do it! haha. i want this done. as long as they will be direct replacement for OEM tails, even with a fake stamp, ILL BUY!! also, have the inside lights running lights and the outers be for braking.

I'm definitely gonna at least try it. See what happens.

I'm gonna need some schematics for making brake lights and reverse lights work though. And it's gonna be a while since my car has no battery installed, bigger problem being the engine is still out.

TTkickedin wrote:I'm definitely gonna at least try it. See what happens.

I'm gonna need some schematics for making brake lights and reverse lights work though. And it's gonna be a while since my car has no battery installed, bigger problem being the engine is still out.

you should be able to use the OEM fuses and relays. honestly, all this is, is a different bulb pattern. so as long as you use all the relays that the OEM ones use, you should be fine. theres also the option to wire the reverse lights to a switch or button on the dash.

nick1809 wrote: theres also the option to wire the reverse lights to a switch or button on the dash.

LOL It'll be a much cleaner job done than that! Would be funny to have a "Go Baby Go" button on the shifter... only instead of nitrous, it's just a little reverse light

TTkickedin wrote:

nick1809 wrote: theres also the option to wire the reverse lights to a switch or button on the dash.

LOL It'll be a much cleaner job done than that! Would be funny to have a "Go Baby Go" button on the shifter... only instead of nitrous, it's just a little reverse light

hahahahahahahahahahaha xD that would be dope as f***. i'd do it! lol.

OK, so now that I have my oem tail lights removed with the red/clear smoked ones installed...I may mess around with this idea..


I really want to make something like this for some reason. But I've noticed a few things:

1. The stock lights have the black trim that separates the two lenses, it's not a clear piece of plastic separating the two...at least I don't think.

2. The stock taillights have a red reflector built in. If one were to do this, I'm wagering that a COMPLETE outer clear/smoked plastic with no dividers/no reflectors would have to be fabricated.

3. Once the above is dealt with and all fabricated, I think I would be able to make a decent sized outer ring spanning the complete height of the taillight with some trimming of the inside. The OEM tail light housings would have to be completely scrapped in favor of a custom aluminum or plastic housing and painted black. I don't know if this is a design constraint but definitely should be mentioned. the stock housing probably would not work in this case.

4. I could definitely do the circle option, but what other ideas do people have?

I am not completely tied to the circles as the only possible option. How about having other shapes instead of two rectangles or two circles, what about what the kouki s14 has? The sort of divided shapes type of deal, (but without the ridged plastic, still keeping the oem shape of 300zx tail lights, but with the divided shapes.. i hope someone knows what i mean.




Maybe incorporate Hakosuka styling? (without the chrome as that would look really tacky..maybe just black plastic, carbon fiber, or just flush?)





I think that might look decent. I just want to see how creative this can get. I don't want to be completely tied down until we find something everyone likes, (if that's the circles then so be it, but it's been done...just not WELL.) I'm trying not to be too Vig-ish with this, i'm not trying to make my z a friggin LF-A. But i do think this can be done tastefully!


I really am encouraging everyone to trow some ideas down, let's get some ideas flowing. i want to hack up my oem tail lights, let's go!

Oh, by the way, the MR2 has some type of circle tail lights that have the top AND bottom cut off, may that inspire another design?

TTkickedin wrote:Oh, by the way, the MR2 has some type of circle tail lights that have the top AND bottom cut off, may that inspire another design?

Wrong URL... and those have been used on a Z32 in the past and look WAY out of place.

^ But that was probably changing the entire back end, I'm just saying positioning the circle so that not just the top 1/4th gets cut off, but the bottom 1/4th as well.. It's hard to communicate ideas without photoshopping, i have to go to bed though..

Where can I get these taillights?

In your backyard. I haven't totally abandoned the idea, just waiting on more funds to come my way in order to start putting the pieces together.

It's cheaper tomake LED tail lights yourself rather than buy the ones that are made right now. Btw.

Has anybody pulled any of these tail lights off?

Alright, so, i decided i should design some. lol
The outside solid circle would be brakes, the broken circle would be lights, the orange is turn signals, and the white would be for reverse.
What do you guys think?

Let's see it then.

Oakshirus wrote:Alright, so, i decided i should design some. lol
The outside solid circle would be brakes, the broken circle would be lights, the orange is turn signals, and the white would be for reverse.
What do you guys think?

Sorry, looks very tacky and strangely outdated.

Why do you think they look tacky?

Here you are: lol

Look familiar?

^ I hate to admit it, but those dodge lights look pretty good on the z.

I think it would look better if it said fairlady z in the old style logo writing, instead of 300zx. Even nothing at all would look good too IMO. Fairlady z would take up more of that long tail-light.

I wonder if it would be even better if the fairlady z logo acted as the reverse light. I've never seen a single reverse light, probably wouldn't be legal anyway. just a thought.

I've shifted momentum recently, doing an engine swap. Still got my spare tail lights so i"ll be working on something soon after the swap.

tg wrote:

Whenever I can buy one of these cars (Hopefully soon) And if anyone could manage to make this tail light, I would be the first one to buy it In my honest opinion, this one looks the best!!

those do look pretty damn good (either white red or black z, couldn't see them on anything else.) The other thing is, it probably wouldn't illuminate much at all.

When I do get a chance to finish the project, I'd be willing to sell you them!

Photoshopping another idea. will post soon.

Does anyone know of what type of clear material could be used to span the entire tail light area ? Im initially thinking lexan could be used, and cut to shape...but then again they fade a sh*t ton and scratch easily.

??
Bad photoshop work but you get the idea.

Way too 'Mustang-y' for my tastes.

tg wrote:

IMO, this is by far the best looking, and one of the most feasible, designs in the thread. Personally I'd keep the reverse lights in the same position as they are stock, put in some higher output bulbs and black out the lens so it looks like one clean panel when not illuminated.

Indeed it is. I wasn't actually intending to make mustang lights when i made it, i guess it just came out looking like that. LOL oh well. Scrapping that idea.

I do like the one you posted, the most. To pull it off cleanly, the reverse lights would look way better if they were in the center of the smaller circle. would be harder, but the end result would look more authentic but different. I think it would look really good with those spoilers that cover the TBL area that usually fades (above the tail light spanning from left to right.)

Now, as far as fabrication goes, i know there's LED light circles, but has anyone found a semi circle? will it look this good IRL?

I'm assuming the best way to do this would be to provide a completely fiberglassed rear tail light section that spans from left to right as one piece, and houses the tail lights...which will sit flush against it. Could also be slightly recessed, (think beveled, but on the inside.) You think lexan could be used, cut to shape, and just primed/painted black?

I'm about to do some more research into options on how to make this. Might not need to cut up my stock tails, but I could modify them too, even the center section.. (this would cut out a lot of work trying to make a one piece tail light with keyhole that mounts correctly against the body.)

Can anyone measure the stock 300zx tail light assembly? i need:
Left tail light: height of the left side before it curves, height and length of the curve, height in middle, height on the right side, length of the top, and length of the bottom, including left side curve.

Center section: height of left side, height in middle, height of right side, length on the top, and length on the bottom.

right tail light: height of the right side before it curves, height and length of the curve, height in middle, height on the left side, length of the top, and length of the bottom, including right side curve.

TTkickedin wrote:

??
Bad photoshop work but you get the idea.

You should be banned just for mentioning this, mustang tails lights .

JK, I did like some of the concepts and would like to see the first couple done

TTkickedin wrote:Now, as far as fabrication goes, i know there's LED light circles, but has anyone found a semi circle? will it look this good IRL?

Something similar to this might work for a proof of concept.
It looks pretty good on G37's.


For sheer practicality its a much better idea to hack up a set of junked tails before trying to custom fab an entire assembly, at least for the first attempt.

VigorousZX wrote:Nice one, the problem with all of these could be legality issues with needing DOT stamped on them.
Stockers with extreme LED ftw

Personally I like this idea. It seems the most doable. Maybe a honeycomb led design on the inside of the stock lights?

tg wrote:

I am seriously liking this! Uber simple

zswap0429 wrote:

VigorousZX wrote:Nice one, the problem with all of these could be legality issues with needing DOT stamped on them.
Stockers with extreme LED ftw

Personally I like this idea. It seems the most doable. Maybe a honeycomb led design on the inside of the stock lights?

+1 for me on this one. It maintains the classic look but with a sophisticated update.

tg wrote:

A variation of TG's, this is what I am envisioning... sorry about the link, forum Doesn't support .GIF

http://makeagif.com/Yjx1Ss