What do you think?

"OkCars- 22k Crossroads" (okcars)
02/23/2014 at 02:38 • Filed to: None

Are they worth it for 400 bucks?

DISCUSSION (59)

Dsscats > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 02:40

Yes. They look so much better

MtrRider > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 02:41

For $400 you'd think they could send a matching pair!

Team6.1 > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 02:46

I think the 2011+ tailights look significantly better than last gen (actually 2013+ look better than 2011/2012), but yes I like them. Especially if it has sequential turn signal

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Team6.1
02/23/2014 at 02:50

Yes it does have the secuential sign.
That's something i do want, because, on daylight the turn signal doesn't look so bright, and its red, that can be mistaken as if i was just aplying the brakes or something, i want people to know what im going to do on the road

D > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 02:53

Against what appears to be the popular opinion, no. I've always liked that gen of Mustang's factory taillights, as well as those of the generation prior. Plus I'm not a big fan of tweaking the details of a car (badges, lights, trims, etc)

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > D
02/23/2014 at 03:00

the other option is to get a bama tuner for a similar price, i kind of prefer the tune, but those lights really look great

Greasemonkey > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 03:02

The jury is out for me, but eh its different. To each their own.

Slow4o > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 03:06

O damn if that is the decision get the tune no doubt. The one on my V6 made a stupid amount of difference. I do think they look cool though.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Slow4o
02/23/2014 at 03:16

Hey mine's also a V6 manual, how what much is the difference? is it something easy? i see it is only pc windows compatible, and i dont have a portable one of those. How does it work?

SonorousSpeedJoe > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 03:28

I vote yes , though I'd like to see non-sequential brake lights (to more closely mimic the functionality of the actual '13-'14 taillights) as well as a frosted diffuser or something that masks the individual LEDs.
You mentioned a tune in another comment, though, and I'd get that first.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Soloburrito > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 03:43

I think you should keep you car true to the model year. To me those 13/14 copy cat lights seem trashy.

Get some smoked tail lights and keep that back end looking clean and straight. The straight lines on the pre-facelift s197 look great imo.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Soloburrito
02/23/2014 at 03:48

well part of why i want those tail lights is more visibility, make myself more visible, if i smoked tail lights, it reduces its brightness.
Anyways im thinking they are too expensive and i wont even look at them while i drive

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 04:00

I like them a lot on the older mustang.
even more than the new one, actually

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
02/23/2014 at 04:09

Yes it looks real nice, im in doubt because the price is high and i also want a bama tuner

offroadkarter > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 04:49

Will this help you decide?

Kinja'd!!!

Soloburrito > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 04:53

Raxiom sells LED conversion kits too. They're supposed to be brighter.

Lekker > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 05:51

In the eyes of someone who has never owned a newer mustang (Mine was a 1973 Mach 1), I would say that is a huge improvement and it even help with the character of the ride overall.

YSI-what can brown do for you > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 06:17

I say they look awesome! Worth 400 bucks, I am not so sure about that. Are they exactly like the other ones where the LEDS look like one constant light, cause in the pics they don't seem to be that way.

Slow4o > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 07:07

Haha man I thought I would've been the only one on here to have one. It'll come with the tunes preloaded so you just plug it in to the obd2 and you're good to go. It is probably the best bang for your buck mod that you can do for these cars besides for FI. Your car will feel 100% different. The only time you'll need a pc is if you data log or get a new tune that you have to load onto the car.

V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 07:41

I like them. I want them on my 05, but I am not sure if I should do a black out panel on the trunk with them or not.

AndersSim - V10'ING > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 07:48

Kinja'd!!!

Xzibit approves

Rory > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 08:44

I would adore these but sadly I don't think they would be road legal where I am from .

Korea Miéville > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 09:30

Tune made a gigantic difference on my Mustang. Can recommend.

Korea Miéville > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 09:38

If you haven't gotten a tuner yet for this car, it would be a no-brainer for me — get the tuner first. For under $400 it would give you so much more tangible value, dollar for dollar, than lights (IMO). Stock Mustang tuning is very conservative so it would make a big difference.

If you go with BAMA, be sure to look into the Hybrid tune if you have not already. People seem to love it and I think it's "off menu" so you have to specifically request it.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 13:55

I really like those on that gen mustangs

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Korea Miéville
02/23/2014 at 16:49

And is it for free to request tunes as long as you buy the tuner?

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Korea Miéville
02/23/2014 at 16:50

which one you have? are there many options to choose from? i have just seen 1

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Rory
02/23/2014 at 16:52

Why is that? Because the Mustang 2013+ has them stock, so in that case nobody can have a new gen mustang where you live.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me!
02/23/2014 at 16:53

Right, me too, but since it is more money, id leave it just with the tailights

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Slow4o
02/23/2014 at 16:58

hah, im sure there are more people than only us with the v6.
Ok great, im really thinking on getting one, but i saw on the reviews that some tunes that come included require 93 octane gas, and where i live the max is 91 or 92.
If you request another tune is it for free? or you have to buy more of them?

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > YSI-what can brown do for you
02/23/2014 at 17:00

No, they are not with the constant light, i call that neon lights hah,
No sadly they aren't neon, but they still look great though.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Soloburrito
02/23/2014 at 17:02

Those are the raxiom actually. They are available in american muscle.com

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > offroadkarter
02/23/2014 at 17:04

i dont know, when the lights are off it looks kind of awkward, because of the black. But then when they are on they look incredible.

Korea Miéville > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 17:05

For the tuner? The one I have is the SCT SF3/X3 , which seems to be the go-to choice — there are fancier models, but this one does the job well. ALTHOUGH, I notice looking at the American Muscle site now that they have the Diablosport InTune for $100 off making it almost the same price, so if I were buying now I would probably go for that one since it's apparently faster and more user friendly (and both Windows and Mac compatible whereas the SCT tuner is Windows-only, if that matters).

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > SonorousSpeedJoe
02/23/2014 at 17:08

how, when you hit the brakes the lights go secuential? that would suck.
Also i would prefer to see them as "neon lights" and not see the individual leds as you say.
I think i made my choice, for the tuner, many people said what you did, get thatt first, thing is that i read that some tunes require you to use 93 octane gas, and in my country the max is 91 or 92, and in the reviews it said that it can damage the engine, if you use lower than required.

Soloburrito > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 17:10

I know, I just meant you can convert the stock bulbs to bright LEDs no matter what tail light style you choose including stock.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Korea Miéville
02/23/2014 at 17:13

Oh its a shame, i wont be able to buy the diablosport, i have a V6 you see?
Still the SCT SF3/X3 for v6 costs the same,as the one for gt , but i have a mac laptop not a windows.
My concern is something i read about gas octane. That some tunes require 93, but in my country the max they sell is 91 or 92 i think.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Soloburrito
02/23/2014 at 17:14

ah conversion kitts, ill look for those later, where can i look for them?

Korea Miéville > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 17:20

Yes, if you make sure to buy the tuner that comes with the 3 custom tunes, you'll see that BAMA offers "tunes for life," so you can request as many tweaks and revisions as you like. This is nice, since if you mod the car in the future you'll most likely need a revised tune. And it actually took me a while to settle on exactly what I wanted, so I appreciated having that freedom to request multiple tunes. I found their support team very responsive and helpful, and I always got the revised tunes (via email) within 2-3 days.

I know that Steeda also has started a tunes-for-life program , and they have a lot of fans of their tunes. From what I've been able to find out, in terms of actual performance BAMA and Steeda are pretty close. I went with BAMA because of positive word of mouth, but it seems like you can't go wrong with either.

Currently I'm running the race performance tune from MPT , which most people find to be more aggressive than BAMA or Steeda. I do find I prefer my MPT tune over the BAMA tunes, but I don't regret going with BAMA initially since their tunes-for-life program was very helpful to me when I wasn't sure exactly what kind of performance I was looking for. MPT does not offer unlimited tunes, but they will let you request revisions for 6 months.

Hope that helps!

Soloburrito > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 17:27

Here's a good comparison of the raxiom led bulbs:

Kinja'd!!!

Definitely brighter.

http://www.americanmuscle.com/raxiom-led-tai…

Like I said you can get those to work with the plain stock lights or any of Raxiom's other tail light kits. The sequential + led kit for example is $200.

http://www.americanmuscle.com/raxiom-led-seq…

Korea Miéville > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 17:31

Oh, sorry, I didn't notice that! They do offer that Diablosport tuner for V6 at the same sale price FYI. (I don't think there's actually any hardware difference — I'm assuming they're listed separately due to the tunes.)

Yeah, if you are on a Mac laptop I would go for that one for sure. The tuners all come with your custom tunes pre-installed, so you shouldn't need to connect it to your computer initially, but to update the tuner firmware and/or load any new tunes on the tuner, you do need to install software on your computer and connect the tuner to it (via USB), and SCT does not offer Mac software for this tuner.

SonorousSpeedJoe > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 18:20

I'm saying that the Raxiom Gen5 lights have sequential brake lights and sequential turn signals (as shown in this video). The actual '13-'14 taillights have sequential turn signals, but have non-sequential brake lights instead.

I would still buy the Raxiom lights, but I wish that they had non-sequential brake lights while retaining the sequential turn signals. You should definitely think carefully about getting a tune if you can't find one that works with the octanes you can use.

Rory > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 19:54

Kinja'd!!!

My Mustang was imported to Ireland , to make it road legal the reversing lamps have been converted to the turn signals with orange bulbs. A reversing lamp and fog lamp were mounted under the rear bumper. I know there are euro light kits, but they were pretty expensive.
Its not the most aesthetically pleasing of all solutions , but its road legal
I am not sure how 2013+ models would get around this since there are none here but I know there are a few over in the UK ...so maybe there are kits for the newer models too.

Slow4o > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/23/2014 at 20:31

You can request 3 tunes of varying octanes. A lot of people will get an 87 street, and then a 91 or 93 race and street. I run a 93 race on mine all the time. Go on American Muscle and click through the ordering process, you will be able to see the selection. Or call the guys at AM tomorrow, they are super helpful and will explain everything in full. Also, you get free tunes for life, so if you add mods (like gears or headers or whatnot) or different size tires (which changes your speedo), they will update your tune for free.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Rory
02/23/2014 at 23:04

I didn't know that, In my country they accept it as it is, but, I still dont like that the directional is red colored, i would like to be more noticeable of what im going to do and on the daylight, rear directionals don't look that bright enough

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Slow4o
02/23/2014 at 23:05

Nice, ill look for that tomorrow

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > SonorousSpeedJoe
02/23/2014 at 23:10

thanks for showing me this, i didn't know it was sequential when you brake, i dont like that either, i wished it could be an option to have that on or off.
And about the tuner yes, im going to investigate if its worth it if im not going to be able to use higher octane gasoline.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Korea Miéville
02/23/2014 at 23:13

ok thanks, what i need to check its if i can get tunes that i can use with the gasoline thats here, and if its worth or not.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Soloburrito
02/23/2014 at 23:14

ok thanks, im going to check that, now i kind of dont want the tail lights of raxiom, someone told me that theyre secuential when you brake, and i didnt like that at all.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Korea Miéville
02/23/2014 at 23:52

Ok thanks for the help, what im concerned about is that some tunes require 93 octane fuel. and in my country the max is 92 so i would like to know if they can tweak that for me so i can run the tunes, but also if its still worth or not because it wont be much a difference.

Korea Miéville > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/24/2014 at 01:49

No worries at all about the octane. When you order the tuner, the way it works is, once you place your order and it is approved, they send you an order number. With that order number, you can go to the American Muscle website and there is a link where you can fill out a form to set up your custom tunes. There are detailed instructions so it's very simple.

The form will have about 19 questions regarding your car configuration. If your car is completely stock, you won't need to change much on this form — the stock options are already filled in, so you just need the info specific to your car.

The form will ask what octane of fuel you want to use with your tunes. It's preferable to tune for premium gas, of course, but you can indicate 93, 92, 91 octane...whatever is available in your area. You can also choose regular gas.

Now, you do get three custom tunes, so you can choose from any of the tunes they offer. The three main types of tunes they offer are Race, Performance, and Street. Race is the most aggressive one they offer, and gives the most power at high RPMs. Street is the most conservative — it's their "daily driver" tune, and is supposed to be the best for gas mileage (although I have not found this to be true). It also gives more low-end torque than the other tunes. Performance is sort of in the middle.

The Hybrid tune is one that they offer that is not one of the listed options, but you can request it on the form by asking for it in the comments section. A lot of people like this tune because it combines the qualities of the Race and Street tunes, boosting both high and low end grunt.

So, you have a lot of freedom as far as what you can choose. If your country uses 92 octane, you could ask for the 92 Hybrid, 92 Race, 92 Performance, and/or 92 Street. Many people will, for example, request 92 Race and Performance, and 89 Street if they want the option to run regular gas.

But your three tunes can be any of these, and you can always request whatever you want. They are also very willing to work with you to refine the tunes if you want something adjusted.

I hope this isn't too much info. I very much recommend a tuner as the first and best mod for the Mustang. Especially for the S197 Mustangs, there is a lot of room for improvement that Ford left in, for both the V6 and GT engines, so you will almost certainly see a significant difference in performance. Most Mustang guys will say that a "tuner and gears" are the best bang for the buck mods you can do, and you will want a tuner before you get gears (so you can recalibrate the speedometer).

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Korea Miéville
02/24/2014 at 02:21

Thanks, you explained pretty much everything, i liked the option you say of requesting the hybrid as well, well then, i think im going for the bama diablosport , because i use a mac. and its only 10 dollars more than the sct sf3 x3

my first mod was a short shifter, i also had fun installing it.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Korea Miéville
02/24/2014 at 03:08

and, so the hydbrid could replace street then?
Because the hybrid could also be used for DD?

Korea Miéville > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/24/2014 at 10:43

I'm not personally familiar with that Diablosport tuner, but I have a Mac also (at home, so I have to plug in my SCT tuner at work), so yeah, at that price I would have gone for that for sure — the reviews seem pretty solid.

As for the Hybrid tune, it's supposed to incorporate the benefits of the Street and Race tunes, so you get added torque off the line and stronger midrange and top end power as well. I had a lot of fun messing around with the BAMA tunes — they do all have their pros and cons so it's interesting to try them out and see what you like.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Korea Miéville
02/24/2014 at 11:14

Awesome, you're making me want to have it right now, but now i cant decide if i should order a combo of the tuner and a CAI.
found this

Korea Miéville > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/24/2014 at 11:39

Sweet! Yeah, I probably would get that combo if I had room in my budget for the extra $100. I know there's dispute as to whether a CAI makes any real difference in these Mustangs, but I think it's one of those things you'll probably end up putting in anyway at some point just because it's a fairly cheap and easy mod, so why not get it over with and save some bucks!

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Korea Miéville
02/25/2014 at 04:39

Yeah i would have chosen the combo, im solid about getting the tuner, but i researched the CAI that comes included and the reviews were pretty bad, on American muscle and on other forums.
The heat blocking metal comes all crooked and they say the drill holes are too small for the screws that come included, IF, they come in the box, because many of them said they were missing parts like clamps or washers. also many said that the MAF wire is too stretched on the new intake. Im not willing to pay 100 bucks more if thats how its going to come. Maybe later i save up for a better one.

Korea Miéville > OkCars- 22k Crossroads
02/25/2014 at 09:29

Whoa, that sucks! I admit I haven't looked into it very deeply as I'm not ready to get a CAI yet myself. I don't think the discount is so much that it's worth getting one with so many drawbacks.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > Korea Miéville
02/25/2014 at 12:41

Thats right, discount is not so much, and the tuner itself its too much money already, but at least that one IS worth it.