Hey guys.
So, I have a 2006 Avalon Limited. I am wanting to make it more sporty. So far, I've just done small things like tinting the windows and replacing some of the exterior lights with LED's. I like the bright white over the yellowish OEM lights. I am going to plasti dip the badges black and put some black highlights on the rims in the middle of the spokes. All of that should look quite nice.
My question here is, does anybody have an idea on how to make smoked tail lights safe? I am thinking that LED stop lights and turn signals should do the trick, but I'm wondering if anybody here has an idea. I don't want to black it out or anything like that. I am just wanting to give it a darker look. I think tinting it to a degree like this. The law here requires that there is still reflection, which this will accomplish. I need the lights to be visible at 200 yards during the day. I don't think there will be a problem seeing it at night. I am thinking that a tint to this degree and LED lights should be good enough. Any ideas?
As far as the visibility LEDs should be sufficient. Remember that the lenses must still clearly reflect red, so a light smoke is best if you are going to do it. Not sure if you are interested but the 2008+ Avalons have a slight smoke to them, making them darker then previous years. It gives it a more crimson appearance to the lights. It doesn't look smoked per say but does have a darker appearance which imo looks better then the bright red.
Lens tint reduces light transmission and is rarely able to be made "safe". In addition aftermarket LED's often do not perform as well in stock housings compared to filament bulbs even before the added tint reduces their effectiveness further.
The only tested and approved swap in LED "bulbs" I have ever seen are made by Phillips but they are only approved in 3 vehicles models. (GMC and Chevy truck, and Jeep Wrangler)
No recommendation can be made over the internet. You will have to have the vehicle tested by a trained technician with proper instruments to make sure you meet the minimum requirements of the laws of your state and any Federal requirements.
"Looks brighter" or "bright enough" doesn't count.
Also if you get rear ended an insurance adjuster, especially their's, is going to have an issue with the blacked out lenses. You may find your claim denied.
If they are factory LED then that would further complicate matters as their output is designed to meet or exceed legal requirements without blinding drivers to the rear. Since there would be no bulbs to upgrade there is no way to compensate for the reduction in light transmission through the tint without getting down to circuit board level and swapping diodes.
I don't know either. We'll have to wait for OP to come back or someone who knows Avalon's better. I do know that some Toyota models like the Camry have LED's in one trim and bulbs in others.
My parts look up at work says it has bulbs in at least some of them. I don't have a model breakdown though.
They are definitely brighter, but not blinding at all. The red in the light housing is pretty thick. The difference isn't huge, but it's decent. I think that the LED's perform better than the stock lights. I've always replaced my reverse lights with LED's so I can actually see them in the dark. (I've always had honda civics or fits and the reverse always suck)
I'm not blacking out the tail lights at all. Just giving it some tint. The lights should still be reflective. I am actually getting them done in about an hour or two. I'll post some before and after pictures.
Cool man...thanks for the update. Do your lights flicker because if the load resistor thing that has to be ordered or something? Just curious if you can answer. I always saw the point of LED'S as the way to never have one burn out. (To also keep from getting pulled over, too!) Lemme know man and thanks!
For me, LEDs are for adding brightness, which in turn. Makes it safer. I don't deal with any flickering. When I replace the turn signals with LEDs, I'll need to add some resisters to prevent hyperflash. But I'm not worried about it.
So, I was on Superbrightleds.com and saw the bulbs and load resistor thing that they sell too. Do you know where and how easy it is to install the resistor? (Any pics with location of the resistors?) Looks pretty clean on the tinted lens but I probably won't be tinting mine. But super curious about the LED'S because I like knowing I'm safe! [emoji40]
I need tail lights are looking pretty good. I haven't had any problem with them. The one thing I do need to do though, is increase the brightness of the turn signals. They are a little too dark in the daylight. Also, adding some more brightness to my brake lights would help as well. I'm exploring different ways to do that. I'm not quite sure how yet
They are fairly reflective still. Not as reflected as a normal taillight. But, I believe they are just over the legal reflectivity here. Although, I can't test it as I don't have the tool to do so
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