JDM taillight fitment issues? DIY FIX HERE!!
#1
JDM taillight fitment issues? DIY FIX HERE!!
Alright boyz n girlz. Koolkevin1107 is back and is ready 2 kick some behind! lol j/k. Well, i picked up another set of JDM style LED taillights, this time branded by the infamous DEPO.
First off, the quality of these taillights are EXCELLENT they have an OEM fitment (u will soon see w/ pictures) and light up very bright. They do not leak and have the same mounting brackets as oem. Anyways, after owning the N1 concepts and the DEPO taillights, i have noticed that the fitment on both of them is pretty horrid, even tho both look great. Well... I FOUND THE PROBLEM!! Let's start!!
First off, here is a pic of the DEPO brand taillights. Check out the quality of the taillights finish, especially the side nearest to the quarter panel. Perfect fitment! But... look at the fitment to the vehicle.. doesnt' look good at all:
Especially this one near the bumper, i know everybody w/ the jdm taillights has the same gap i do. I had em both w/ the N1 and the DEPO so plz don't rag on the N1 taillights having a gap there, u will soon find out it's not the taillight!!
Well... to start off, i HATE those little dumb alignment tabs on the back. There is a total of 3 tabs that stick out.. One thick one near the outside edge, one in the middle between the LED board and the turn signal port, and one underneath to line up to the bumper (circled in red). CUT THESE OFF!!! U will be better able to adjust the taillights soooo much better w/o these there.
Here is the problem area..... U see these two tabs on the bottom of the taillight? the one with the pin (broken off in the picture) and the other w/ the hole in it for the screw? i found out that the JDM bumper has a clip that is DIFFERENT then the USDM clip! This clip sits lower then our USDM counterpart, thus not allowing the JDM replica taillights to sit flush w/ our taillight locations! Here is that bracket:
What's the solution? CUT OFF THOSE TABS!!! Well not all of it, i only cut off about 1/2 inch on both of em. Check it:
AND HERE ARE THE RESULTS!!!!!!!!
NO GAP!!!!!
There u go ladies n gents. Hope this helps everybody w/ the replica taillights fitment. Mine fits beautifully now and it's cuz of those damn tabs! the ones on the back weren't allowing "play" with the tailight and the ones on the bottom werent allowing height adjustment.
I hope everybody enjoys this writeup and i hope it helps everybody. Rep me up!
OH btw!!! I might be hosting a GB for the DEPO branded led taillights.... check out the fitment on the vehicle, it's PERFECT. Cost should be around $110 shipped. If u liked the writeup or are interested in the taillights, reply 2 this thread.
First off, the quality of these taillights are EXCELLENT they have an OEM fitment (u will soon see w/ pictures) and light up very bright. They do not leak and have the same mounting brackets as oem. Anyways, after owning the N1 concepts and the DEPO taillights, i have noticed that the fitment on both of them is pretty horrid, even tho both look great. Well... I FOUND THE PROBLEM!! Let's start!!
First off, here is a pic of the DEPO brand taillights. Check out the quality of the taillights finish, especially the side nearest to the quarter panel. Perfect fitment! But... look at the fitment to the vehicle.. doesnt' look good at all:
Especially this one near the bumper, i know everybody w/ the jdm taillights has the same gap i do. I had em both w/ the N1 and the DEPO so plz don't rag on the N1 taillights having a gap there, u will soon find out it's not the taillight!!
Well... to start off, i HATE those little dumb alignment tabs on the back. There is a total of 3 tabs that stick out.. One thick one near the outside edge, one in the middle between the LED board and the turn signal port, and one underneath to line up to the bumper (circled in red). CUT THESE OFF!!! U will be better able to adjust the taillights soooo much better w/o these there.
Here is the problem area..... U see these two tabs on the bottom of the taillight? the one with the pin (broken off in the picture) and the other w/ the hole in it for the screw? i found out that the JDM bumper has a clip that is DIFFERENT then the USDM clip! This clip sits lower then our USDM counterpart, thus not allowing the JDM replica taillights to sit flush w/ our taillight locations! Here is that bracket:
What's the solution? CUT OFF THOSE TABS!!! Well not all of it, i only cut off about 1/2 inch on both of em. Check it:
AND HERE ARE THE RESULTS!!!!!!!!
NO GAP!!!!!
There u go ladies n gents. Hope this helps everybody w/ the replica taillights fitment. Mine fits beautifully now and it's cuz of those damn tabs! the ones on the back weren't allowing "play" with the tailight and the ones on the bottom werent allowing height adjustment.
I hope everybody enjoys this writeup and i hope it helps everybody. Rep me up!
OH btw!!! I might be hosting a GB for the DEPO branded led taillights.... check out the fitment on the vehicle, it's PERFECT. Cost should be around $110 shipped. If u liked the writeup or are interested in the taillights, reply 2 this thread.
Last edited by koolkevin1107; 04-02-2008 at 07:06 PM.
#4
colors? u mean do they match? They are exactly the same, im tellin ya the quality build on these things is really good! The backup lenses are pink, the signals are a nice DARK smoke.
#10
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE people i DO NOT have any taillights nor do i know the price nor do i know ANYTHING regarding this GB on the DEPO taillights. All i did was create a writeup on how to properly align ur jdm taillights.
#12
ahh okay. it's about $110. U want the place i got em from?
eBay Motors: 06 07 08 HONDA FIT SMOKE JDM LED TAIL LIGHTS DEPO (item 310033217524 end time Mar-25-08 15:26:53 PDT)
That is the place i got them from, but i went and picked em up and got em tested on my car. Beautiful fitment! great people to work with.
eBay Motors: 06 07 08 HONDA FIT SMOKE JDM LED TAIL LIGHTS DEPO (item 310033217524 end time Mar-25-08 15:26:53 PDT)
That is the place i got them from, but i went and picked em up and got em tested on my car. Beautiful fitment! great people to work with.
#13
Hey Kevin... nice write-up for the fix!
Just one thing... After reading what you wrote for each pictures, try to use photoshop and circle the "3 tabs" you were talking about. Since people will be cutting things off their tail lights, I think it's better for them to know which three they are cutting off exactly.
Otherwise, it's an excellent DIY fix!
Just one thing... After reading what you wrote for each pictures, try to use photoshop and circle the "3 tabs" you were talking about. Since people will be cutting things off their tail lights, I think it's better for them to know which three they are cutting off exactly.
Otherwise, it's an excellent DIY fix!
#16
i just received mine Depos in the mail but im having serious issues with my driver side not matching up with the body. The right side fits like a dream w/o any modifications (aside from extending the wires) I'll get some pix and post em up when i can so you can look too.
#18
It does state plug n play but u do have to extend the wires. Some people opted to stretch them, i find this the worst way cuz u might pull the wires and rip them right out causing more problems. Just take the 1/2 hour to extend them correctly by soldering them and using heat shrink.
#19
heres the link to the post i had on my car https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...tml#post271971 its really odd i might have to take some more pictures. No I did not do your tab cutting DIY. The funny part is the right side is PERFECT! No tab cutting required, everything lined up nicely. The left side of the other hand is odd. The screw you gotta take out (underneth the hatch) is lined up perfectly but its just the corner ^^^^ in the pix. Let me know if you want more pix