new FDs have improved headlights?
 

It is common knowledge that the headlamps on the 93-95 model RX-7 are lacking in intensity, and asthetics. Has mazda done anything with the current models to improve this?

-Rob

Get a HID.

From the ones that I have seen, I haven't been very impressed with the quality of the aftermarket HID kits on the market, especially with what they cost. It'd be nice to have an OE quality upgrade.

I put PIAA Super White 80 Watt bulbs in mine in place of the stock 55 Wat bulbs. It makes a huge difference at night. One way to upgrade for cheap.

I'm a bit skeptical with those cheap HID upgrades.

Are there any umm... negative's on doing it?

I ran PIAA SuperWhites - 55/60watt ($55) for three years w/o issues. They were somewhat brighter than stock. The "looked better", though. The only negatives that I have read on the forum regarding aftermarket bulbs with higher wattage ratings is that they "can" overload the stock wiring and fry the wires.

I recently installed a 6000k HID conversion kit($340) in the stock housings. The beam pattern isn't great, but the light output is great! In hindsight, I should've gotten 4150-5000k temp bulbs for a whiter light output.
I'm happy with these...

where did you get this kit?

Thanks
~Luke

i have these same bulbs in my fd right now, they are brighter then stock but are still crap next to Mtec bulbs. (i cant believe i fricken wasted damn near 100 bucks for the piaa bulbs when the mtec's cost only 35 bucks!)

I have seen 8k hid lights in fd stock housings (im 90% sure they are 8k at least). In anycase, they are definantly brighter but like jpandes said, the light pattern is not as good as projector lights are. They are still 100X better then stock 240sx lights though ;) (If you ever rode shotgun with a good drifter in a 240sx at night thru some mountain passes going fairly fast, you would say the same thing!)

oh yeah, stock wiring can handle over 130 watts of continous use (at night) for over a year :D

I bought them locally in the SF Bay Area from a guy that posted them for sale on Craigslist.com

They were brand new. email Mike at hidconversion@yahoo.com

You can also find good deals on ebay for HID kits. Just search in ebay for "HID H4 ballast" and check titles and descriptions. Screw it, here you go: http://search.ebay.com/ws/search/Sal...6000&catref=C1

Damn, I just noticed that they are now selling dual beam(hi/low beam) HID Kits for $385. The prices have come down quite a bit. Get em quick. I read that they are going to outlaw sales of these kits.

I just ordered a set of mtecs for $25 with shipping. I hope they're a big improvement over the stock bulbs.

make sure to order the mtec's which are the 130/120 watt ones :D

The box says 100/90=170/160

Where did you find these for 25? thanks.

The headlights on my series-8 (99-02) are identical in design & specification to the series-6 (92-95).

The series-8 did get driving lights on the top line version. They are good enough so you can drive with them alone & not have to raise your normal headlights at night.

At best, I may upgrade the bulbs but thats all you can do.

Wow,
I didn't even know they had hi/low beam HID kits... does it actually re-aim, or does it just up the voltage or something?

If these are plug and play, i'd have to consider it...

The auction doesn't mention the method on how they achieve a dual beam pattern. I'd email the seller. I have seen some HID kits that re-aim the beam by utilizing a servo to move the bulb farther out toward the lens. Those kits cost at least $600.00. BTW, mine are single beam and don't even miss my high-beams. The light output is so bright. I also recommend getting a kit where there is some sort of a shield on one side of the bulb. These things cut down on the glare to other drivers. That way you won't attract attention of the cops. These are technically illegal.
http://www.eatools.com/~luke/hid8000k/h4bulb8000k.JPG
Most HID kits are plug and play (i.e. No cutting).

Catz HID, great quality, price and performance. Very top notch kit and it's plug and play!

there are a pile of aftermarket (true) HID kits on the (japanese) market for the FD - do some research.

the problem with the cheap bulbs is the quality. trust me i know, i'm a retailer here in socal. the halogen bulbs contain gases in them and the cheap bulbs tend to leak the contained gases over a period of time. i was having problems with these types of bulbs so i dumped them all( even brand new ones). now im selling raybrig bulbs which are directly from japan and are very high quality. the brightness is very noticeable compared to the stock and cheap bulbs. i hope this will help someone decide not to waste money on cheap $20-$30 bulbs.

haha, Good job hijacking my thread (except for DMRH, you actually answered my question). Thanks bud. FYI there is a rumor out there that all aftermarket HID sales will become illegal within a couple weeks. I don't know if this is fact or BS but I would definitely keep it in mind just in case. Theres a thread about this somewhere.

What ever happened with that guy who was designing the sleepy-eyed, bolt-on HID kit for our stock popup assemblies? Who here would be interested in a kit like this (like the knight sports dual circle popup kit, but sleepy and HID)?

Rob

i was just going to say that. they do have different lights for the rhd and lhd cars, but its a beam pattern thing

mike

GlassMan: Do you have the Catz HID's installed?

No problem-o.

Something to remember though. Despite the heading for this 3rd generation section wrongly posted as (1993-current). The 1992-2002 FD series ceased production last year, thus there are no longer any "NEW" FD's available.

REgards

Thanks for that bit of gouge.

-Rob