it. Either way, another layer won't hurt. I would agree shiney is better than dull.

Here you go everyone, video of the tails at night!I'd just like to add that yes they are less bright, but as you can see here, they still are quite bright, the light is just channeled and less scattered into the red or orange part of the lense.

If there is a problem with the videos for anyone, I can go out and try and snap some photo's of it at night.

Hey Man, the overall look is very cool. Very stealthy. Of the two major concerns (one of which was already addressed) I would have with this mod, how do you plan on verifying that the lamps now conform to FMVSS / CMVSS? In the USA, we have to have exterior lighting that passes FMVSS. In Canada (Ont. - your plate), your regulations are CMVSS which closely follows FMVSS. Cars made here or there and sold in both here or there must meet or exceed the regulations. The major concerns are:1. Dark lens covering light output. If you cover the light (with paint or anything else), you don't get as much light output. By original design, the manufacturer of the lamp developed the light output to be over the minimum photometric regulations with a standard margin. Your modification may have cut that margin out and possibly cut into the minimum standard photometric regulation. Just something to think about if you get rear-ended and the person that hit you states that "I couldn't see your brake/tail lights". 2. Dark lens/paint covering the side and/or rear RR lenses. The lamps were developed with side and rear "RR" lenses. These are reflective lenses that effectively "light up" when oncoming traffic shine their headlights on your vehicle. In the front color is supposed to be yellow and in the rear, color is supposed to be red (so we can tell if a car is facing away from us or facing us). The RR lens has a photometric value that is measured in cds bouncing back from a standard light that is aimed at it. Darkening the lens would also reduce the amount of light reaching the "diamonds" of the RR and shining back what light did get in back through the dark lens for output. This would be a problem for your car in a parking lot at night or if it's parked on the street if drivers can't see your car. Or, if your lamps go out for some reason and you have to drive without tail/stop lamps.3. Probably not too much of a concern since (if I can remember correctly during development, there wasn't too much of a heat concern), the dark lens could raise the temperature of the lamp inside during operation. If the temp inside reaches dangerous levels it could cause outgassing and reduced photometric performance. Or, temps at the couplers could reach to melting points. That could be a concern. I would keep a close watch on your wires and check the temp of your lamps in the summer.- Jim

easy to get around all your issues with a dumb person doing the inspection who doesn't know any better or a few extra bucks. But that it the price you pay for custom. Don't be such a downer HAHA

I agree about getting around regulation stuff. The custom factor sometimes takes priority. I've just been in the biz for development of lamps for about 10 years and I work hard to make sure the lamps we make pass regulation. I just want to pass on a few words of wisdom for those that are considering this type of modification. When it comes to lighting, if our company is discovered that we are making or made lamps that do not pass regulation, there is a huge fine we would have to pay not to mention recall. When it comes to safety, Nation Highway Traffic Safety Admin. takes photometric performance issues very seriously.Regarding customization, I own a '96 Suzuki Intruder 800cc motorcycle. The first modification I made to the bike was to drill out the baffles to make the bike louder. Is it within regulation? Heck, I don't know (probably not to some "noise" ordinance), I do know that I like the sound. Until somebody tells me to quiet it down, I'm gonna keep twistin' the throttle. Don't mean to be a downer. I told the guy I liked the look. If I thought that it would be safe, I might do the same to my lamps.- Jim

hey matt -- thanks again for stopping by and helping me tint my tails. I'll hopefully post pictures this afternoon -- when the snow dies down.

Quote, originally posted by bull77 »hey matt -- thanks again for stopping by and helping me tint my tails. I'll hopefully post pictures this afternoon -- when the snow dies down. Hey no problem Alan, it was no biggie! And yeah, get those pics up asap!

car is VERY dirty but I took some pics in the sun. We did about 3-4 coats of the tint and around 5-6 of clear. I still need to touch up some of the spots and thinking of putting a little tint on the backup lights.

pics

They look awesome one your car man! I think it was a good amount of clear coat out on them. When you do the touch ups, don't go nuts on it lolGet them fogs and rear bumper done too!

hey matt wanna stop by and do mine too? haha

Quote, originally posted by hskater26 »hey matt wanna stop by and do mine too? hahaIf you give me your kit

(removed)

Why in the WORLD would you WANT to make your Vibe so that the taillights and turn signals are SO MUCH harder to see in bright light (think: sunshine) and at dusk, when ALL cars are harder to see, because your eyes aren't dark adapted.You are one dangerously INSANE MoFo!! If you get rear ended by another vehicle, or hit in an intersection, the other person has an IMMEDIATE defense in the FACT that you made your car MUCH HARDER TO SEE Why don't you CUT the OUTPUT of your HEADLIGHTS by about 50% too.Oooooh Black out headlights. Don't they look really coo....... crash!

It is pointless to dig up a nearly two year old thread to criticize someone. This member doesn't even have his Vibe anymore.