Those look a bit dark, but it could be due to the body color.

There is a Porsche tinted tail light that your dealer can order (I would be shocked if they had them in stock). If my notes are correct the P/N is 958 044 900 27 from when I was getting mine done.

You can probably get them cheaper from one of the online distributors like ECS/Suncoast/Sunset/etc...

 

thanks! i'm not in the US though..got to check shipping cost and if that would work on a euro model?

PS: just checked the suncoast page..there is a non US verion for the tail light

 

Sorry, didn't look at your location. I would expect that you can get them locally rather than ordering from the US. They are the same tail lights that come on the GTS.

 

Why not just get them tinted at your local body shop. Fairly simple and common procedure and can customize just how dark you want it. Willing to bet that's pretty much what you're getting anyways from the dealer, just going through their paint shop, but if you have a reputable body shop or know which body shop your dealer sends out for their repair work, quality will be at par. I went with a Cranberry/Cherry shade on mine. You can get mask out the reverse section to keep it clean or similarly tint that part as well.

 

My local tint shop was trying to convince me to tint mine, but their display sample looked all dull and worn out. I guess they apply the tint on the outside which eventually lose the glossyness and gets scratched easily. I've also seen where people crack open the lights and tint from inside, but I don't want to have water leaks down the line.

 

You'd lose that bet. There are two different 958 tail lights. The PN I listed above is an actual Porsche part and the lens itself is actually tinted. They came standard on the GTS and were an option on the other models. Somewhere around here I have a thread that has a pic of the two side by side in my cargo area (EDIT: Here is the post).

Tinting via film is definitely an option and has benefits in that it is usually cheaper (when there is a factory option as in this case) and that you can customize it to taste. I have yet to see an exterior film (e.g. not window tint) that really stands up to time and the elements. Yes the plastic they are using for the lenses these days will also fade/chip/scratch/etc.., but (in my experience) the films do it faster and look worse as they age (e.g. spider webs/bubbling/flaking vs yellowing/clouding).

 

This is 100% correct. Better to get the Porsche part instead of getting it tinted with film or the spray which looks dull and just cheap over time.

 

Paint on outside is fine, just make sure you get UV clear. I did that for my other cars and longest one lasted nearly 10 years with no sign of fade.

Yes, I understand there are two different part numbers, one for GTS and one for non. There are two different part numbers for black and silver window trim also, but it's the same part, which is my point. The actual physical tail light is the same, one was just painted fully red on that top section at factory (or whomever they outsourced to). As such, with a quality shop, it can be easily done again. Granted if you want to take your base tails and get that clear section color matched, it'd be slightly more involved, but a quality shop can easily do it. And it's not like you're cheaping out with aftermarket component, it's still a Porsche OEM tail light component. If you're really ****, take it to a porsche authorized body shop which is where a lot of dealerships send their cars out to get re-sprayed anyways. Just make sure the shop uses good quality paint (Glasurit, Sikkens, etc) and you're golden.

 

You're still wrong. The tint is in the plastic of the lens itself. Its not a film or a paint.

I haven't seen the trims off the car, but if it's anything like other trims I am familiar with then the black is not just paint over the chrome. They are (more likely than not) two different finishes on the same part. Regardless, however, that is a bad comparison as you are not talking about something that that light passes through.

I will contend that no Porsche dealer is going to substitute a film or paint rather than the OEM parts if you take your car in asking for the actual parts or otherwise don't explicitly tell them to use paint/film.

 

Ok, to keep this civil, we'll have to agree to disagree.

I'm basing what I'm saying off having toured DEPO plant, how it's done is blow molded one piece plastic which is then paint tinted on the inside and clear coated. Bottom line, well done quality paint tint (not film) will look OEM and last as long as you own the vehicle. Glasurit is OEM paint for Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti, and yes, Porsche.

And as for the trim piece. Point is you have two part numbers that start out as the same base part before a divergence in processing (paint vs chrome). And as to that I've gone through 3 of the OEM black trim purchased through Suncoast and the dealership and seen the shoddy paint drip and paint mosaicing from the plastic wrap which suggest an issue with either the paint or the process, so not everything OEM is always of highest quality. The back of the trim is the exact same shade which suggest that it's the same part and either gets chromed or painted during processing. I've returned all the trim pieces and took mine to get painted myself. I have pics to show as well if interested of the OEM quality.

Not saying Porsche doesn't make great cars, just that like anything manufactured, things happen. As such, OEM isn't the end all be all. Most everything is outsourced anyways.

 

I'll grant you that every manufacturer is different and I did not mean to imply all tinted lights are done the same.

I've seen these lights shattered, however, which shows that the tint is in the plastic itself.

In this we agree You should see the cheap clips that hold the 958 front bumper on

I'm not even arguing against using a film or paint (and in many cases you don't have a choice), just pointing out that (in my experience) that there are some drawbacks to that approach.