AE102 Tail lights

[ToyTimmy]

Hey guys,

Just been looking for some diff. tail lights for my 95 ae102 but the trouble is, it's a hatch. All the lights I've seen everywhere else have all been for the sedan. Anyone come across any? Also, been looking at some new wheels for my car cuz it's still got the stocko 175/65/r14's on it with steel wheels, but i was wondering what is the biggest that can be fitted. Looking up the mod document from QLD transport (i wanna do it all legally cuz if i lose any more points i'm rooted) but it says u can only go max of 15mm tyre diameter bigger than stock. If I go bigger than this, do I have to get the speedo adjusted or is there more to it. The wheels i am thinking of are 205/45/r17's

cheers

[Hiro]

Hey guys,

Just been looking for some diff. tail lights for my 95 ae102 but the trouble is, it's a hatch. All the lights I've seen everywhere else have all been for the sedan. Anyone come across any? Also, been looking at some new wheels for my car cuz it's still got the stocko 175/65/r14's on it with steel wheels, but i was wondering what is the biggest that can be fitted. Looking up the mod document from QLD transport (i wanna do it all legally cuz if i lose any more points i'm rooted) but it says u can only go max of 15mm tyre diameter bigger than stock. If I go bigger than this, do I have to get the speedo adjusted or is there more to it. The wheels i am thinking of are 205/45/r17's

cheers

205/45/R16 and 205/40/R17 would be the sizes you're after, they are the closest you can get in 16" and 17" to the original rolling diameter (which is important for keeping the speedo accurate). Fitment-wise you wouldn't want to go larger than 17s, and depending on your offset and suspension you may need to get the guards rolled for 17s (16s are fine).

As for the lights, personally I'd leave them standard. The centre garnish on the hatch tends to fade noticeably, so if that has gone yellow then swap it for a non-faded one but apart from that there is basically nothing out there. And in my opinion all the aftermarket lights for the sedan look like *****, so you're not missing out.

[ToyTimmy]

Hey guys,

Just been looking for some diff. tail lights for my 95 ae102 but the trouble is, it's a hatch. All the lights I've seen everywhere else have all been for the sedan. Anyone come across any? Also, been looking at some new wheels for my car cuz it's still got the stocko 175/65/r14's on it with steel wheels, but i was wondering what is the biggest that can be fitted. Looking up the mod document from QLD transport (i wanna do it all legally cuz if i lose any more points i'm rooted) but it says u can only go max of 15mm tyre diameter bigger than stock. If I go bigger than this, do I have to get the speedo adjusted or is there more to it. The wheels i am thinking of are 205/45/r17's

cheers

205/45/R16 and 205/40/R17 would be the sizes you're after, they are the closest you can get in 16" and 17" to the original rolling diameter (which is important for keeping the speedo accurate). Fitment-wise you wouldn't want to go larger than 17s, and depending on your offset and suspension you may need to get the guards rolled for 17s (16s are fine).

As for the lights, personally I'd leave them standard. The centre garnish on the hatch tends to fade noticeably, so if that has gone yellow then swap it for a non-faded one but apart from that there is basically nothing out there. And in my opinion all the aftermarket lights for the sedan look like *****, so you're not missing out.

See my mate has some rims that he's gonna sell me with near new tyres on them so I don't really wanna go paying anymore for tyres that I don't really need. And see we've tried the wheels on the car and they don't scrub any of the guards even under load so there's no trouble with them fitting in, its just the legal side of things. I dont mind paying to get my speedo calibrated to represent the speed properly, if thats the only thing i've gotta do. Im actually looking for somewhere, or someone that I can find out what i've gotta do to get it completely legal, so if a cop pulls me up, i've got proof that it's completely legal.

as for the lights, Ive seen a few that im keen on if they come in the right shape n size. Interestingly, the centre garnish you're talking about hasn't faded at all on my car and is in one of the best conditions ive seen. Question tho, is it able to be removed at all? Ive seen some of the later model cars that haven't got the garnish around them and ive been wondering if I can possibly convert mine into those.

[Hiro]

See my mate has some rims that he's gonna sell me with near new tyres on them so I don't really wanna go paying anymore for tyres that I don't really need. And see we've tried the wheels on the car and they don't scrub any of the guards even under load so there's no trouble with them fitting in, its just the legal side of things. I dont mind paying to get my speedo calibrated to represent the speed properly, if thats the only thing i've gotta do. Im actually looking for somewhere, or someone that I can find out what i've gotta do to get it completely legal, so if a cop pulls me up, i've got proof that it's completely legal.

Was that on standard-height suspension though? As I said though, it depends mainly on your offset and the load you place on the car (a full car adds 30% more weight to the car for instance). Getting the speedo recalibrated may correct the difference, but it will cost you money and getting the right tyres is a better idea, considering those 205/45/17s will be reading under by more than 5% (ie really doing 105 when the speedo says 100), as opposed to 205/40/17s which are only 2.2% over. Golden rule of working on cars is to never compromise simply because you have something laying around or are getting it for free - I'm having that issue with the Celica now with the tyres being too big.

as for the lights, Ive seen a few that im keen on if they come in the right shape n size. Interestingly, the centre garnish you're talking about hasn't faded at all on my car and is in one of the best conditions ive seen. Question tho, is it able to be removed at all? Ive seen some of the later model cars that haven't got the garnish around them and ive been wondering if I can possibly convert mine into those.

Actually its the other way around - the series 1 ('94 to '96 I think) has no centre garnish on the rear of the hatch (sedans have the grey panel) whilst the series 2 has the centre garnish (and series 2 sedans have the red and orange panel). The panel is removable in the sense that you can take it off and replace it (should be some bolts/clips on the inside of the hatch behind a trim panel), but if you take it off and leave it bare then it won't look right (holes etc)

[Rocketeer1]

my '95 has the centre garnish panel- its white along with the tail lights- not sure if its a feature of the 'RV' variant.....

[Hiro]

my '95 has the centre garnish panel- its white along with the tail lights- not sure if its a feature of the 'RV' variant.....

Red and white? Yeah, the RVs had different colour tail-lights to the other hatches (maybe not CSX), checking Redbook the changeover from Series 1 to 2 was July 1996.

[ToyTimmy]

my '95 has the centre garnish panel- its white along with the tail lights- not sure if its a feature of the 'RV' variant.....

Red and white? Yeah, the RVs had different colour tail-lights to the other hatches (maybe not CSX), checking Redbook the changeover from Series 1 to 2 was July 1996.

thanks guys, I've decided I'm gonna stick with modding all the lights with LEDs in various forms. As for the wheels, gonna contact a tyre place and see if they'll give me some money towards new tyres by trading in the old ones as they are new as well