Rear reflectors replaced with led

rekoh · Mar 9, 2015

Anyone tried these out ?

saw these on ebay

Red Lens Rear Bumper Reflector LED Tail Stop Brake Light For 2012+ Tesla Model S

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Ok... Can't post a link from eBay from my iPad? Maybe someone can help with that... Pictures show it better.

Paul Carter · Mar 9, 2015

2X Red Lens Rear Bumper Reflector LED Tail Stop Brake Light 2012 Tesla Model S | eBay

Interesting, looks cool, but would it be legal?

One source where it seems iffy: RCW 46.37.030: Visibility distance and mounted height of lamps.

RCW 46.37.030 Visibility distance and mounted height of lamps.
(1) Whenever requirement is hereinafter declared as to distance from which certain lamps and devices shall render objects visible or within which such lamps or devices shall be visible, said provisions shall apply during the times stated in RCW 46.37.020 in respect to a vehicle without load when upon a straight, level, unlighted highway under normal atmospheric conditions unless a different time or condition is expressly stated.

(2) Whenever requirement is hereinafter declared as to the mounted height of lamps or devices it shall mean from the center of such lamp or device to the level ground upon which the vehicle stands when such vehicle is without a load.

(3) No additional lamp, reflective device, or other motor vehicle equipment shall be added which impairs the effectiveness of this standard.
[1977 ex.s. c 355 § 3; 1961 c 12 § 46.37.030. Prior: 1955 c 269 § 3; prior: 1937 c 189 § 14, part; RRS § 6360-14, part; RCW 46.40.010, part.]

breser · Mar 9, 2015

Not sure why you're concerned with Washington law in BC but I think you're citing the wrong bit of the code.

I don't see anything in RCW 46.37.030 that would prevent the use of something like this unless you're arguing that this impairs the effectiveness of the other lights, which I doubt.

However, I'm not sure it meets this RCW 46.37.050 (2):

2) Every tail lamp upon every vehicle shall be located at a height of not more than seventy-two inches nor less than fifteen inches.

Paul Carter · Mar 10, 2015

Thanks, thought I'd copied both parts. Was just trying to show some states have these type of regulations to consider.

GreenT · Mar 10, 2015

Ok, weird. Msg Nr. 2 in this thread ... why, all of a sudden, are the action "buttons" (Reply, etc.) to the left?

And under this message too? But not the message immediately following 2.

And having added this line ^, the formatting is back to normal?

Paul Carter · Mar 10, 2015

GreenT said:
Ok, weird. Msg Nr,. 2 in this thread ... why, all of a sudden, are the action "buttons" (Reply, etc.) to the left?

And under this message too? But not the message immediately following 2.

And having added this line ^, the formatting is back to normal?

Maybe something odd with what I tried to paste on my iPad, will try and cleanup my post.

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cleaned up my post. Something was weird for sure.

mknox · Mar 10, 2015

I had actually thought that was how they were going to implement the mandatory rear fog lights in the EU. Instead, they went with the lame approach of replacing one of the two white backup lights with a red one.

tmyl21 · Mar 10, 2015

Interesting. I never payed much attention to the rear reflectors on the MS even after hand washing countless times. So what is the purpose of these low rear red reflectors anyway on the Model S?

Paul Carter · Mar 10, 2015

tmyl21 said:
Interesting. I never payed much attention to the rear reflectors on the MS even after hand washing countless times. So what is the purpose of these low rear red reflectors anyway on the Model S?

To show vehicle's presence and width. Most vehicles low beam travelling behind someone (or approaching a stopped vehicle) will cause a reflection. This aids the driver to have a better understanding that a vehicle is in front of them and roughly how wide it is, where it is on the road, and judge how much distance, if its stopped or moving, etc.

mknox · Mar 11, 2015

tmyl21 said:
So what is the purpose of these low rear red reflectors anyway on the Model S?

It's a requirement that cars have red reflectors like this. Cars parked at the side of the road can bee seen at night, and cars with lights turned off or burned out etc. can be seen. Some cars have the reflector incorporated into the tail light assembly itself while others are separate like the Model S. It is also a requirement to have side reflectors as well (yellow at the front side and red at the rear side).

mknox · Mar 11, 2015

breser said:
I don't see anything in RCW 46.37.030 that would prevent the use of something like this unless you're arguing that this impairs the effectiveness of the other lights, which I doubt.

It does remove the mandatory retroreflectors unless this product has that incorporated into the design.

AmpedRealtor · Mar 11, 2015

mknox said:
It's a requirement that cars have red reflectors like this. Cars parked at the side of the road can bee seen at night, and cars with lights turned off or burned out etc. can be seen. Some cars have the reflector incorporated into the tail light assembly itself while others are separate like the Model S. It is also a requirement to have side reflectors as well (yellow at the front side and red at the rear side).

Call me crazy, but my Model S doesn't have yellow side reflectors at the front.

mknox · Mar 11, 2015

AmpedRealtor said:
Call me crazy, but my Model S doesn't have yellow side reflectors at the front.

Now you're going to make me go outside and look, but I'm pretty sure the Model S incorporates it into the lower fog/cornering light/accent light assembly. The rear ones are obvious to us because one opens up to expose the charge port.

Gizmotoy · Mar 11, 2015

mknox said:
Now you're going to make me go outside and look, but I'm pretty sure the Model S incorporates it into the lower fog/cornering light/accent light assembly. The rear ones are obvious to us because one opens up to expose the charge port.

No need. That's where they are. They're incorporated into the foglight assembly.

AmpedRealtor · Mar 11, 2015

mknox said:
Now you're going to make me go outside and look, but I'm pretty sure the Model S incorporates it into the lower fog/cornering light/accent light assembly. The rear ones are obvious to us because one opens up to expose the charge port.

OMG I never even noticed them until I looked just now. Thanks!

tmyl21 · Mar 11, 2015

Thanks for the clarification as to the purpose of these low mounted reflectors. I can't seem to envision anything similar on other vehicles though like this and I guess where I'm going is what other makes or models have their own stand alone positioned and mounted reflectors just as the Tesla MS?

mknox · Mar 12, 2015

tmyl21 said:
Thanks for the clarification as to the purpose of these low mounted reflectors. I can't seem to envision anything similar on other vehicles though like this and I guess where I'm going is what other makes or models have their own stand alone positioned and mounted reflectors just as the Tesla MS?

In my casual observations, about half of the vehicles I see have the rear retroreflector separate like on the Model S and the other half have it incorporated into the rear tail light assembly.

My former Cadillac CTS was like the Model S:

My wife's Pontiac Vibe has it incorporated into the tail light:

scaesare · Mar 12, 2015

That add needed to show... ya know... some of them ACTUALLY INSTALLED in an S.

(even if they do break regulations and I never buy a set... I just want to see what they look like installed, not just a shot of them loose next to a stock Model S image (and a rendered on at that....)

AmpedRealtor · Mar 12, 2015

Is it even legal to put lights there?

mknox · Mar 12, 2015

AmpedRealtor said:
Is it even legal to put lights there?

I think it is. In fact Cadillac replaces them (located similarly to the Model S) with rear fog lights in the EU market, but I think they combine the retroreflector and fog light into the assembly as opposed to just the reflector in North America. The problem with these eBay items is that they don't seem to have a reflector incorporated into the design, so there might be a concern there.

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