I don't like the round tail lights that come with the kit. I really like the newer Lamborghini lights, but they're $4.6k a pair. Which, of course, is just the starting point; before you get into electrical, body work, custom bezels and any mistakes. After looking at countless images online and looking at every car on the road, I decided on aftermarket lights from Buddy Club that were designed for a Toyota FT86, Scion FRS, and Subaru BRZ. They have Lambo-like sequential LEDs, they are relatively flat (a big requirement for the SL-C) and most importantly they are Department of Transportation (DOT) certified. This video shows you what they look like in action.
So I ordered a pair. They look well made, but I sure as hell wish they didn't have "Buddy Club" on the clear lens. I should be able to carefully file and polish that out right? Well no, the letters are on the inside of the lens.
Using a 12v power supply, Will and I were able to quickly determine the basic wiring:
Black: Ground
Black with White Stripe: Brake
Red: Running
White: Turn
The back has four M4 mounting bolts.
In the picture below paper templates have been taped on to show the rear vents, the license plate and the general outline of the "Lambo" tail lights.
The curved bottom section doesn't go with the shape of the tail and it will need to be removed. Fortunately that section is just a non-functional reflector. It looks like the lights could be made to work, but it's going to take a lot of body work, custom brackets, custom flanges, custom clear covers and modifications to the light's housing. Fortunately no changes will made to the LEDs themselves.
So, decision point. Do I a cut up a $550 set of lights and put a hole in the tail section? Hell YES these things are cool!
The clear plastic lens has been cut off with a Dremel abrasive cutoff wheel... made a real mess.
The three screws that hold the rear cover have been removed, the flash mode switch has been cut out and several flanges have been removed. With respect to the switch, open circuit is flutter mode and closed circuit is normal blink mode.
Four screws have been removed to separate the bezel from the LED panel and electronics.
The passive reflector has been removed and the housing was trimmed so that the bottom curved portion can be hidden behind the fiberglass body.
It was really worried about how I was going to blend the light into the tail because the clear lens sloped about 1" from left to right which wasn't going to look right for a flat tail. Other than a 1/4" raised portion of the bezel, which could be ground down, patched and painted, the bezel is flat. Of course I now need to figure out how to make a lens!