** Oh double snap, Carson Toyota/Lexus Parts JP Style Tail lights are in **
04-03-06, 02:50 AM
#62
my review of the taillights
ok so this past weekend i finally got to see and touch the taillights in person. i had the chance to sit down with couple of cl members and talk about the taillights in details, and here's my review. sorry but i didn't install or test the taillights (not mine) so i cant' say anything, but i will tell what i could see
first of all, the packaging is VERY nice. trust me, someone gave thoughts on the packaging as well to make sure the taillights are secured and well protected. in some sense i think it comes even more secured than the stock taillights
the taillights look so much better in person than in pictures i have to say!!!!! the finish is awesome. i looked at all the sealings around, very very clean, nice cut off, and everything is very solid. for something that's aftermarket (read on to see why i say that), i am very surprised and glad to see the quality of the taillights. it's top notch. forget that the taillights are made in taiwan. if they can make 100 sets of these taillights with the same kind of finish, i can easily tell you they are even better than some japanese stuff i have seen
you have to be in person to notice, but although this taillights look similar to stock, it's TOTALLY different from stock!!!!! i looked at it in details, the clear part is completely different in thickest, it's quite a bit thicker than stock, not just the surrounding red.
the inner "circle" on the taillights it's actually different shape and size than stock!!!! it's probably about 1/4" smaller? and that's exactly how much the clear part is thicker by (thus the thick clear i have been talking about).
the center circle has 4x4=16 leds, and tht outside has 3x5=15 leds. they are put in very nice imho, you can see that they got "integrated" with the taillights very nicely. it's no cut corners work at all, trust me, the quality looks very good!
the backup light is still the same wedge bulb as stock i believe, and the turn signal is different though, it's not wedge anymore. and i like these taillights coz' they come with the chrome bulbs already, so you won't have to find the bulbs yourself.
after comparing this taillights in detail with my jp (basically oem as well minus the clear lens), i can safely say that the quest / wise taillights are completely different design. i dn't think there is anything factory at all. the back piece is new custom made, the inside reflector is completely diffrent from stock, and so is the outside lens!!!!!!
overall as a package i have to give tons of credits to people who made these. they did excellent work. a lot of thoughts put into the taillights, very well designed, i could see the attention to details (down to packaging), and for the price (steve will annouce the pricing very soon) i have to say this is very very good deal!!!!!!!!!
now of course, keep in mind, i didt' install these taillights or tried them, and i have no idea on the reliability of these taillights in the long run, so those variables are still open. but at least from what i see, i can see that i am very impressed and happy about these taillights.
now you can't call me biased anymore right?
first of all, the packaging is VERY nice. trust me, someone gave thoughts on the packaging as well to make sure the taillights are secured and well protected. in some sense i think it comes even more secured than the stock taillights
the taillights look so much better in person than in pictures i have to say!!!!! the finish is awesome. i looked at all the sealings around, very very clean, nice cut off, and everything is very solid. for something that's aftermarket (read on to see why i say that), i am very surprised and glad to see the quality of the taillights. it's top notch. forget that the taillights are made in taiwan. if they can make 100 sets of these taillights with the same kind of finish, i can easily tell you they are even better than some japanese stuff i have seen
you have to be in person to notice, but although this taillights look similar to stock, it's TOTALLY different from stock!!!!! i looked at it in details, the clear part is completely different in thickest, it's quite a bit thicker than stock, not just the surrounding red.
the inner "circle" on the taillights it's actually different shape and size than stock!!!! it's probably about 1/4" smaller? and that's exactly how much the clear part is thicker by (thus the thick clear i have been talking about).
the center circle has 4x4=16 leds, and tht outside has 3x5=15 leds. they are put in very nice imho, you can see that they got "integrated" with the taillights very nicely. it's no cut corners work at all, trust me, the quality looks very good!
the backup light is still the same wedge bulb as stock i believe, and the turn signal is different though, it's not wedge anymore. and i like these taillights coz' they come with the chrome bulbs already, so you won't have to find the bulbs yourself.
after comparing this taillights in detail with my jp (basically oem as well minus the clear lens), i can safely say that the quest / wise taillights are completely different design. i dn't think there is anything factory at all. the back piece is new custom made, the inside reflector is completely diffrent from stock, and so is the outside lens!!!!!!
overall as a package i have to give tons of credits to people who made these. they did excellent work. a lot of thoughts put into the taillights, very well designed, i could see the attention to details (down to packaging), and for the price (steve will annouce the pricing very soon) i have to say this is very very good deal!!!!!!!!!
now of course, keep in mind, i didt' install these taillights or tried them, and i have no idea on the reliability of these taillights in the long run, so those variables are still open. but at least from what i see, i can see that i am very impressed and happy about these taillights.
now you can't call me biased anymore right?
04-03-06, 04:47 AM
#64
Packaging Quality
Now on to my review of these tails.
Packaging was very well done, here are two lenses taped together securely.
You can see a label marking the box as either a left and right side lense. This shows good inventory control.
Opening up the box, they put a cardbard spacer on one side for support and wrapped the lense assembly in crumpled paper. I'd say this was sufficient to prevent movement and vibration while shipping. in most cases.
The lens itself was wrapped in a bag and folded over . This prevents any rubbing or scratching marks before packed in the box and also while in the box in transit. Without this bag, you will get a rub mark somewhere from shipping vibration.
Having worked at UPS in a past life, I can say the box is good , just not bullet proof. The cardboard is a little small for the lenses. I would of wanted to see more padding and "crush" space.
I also would have preferred the lense to be encased in expandable foam . A little more expensive, but at the price of these lenses, I would justify the additional protection.
The packaging should be adequate in most cases, but I would not ship using these boxes unless I had insurance.
Overall I'd give the packaging an 8.5.
Packaging was very well done, here are two lenses taped together securely.
You can see a label marking the box as either a left and right side lense. This shows good inventory control.
Opening up the box, they put a cardbard spacer on one side for support and wrapped the lense assembly in crumpled paper. I'd say this was sufficient to prevent movement and vibration while shipping. in most cases.
The lens itself was wrapped in a bag and folded over . This prevents any rubbing or scratching marks before packed in the box and also while in the box in transit. Without this bag, you will get a rub mark somewhere from shipping vibration.
Having worked at UPS in a past life, I can say the box is good , just not bullet proof. The cardboard is a little small for the lenses. I would of wanted to see more padding and "crush" space.
I also would have preferred the lense to be encased in expandable foam . A little more expensive, but at the price of these lenses, I would justify the additional protection.
The packaging should be adequate in most cases, but I would not ship using these boxes unless I had insurance.
Overall I'd give the packaging an 8.5.
Last edited by RMMGS4; 04-03-06 at 04:50 AM.
04-03-06, 05:10 AM
#65
Plastic fit , Finish & Material Quality
Right out of the bag, I knew the lenses were obviously not sourced from the OEM parts. Neither the front or rear plastic parts are original factory designed. These are one off, newly designed parts and I must say the workmanship was very good, to the point that you would think these were OEM , if you didn't see the originals.. The design in both assembly and layout impressed me. The thickness and weight of the plastic appears to be OEM in grade. The plastic had no contamination of foreign matter, dust, debris, no glue marks, etc, that I have seen in cheaper APC style of tail lights. All the lens surfaces were smooth and with no scratches.
The molding of the plastic was uniform, no sign of warpage and no excess flash remaining on any edges. The red color was consistent with no sign of veining or air bubbles. Veining are those clear streaks in the plastic that form a vein like pattern. Again these are problems I see with lesser quality plastic manufactured parts.
The fit of the mating parts at the edges was even and near perfect fit. I pulled on all areas where the parts were joined to see if they would separate or come loose. No problems were found.
On this last photo , you can barely see a slight bleeding of the red lens plastic over to the clear. I looked at both lenses and the bleeding appears to be equal and uniform on both. The impression to me is that they managed a difficult area quite well. This is probably one reason why they did not choose to allow red trim around the bottom of the clear lense. From a manufacturing side it would be difficult to control the quality and prevent color bleeding all around. A good reason to not even try designing it that way, especially when the cost increase to control that little strip of red would probably not be worth it. Then again, maybe they designed it that way cause they liked the way it looked.
Side Note - JP lights have this clear piece glued in, so the red trim around the edge does not bleed to the clear since they are two separate pieces. You WILL notice some imperfections in the fit where the red meets the clear on the JP. You can also see some glue marks as well though it is inconsistent from lense to lense.
Overall I give the Fit Fiinsh & Material Quality a 9.5.
The molding of the plastic was uniform, no sign of warpage and no excess flash remaining on any edges. The red color was consistent with no sign of veining or air bubbles. Veining are those clear streaks in the plastic that form a vein like pattern. Again these are problems I see with lesser quality plastic manufactured parts.
The fit of the mating parts at the edges was even and near perfect fit. I pulled on all areas where the parts were joined to see if they would separate or come loose. No problems were found.
On this last photo , you can barely see a slight bleeding of the red lens plastic over to the clear. I looked at both lenses and the bleeding appears to be equal and uniform on both. The impression to me is that they managed a difficult area quite well. This is probably one reason why they did not choose to allow red trim around the bottom of the clear lense. From a manufacturing side it would be difficult to control the quality and prevent color bleeding all around. A good reason to not even try designing it that way, especially when the cost increase to control that little strip of red would probably not be worth it. Then again, maybe they designed it that way cause they liked the way it looked.
Side Note - JP lights have this clear piece glued in, so the red trim around the edge does not bleed to the clear since they are two separate pieces. You WILL notice some imperfections in the fit where the red meets the clear on the JP. You can also see some glue marks as well though it is inconsistent from lense to lense.
Overall I give the Fit Fiinsh & Material Quality a 9.5.
Last edited by RMMGS4; 04-03-06 at 05:20 AM.
04-03-06, 05:41 AM
#66
Wiring layout and design of moisture prevention
Let's start out with the main harness grommet that leads to the plug harness in the car.
As you can see the grommet is OEM in design, when inserted through the factory hole it will prevent water from entering the trunk area. The wires are taped to the grommet just like OEM.
You can see the wires leading to the two LED compartments. Normally there would be a light socket on the OEM tail, but here they have a nice tight sealing grommet to keep water out of the light housing.
This is the turn signal light bulb. Though it looks dark in the photo, it is actually a chrome bulb that glows amber when it flashes. This is the perfect bulb for a cleared out turn signal area. No amber colored bulb to reflect. They did this one right. You can also see an OEM style of bulb socket and a gasket to seal it to the housing.
Here's the reverse light bulb. It was a Kioto brand, same as a stock bulb. Again with the OEM plug with gasket.
Now here's some attention to detail. The blue arrow shows the foam washer , which seals out water when installed. Can you sense that the manufacturer paid this much attention to such things?
OK here's the clincher. I'll bet most people out there would think that to keep moisture out of a lense or headlight, that you would want to create a 100% water tight seal.
WRONG !
What must be done is to devise a method to allow any condensation that may form to escape while at the same time keeping out water from entering.
Well folks, take a look at the blue arrows in the photo above. Each one of those is a Gortex like fabric that covers a small hole underneath it. Basically these are filtered vents. You will see that for each separate tail light chamber there is one of these fabric patches. This is their method of letting moisture out and not letting water in.
C'mon people, lets give these guys some credit on a great wiring job and moisture preventative design. I give em a 10 !
As you can see the grommet is OEM in design, when inserted through the factory hole it will prevent water from entering the trunk area. The wires are taped to the grommet just like OEM.
You can see the wires leading to the two LED compartments. Normally there would be a light socket on the OEM tail, but here they have a nice tight sealing grommet to keep water out of the light housing.
This is the turn signal light bulb. Though it looks dark in the photo, it is actually a chrome bulb that glows amber when it flashes. This is the perfect bulb for a cleared out turn signal area. No amber colored bulb to reflect. They did this one right. You can also see an OEM style of bulb socket and a gasket to seal it to the housing.
Here's the reverse light bulb. It was a Kioto brand, same as a stock bulb. Again with the OEM plug with gasket.
Now here's some attention to detail. The blue arrow shows the foam washer , which seals out water when installed. Can you sense that the manufacturer paid this much attention to such things?
OK here's the clincher. I'll bet most people out there would think that to keep moisture out of a lense or headlight, that you would want to create a 100% water tight seal.
WRONG !
What must be done is to devise a method to allow any condensation that may form to escape while at the same time keeping out water from entering.
Well folks, take a look at the blue arrows in the photo above. Each one of those is a Gortex like fabric that covers a small hole underneath it. Basically these are filtered vents. You will see that for each separate tail light chamber there is one of these fabric patches. This is their method of letting moisture out and not letting water in.
C'mon people, lets give these guys some credit on a great wiring job and moisture preventative design. I give em a 10 !
Last edited by RMMGS4; 04-03-06 at 05:52 AM.
04-03-06, 05:46 AM
#68
Well looks like time for a break.
Tomorrow, I'll review what I've found about the LEDs related to design, reliability and replacement.
I'll also fire these babies up and show who cool they really look.
I will also unveil photos and How-To's of the first "modded" Wise Tails.
Stay Tuned.
Tomorrow, I'll review what I've found about the LEDs related to design, reliability and replacement.
I'll also fire these babies up and show who cool they really look.
I will also unveil photos and How-To's of the first "modded" Wise Tails.
Stay Tuned.
Last edited by RMMGS4; 04-03-06 at 05:57 AM.
04-03-06, 06:50 AM
#69
EV ftw!!!
Thanks for the detailed reviews and feedback Rominl and RMMGS4! 
It is always gratifying to know that you are paying for a well made product when you buy stuff to mod your car. The last thing anyone one wants to do is to cheapen the car by installing crappy products which clearly is not the case with these tail lights.
One thing I find strange is why they didn't go one step further and make the turn signal also an LED.
It would have been so much more simpler for them to do from the get-go rather than after the fact. I know for a fact that if I give in and buy these, I would want an LED light in there immediately.
It is always gratifying to know that you are paying for a well made product when you buy stuff to mod your car. The last thing anyone one wants to do is to cheapen the car by installing crappy products which clearly is not the case with these tail lights.
One thing I find strange is why they didn't go one step further and make the turn signal also an LED.
It would have been so much more simpler for them to do from the get-go rather than after the fact. I know for a fact that if I give in and buy these, I would want an LED light in there immediately.
04-03-06, 09:09 AM
#71
Originally Posted by Hameed
Thanks for the detailed reviews and feedback Rominl and RMMGS4!
It is always gratifying to know that you are paying for a well made product when you buy stuff to mod your car. The last thing anyone one wants to do is to cheapen the car by installing crappy products which clearly is not the case with these tail lights.
One thing I find strange is why they didn't go one step further and make the turn signal also an LED. It would have been so much more simpler for them to do from the get-go rather than after the fact. I know for a fact that if I give in and buy these, I would want an LED light in there immediately.
It is always gratifying to know that you are paying for a well made product when you buy stuff to mod your car. The last thing anyone one wants to do is to cheapen the car by installing crappy products which clearly is not the case with these tail lights.
One thing I find strange is why they didn't go one step further and make the turn signal also an LED.
It would have been so much more simpler for them to do from the get-go rather than after the fact. I know for a fact that if I give in and buy these, I would want an LED light in there immediately.
about turn signals, two possibilities i guess
1) it's hard to get good intensity on turn signals? i see bmw is going a good job, but i think comparing to brake lights, one has to make the design better in order for turn signals to be seen clearly from all angles especially since it's blinking not on all the time
2) if they put in led, you will have the fast blinking problem right the way, which requires load resistors fix for sure, and like i mention that becomes an heat issue, since you could be blinking at the intersaction for a good 2 mins.
04-03-06, 09:31 AM
#73
EV ftw!!!
Originally Posted by rominl
thanks guys, i definitely want to do these taillights justice, and i think they did a very good job, so it's worth spending the time to type it up. and since glen, me, and together with couple other members are so picky on things, we don't just pay attention to surface, we go deep
about turn signals, two possibilities i guess
1) it's hard to get good intensity on turn signals? i see bmw is going a good job, but i think comparing to brake lights, one has to make the design better in order for turn signals to be seen clearly from all angles especially since it's blinking not on all the time
2) if they put in led, you will have the fast blinking problem right the way, which requires load resistors fix for sure, and like i mention that becomes an heat issue, since you could be blinking at the intersaction for a good 2 mins.
about turn signals, two possibilities i guess
1) it's hard to get good intensity on turn signals? i see bmw is going a good job, but i think comparing to brake lights, one has to make the design better in order for turn signals to be seen clearly from all angles especially since it's blinking not on all the time
2) if they put in led, you will have the fast blinking problem right the way, which requires load resistors fix for sure, and like i mention that becomes an heat issue, since you could be blinking at the intersaction for a good 2 mins.
I guess the main reason might be that the resistor could not be installed in a safe enough place (for the heat dissipation) within the light unit itself.
04-03-06, 10:28 AM
#74
Originally Posted by Hameed
Yes, I realize that the resistors are required. However I was trying to make a point that they could have gone the extra mile and did all that work already.
I guess the main reason might be that the resistor could not be installed in a safe enough place (for the heat dissipation) within the light unit itself.
I guess the main reason might be that the resistor could not be installed in a safe enough place (for the heat dissipation) within the light unit itself.
You can put one of those socketed bulb clusters that have like 9 bulbs in them. I might try that.
04-03-06, 10:33 AM
#75
Originally Posted by TLW
Did you guys realllly look at them...there is a 5 letter word ..pm me with the answer
Not sure what you're talking about Johnny !
How bout we take a pic of the tails along with a copy of today's newspaper.
