Tinted Tail Lights, flame away

[ChillFill]

Originally Posted by 370z-135i

Gotta read the other posts my friend. I found out about them after I did the tint. I'm going to attempt to tint my own version of the shadowline first and if it doesn't look good, I'll remove the tint and put them back to stock.

Lol I think you meant to say "blackline". The only thing that is shadowline is the window trim. The euro taillight are designated as blackline..

[lowbudgethero]

yeah it definitely came out too dark but that's fixable, if you're going for the full stealth look, the clear reverse markers are definitely in stark contrast to the rest of the back end as well imo

I'd like to pickup some blackline taillights myself, but I can't justify the price to myself yet

[370z-135i]

Originally Posted by lowbudgethero

yeah it definitely came out too dark but that's fixable, if you're going for the full stealth look, the clear reverse markers are definitely in stark contrast to the rest of the back end as well imo

I'd like to pickup some blackline taillights myself, but I can't justify the price to myself yet

I know, I can't believe how dark they are with one coat (and I actually did my best to make it a light coat). I'm didn't want to black them out that dark, and I like that contrast with the clear bottom. I don't like how clear looks when tinted.

I'll shoot for my own version of shadow line lights and buy 1 can of tint. If I don't like it, I'll put them back to stock. I agree, I can't justify 500 bucks for a set of tail lights. They look worth it and all, but I can wait.

[rob24ert]

Originally Posted by ChillFill

Lol I think you meant to say "blackline". The only thing that is shadowline is the window trim. The euro taillight are designated as blackline..

[brocklanders]

fyi, the wider the tire taller the side wall. So if you have a 215/40 and a 245/40 the 245 will have a taller sidewall, they are 35 in the rear because that puts the overall outside diameter very similar. A word of warning if you get a 245/40 you may or may not have fitment issues. I know a 235/40 will work, that's what I have in the rear, however I never would have done it if it were not stickier rubber and I didn't live where it rarely ever gets to freezing.

[370z-135i]

Originally Posted by brocklanders

fyi, the wider the tire taller the side wall. So if you have a 215/40 and a 245/40 the 245 will have a taller sidewall, they are 35 in the rear because that puts the overall outside diameter very similar. A word of warning if you get a 245/40 you may or may not have fitment issues. I know a 235/40 will work, that's what I have in the rear, however I never would have done it if it were not stickier rubber and I didn't live where it rarely ever gets to freezing.

Question answered, thank you. What about traction though? Does more rubber equal better traction ex 35 series in the rear as opposed to 40? I have no plans to change them out.

[all4bspinnin]

Originally Posted by 370z-135i

Hey, thanks buddy for all the helpful replies. I am painting the chrome trim in a gloss black. It will look solid from a short distance and that's all that matters for me (no car shows or anyone scrutinizing details). No worries on the carmax comment my friend, I am right there with you. I got crap for my carmax story as well (some people on here are brutal, but no different than many other negative people in society). I'll post my story if you send me yours, it's pretty entertaining and ended well.

As far as the maintenance issues, I can't really do much in the way of finding out the records. Carmax doesn't have them and I believe the dealer will not divulge info prior to your ownership (read a lot of stories when I was looking for maintenance info prior to purchase). The warranty just ended, but from the way the car was maintained, I would have to hope the prior owner took care of it. If changing the plugs isn't a big deal, I can definitely do that. The carbon cleaning is new to me so I'll have to research and see what that's all about.

The car purrs like a kitten and performs flawlessly with the JB4 on map five w/ 93+ octane and BMS intake.

About every 30k to 40k miles, the intake manifold is removed and ground walnut shells are blasted into the cylinder head to remove carbon/gunk build up.

Here's a great link to see the results: http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1215663

Another thing I would suggest would be to sell the JB4 and go to a Cobb accessport or an MHD flash. Both offer better control of your stock ECU whereas JB4 is a piggy back that essential lies to the computer.

[TwinTurboXI]

Originally Posted by all4bspinnin

About every 30k to 40k miles, the intake manifold is removed and ground walnut shells are blasted into the cylinder head to remove carbon/gunk build up.

Here's a great link to see the results: http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1215663

Another thing I would suggest would be to sell the JB4 and go to a Cobb accessport or an MHD flash. Both offer better control of your stock ECU whereas JB4 is a piggy back that essential lies to the computer.

Slow down there.... OP has an N55. They do not need cleaned (walnut blasted) with anywhere near the frequency of N54 engines.

Also, from his signature, he has a 2012 N55 which means cobb does not support his ECU (unless support had changed very recently.)

[all4bspinnin]

Originally Posted by TwinTurboXI

Slow down there.... OP has an N55. They do not need cleaned (walnut blasted) with anywhere near the frequency of N54 engines.

Also, from his signature, he has a 2012 N55 which means cobb does not support his ECU (unless support had changed very recently.)

I was under the impression he purchased a 2009 for some reason lol.

Cobb does list N55 support on the website last time I checked.

Feel free to post up in my continued support thread though

[chris82]

Tint job looks alright, but it's not for me. Then again, I like to be very "OE+" when it comes to the looks of a car. Also, Shadowline trim is not a "must". Your car looked great with the chrome wheels and trim. Shadowline is the standard on here and it looks great, but the chrome look can really stand out from the crowd if the rest of the car matches. If anyone remembers 1013M's 135i which he's now sold, that car was just gorgeous, and he was one of the few who went with the chrome accented look. It depends on how you fine tune the looks on the whole car, not just one piece of trim.

[brocklanders]

Originally Posted by 370z-135i

Question answered, thank you. What about traction though? Does more rubber equal better traction ex 35 series in the rear as opposed to 40? I have no plans to change them out.

The first number of a tire is width, the second number is the ratio in which the sidewall is determined and has nothing to do with grip. Grip or "traction" is determined by the type of rubber and the width of the tire.

[370z-135i]

Originally Posted by brocklanders

The first number of a tire is width, the second number is the ratio in which the sidewall is determined and has nothing to do with grip. Grip or "traction" is determined by the type of rubber and the width of the tire.

If that's the case, then why do drag cars use the biggest tires possible? This is pure curiosity, as I have minimal knowledge in this dept. I do understand the quality of tire and the stickiness of the rubber is a big factor as well. I just assumed since it's RWD, bigger tires would be better.

[370z-135i]

All good thoughts as far as the trim and tail lights are concerned. I'm definitely going to remove the tint and attempt my own version of the blackline lights with spray tint. Worst case I go back to stock. It's just a lot of red, but I can get used to it. I do like the black trim over chrome, but I can see how keeping the chrome can differentiate, especially on the forums since everyone prefers the black. Most BMW's I see are un-modded and have the chrome trim, so blacking it out would make it look a bit different than the rest. I'll probably be painting the wheels gloss black as well, so I think it will all come together nicely.

[smeard]

talked to my guy who's powdercoating my wheels, he is also tinting the white part of taillight red. He convinced me after showing me his e63 650i with the "reverse delete". Looks a lot like the newer gen cars that have all red tails including indicator and reverse. Originally wanted to tint the bottom white part darker, but looked online and looked weird on a black car. Did not wanna do the blackout tinted tails as local law enforcement can be strict about that. Love the solid, contemporary look it seems to be. attached is the process on a civic "deleting the white/reverse" and a pic of post- and pre-LCI F30 (respectively) to see the difference in tail lights. Will post pics of my personal car when it is done.

[smeard]

it is done! here are results (before and after):

[atr_hugo]

Originally Posted by 370z-135i

[W]hy do drag cars use the biggest tires possible?

By big I believe that means tall - drag racing is so stinking specialized and especially their use of tires. Rear tires for drag racers (at the highest levels) have tall sidewalls and really low air pressures (and the tires are literally screwed onto the rims - otherwise the wheels would spin on the tires).


The rear tires are designed to provide grip - the low air pressure and thin sidewalls allow the tires to absorb the shock of the engines torque. The tire height will also expand providing what in essence is a variable final drive ratio (torque multiplier).

[highbrowed]

Tinting your tails is a good way to get yourself rear ended, might even end up being your fault if the cop notices the tails. Just pony up and get blacklines.