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:

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/3267/p3240153pa2.jpg

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/7751/p3240152ix3.jpg

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!!

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/4854/p3240154ze3.jpg

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.

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/6...illightcs7.jpg
http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/3489/p3240156vv5.jpg

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:

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/5199/p3240158bi2.jpg

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:

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/8546/p3240157kp4.jpg

AND HERE ARE THE RESULTS!!!!!!!!

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/2430/p3240149zs1.jpg

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/3450/p3240150wz6.jpg

NO GAP!!!!!
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/5721/p3240151ev0.jpg

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! :D

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.

w00t
 

thats mah boy!!!! JEFF DO THIS ILL COME HELP YOU AND WE CAN MAKE YOUR CAR LOOK SEXY AGAIN :)

How are the colors of the left and right DEPO taillights? I might be interested in getting some in smoked form.

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.

another good write up.btw what happened to the pulley write up?

lol i know i never finished that one. Its cuz there isn't too much interest in it thats why.

BUMP ppl fix ur gaps!

Nice write up man! I'm def interested for a set. PM me for order details.

$110 to ur door. the price is not confirmed yet. gotta speak 2 the company that will be hosting the GB.

im on the smoked JDM tail lights..

will you accept PAYPAL??

When can we expect a set price and ETA?

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.

id be down for some new tails. Did you have to lengthen the wires for the install at all?

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.

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!

Hey Kevin, I was wondering, did you have to lengthen any wires or are the really "Plug and Play" as the add states?

Back up lights
 

Nice write up.... I think that i have the same one but i cant seem to put my back lights in, is there a diffrent way to get it to fit? Thanks

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.

yeah send em my way, i wanna see it. It should fit perfectly, i bet something is catching it. Did u remove those tabs i was talking about?

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.

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

Good writeup! I've been wanting some LED lights but was leery of the fitment issues, since you solved 'em put me on the list.

x2
I was in the market for some taillights and didnt really feel like dishing out the 4bills for some taillights (still need to pour quite a bit of money into my k series build for my dc2). I was just going to keep my lights stock since I have been hearing a lot of complaints with the N1 taillights. This write-up has changed my mind and i'll be ordering a set soon.

thank Kevin:) Keep up the good work!

nice it got a little flusher. the only reason why they don't line up good tho is because they are meant for the jap bumper. if you put on a jap rear bumper they would fit perfect no modifications needed either.

im down for a group buy of those!!!

I thought these were 100% plug n play. now you have to extend the wires again...

mmm

Didn't want to wait...so I ordered a set off the same ebay vendor, $118 shipped. Since kev figgered out the fitment they are a great deal IMO.

Got pictures of it lit up?

Underexposed to let the LED's shine. They "fit" fine...Thanks to :cool:kev

http://digitalcascades.com/fit/LED_tails.jpg

OH MY GOD...

damnit, now I have fitment issues with my tail lights, and I have to cut some more off them to make them 'fit'

I just bought some Real OEM ones with the LED. Will I have fitment issues with those or do I have to aply this as well?

most likely like the OP said.. please read =D

Thanks for the writeup koolkevin. Any word on a GB for these? The seller you linked to on ebay doesn't have any more up.

someone should just make a harness so we dont have to extend the wires.

that fool jacked up his prices
eBay Motors: 06 07 08 HONDA FIT SMOKE JDM LED TAIL LIGHTS DEPO (item 310044206883 end time Apr-30-08 10:41:34 PDT)

Well from N1 is better to buy these lights or from the ebay?

im getting my JDM tails tomorow what type of wire should i use to extend the wire for them ? like sterio speaker wire? or what did you guys use

IMO the depo fit a LOT better then the N1 concepts. Pay a lil more for a better product is what i say.

BTW u can use any kinda wire, speaker wire..... eh. See if u can find some 16gauge electrical wire. A roll (in blacK) from walmart (in the automotive section) is like $3 and it's enough 2 last you 30+ feet.

Nice write up kev. I was gonna order JDM tails cause i heard about the fitment issues but now with this i can save a crap ton of money and be just as happy. Thanks for the great DIY and i cant wait for your next one:D. Keep them coming!!!

Thanks man.It is almost the same money.So i am gonna buy these from ebay.

why would a company make a replica and not solve the fitment issues and not extend the wiring? what retards. ill probably buy em anyway.

how would a lighting company fix the wiring on your car?
the tailights are only so big and cannot be made any larger or else they wont fit. and the sockets need to be in certain locations or else they wouldnt be JDM replica, would they?
and considering the wiring and light bulb sockets are part of the car, not the tailight, you cannot expect the light manufacturer to do the wiring. the only way they could do it is if they include a 6" plug and play harness for a few bulbs, but even if they did, i wouldnt install it....that would be just another place for a faulty connection.

honestly, it took me about 1.5 hours to do the tailight install w/o removing the bumper. this included cutting off the sockets, soldering extensions on, soldering the sockets back on, shrink wrapping everything, and replacing the loom. looks like OEM and i can just about guarantee it will never be a problem.

this DIY was very helpful, thank you! +1