legal or not

[Allan Hernandez]

Does anybody know if blacked out tailights are legal in Texas??

[jtzako]

They are not, if they dont conform to certain reflectivity requirements.

[chris1973]

depends...are you a politician?

[jtzako]

regular light
A taillamp shall emit a red light plainly visible at a
distance of 1,000 feet from the rear of the vehicle

brake light
visible in normal sunlight at a distance of at least 300 feet

reflectivity
visible at night at all distances:
(A) from 100 to 600 feet when directly in front of
lawful lower beams of headlamps; or
(B) from 100 to 350 feet when directly in front of
lawful upper beams of headlamps if the vehicle was manufactured or
assembled before January 1, 1972.
least 300 feet from the rear of the vehicle

[sasquash1984]

i blacked out mine on my 1Lt but u could still see the reflector and hit it with light, if ur using the spray dont over do it like some folks out there

[Allan Hernandez]

Originally Posted by sasquash1984

i blacked out mine on my 1Lt but u could still see the reflector and hit it with light, if ur using the spray dont over do it like some folks out there

What spray did you use?

[ZED SLED]

Pretty much all states require a certain level of red reflect-ability. Probably anything darker than Big Worm gun-metal (12%), you are saying, "Pull me over, Buford T." At least that's my story because that's what I have.

[Slick1]

Originally Posted by Dire Wolf

Why would anybody want to black out their tail lights? Don't you want other drivers to be able to see you and not run into you?

My lights are still visible through the darkest tint Worm offered when they're lit up.

And people want to black them out cause they look SEXY




I'd be even happier if I could tint the side markers out to the point of non existence during the day but adequate at night. The ones I have are decent but I want a solid black side to the car

[sasquash1984]

i used something from pep boys

[G-Oil Guy]

No they're not legal.

And no offense, but they're reckless. People cannot see the tail lamps illuminate during the day.

I've seen a fair share of accidents and almost accidents involving people with blacked out tail lamps. (On all cars)

HOWEVER, if you absolutely want to do it. Someone on here has a kind of tail lamp black out system that uses a cling on type system with a bunch of tiny holes in it that allows the light to be as visible as it is when the lamps are stock (similar to how certain graphic wraps still allow you to see through the windows from the inside) and I'd recommend going with those.

Sadly, I don't remember the name of the product.

[ss=scuba steve]

I think blacking out something that is A SAFETY ITEM, is pretty rediculous no matter how" sexy" it looks....... just my opinion.

[nitto85]

Originally Posted by G-Oil Guy

No they're not legal.

And no offense, but they're reckless. People cannot see the tail lamps illuminate during the day.

I've seen a fair share of accidents and almost accidents involving people with blacked out tail lamps. (On all cars)

HOWEVER, if you absolutely want to do it. Someone on here has a kind of tail lamp black out system that uses a cling on type system with a bunch of tiny holes in it that allows the light to be as visible as it is when the lamps are stock (similar to how certain graphic wraps still allow you to see through the windows from the inside) and I'd recommend going with those.

Sadly, I don't remember the name of the product.

Anyone know which blackout kit he is talking about?

[Slick1]

Light shines through just fine. If someone hit me from behind they would have regardless of the taillights cause light shines through. I don't wear a reflective vest if I go out for a walk either but so far I haven't had any problems. And looked damn sexy

[G-Oil Guy]

Originally Posted by Slick1

Light shines through just fine. If someone hit me from behind they would have regardless of the taillights cause light shines through. I don't wear a reflective vest if I go out for a walk either but so far I haven't had any problems. And looked damn sexy

Most states have regulations on how much light must be visible from a certain distance away and I can tell you with the intensity of the sun in Texas, almost any tail light kit makes it damn near impossible to see.

And not all of the accidents are rear-enders, a fair share is from lane changes when people can't see the turn signal (at least in camaros) as the tail lamps are black.

And I know that personal anecdotes are not data but I normally keep about 2-3 car lengths behind cars and recently a blacked out Pontiac G6 was in front of me and it appeared this person spray painted his tail lights black and had the darkest possible tint on his back window.

Anyway, he comes up on traffic in our lane and slams on his brakes...even with the 2-3 car length gap I damn near rear ended him because I couldn't tell what the car itself was doing. At 70 mph (the legal speed limit on the road I was on) a sudden brake maneuver can erase that gap in no time at all.

Because of this event, I now try to keep at least 4-5 car lengths behind any car that has its tail lamps blacked out.