I have a '96 Civic and I am interested in changing the back tail lights to look like the later models of this generation where it was just clear and red - no orange.

What part is it I need to change to fix this?


Also, I really like the headlights of Lexus/Acura TL/Beamers/etc. A kind of clear/blue tint. I remember hearing years ago it is not legal to have these unless they are stock on the car? I don't know if it's true anymore or if it ever was, but what kind of lights am I looking for here?

 

i think it's 99-00 taillights that are red/clear
you'll need both whole tail lights
get 'em used on ebay or something

they're called HIDs. it's illegal as you said, but... no cop is going to bother you unless you have an outrageously blue color to your HIDs. A hint of blue (6000k) and you should be fine.

 

yup they are the 99-00 civic taillight and i am assuming you have a coupe? go check up on ebay or your local craigslist.

as for the headlight, you can do a retrofit so you will know they are legal or you can do plug and play HID's and it would be illegal but unless they are ridiculously blue then cops wouldn't bother you much. but the best result and exactly the same as the lexus and bmw's would be doing a retrofit.

 

99-00 tails. those are the nicest and cleanest ones

 

thanks for the response

what does a 'retrofit' involve?

 

retrofitting involes taking oem hid's (mainly the projector and the hid) from like a bmw or lexus and getting it to fit in your headlights. pretty expensive and time consuming

 

so why are the retrofits legal and simple hid swap not?

 

because the law isn't against installing them in a car that didn't have them factory, the law is that you can't legally install HIDs in a headlight housing that isn't designed for them. With the retrofit, you are using an actual HID housing, and incorporating it into your existing housing.

 

i see. sounds a little strict to me.

do brands matter when choosing HIDs or are they all the same?

 

basically, you get what you pay for. If the price seems low, it probably sucks.