So I just got my 05' and I'm ready to start doing some stuff.
...but I'm not super familiar with doing things yourself.

I'm trying to change that,
so I figured the tail lights are a good starting point.
How would I go about smoking the tail lights?

Any advice is appreciated!

 

Not a tC but still the same principle: http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/light...aillights.html

One more for good measure: http://www.smokedtaillightstint.com/...ls-needed.html

 

First of all... props for taking the stab at doing the mods yourself, that's great.

Just tossing a thought out there for you on this particular mod.
Depending on where you live... you might want to ask someone with your local Police Dept. on the legality of it....and if they allow it, what are the requirements to stay legal.

Here's an example. Im in Colorado. Local law here states that you ARE allowed to tint the rear tail lights as long as the following is met:
The amount of light the tail light produces can be seen reasonably well at night or in bad weather at least 300 ft. behind the vehicle.
On my first tC (a 2006) so had the same OEM tails you would have, the tint I put on them, they looked almost black during the day which was cool... but were bright enough you could easily see them at night, so they were legal.
Personally, I would recommend you have a good tint shop do them for you. There are specific 3M exterior tints available that are durable. And that way if you either A: change your mind down the road, or B: local cops tell you it's not legal where you are and possibly ticket you for it, you can easily remove the tint w/o damaging the tails or having to buy new ones b/c you used a spray-on type of tint material.
Like I said, props for wanting to make this mod a DIY...but if you do take my advice and go the 3M exterior tint route, curves of tails are very difficult to apply w/o getting creases or bubbles in it. It only cost me like 30 bucks including materials to have a local good tint shop do it for mine.

 

VHT nightshide is a good way to if you are good with rattle can...

 

I like my bluebatmobile tints. Easily removable, but extremely durable. I have had mine on for years. It can be a little tricky getting the tint to not crease, but putting some work into it and another friend to help, it's possible. This was also one of my first mods.

 

Regardless of what local Police Departments say they will or won't ticket, modifying any light/reflector on your car to the point where it will not pass a DOT compliance test is illegal and can result in a ticket. This is why you will not see a DOT number on the clear corner lights for other vehicles and say "for off road use only" on the packaging. The manufacturer of the clear corners don't get them tested for DOT because they will fail (due to no amber reflector).

If you look at any unmodified car, you'll see amber reflectors on the front sideview and red in the rear sideview as well as directly to the rear (usually in the tail-lamp). The distance rule is also a DOT standard in regards to how many lumens of light it reflects back to the sender. Same goes for the sides and overall light output of the lamp(s).

So, in theory, modifying any of these parameters makes you car ticketable. Is it worth the risk? Yes IMO. Fix-it tickets are easy to get rid of and don't cost much anyhow.

Enjoy your spoonful of knowledge for the day lolz.

 

a ticket is worth it for this

 

^^ hence the reason I said to ask YOUR local PD. b/c technically tinting/modifying any lenses/markers on your vehicle outside of manufacturer specs is probably going to be illegal in any state. BUT just as most things go w/modifying a vehicle... There are certain laws that are and are not "pet-peeves" of all pd's across the country... some enforce some minor infractions more than others. So if you ask you're local pd where you'll do most of your driving, you can find out if what you're thinking of doing is going to be something they'd get on your case about or not.
For example, I mentioned that here where I live, local cops are cool with a little tinting on the tails... but if you even think about tinting the headlight lenses they'll ticket your a** in a heartbeat.

 

just do it,

you can ask your local PD all you want but as soon as you are out of their area another cop could pull you over. My local cops don't care about window tint, they dont even have the meter guns to check it but as soon as a state cop sees me he can pull me over in a heartbeat.

so just do it and pay the ticket when the time comes if you really want to tint them

 

^^ yeah that kinda backs up my point. Even where I live, there are certain things that Colorado State Patrol will pull you over and ticket in a heartbeat that local city cops really couldn't care less about.... and won't hound you about unless they stop you for doing something more serious then the minor infraction. So that's why I said ask the cops where you will be driving the most... and just bite the bullet if you get stopped out of your area.