BraveTECH interest in 88-96 Grand Prix Taillight kit.

[mdpierce8]

So I don't know if anyone here has seen this guy on social media before but he is making some seriously cool stuff with Firebirds, Camaros, & Fieros. Custom Bluetooth LED sequential taillights. Seriously talented. Worth looking into.

https://www.youtube.com/@bravendirk5122

 

I emailed him and asked if he would be interested in designing something for 88-96 GPs and here's what he said.

"If there is enough demand for the product, I will design it. I'd need at least 20 people that are willing to pre-pay 20% of the final product cost, before I would be able to design the product. The final cost for a Plug and Play, Bluetooth / RGB Neopixel kit would be around $460.00 USD."

 

I think for what he does it would be worth it. I think it's super cool. It may be a long shot but I just wanted to mention it here and hope it can happen. Anyone interested?

[rcLord510]

If I had one, I’d so be interested, that seems like an awesome idea, I like my 03’s Amazon taillights, and I’ll bet it’d be like those but better, and a cool solution for all the 1st gen gp taillights delamination that happens

[rich_e777]

Yes and no

Its cool if you were building a show car for SEMA but I prefer the factory look when it comes to most 1st gens. 

 

 

 

[Amanita]

22 minutes ago, rich_e777 said:

Yes and no

Its cool if you were building a show car for SEMA but I prefer the factory look when it comes to most 1st gens. 

 

 

 

Same, I'd rather put that money down for brand new OEM style tailights.

[rcLord510]

Just now, Amanita said:

Same, I'd rather put that money down for brand new OEM style tailights.

They need to make those for the 88-96 and 97-03’s. At least ones that aren’t $150 a piece when you can get a pair of the led style for that price

[55trucker]

2 hours ago, Amanita said:

Same, I'd rather put that money down for brand new OEM style tailights.

Yep.....

OEM is original, if one wants to enter their vehicle in a *stock class* show, there can be no visual alterations or it would be deemed modified.

[mdpierce8]

I’m partial to stock lenses with LED bulbs. Really I just like LEDs. I think they’re cool and they look better than stock halogens. They especially look good on GM cars that have the turn signal that alternates with the side marker bulb. I did a full LED swap on my Sunfire with resistors and everything and to me the work is worth it for the look.

[RareGMFan]

I'm also a big fan of upgrading to LEDs wherever I can. But while I appreciate all the work Bravetech puts into his craft, the whole tail lights covered in "dotted" LEDs design looks really outdated to me.

These last few years, I've been shocked and pleased to see companies putting out some pretty cool looking aftermarket taillights for all kinds of years/makes/models, even some pretty old ones. I'm especially a fan of the latest versions designed to look like the newest factory tail lights (with the LED light bars) for each respective vehicle. I like them so much that I bought a set as a Christmas gift for my sister and brother in law's '06 Tahoe (mostly so I could live vicariously through them since no company thinks an '03 Lexus ES is worthy of updated tail lights). Those are worth the money to me, as they really update the look of whatever vehicle you put them on. But the Bravetech designs just don't do it for me, and IMO, look worse than the factory lights.

[mdpierce8]

I can see your point but I don’t seem to mind it as much as far as the dotted look goes, but improvements I’m sure can be made. All it would take is add more LEDs to add more “pixels”. Idk I still think it looks cool.

[RareGMFan]

Of course. Aesthetics are always subjective, so by all means, to each their own. Just giving my impressions of them.

A larger amount of smaller diodes may help a bit, but the real thing that's bugging me is the fact that there's nothing more to the lights than dotted LEDs that just go straight across the entire panel. It just gives off a cheap aftermarket or homemade look to me. There's no design or style what so ever to the layout of the dots which makes them look nothing like what the factory might have done back then had the technology existed. Like on the Fiero, if he could at least outline the outer edges with the defused "light bar" look that a lot of newer cars get from the factory, it would add some design interest to it.

Take for example the original version of the G8 aftermarket LED tail lights vs. the newer ones that came out a couple years ago. Even the originals had a simple C shape outline of dotted LEDs for the parking lights portion, so it looked a lot closer to what the factory might have done had they gone LEDs. But the updated ones converted the C shape outline to the defused light bar look, which looks even better/more modern to me. I have several gripes with both designs, but both are definitely a step from the bicycle reflector looking factory lights.

 

 

 

[mdpierce8]

yeah I like both of those. I can’t help but think of the early 2000s Cadillacs that had LEDs for the rear taillights and brake lights that were more…crystallized? Only way I can think of to describe it. I really liked how those looked. Not the best picture I could find but I really liked the way these looked.

 

 

[rich_e777]

On 11/19/2024 at 10:55 AM, RareGMFan said:

Of course. Aesthetics are always subjective, so by all means, to each their own. Just giving my impressions of them.

A larger amount of smaller diodes may help a bit, but the real thing that's bugging me is the fact that there's nothing more to the lights than dotted LEDs that just go straight across the entire panel. It just gives off a cheap aftermarket or homemade look to me. There's no design or style what so ever to the layout of the dots which makes them look nothing like what the factory might have done back then had the technology existed. Like on the Fiero, if he could at least outline the outer edges with the defused "light bar" look that a lot of newer cars get from the factory, it would add some design interest to it.

Take for example the original version of the G8 aftermarket LED tail lights vs. the newer ones that came out a couple years ago. Even the originals had a simple C shape outline of dotted LEDs for the parking lights portion, so it looked a lot closer to what the factory might have done had they gone LEDs. But the updated ones converted the C shape outline to the defused light bar look, which looks even better/more modern to me. I have several gripes with both designs, but both are definitely a step from the bicycle reflector looking factory lights.

 

 

 

We could stare at the back end of a lit up car and discuss it like fine artwork in a museum, one day maybe we`ll meet up at a car show.