3rd Brake Light Visor prototype by Uncle Mush

Posted by: @uncle-mush

Posted by: @dev

  Very nice assessment from Cyclehead.   

I also had some concerns about the 3M tape thickness however I think it will ok once the visor has over hang that can cover up any thickness discrepancy.  

All of this is a trade off and nothing made by us will be perfect particularly at its price point to be lucrative however I see the other side of the trade to be worth it  being that the top side finish and material will be true. 

 

Yes.  I found that to also be true with the fiberglass version I bought years ago.  There were air pocket blemishes I had to fill and smooth before I could prime and paint,  but I was willing to do that even at the $90 I paid for the product back then.  btw, I don't know what they sold for originally.  I bought my fiberglass TBLV used.  I may not be able to mass produce a perfect product, but do hope to produce a better product that will fill the current void.

 I sold many of them. There were varying quality from my supplier and some got good ones and the ones that had imperfections and voids I had to fix with a specialized epoxy resin that is better than the fiberglass. I would then have to sand it all down again and reshape the edges.  Were all of them perfect not really but the ones I fixed were good enough for the price point. I hated doing them because was supposed to be easy to paint on my end but ended up hard to fix.  I eventually got fed up and sold the bulk of rest as unfinished that needed fiberglass  work and they sold like hot cakes so I imagine that they are in the wild with varying degrees of quality.  

The one on my car is one of the blemished ones that I never fixed. Its acceptable  but could use some fiberglass work. It would be nice to have one like yours that is true. 

When you mentioned that you could make them in plastic I knew right away that this would be better and also consistent. Fiberglass molds deteriorate in time and the post process work is just too much hassle.  

The only thing im worried about is how the material will handle heat.  We will need some testing to be done on a finished piece. If you like I can sacrifice the sample you gave me after I have it painted. I have some paints for some Scions that that are so rare I doubt I will ever use it and can have it painted up and then run some heat and durability tests on it if you like. 

I can do some durability testing. Or torture testing. Do some spirited drives with it taped on unpainted. Hit it with a heat gun and IR thermometer to see what temps it can handle. I don't mind sacrificing my test piece: that's what a test piece is for! 

Yes.  Test all you want, anyway you want.  That is what they are for.   Please post results with pics,  if you can.  I really appreciate your honest feedback.  That's the only way we can know what works and what doesn't.   

This HDPE is supposed to be good up to 178 F.  I'm hoping the 3rd brake light would never be subjected to temps that high,  but I just don't know how hot it gets back there. 

 I'll be integrating as much feedback as I can.  First step for me is to redesign the size/shape.  I'll then send our three testers the new version for additional testing and feedback.   After that I'll determine how much more to invest (or if to invest) in fine-tuning with recommendations made.  I prefer to put out an excellent product but have to take into considerstion cost / benefit ratio for extra time involved to make "perfect" (there is no perfect).

It's a process.   I really appreciate this forum and all y'alls input.  Thank you. 

@uncle-mush

I like it. Looking forward to see how changes go and availability. 

A few comments. The forward facing edge isn't quite straight. There's a bigger gap between the cover and the lid metal in the center than the edges. 

The overhang is already fairly significant (as it going past the edge of the light), at least for me. I like the design. The cover does sit a bit high even without the tape, and it'll sit a bit higher with tape under it, but that's unavoidable. Dev can you explain what you meant by overhang? I didn't quite get it. 

Now it's time to tape it on and torture test it?

Those are looking really nice!

Posted by: @haloruler64

A few comments. The forward facing edge isn't quite straight. There's a bigger gap between the cover and the lid metal in the center than the edges. 

The overhang is already fairly significant (as it going past the edge of the light), at least for me. I like the design. The cover does sit a bit high even without the tape, and it'll sit a bit higher with tape under it, but that's unavoidable. Dev can you explain what you meant by overhang? I didn't quite get it. 

Now it's time to tape it on and torture test it?

Yes.  Please tape it on and torture test it.  Thanks for the pics and feedback.  

What I mean by overhang is simply extending the visor edge past the brake light. What this does is  recess the brake light. This will make it seem that the brake light is not as visible when looking at it from the sides of the car.  

I can see from the pictures that you didn't move the visor back enough to cover the crease of the brake light housing and that is probably why you got some overhang but its still not enough.  The visor needs to cover all of the creases and have overhang.  

I think the best way to do this is to make it as big as the original and it will be fine.  

I see, you think it should be further back. I'll tape it on as far back as I can and report back. And then drive a good 100 miles on Tuesday and see what happens. 

@haloruler64

Thanks Haloruler64.  I look forward to hearing how it went on the torture test run.  🙂

Restored my horribly oxidized third brake light. Added three tiny pieces of 3M VHB so it's not a massive pain to remove down the line. I do have some clear 3M mounting tape that might be a better candidate in the future. 

And attached! Will drive it as much as possible from now on. Mounted as far back as possible too. 

Drove over 100 miles yesterday, everything from triple digit sprints to slow city driving. Those three tiny pieces of tape held just fine, so it didn't fall off at highway speeds haha. Get home and my engine lid is very hot. The cover itself is cool to the touch. No melting, no warping, no issues. 

Great to know.  Thanks Haloruler64.  If you get a chance sometime soon, please take some pictures of the TBLV at night with the lights on.  I would love to see and have your input on stray light sneaking out between the visor and where the engine lid creases are.  Thanks again for your time and efforts in testing for us.

As far as I remember, the stock optics are closed off pretty well so there is no upward light anyway. But yeah, no bleed through the cracks. Even if the photos show some red glow, there's actually 0 leakage.