Clear Corners! (Good News / Bad News)
 

Hey Guys,

Guess what? I got my clear corners today :D :D

Here are some pictures.

The good news is that they look absolutely awesome. They are well worth every cent I paid for them, and I can't wait to get them mounted on the car.

The bad news is that one of the front bumper turn signal lenses didn't survive the trip. The break is pretty straight, but there's not enough contact material to glue them back together. I'm going to try mounting them anyway, to see what it looks like, but we'll see.

Enjoy the pics :) (I'll post more when they're mounted)

Jon

Looks good, Man that blows about the lens! What are you gonna do? Dan just made just enough too huh?

I bet that they'll look badass even if you just screw them on the way they are.

I'm just blacking out all of the corners and lenses on my car. Black and Silver FTW!

Yeah, I sent a PM to Dan thanking him for the lenses (they're amazing quality replicas, but even the stock lenses are weak at that point, and he packed them well enough) and showing him this thread. We'll see what happens, but I know Dan himself isn't the one making these lenses, and I asked him not to insure the package, so I can't go collect from the post office over it.

Anyhoo, I've gotta find a way to seal the crack between the two of them. Mounting them won't be hard because there's a screw on each side of the two pieces, but if I leave the crack there dirt and crap will get inside my lenses, and that just royally sucks. I'll see if I can find something I can use to seal it from the inside so it's not visible.

Oh, and a side note, the coloured bulbs don't usually come with the kit. I asked Dan to buy them and add them because I can't get them up here.

Jon

Before you screw them on, use clear packaging tape on the INSIDE. That will provide a slim film barrier so that dirt won't get in through the crack.

:dunno: its an idea

I'm trying Testors "Cement for plastic models" which I used on my model cars when I was younger. Unfortunately at the point where they broke the mating surface is so incredibly thin I'm having trouble getting the pieces to stick together.

We'll see what happens. Once I get them somewhat stuck, the clear plastic cement from the inside should be a good seal. I'll try and re-inforce it as much as I can, but plastic cement can only do so much.

I'll let you guys know how it tuns out.

Jon

Man I can't wait to see pics of them on the car. Please put some up soon!!!lol

Well what I will do is in the neXt bach i will send you a front one to replace the broken one... Will that work for you... also I will talk to the guy that makes these for me to add a little more to that part of the lenses...

Viper when you get the replacement lenses could you ship the broken back to me so I can send it off ot have it looked at???


Also Glad you got the parts some what ok...

Dan

One thing you can do is get some clear RTV and glue it back together at least that will keep the dirt and small childern out if the housing...L0L... in tell I get you another one to replace it..

Dan

Dan's the man! :D

I actually found some thin clear plastic (about the same thickness as the plastic you use for overhead projectors) that I cut into thin strips and used to strengthen the spot where it broke. Between that and the testors cement it should be fixed/reinforced pretty well.

No problem on the swap. I'm really glad you volunteered that, despite the fact that I didn't insure the package.

I'll PM you about it.

And yes, everybody there should be pics in the not too distant future of them mounted on the car.

Jon

Well it's this kind of feedback EVERY business needs to make there parts better and better,not only that it was the least I could do sence you waited like 6 months or more for these to arrive to your door, and that was after you paid for them...

Dan

A little time, patience and inginuity....
 

... gets you a repaired lens :)

Once this is on the car, you'll *really* have to know about it in order to spot it. The only real indication is the air bubble that formed between the strip of plastic and the lens. I don't expect anybody to be close enough to my lenses to notice! I'll just have to remember to take it easy with the pressure washer until I get the replacment.

Voila.

Jon

I dont want to break bad news to ya viper, but if thats the glue that comes in the red tube, forget about it, it'll break soon. I dont use that on models anymore.. I do use a LIQUID by testors that chemically bonds them by making them soft and maliable. Testors Plastic Cement, glass jar, No 3502 Theres another one called Ambroid, they both are prefered, as they mate much better. You might also want to use a little bit of Gorrilla Glue. I use that stuff for everything, a tiny bit holds ALOT and its SOOO strong.

Let me know what you think, I've been building models for years.

Dan,
Can I make a suggestion and instead of the lens being segments, just have it 1 piece? It might look a little better as well. Just an idea to help prevent this kind of thing. Honestly, If you had 1 solid bar with the pyramids inside, I wouldn't mind myself.

That thought has crossed my mind with in the last hour... However I will talk to my guy that makes these for me to see what suggestion he tosses my way..

The other thing I dont want to change the mold too much bucause I will be set up for when mazda stops making these I will be there in the end to contune with these...

Dan

Ask and ye shall receive
 

And without further adue, I present pics of the lenses on the car.

Of course, I'm sure you'd all want to see them lit with the coloured bulbs, but my car doesn't have a battery, battery tray, battery cables, fusible link/fuse box or wiring harness right now. So that would be a little tough to do.

(more to come in a sec)

More

And the next project is to make my taillights look like IoTus' old car.

Jon

Lookin good Jon

Hmm, I'm honestly not sure.

They'd look badass on that light blue car, but the same color hues of clear on silver isn't doing it for me. (but hey, I'm all about black and silver, so I'm at the opposite spectrum from you)

The front ones look awesome.

A strong word of caution, though, about the rear ones. NHTSA has issued new directives cracking down on people with non-DOT compliant lighting.

Front signal lights can have clear lenses with coloured bulbs (there's a great NHTSA Interpretation letter where they tell an Officer Richard L. Purvis #4726 of the Arizona DPS Highway Patrol, who had boasted about writing people tickets for having clear lenses in their front turn signals, "a replacement turn signal lamp incorporating a clear lens and an amber bulb is permitted by Standard No. 108 if it is certified by its manufacturer" and basically told him to knock it off)

NHTSA / DOT do not recognise any red bulbs as DOT compliant, however, for the rear section of the car. They made APC recall tons of their 'altezza'style lights for not having red reflectors or red lenses (relying on coloured bulbs) and are going after anyone they see with non-compliant lighting.

You face receiving a ticket that varies in amount from state to state, but you could reasonably expect it to be in the $300-$400 range. Dan, as manufacturer of a non-DOT compliant device, could face fines under the TREAD act of $5,000 for every unit, in this case each lens, he made. If he made 100 of 'em, that a half-million in fines!

Not to be a wet blanket - this is meant to help you before the LEOs give you an expensive talking-to.

*minor thread hijack*
My understanding of tail-lights has led me to believe that as long as the small red rectangle reflector is left intact you can still black them out, right? Oh great educated one.

nope - you're thinking of the rear reflector. APC was dinged for omitting the side reflector required under FMVSS.108 and Transport Canada CMVSS.108, which must be visible 20 degrees left-and-right when seen from the side of the car, and 10 degrees up-and-down.

The difference now is that NHTSA has lost their sense of humour. The Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation Act has been around since 2000 but in '05 they piled on a bunch of new directives, including sweeping away non DOT compliant lighting products like clear rear lenses, blue or red colored windshield nozzle LEDs, etc.

edit: unless you're asking me a slightly separate question, as in "okay, but can you black out your rear tail lights?" I know manufacturers (Mazda's FD, a few Firebirds, etc) get away with it because their entire assembly is tested to SAE / DOT compliance standard S5.3.1.1 under FMVSS.108 to certify it emits the required amount of red light at 45 degrees left-and-right from behind the car:

"Except as provided in S5.3.1.1.1, each lamp and reflective device shall be located so that it meets the visibility requirements specified in any applicable SAE Standard or Recommended Practice. In addition, no part of the vehicle shall prevent a parking lamp, taillamp, stop lamp, turn signal lamp, or backup lamp from meeting its photometric output at any applicable group of test points specified in Figures 1c and 2, or prevent any other lamp from meeting the photometric output at any test point specified in any applicable SAE Standard or Recommended Practice."

So yeah, blacking it out at home could technically get oyu a ticket, though it's highly unlikely they'd call you a 'manufacturer' and ding you the $5,000 fine (well, $10,000 - one fine for each tail light assembly). They do ding people making HID retrofits with the fine, though, so who knows.

so from what you are telling me I could be fined even thoe I supply colered bulbs with the product???

Dan

Sorry, now that I reread what I wrote I see that I wasn't clear.

From my readings black tinted tail lights are acceptable as long as the red reflector isn't tinted for safety precautions. I was wondering if you knew otherwise.

That's what his post says. Colored bulbs are not good enough for the DOT, apparently clear bulbs with reflectors and lenses is where its at.

Either that or he'll secretly steal your market! OH NOES! :fawk: :) j/k j/k