kingofire

Decided to vinyl my head lights and wanted to see what people think of it. I am on the fence myself, thinking it looks sorta, kinda ricey....lol. Lets see what mbworld members think...

closer look......you guys are jealous of my photo taking technic right

And here is my ghetto sideways AMG hood emblem that I swore I'd never put on

Yay or Nay on the lights? Keep in mind that it was a dull overcast day so they look darker than they really are.....I am going for the black and white look!

Texas993

I like them. But I don't like the front license plate!

csquared

I like smoked headlights like the headlights on the E63 amg. That tint is not only too dark but can reduce the brightness of your headlights, which might be unsafe for night time driving.

kingofire

Yes I don't either. In Mass, everything is illegal. Bought a nice set of carbon fiber license plate covers and when getting the inspection sticker they took it off because it was covering parts of the writing on the top and bottom....talk about ridiculous.

fromthebeginnin

I didn't know that this was available, do you have to replace the complete unit or ?

FTB

kingofire

I have driven at night with them on and I was surprised to find that it actually didn't lessen the light output at all or if it did, I didn't notice it at all much and I live on a desolate farm road with no street lights where the high beam assist comes to great use. In a week or two these are going in both light housing...Philip Ultinon 6000K(D1S & H7)..we will see what happens then.....

hyperion667

I wouldn't say ricey really, although it is a hackneyed term IMO....hehe....
but I would also be concerned with the visibility factor.....how does it
affect your ability to see at night?

still, it looks kinda cool.......
but I think the 'architecture' in the lamps themselves is kind of cool you know?
the bulbs, the contours and stuff.......
they're cool to look at.......

RNBRAD

This car really has some great beams, hate to see someone sacrifice that for a look. Like to see how it affects the brightness, I bet it's significant. Also I wonder how hot those lamps get and any issues this might cause? Anyway it doesn't look too bad but maybe not worth the downsides.

kingofire

@hyperion667 & RNBRAD, I haven't really seen enough difference in visibility with the overlays. I know there is some loss but it is very hard for me to notice. I will drive more and see if I notice any visible loss. I might just go a shade lighter and do it over again. It only cost me 1/2 hour and $10 from a arts and craft place.

K-A

My opinion:

I like the smoked headlight look, but it's gotta be SUPER light and clean to look good IMO. Yours are waaay too dark. Not only will you get hammered by the Cops, but no way are you getting the full potential of your Xenons. I used to have blackened headlights on a Mustang GT, and I grew tired of them really really quickly (not a very classy look, you'll find yourself lusting after the crispness/cleanliness of the OEM headlight look soon). I got them lightened to a very OEM-quality-like "smoke", and loved them.

I'd do a very light tint to my headlights too, but just don't want to sacrifice an ounce of light output.

The E63 has it done the best way, as the headlights aren't smoked at all, they are simply *PAINTED* a matte black inside the housings (ours are chrome). You get the smoke look, and you don't sacrifice any light output. On top of all that, you still get to reap the benefits of being able to see the cool headlight-architecture, as Hyperion said.

And fix your badge dude?! What are you thinking with it all crooked?? And IMO, it's totally devaluing to have an AMG poseur badge on it, I'd get the M-B "reef" or something.

My .02.

K-A

Oh and if you get the lighter Tint on, please post pics. Like I said, I'd love to smoke my headlights (don't wanna fork over cash for the E63 ones, and don't want to rip the headlights off already to have the housings painted.... And who knows if they'll seal it properly enough to guarantee no water/elements will seep into it), but am not convinced that they won't hamper light output.

Also, if you do get a chance, and want to do the ultimate test of whether or not it affects light output, rip one sides Tint off, and have the headlights on, and take pics of how it looks.... The truth will come out for all of us to see!!

BPhillyBenz

King- I thinks it's awesome you are thinking outside of the box and coming up with unique mods and sharing them. Personally, I am not a fan of the look (but who am I). I have done several things to my car in attempts to make it unique...about half of them I love....the other half I have restored back to OEM after a week or so. Good luck.

kingofire

K-A, I hear you buddy!!! Respect your honesty as well, not with me only but others as well. I still disagree with you on the star grill lol but I do agree with you on the overlays as I agree they are too dark as well, hence starting this thread. I am gonna go with lighter overlays but this time I'll order from headlightarmour though as they have thick overlays and light smoke as well.
My dilemma is this though, I want my tail lights to look just like yours, dark with the reverse housing clear but how will it look if I have tails that are dark but the headlights that are much lighter. In my eyes it wouldn't look right in my opinion.
I am also wanting to get my lights cracked open and have them painted matte black but I also worry about the seal issue just like you. I know a guy here that has done this exact thing to my other cars but he was apprehensive about the E for some reason.
Oh the hood emblem was just a joke putting it sideways and I would agree with you on being a poser and I uttered the same words as you to others. The reason I used this emblem is three fold, one it is the closest I could find that is black and white without looking cheesy, two it is 47mm in size that fits better than the 45mm OEM badge I had there before this and last but not the least is that the whole emblem is made of metal, the base and the emblem are aluminum plus the emblem is three dimensional. Looks very nice. I assure you its still on and straight as an arrow.

kingofire

Thanks, Bphilly. The main reason I started this thread was because I wasn't too keen on the dark overlays either but just wanted others to chime in to see if I was in the majority or minority. I love thinking outside the box but in this case a little too outside the box that I may get pulled over especially with the cops here.
I am still mulling over changing my headliner to a chestnut brown microsuede material but don't know if it will look gawdy and too much orange(I do have the pano roof though) It will match my seats though. Its between this or black alcantara.

Zinny

King, Have to say not my favorite. I like to see the technology that goes into the headlight assembly. But that said, It was done really well and if you like it that is all that matters!

Oh, by the way, picking up my grill tomorrow. They finally finished painting the mesh black......pics a coming.

What do you think about Carbon Fiber mirrors on a Steel Gray car? Thinking of getting them. Not just covers, the entire casing.......costs about $900!

K-A

I hear you man, and thank you for having some fun with the car, and posting pics of your mods for us here to see and "diagnose". We NEED more enthusiast topics like this!

We'll have to agree to disagree about the star!!

Actually, It looks alright in your pics, even to me! Lol. I think the blacking of the headlights actually compliments the star grille, as usually, I think with the star grille there, there's a bit too much chrome and busyness going on. The darkened headlights I think works for the star grille more-so. I just think the 212 loses some of that "evil smile" stately character without it, but hey, variety is the spice of life! I do notice that yours has a bit of a gap at the bottom of it as well, I don't get why they can't design it snug at the bottom?

About the tails, believe me, it'll look *perfect* with a light smoke up front.

In fact, when it comes to tinting rear lights, headlights rarely have anything to do with them. Cars usually look best IMO with a "light" front, and when you start making your way to the back of the car, things start getting more "dark", all the way to the tails. Makes for a dynamic look, and I like how it plays out on my car, with the headlights kept clear, etc.

I would also recommend getting the lightest tint on your tails as well. Dark black tails look pretty cheap, and also affect light output. With red tails, all you need is a light shade of tint, and you'll get a very dark look, but more "cherry", which is far classier than solid black, and you'll get your rear lights exposed fine when you need them.

Please do post pics of the lighter front light tint though when you get them though. And if you can take a picture of the lights on with just one side tinted and the other clear-stock while installing, that would be mega appreciated!

hyperion667

it's too bad about Mass requiring that front plate........really distracts from the front end vibe too, here in Cackalacky we only need the rear one..........thankfully............

hyperion667

I like to see the technology that goes into the headlight assembly.


yeah; that's what I said

Zinny

[quote=hyperion667;4378656]I like to see the technology that goes into the headlight assembly.

Hey! Stop stealing my thoughts! I have so very few of them............

hyperion667

LOL Z, they are very interesting huh?
they're very tech.....I wanna be able to admire them.....

MagicJack

I'd take the headlight sunshades off. Agreed too ricey. I usually see that on 2dr civics.

JP465NY

Why hide those nice headlamps. But if it's what you like, keep it.

kingofire

Sorry for the delayed response...been at work and no internet access. I think those carbon fiber mirrors would look good on a Steel Gray. Would be perfect I think. Thats a pretty penny for mirror housing but worth every penny cuz it would look great IMO.

htn75

Sorry... me no like.

kingofire

Thanks for the tips. Your tails look pretty dark. Do you know what percentage they are?

I will try and take pics of one side with and one without the tint but I really hate to work on them at night as it gets pretty darn cold.

Will put pics up after both the tails and heads are done!

Thanks for the advise, much appreciated again.