The SLC headlight and/or tail light swap potential thread

[Kyle D]

In the world of OEM/stock cars, the idea of headlight/taillight swapping isn't excatly... popular. But, in that the setups of these cars can vary widely from owner to owner, that got me thinking about the topic of light swapping.

Are their taillight or headlight swaps that you could do/would want to do to the SLC that could make an already great looking car look even better? What are they?

 

[Kyle D]

I'll start...

So, as near as I can tell, the 2012 Dodge Charger has a width of 75 inches, and (IMO) it also has some pretty sweet tail lights. According to the SLC Wiki's website the SLC is 74 inches wide. This makes me wonder how "swappable" the Charger tail lights would/could be onto the SLC.

I think that this mod is something that could really help the negative "kit car" image that some people may have of the SLC (I use that term loosely because we all know that there's very little that's negative about the SLC, but some people could argue that the SLC tail lights look very "kit-car-ish", those people might see the car and hear the phrase "kit car", and immediately dismiss the car). I have posted some quick'n'dirty Microsoft Paint photo editing to get an idea of how this swap might look, and I think that they look pretty sweet... What do you guys think?

(I've posted pics of the tail lights oriented upright, as dodge has done it, and I've also posted pics of the tail lights oriented upside-down, as that orientation doesn't look half bad either...)
(Also, I'm assuming that the D O D G E emblems/lettering on the tail lights can be removed without damaging the tail light itself, otherwise some kind of cover would/could be created to cover the lettering (unless you're rockin' MOPAR power, in which case you may want to leave the lettering...))

 

[Will Campbell]

Re the topic that the taillights look like a "kit car", the irony is that they are, of course, lifted directly from a production vehicle. Definitely not the "Hey, just slap on a round Hella light and be done with it" approach as with other model cars. I just don't get the criticism.

One popular choice for different tail lights that are true to the original design but look and function very differently are the aftermarket LED lights available for the 2005-11 Dakota, on which the original tails are based. I have a set of these in black, and they integrate well with the car's original design (no real work to use them), yet have a more modern look that effectively further disguises their heritage.

Here' a pic of the tail lights:

I have put an LED tower array in the backup light recess, and it is bright.

As for the Dodge taillight array, props for the idea, and the PS work, but I don't think that will actually fit on the car- at least not without some serious bodywork.

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Right across the engine bay vents....not bad looking but will have some serious side effects

 

[John Ross]

Right across the engine bay vents....not bad looking but will have some serious side effects

My very first thought.

I'm looking to find some Lynx Eye Blue Dot lenses that will fit the Dakota housing...

JR

 

[Vidal]

My very first thought.

JR

I was just trying to figure out why you need the same two pictures 97 times........:thumbsup:

 

[Kyle D]

My very first thought.

JR

I was just trying to figure out why you need the same two pictures 97 times........:thumbsup:

(I've posted pics of the tail lights oriented upright, as dodge has done it, and I've also posted pics of the tail lights oriented upside-down, as that orientation doesn't look half bad either...)

Also, as the saying goes, "The More, The Merrier" :thumbsup:
(Upgrading to a faster internet speed will help it so that you don't have to wait for all of the pictures to load. I guess that I could label all of my future picture-heavy threads as "56K beware..." :idea: )

 

[Kyle D]

(Vidal, I'm sorry for my ... "Snappiness" yesterday, you caught me in a bad mood, and I apologize.)

How about some headlight eyebrows? It's not exactly a "swap" of any kind, but it definitely changes the look of the front end. Would you guys ever do something like the following to your cars? Does it look good? (I've included one modified pic, and one stock pic, for comparison...)

 

[Kyle D]

 

[Grant S]

Kyle its good to think outside the box : ) That's where the amazing comes from.
I was thinking about building an shaker style air box for mine but I am running out of wind.
I would also like to make the entire head light unit removable so it could be done in carbon fiber and lay in a string of LEDs similar to Audi and Ferrari also the door openers as Dodge did to the 2013 Vipers pretty trick.

Grab a coffee sit down for a bit and watch this about 30mins long I thought it was pretty cool
http://vimeo.com/44410797

 

[Don V.]

Did someone say Headlamp eyebrows?

 

[Jack]

I would be more interested in an OEM headlight pod that would look good.
I also have no objection to the RCR lights & covers.

 

[Kyle D]

Hehe, eyebrows are at least slightly better than Headlight eyelashes!...

 

[Don V.]

that is the reason for the post. Driving back from the Sonoma outing with the blue mistress a silver mercedes pulls up with the big black lashes. but get this it had the big glue on fake diamonds along with the lashes.

to lazy to paint the diamonds on...

 

[Michael Fling]

Is there a reason that this tail light would not work with the ISIS system?

Audi R8 (V8/V10) - OEM Audi R8 GT Black Tail Lights

 

[Troy Truglio]

I have been pondering taillights for a bit also. I plan on putting a 3rd brake light and then when looking I saw the larger truck bed LED rear light things. I have seen them come in 60" lengths. PlasmaGlow Firestorm LED Tailgate Light, PlasmaGlow Tailgate LED Bar - Videos, Installations & Reviews
Or we could put two of them on that are like 30" long and wire them up accordingly. Now I am not sure how they would integrate into the rear end, but it could work. Not sure if it is DOT legal or not, my first thought would be no. If it was then we could use the stock light location for exhaust outlets. Who knows.

There is also a thread where LED taillights are being integrated already and look good so far. Optronics GLOLight LED Stop/Turn/Tail Light - Grommet Mount - 4" Round - Red - Standard Plug Optronics Trailer Lights STL101RB

On the headlights would a simple solution be to paint the plexiglass cover to match what you want? Or you can make a smaller cover to go under the plexi in fiberglass and have that bolt on and then the plexi cover go over it so if you do not like it just take it off. When you look at the lights as they are they do look like a person going wide eyed and the slanted look is much meaner. You could also make an extra set or two as different sizes to try out.

These LED taillights might work.

What about these rear taillights?

 

[Troy]

I have been toying with the idea of changing the tail lights too when the time comes. I have never been a big fan of the circular lights, just reminds me too much of trailer lights. So as I am planning on Ford power, why not Ford the tail as well. I really like the sequential newer tail lights.

 

[Yos]

I really like the "eyebrow" idea. It looks nice...

 

[Martin]

Watched that video Grant S.......wow that guy has a great lifestyle and philosophy!

Adding LEDs inside the headlight housings shouldn't be that difficult. I have LED "eyebrows" on my Kia Soul. Bought them from Walmart and sliced into the DRL circuit.

OFF

ON

They're subtle because they fit in the gap over the headlight where the hood closes.

They are side-emitting LEDs which work in this case, but I'm guessing the SLC would need top-emitting LEDs due to the orientation of the apparent available surface to stick the strip to in order to create "eyebrows" in the SLC.

My lights are not ultra-bright, but more high-output LEDs are available that would make an SLC very visible, even in daylight. There are all sorts of LEDs available online, but if putting in a black painted SLC headlight housing look for ones that have black backing as these will blend into the housing and look far better.

 

[Kyle D]

How bout "Ford GT" taillights? (super pricey though, $939.72 per taillight... yikes.)
2006 Ford GT Tail Light Assembly | FordParts.com

(Again, forgive the poor photo-chopping skills. On the non-black cars, please just pretend that the black around the taillight is color matched to the car... The proportioning of the size of the GT taillight on the SLC should be pretty accurate.)