Well I asked around a lot on this forum trying to figure out the difference between 02+ honda OEM tails and the ones found on ebay (made by DEPO.. sold my Matrix Racing and procarparts)... after quite a bit of research I was convinced they were the same. However, they are NOT.

The key difference is that the 02+ honda tails have a second lens that hides the color of your turn signal.. so you can use an amber bulb and it is not visible from outside, preserving that "clean" look.... with the DEPO tails, you have to use clear (DOT/SAE ILLEGAL) or a titanium coated bulb to preserve that clear look... otherwise your taillight looks like a fried egg (because you can see the bulb from outside) !!!!

Just wanted to let everyone know... so they don't buy the taillight and find out the hard way like me. As a result I'm trying out Raybrig R112 hyper white clear turn signals until I get pulled over.

 

that cant be true with the '02 tails b/c i drive behind '02's in my town and they all have that fried egg look. i know that the car is a '02 model b/c of the front end so i know theyre OEM tails straight from the factory. thus, there is no clear part that covers the bulbs.

 

i got 02 OEM lights with Amber polarg bulbs inside and no way can you see the bulb color from the outside .

Rhizopod: i think they make amber lights that have a titanium look so maybe they wont show??

 

Yes, they do... Titan bulbs and I have to order them through the internet. hmz82 told me about them, but he said they are dimmer than stock. Right now I have Raybrig R112 hyperwhite (clear) and I'm liking them.....

 

umm its hzm82.........
The only reason the Titan bulbs are dimmer is because they are lower watt then the ones that came with the matrix tails. I guess I shouldn't say the second lens on the OEM 02+ won't give the car a fried egg look, you can still see it. It just masks it better somewhat. I still recommend the DEPO tails, because there is a 100+ dollar difference, and you can put in Red 7440 bulbs or Titan bulbs. Then you won't get the fried egg look. Even soft amber glass 7440 bulbs will soften the fried egg look. The cheap bulb included with the Matrix tails are color 7440 bulbs, so they give that distinct amber, defeating the purpose of clear tails

 

Whoops, sorry hzm82, my bad.

 

Oh and clear 7440 (DOT/SAE approved) are still illegal to be used in rear tail turn sigs (because they light up that peach white/yellow color). Only amber or red (when lite) bulbs are approved for rear tails. You can still get away with having them in because most cops don't care. I had hyper whites in my tails for a year before i switch them out for Polarg Red bulbs.

 

I have been looking around for the amber 7440 here in Vancouver. Not a single place other than the dealer. However, I did find that in Lordco they have PIAA LED lights in both red and amber for the 7440.

Just wondering if anyone has had experience for those. The red LED sounds interesting. and do we have to put a resister on it?

Some one mentioned red 7440. just wondering if we can also get that from the dealer.

THanks,
RJ.

 

TLLover8888 - Fried egg look? My rear turn signals look totally clear ('02 TL-S). ??

 

Ooooh I want those tails like right nowww....too bad Ray laks up the price to 350 now....I thought it was suppose to become cheaper but I guess not.

 

I put 02-03 OEM tails on my 99, but I got silver coated bulbs that blink amber, so no fried eggs for me

 

so you're saying dont buy the almost $200 cheaper lights because you can't use a regular amber bulb?

I'm happy with my depo tail lights. No issues with them in over a year.

 

nope, that is not what I was inferring. You can use whatever bulbs you want.

I ended up finding both my OEM tails for $65 shipped (1 on craigslist and 1 on ebay)

word

 

so wait...those ebay lights are actually fine?? i gotta replace one, and it's a lot cheaper so...why not? but i was thinking oem would have a lot better brilliance and shine to it than cheapo lights?? or at least they look cheapo

 

Bahh I want those Taillights also but 350 for OEM are crazyy but heck if you want original I guess it comes with the territory

 

yeah...i think i'm just gonna continue searching for an oem tail light

 

Examples of the fried and non-fried egg looks please!~

 

Top light is the egg look, bottom is the non-fried


What the bulbs look like

 

so are the the exact oem replicas? like if you had them side by side, you cant tell the diff between oem and depo??

 

Thank you for the clarification.... and you can defeat the Fried Egg look by just going with LED's..

 

OK, my lights definitely don't look like the one on top posted above. Looking close, there is something in there shielding the orange light so you can't see it, but the light shines through and/or reflects around it I guess. Is that OEM?

 

yeah the tail with "something" shielding the amber bulb, that's oem. the ones posted are ebay ones. but like they've said you can just take out the amberbulb and put in the silver one. I'm not sure if they'd match, oem and aftermarket...i'd sure like to know!

 

i bought the depo lights to replace my 99 stock lights....i guess it was worth the money,,, but they made mounting brackets for the lights wrong on one of the tail lights.... They made the mounts backward or something.... the bulbs dont sit in the bracket correctly...had to rig them in with a little duck tape......but from the outside they dont look bad at all.... Im happy , looks better then the ugly yellow before,

but now im wondering what the look like when i drive... ihope i dont have fried eggs

 

no fried eggs..... i have white bulbs!!! totally forgot...
and iv yet to get pulled over for white reverse or white turn signals......
amazing considering san jose has the biggest set of assholes in the state of CA.


POLICE

 

I have the RED LED 7440 and they look great and they are very bright and no need for a resistor but on mine the bad thing is that it made my car have a quick blinker buts its all good it makes my car faster if it blinks faster hahahaha not really but the red does add some style to the tails.

 

so...anyone compare them to the oem tails yet?? im considering gettin one, but dont want a mismatched tail.

 

i get my tails 2morrow. where can i find a clear bulb? and which is better clear, silver, or red? thx

 

i have the silverstar orange ones...they look amazing!! it's got a unique look to it. I have them in my front corners. they're really bright, and it gives off a blue tinge when not lit.

 

^^ do u kno what kinda bulb i need and where i can find 1?

 

LED Light + No load resistor = Fast Blinker

 

mm... check autozone, the corner signal lights are 1157's you want sylvania silverstars for that bulb i was talking about. other ones...i'm not sure, check sylvania.com for their list of bulb types you need for your car.