skokkosis

ok guys... UNFORTUNATELY i can shamefully say... ive gone through 2 sets... i purchased BOTH from autoillumination (they are amazing... in EVERY thing else they make)

the first set i got were these...



HORRIBLE first rainfall and half weren't working... i told them that they stated water proof, but they responded back it says resistant... :/

so then i set ok which are good?



THESE are the ones u want etc. amazing fully waterproof THESE were 8 bucks each guys... EACH not 30 the set like the "water resistant" ones... so i got them... did i ask for underglow... no... these shine HUGE circles and i got 4 this time not 5... so they can be nice clean circles and even spaced out between 4 it looks like i have underglow... rice for the win!

SO pleaseeeeeee can ANYONE direct me toward puddle lights that look JUST like brabus ones? (authentic ones if it has to come to that, idc how much they are i just want it to look NICE, like it's suppose to)



PLEASE and THANK YOU!

Vik888

What are "puddle lights" ? Is it just for aesthetic value?

skokkosis

puddle lights are a type of underglow kit made famous by brabus... it is 5 single LED beams of light under each one of the side skirts of the car and brabus also adds 3 to the back bumper... they shine small circular light against the floor (like the last b.w. picture i posted of the black e class)

Vik888

I guess I should have worded my question differently .. whats the purpose of them? just for looks?

Clinton Horn

Our E (all of them?) has puddle lights that shine down from the outside mirrors. The purpose is to illuminate the ground at night so you don't put your foot down in a "puddle". I bet you knew that. The aftermarket ones are for those who wish to make a less subtle statement?

skokkosis

clinton's perfectly correct, the more NON subtle people, you are right vik its pure aesthetics pleasure... and yes for any future people who want to bash on here i know and understand it IS illegal

infantry

actually its illegal to drive with them. but can you set it up to where like you unlock the car and the lights come on, those come on? thats all i can see id use them for.

Vik888

really? its illegal to have lights on under your car at night while you drive? whats the theory on that?

infantry

are you being sarcastic vik? lol i can't tell

but i don't know i know cops crack down on that stuff because it is illegal under CVC something lol.

theory is..... they wanna make money.

LawRens

Because they are auxiliary lights and not stock, they can be distracting to other roadgoers and MAY cause accidents to occur. Now obviously that's a very remote argument as to why they are illegal.

But since they're white and not neon/colored, you can just easily claim that you wanted to make sure your car was more visible on the road (if you're driving with them on)so no one would accidentally give you a fender bender, or something like that. That is, if you get pulled over.

But i don't see the point of driving with puddle lights on. Hook it to your rear dome light so only when you lock/unlock the car or open the doors they'll light up. That's what i did with my set of puddle lights from autolumination. And yeah, if you don't weatherseal them, a good rain will short out the LED's, OR the wiring will just disintegrate.

Vik888

no sarcasm. I just didn't see what would be such a big deal. Now if they were pink or purple and distracting maybe.

gaazmon

unfortunately they took that out for the 05+ E cars.

skokkosis

i understand that they ARE illegal and NJ... where u an barely get away w. slight tints and no plate in the front (not to add random tickets such as... hanging objects from rearview mirror) REGARDLESS aesthetics are aesthetics... we all have our own likings on our cars for w.e. reason and the law tens to be pushed aside if we rly want something on our cars, BUT with that said... there are also ways to try to get around it like pinoc said... all im looking for is some good real quality puddles... now infantry they could be w. a system that works with just your unlock and lock (considering that you route it to a circuit that only turns on and off with the car) so yes they could be on and off w. unlock and lock features, but... i want them on all the time at night they are very nice not too bright and from what i understand (try getting it passed a cop regardless) WHITE lite is legal b.c. it is standard vehicle lighting, but w. that also side ure side marker cant be white... so i mean u can look at it a million ways...

the pinoc i was thinking of getting the ones that i had before b.c. they made a WAY nicer light against the ground than the second set, but... aside of weatherproofing them or not (idc if i do work on em, as long as they work) i hate how they hand so low b.c. that bubble is HUGE... i dont want it to show either...

is it illegal for the most part, yes
sexxi, yes
do i want it, yes

infantry

i want it too. if you find some that don't show and are decnt and show a nice oval on the ground, ill do it too. but you gotta show me how to wire em.

skokkosis

wiring is VERY easy (sounds harder than it is... id do a full diy, i did it b4 for various things) look the BEST puddles are the first ones i got that got ruined in the rain... in looks

this is the most over the top way to do it, but... dont think i wont if i dont find the good ones

http://tl.acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=715481

what he did is... he screwed even holes into his current sideskirts and then he put plexi over the whole, took the light out of the capsule (theres two part the bottm bulb area unscrews, idk y) but then he put silicone/hotglue to totally seal off the bond between the lites rim and the plexi... and then (his are slightly different) wat i would do is add silicone to where the wires go as well, im 100% this is where the damage was caused... and then simply add some pvc tubing or something to have the wires run through from light to light until u finish, then connect it the source u want (i have mine to sidemarkers, b.c. i want them on all the time, but i added a switch driven under my steering wheel so that if i need to shut it off for w.e. reason they turn off, but leave my side markers on ) so... IF i do take this approach which MOST likely will happen aside of the B-*-T-C-H work it is.... it will be the cleanest virtually invisible on ure bumper and the cleanest method... given that u are willing to make 1 inch holes on ure side skirts

LawRens

The legality issue is EXTREMELY BROAD when it comes to puddle lights. They are not colored neons (which are absolutely illegal and contributes a fixit ticket if caught), and yes, they are white which is not a distracting color. I used to work for a police dept (no i wasn't a cop, i just worked there) and i asked my sergeant his opinion on puddle lights. He simply said that it's mostly up to the cop, whether he's got a hard-on for you or not. the cop can find some BS excuse to give you a ticket, but you can easily take him to court as well and win your case. As i said before, extremely broad legality. If there's a lawyer who knows more about this, please chime in

White side-markers aren't as bad simply for the fact that they are still a necessity, and they're expected to be there, as opposed to puddle lights or neons. Only one out of a thousand vehicles have them, and MIGHT raise a flag if a cop sees it.

The first set of LED puddle lights that you purchased are good, but they are expensive and they suck in terms of weather sealing. My friend spent a good day caulking the holes so no water would get in the lights again, and they're running really well as of right now. I've never tried that second set that you purchased, so i have no experience in that set.

Taylor-Made'90

Cosmetics......

Loreal...Maybelline...Avon...Mary Kay

skokkosis

yes they were a lot better for the look that is = brabus, BUT they are long gone and dead now :/ haha the second set looks like underglow b.c. the puddles each make about a 6-7 inch puddle... FAIL! sooooo with that said i am doing a NEW aproach and for anyone who will want to know how im going to make a DYI

scroll down on this link: http://tl.acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=715481

im going to follow his footsteps... 1" holes in the sideskirts plexi glass then silicone the light on to the plexi and then weatherproof all the connectings w. some silicone/hotglue and then ill go to the side marker as they are now

when i will begin this process i will post a new thread with a beginning to end DYI, cars at service now getting back tuesday most likely then im adding my front bumper lip spoiler (i need to get it painted), vyinling my roof black (pano look), and then adding roof spoiler and lip spoil. in the back.... and THEN i shall work on the new and improved puddles

LawRens

Best of luck Sko! I await your DIY install on them! And be careful that you don't pull too hard on the wiring when you line them out on the sideskirt, too much stress can just pop the wires straight off the LED's, and it's a pain to put them back in (unless you don't care about cracking open the led housing, rewiring them and re-caulking it back together lmao).

And yes, when installed correctly, they're pretty damn good looking. But beware the JDM folks. Some ofem may go: "dude, where'd you get those neons?!?!"

skokkosis

TRUST me... i took apart the ones before enough times before the died :/ BUT good news haha i had FORGOTTEN i have an extra set of the first puddles b.c. they sent them by accident :p TOTALLY had flown past me SO... wen i get my car back i may start it sooner than i stated :] yey lol

and thanks for the luck

ps... was JDM folks? ricers?