J_J

Well I just picked up an FD today and now I have a car to install my HID projectors in. Last year I installed projectors out of an 02 M3 in the stock FD headlight housings.

It looked like this:







So having just picked up an FD, I now have a car to use for alignment and testing. Last year I asked this same question : Would anyone be interested in custom HID lights that provide great performance and do not glare? Most people wanted to see a final product before any talk of purchasing began; I delivered and basically there wasn't much interest afterwards. Well now I can show you exactly how they look like mounted on the car and can answer any questions since I have an FD of my own. So right now I'm just gauging interest - I'm definately not selling anything right now - I would just like to see if we can get a group buy going (I'll follow the procedure for getting a group buy hosted on this site is there's enough interest).

This setup is much better than a simple HID kit and will provide MUCH better light output. I would be using OEM HID components - no cheap made in Taiwan equipment that'll fail in less than a year that are found in a lot of aftermarket kits out there. You would be getting nearly the same light output as a BMW M3 since I would be using the same exact projector. The headlights still are fully functional after this mod is done (can pop up and down) and it is kept out of sight from thieves until the headlights come up.

Nick13B

How much is it looking to cost for a kit?

J_J

About $650 - a lot cheaper than some of the sleek headlights out there.

neofreak

Yes, interested. Just have to locate an extra set of headlights to use as a core.

J_J

And there is one caveat: this modification is not technically legal, just like a lot of the mods done to FDs . Just wanted to be upfront about that because some people think that HID lights on a car not equipped with them are DOT certified. So these would be for "off road use only."

the_glass_man

iTrader: (2)

Many have come and gone, sure there is interest.

pianoprodigy

If you make it, and it has a sharp cutoff, I'll definitely buy one; however, there have been several threads like this, and none of them seen to pan out.

Prove us wrong this time! Make me a set!

J_J

Oh, and the last pic we just put the headlights on top of a Camry (didn't have an FD as a test car) so we could hook up the ballasts to the car's battery. After I install a set on my FD I'll post pics showing before and after comparisons (stock lighting vs. complete HID upgrade).

It's a nice upgrade, nothing out there really similar exept maybe the Rotary Extreme HID headlights.




We're pretty experienced at this type of thing.

Here's some of our work:

M3 projectors in a 00 Acura TL





Audi S4 projectors in my 03 Civic:







M3 projectors in a 00 Accord:

93silverbullet

iTrader: (7)

I have a couple of questions.

Are you changing out the actual lenses (doesn't look like it from the pics)? If not the light dispersion will be no diffferent than stock, just brighter right? Not that I'm complaining about adding additional illumination (the stock lighting is completely inadequate in my opinion)!
Is this a kit you plan on selling or do we need to send our lights to you for modification?

J_J

It has already been done, just scroll up. I just needed an FD to put the finishing touches and to show pics of it installed...picked up an FD today.

J_J

There's no kit, it's all custom work. The headlight lenses remain the same but the output is coming from the projectors we install inside the headlights themselves. Think of the headlights as just a housing alone because the light is coming from M3 projectors and the associated equipment off an M3 or 3-series vehicle. We're not putting HID bulbs in there and calling it a day, we are taking the headlight setup from an BMW M3 and retrofitting it to work in an FD. So if you see a 3-series at night with HIDs and pull next to it, your FD is going to have similar lighting characteristics as the BMW.

J_J

If you are considering a kit, this would be a much better alternative. I'm trying to develop a bi-xenon version so that you can retain high beams (HIDs are low beam only, there is almost always a seperate bulb for high beam).

93silverbullet

iTrader: (7)

One more question:

Does it retain the low and hi beams?

93silverbullet

iTrader: (7)

In other words... I'm interested!

scotty305

iTrader: (2)

I'm in SoCal also, I'd love to stop by and see your lights in person, maybe help take a few comparison photos against my car with stock lights.

I'm curious as to what degree the factory glass lens will affect the output of the projector. Have you tried lenses similar to these ones? http://www.danielsternlighting.com/p.../products.html


-scott-

chagar

Guys,
I have to admit I do not know what HID means (High Intensity ----. Ignorant I guess of these terms. I do agree that the lighting on the 3rd Gen sucks. Will it make it better to drive at night? If so let me know. I would be interested if easy install.
Thanks,
chagar

Kento

Google is your friend:
http://www.onemotoring.com.sg/publis...ification.html

neit_jnf

iTrader: (17)

Where do I send my stock headlamps to??

I'm very interested! But would be more so if somehow you make a high beam work with it. Also a fog light kit would be great!

luizajeff

I should try this with my civic

J_J

I haven't built them yet. I'm going to try a bi-xenon setup so it's going to take a while. The U.S. lenses aren't glass, I think you're talking about the European or Japanese headlights.

ArrX7ahh

They work quite well; you will like their function. Having both low and main beams from one source is the way to go. The transition from low to main is fairly instant as well.

SteveF

Wish I had the money for it, I can't stand the stock FD lighting and this sounds like a great option. Would much prefer the low/high version that looks like may be coming soon in the future though!

Good luck!
Steve

Kento

Which ones "work quite well"? Are you referring to the HID retrofits? If so, I'd have to disagree, as I have that setup. The low beams are OK, but the high beam pattern is poor. The light bandwidth of HID doesn't lend itself well to simply moving the location of the bulb to change the reflection/location of the light pattern, and especially with a projector lamp. OEM HID lamps do not use a "bi-xenon" bulb configuration because of this.

J_J

I think what you are describing is an HID kit. In a bi-xenon projector the bulb does not move at all. Instead, a shield blocking off the light above the cutoff drops down and that is how you get illumination above the cutoff line. The transition (solenoid dropping and raising the cutoff shield) happens almost instantly. In aftermarket HID kits with a high beam option, there is either a scoop that tries to emulate this effect or the bulb moves fore/aft to change the beam characteristics.

All xenon bulbs themselves are low beam only; if you switch on your high beams the HID bulbs will likely switch off.

These are the components I will try to use shown below. A lot of high-end vehicles have bi-xenon as a lighting option (probably adds about $500+ to MSRP). The projectors below are the same ones used in the new E-class Mercedes and 7-series BMW.



I'm going to try these but they are bigger than the M3 projectors I was using so this project is going to take some time.

PandazRx-7

iTrader: (18)

Those are pretty nice projectors, I have an extra one if you need it. Are you mounting those Bi-Xenon's from the back side or front side of the housings?