s5 taillights *modernized* (pics)
02-06-05, 02:32 PM
#29
casio isn't here.
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i think it looks really great, except for the fact that you can clearly see bulbs. an LED assembly would be great, but not exactly cheap by any means. working with LEDs i cant imagine being easy, plus you'd need about a few hundred, and they're nearly a dollar a piece (buy in bulk?). i say bang up job.
also, if it were me, though only seeing pictures, i say keep the spoiler and mirrors black. fender, uuhhhh, you can paint. i think at times its okay to leave such things as carbon fiber exposed. many call rice, others are ricey; me, i like contrast. in fact, i'd consider painting the side molding black (except for the fact i'm hella cheap and just as poor) just because i love that contrast. i love the white FCs because things like the taillights and tinted windows set off such contrast. likewise, your black spoiler and mirrors do the same. a black front lip would be a nice addition (black fenders and sideskirts, whether painted or carbon fiber, would be tacky). carbon fiber unpainted sunroof, i have not yet decided. though an "illegally dark" lexan sunroof would be real clean.
casio!
also, if it were me, though only seeing pictures, i say keep the spoiler and mirrors black. fender, uuhhhh, you can paint. i think at times its okay to leave such things as carbon fiber exposed. many call rice, others are ricey; me, i like contrast. in fact, i'd consider painting the side molding black (except for the fact i'm hella cheap and just as poor) just because i love that contrast. i love the white FCs because things like the taillights and tinted windows set off such contrast. likewise, your black spoiler and mirrors do the same. a black front lip would be a nice addition (black fenders and sideskirts, whether painted or carbon fiber, would be tacky). carbon fiber unpainted sunroof, i have not yet decided. though an "illegally dark" lexan sunroof would be real clean.
casio!
02-06-05, 03:33 PM
#30
Is that thing Turbo?
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they don't look broken to me, i like em, take some pics at nite get all the shots like taillights, brakes on, and turn signal on i'd like to see how bright they all are, and please tell us how to get them apart
02-06-05, 05:38 PM
#33
heyyy, I'm glad there's been a lot more positive response. It makes me stoked to see other people enjoying my work.
I guess I'll try and respond to some of the feedback/questions that you guys have asked so far.
Lower reflector:
One part of the s5 taillights that I was never too fond of were the lower, horizontal reflectors. The person who brought up their "being a distraction to the overall lines" of the taillights shares my sentiment exactly. I guess I was willing to sacrifice any negative consequences for the clean look.
s4 taillights possible?
I'm not sure if the s4's have the same 'inserted' design as the s5's, but if there is some more interest I'd be willing to try and modify some s4's in the same way... One thing that I mentioned in my 1st post is that I am not a big fan of orange. Most of the orange lights, buttons etc. in my cabin have been removed and changed black (looks very clean now). Also the orange turn signals in the front have been tinted black using VHT Niteshade. This is my biggest beef with the stock s4 tails. On my original s4 tails I sprayed the lower portion of the tails (reverse "rectangle" and the orange turn signal "rectangle") black, using VHT Niteshade and clear, so even if I did get them opened up, we wouldn't be able to see how well the clear reverse and orange turns turned out...
Brightness of the lights?
The lights are bright, but not blinding or anything. There is so much clarity when observing the tails with the lights on, that the intensity of the glow is secondary (to me). None of my car enthusiast buddies thought they were too bright, or distractingly bright. If I were to change my mind though in the future, I'm sure I could buy a slightly dimmer bulb, or I also played around with the notion of lightly coating the outer lens with Niteshade. For right now I think they are perfect.
Taking apart the tails and potentially selling them?
First off I'd have to say that it was extremely difficult, messy and akward. There are only like 4 or 5 small screws holding them together, the rest is the most insane, resilient and slimy/sticky glue. Strangely enough, when I took apart the 1st taillight I only managed to chip off a little peice of the thin black housing. Even with the experience of taking apart the 1st, I managed to crack both the turn signal lens and the main lens, and chip the housing in two places on the second taillight. I'd have to issue a disclaimer to anyone wanting to try this, that it is probably the most stressful 'mod' I've done, lol. If there was some interest, I would consider doing this for others for a small price. I guess PM me. I'll try and get a write-up here shortly for anyone trying to do it themselves. Also one thing to note: My taillights were pretty scuffed up and scratched in several places, so I finished off the whole tail with some clearcoat. This is not necessary to the finished product, but turned out amazing.
Thanks for the compliments guys
I guess I'll try and respond to some of the feedback/questions that you guys have asked so far.
Lower reflector:
One part of the s5 taillights that I was never too fond of were the lower, horizontal reflectors. The person who brought up their "being a distraction to the overall lines" of the taillights shares my sentiment exactly. I guess I was willing to sacrifice any negative consequences for the clean look.
s4 taillights possible?
I'm not sure if the s4's have the same 'inserted' design as the s5's, but if there is some more interest I'd be willing to try and modify some s4's in the same way... One thing that I mentioned in my 1st post is that I am not a big fan of orange. Most of the orange lights, buttons etc. in my cabin have been removed and changed black (looks very clean now). Also the orange turn signals in the front have been tinted black using VHT Niteshade. This is my biggest beef with the stock s4 tails. On my original s4 tails I sprayed the lower portion of the tails (reverse "rectangle" and the orange turn signal "rectangle") black, using VHT Niteshade and clear, so even if I did get them opened up, we wouldn't be able to see how well the clear reverse and orange turns turned out...
Brightness of the lights?
The lights are bright, but not blinding or anything. There is so much clarity when observing the tails with the lights on, that the intensity of the glow is secondary (to me). None of my car enthusiast buddies thought they were too bright, or distractingly bright. If I were to change my mind though in the future, I'm sure I could buy a slightly dimmer bulb, or I also played around with the notion of lightly coating the outer lens with Niteshade. For right now I think they are perfect.
Taking apart the tails and potentially selling them?
First off I'd have to say that it was extremely difficult, messy and akward. There are only like 4 or 5 small screws holding them together, the rest is the most insane, resilient and slimy/sticky glue. Strangely enough, when I took apart the 1st taillight I only managed to chip off a little peice of the thin black housing. Even with the experience of taking apart the 1st, I managed to crack both the turn signal lens and the main lens, and chip the housing in two places on the second taillight. I'd have to issue a disclaimer to anyone wanting to try this, that it is probably the most stressful 'mod' I've done, lol. If there was some interest, I would consider doing this for others for a small price. I guess PM me. I'll try and get a write-up here shortly for anyone trying to do it themselves. Also one thing to note: My taillights were pretty scuffed up and scratched in several places, so I finished off the whole tail with some clearcoat. This is not necessary to the finished product, but turned out amazing.
Thanks for the compliments guys
02-21-05, 09:59 PM
#36
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S4 clear lenses:
that would be cool.
Originally Posted by staticguitar313
i want to know how you took them apart, please do a write up, pics!!!!
Last edited by Madrx7racer; 02-21-05 at 10:05 PM.
02-21-05, 10:18 PM
#37
krazy glue
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yeah kudos on the lights it makes it look more simple, you did a great job. although i still prefer the stock look your mod might be an alternative in consideration... very nice though dont get me wrong. corrados hahahha
02-22-05, 12:52 AM
#40
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Originally Posted by eriksseven
I've never quite accepted the s5 tails as being perfect in their stock form. Ever since I forumulated the purchase of my own pair, I knew that I could not keep them stock and be satisfied. Since I've had a lot of experience using such "tinting" products as VHT Niteshade, I knew that I had at least one type of alternative route (i.e. tinting).
Before even having the money to purchase, I spent several sessions with a pimp VW enthusiast photoshopping different ideas, including:
Painting the black housing and liscence plate bracket stock white and tinting the tails.
Tinting the tails but perfectly masking off the radius's of the 6 circles to remain red (and amber respectively).
I've toyed with a third-gen'ish look etc.
But after finally receiving my set this August and messing around with them in person I decided that my possibilities would be more limited than my photoshop experiences suggested. I couldn't mask off the circles perfectly because of the 3/4" dimple running horizontal across the face of the lenses. Also, masking the curved lens for the amber turn light would be impossible and would distort the "circle nature" of the light. I (not being a fan of 'orange') also toyed with the idea of using a transparent candy red to paint the entire face of the lenses with, but I rejected this idea because I had discovered something; although not revolutionary--I had never seen it done.
I discovered after taking the taillight apart (very difficult to do) that the textured look of the stock tails was not on the inside of the cover, but was actually a clear diffuser sandwiched between the housing and the lens. Once removed I achieved the look you see in these pics of my finished product. I believe the uniform red face would be too opaque to get the modern look you see in these pics (see link to Corrado). Anyways, what do you guys think?
If you're wondering why the mirrors, spoiler, fender (and front bumper) are primered, it's because I had removed them from the TII while it was being rebuilt to put on my N/A and primered them to match. I have a set of red s5 mirrors, a replacement fender and s5 trim, all of which need to be painted. I was also jacked $230 by a former forum member who "sold" me s5 front and rear bumpers and a s5 spoiler that I had planned to do a conversion with.
yeaaaahhhhh....!!!!
Corrado taillight comparison pic:
http://www.vwvortex.com/artman/publi...icle_845.shtml
Before even having the money to purchase, I spent several sessions with a pimp VW enthusiast photoshopping different ideas, including:
Painting the black housing and liscence plate bracket stock white and tinting the tails.
Tinting the tails but perfectly masking off the radius's of the 6 circles to remain red (and amber respectively).
I've toyed with a third-gen'ish look etc.
But after finally receiving my set this August and messing around with them in person I decided that my possibilities would be more limited than my photoshop experiences suggested. I couldn't mask off the circles perfectly because of the 3/4" dimple running horizontal across the face of the lenses. Also, masking the curved lens for the amber turn light would be impossible and would distort the "circle nature" of the light. I (not being a fan of 'orange') also toyed with the idea of using a transparent candy red to paint the entire face of the lenses with, but I rejected this idea because I had discovered something; although not revolutionary--I had never seen it done.
I discovered after taking the taillight apart (very difficult to do) that the textured look of the stock tails was not on the inside of the cover, but was actually a clear diffuser sandwiched between the housing and the lens. Once removed I achieved the look you see in these pics of my finished product. I believe the uniform red face would be too opaque to get the modern look you see in these pics (see link to Corrado). Anyways, what do you guys think?
If you're wondering why the mirrors, spoiler, fender (and front bumper) are primered, it's because I had removed them from the TII while it was being rebuilt to put on my N/A and primered them to match. I have a set of red s5 mirrors, a replacement fender and s5 trim, all of which need to be painted. I was also jacked $230 by a former forum member who "sold" me s5 front and rear bumpers and a s5 spoiler that I had planned to do a conversion with.
yeaaaahhhhh....!!!!
Corrado taillight comparison pic:
http://www.vwvortex.com/artman/publi...icle_845.shtml
02-22-05, 03:43 AM
#43
Slow N/A love
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is that just the original cover or did you fab one. My s5 tails both have the turn signal plastic and difusser busted and i would rather do something like this than spend 150$ on just replacing the tails with ones that have the orange. 
anyone know of a place to buy just the plastic covering?
anyone know of a place to buy just the plastic covering?
02-22-05, 06:00 AM
#44
Originally Posted by d0 Luck
so all it really is, is taking the specific sandwiched "lens" in the middle of each tail light?
I need to take some daytime pics, they look 10x better.
Several people have Pm'd me about paying for this mod... If anyone else is interested this is what it'll cost:
$5 sealant
$5 clearcoat
$5 black paint
$25 for labor (including disassembly, cleaning, modifying, reassembling and sealing, masking, painting and clearcoating)
PM me if you're interested.
Last edited by eriksseven; 02-22-05 at 06:08 AM.
02-22-05, 04:53 PM
#48
STK/A-MKT TII PARTS 4SALE
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I love them...will you have a writeup on how exactly, step by step you did all that? I would love to do that to my car...don't listen to these OEM purists, they think the RX-7 should stay original because it's a classic...classic? yea right...anyways, it looks great...awesome job...
02-22-05, 04:56 PM
#49
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Originally Posted by staticguitar313
MazdaRX7racer i love that taillight design, too bad they're clear, tinted or red would be better, where can u buy those or similars?
