fd DULL headlights?
03-17-07, 06:38 PM
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fd DULL headlights?
hey guys. my stock headlights on my fd are sooo DULL!!!!! so i was thinking about getting some sort of HID's . do they make them for the fd? i really like the stock pop up style. just wanted to know what kinds there are and what u guys recommend or use. how much am i going to be shelling out? and where is the best place to get them? as i hate buying things over the border. i would really like to buy them locally. (gta). any info would be great! thnx.
03-18-07, 12:52 PM
#4
Eats, Sleeps, Dreams Rotary
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Apart from what Nick said, are the bulbs the original ones that came with the car?
If yours is a 93 I know what you mean by dull. Charr's car has that same type of dullness on his lights. In has case it's amplified because the housings themselves have turned a little yellowish.
I've replaced my stock bulbs with HID replacements. Best safety mod I've ever done to the car! Check out www.xenondepot.com
They're local too so it's possible for you to pick them up right from one of their distributors.
I got the 4300K Phillips HID's. The difference is literally night and day!
Lates,
If yours is a 93 I know what you mean by dull. Charr's car has that same type of dullness on his lights. In has case it's amplified because the housings themselves have turned a little yellowish.
I've replaced my stock bulbs with HID replacements. Best safety mod I've ever done to the car! Check out www.xenondepot.com
They're local too so it's possible for you to pick them up right from one of their distributors.
I got the 4300K Phillips HID's. The difference is literally night and day!
Lates,
03-18-07, 02:43 PM
#7
Originally Posted by Neo
Apart from what Nick said, are the bulbs the original ones that came with the car?
If yours is a 93 I know what you mean by dull. Charr's car has that same type of dullness on his lights. In has case it's amplified because the housings themselves have turned a little yellowish.
I've replaced my stock bulbs with HID replacements. Best safety mod I've ever done to the car! Check out www.xenondepot.com
They're local too so it's possible for you to pick them up right from one of their distributors.
I got the 4300K Phillips HID's. The difference is literally night and day!
Lates,
If yours is a 93 I know what you mean by dull. Charr's car has that same type of dullness on his lights. In has case it's amplified because the housings themselves have turned a little yellowish.
I've replaced my stock bulbs with HID replacements. Best safety mod I've ever done to the car! Check out www.xenondepot.com
They're local too so it's possible for you to pick them up right from one of their distributors.
I got the 4300K Phillips HID's. The difference is literally night and day!
Lates,
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03-19-07, 12:32 AM
#8
Eats, Sleeps, Dreams Rotary
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Natey,
Nope, the highbeams are no longer functional. True HID replacements will not let you keep your highbeam function.
This being said, highbeams are not needed once you go to HID. That's how much of an improvement it is over the stock H4 Halogen bulbs.
7_rocket,
My car comes out more often at night. As long as the weather checks out fine...
Nope, the highbeams are no longer functional. True HID replacements will not let you keep your highbeam function.
This being said, highbeams are not needed once you go to HID. That's how much of an improvement it is over the stock H4 Halogen bulbs.
7_rocket,
My car comes out more often at night. As long as the weather checks out fine...
03-19-07, 12:48 AM
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Originally Posted by Neo
Nope, the highbeams are no longer functional. True HID replacements will not let you keep your highbeam function.
03-19-07, 01:42 AM
#10
Originally Posted by Manntis
Sorry, but you're ill-informed. True HIDs are high beam or low beam according to shield placement. If you installed momoxenons into single-lamp sockets instead of the bi-xenons with moving shields, the error is yours and not an inherent fault of HIDs.
in flamewar mode or something? Been spending too much time on TFL?
you are right though :P just came off sounding a little mean.
"true" HID's have a high/low function.
03-19-07, 11:34 AM
#12
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Manntis,
I guess I didn't explain myself well.
Some people have been buying aftermarket HID's with both high/low beam. These companies have been known to combine both the Xenon and Halogen tube all in one socket.
Those are typically the ones that are made in Korea and don't come in 4300K temperature.
Alot of people get confused with the colour temp because they see the blue/purple effect of OEM projector housings from Marquee's such as Audi or Mercedes Benz.
Those systems still employ 4300K temperature. It's the housings that create this blue/purple effect. It's an optical effect.
Now, in order to get true high/low beam HID's you'll have to replace the stock FD OEM housings with projectors. The projector housings themselves are the ones that come with these "shields" that move out of the way whenever you enable "high" beams.
The HID bulb itself does not change.
Those "shields" create that God awful "cutoff" everyone seems to like. Moving them out of the way gives you "high" beams.
I have no idea why the industry has gone to these projector style housings. They are awful! I have to endure them in the Mazda3. I try to spend the majority of the time in highbeam mode because I can't see **** due to this "cutoff" the housings have built in them.
In the FD the HID bulb is oriented differently from it's Halogen counterpart. It essentially gives you low and high beam lighting at the same time.
Before anybody screams you're blinding everyone, yes I've realigned the headlights. They needed just 1 turn of the screw to make them point a tiny bit lower. Now I can see 200yrds in front without blinding people.
Unlike my Mazda3 that can't see beyond 50ft in front because of that stupid cutoff!!!
They should have stuck with reflector style housings!!
Lates,
I guess I didn't explain myself well.
Some people have been buying aftermarket HID's with both high/low beam. These companies have been known to combine both the Xenon and Halogen tube all in one socket.
Those are typically the ones that are made in Korea and don't come in 4300K temperature.
Alot of people get confused with the colour temp because they see the blue/purple effect of OEM projector housings from Marquee's such as Audi or Mercedes Benz.
Those systems still employ 4300K temperature. It's the housings that create this blue/purple effect. It's an optical effect.
Now, in order to get true high/low beam HID's you'll have to replace the stock FD OEM housings with projectors. The projector housings themselves are the ones that come with these "shields" that move out of the way whenever you enable "high" beams.
The HID bulb itself does not change.
Those "shields" create that God awful "cutoff" everyone seems to like. Moving them out of the way gives you "high" beams.
I have no idea why the industry has gone to these projector style housings. They are awful! I have to endure them in the Mazda3. I try to spend the majority of the time in highbeam mode because I can't see **** due to this "cutoff" the housings have built in them.
In the FD the HID bulb is oriented differently from it's Halogen counterpart. It essentially gives you low and high beam lighting at the same time.
Before anybody screams you're blinding everyone, yes I've realigned the headlights. They needed just 1 turn of the screw to make them point a tiny bit lower. Now I can see 200yrds in front without blinding people.
Unlike my Mazda3 that can't see beyond 50ft in front because of that stupid cutoff!!!
They should have stuck with reflector style housings!!
Lates,
03-19-07, 12:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Neo
Manntis,
I guess I didn't explain myself well.
Some people have been buying aftermarket HID's with both high/low beam. These companies have been known to combine both the Xenon and Halogen tube all in one socket.
Those are typically the ones that are made in Korea and don't come in 4300K temperature.
Alot of people get confused with the colour temp because they see the blue/purple effect of OEM projector housings from Marquee's such as Audi or Mercedes Benz.
Those systems still employ 4300K temperature. It's the housings that create this blue/purple effect. It's an optical effect.
Now, in order to get true high/low beam HID's you'll have to replace the stock FD OEM housings with projectors. The projector housings themselves are the ones that come with these "shields" that move out of the way whenever you enable "high" beams.
The HID bulb itself does not change.
Those "shields" create that God awful "cutoff" everyone seems to like. Moving them out of the way gives you "high" beams.
I have no idea why the industry has gone to these projector style housings. They are awful! I have to endure them in the Mazda3. I try to spend the majority of the time in highbeam mode because I can't see **** due to this "cutoff" the housings have built in them.
In the FD the HID bulb is oriented differently from it's Halogen counterpart. It essentially gives you low and high beam lighting at the same time.
Before anybody screams you're blinding everyone, yes I've realigned the headlights. They needed just 1 turn of the screw to make them point a tiny bit lower. Now I can see 200yrds in front without blinding people.
Unlike my Mazda3 that can't see beyond 50ft in front because of that stupid cutoff!!!
They should have stuck with reflector style housings!!
Lates,
I guess I didn't explain myself well.
Some people have been buying aftermarket HID's with both high/low beam. These companies have been known to combine both the Xenon and Halogen tube all in one socket.
Those are typically the ones that are made in Korea and don't come in 4300K temperature.
Alot of people get confused with the colour temp because they see the blue/purple effect of OEM projector housings from Marquee's such as Audi or Mercedes Benz.
Those systems still employ 4300K temperature. It's the housings that create this blue/purple effect. It's an optical effect.
Now, in order to get true high/low beam HID's you'll have to replace the stock FD OEM housings with projectors. The projector housings themselves are the ones that come with these "shields" that move out of the way whenever you enable "high" beams.
The HID bulb itself does not change.
Those "shields" create that God awful "cutoff" everyone seems to like. Moving them out of the way gives you "high" beams.
I have no idea why the industry has gone to these projector style housings. They are awful! I have to endure them in the Mazda3. I try to spend the majority of the time in highbeam mode because I can't see **** due to this "cutoff" the housings have built in them.
In the FD the HID bulb is oriented differently from it's Halogen counterpart. It essentially gives you low and high beam lighting at the same time.
Before anybody screams you're blinding everyone, yes I've realigned the headlights. They needed just 1 turn of the screw to make them point a tiny bit lower. Now I can see 200yrds in front without blinding people.
Unlike my Mazda3 that can't see beyond 50ft in front because of that stupid cutoff!!!
They should have stuck with reflector style housings!!
Lates,
couldnt have said it better, no really i couldn't have LOL. but yes the projectors suck ***. and dont forget the fd is already soo low so it's not really going to hurt anyone. I love my HIDS, plus they look pimpin LOL
03-19-07, 01:31 PM
#14
it is possible that the headlamps in your mazda 3 are aimed incorrectly.
I don't know about the 3, but the mazdaspeed 3 has an eletronic aimer on the left side of the wheel... in their lowest setting they suck, but in the highest setting the cutoff seems tobe PERFECT for you to be able to see quite a distance.
the headlights in my FD work well, they're just stock.
Noone needs highbeams unless you live out in the country, then they're necessary if you want to drive faster than 80kph at night. (and even nice to have below that!)
I don't know about the 3, but the mazdaspeed 3 has an eletronic aimer on the left side of the wheel... in their lowest setting they suck, but in the highest setting the cutoff seems tobe PERFECT for you to be able to see quite a distance.
the headlights in my FD work well, they're just stock.
Noone needs highbeams unless you live out in the country, then they're necessary if you want to drive faster than 80kph at night. (and even nice to have below that!)
03-19-07, 02:16 PM
#15
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Terrh,
The 3's headlights are aimed perfectly. I wish I could aim them higher, but the screws won't let me.
This is an inherent problem with projector style housings. The same problem occurs in our CX-7. The only thing that helps is the height of the vehicle. But it still has the same annoying cutoff. Not too much of a problem in this vehicle, but some roadsigns don't get illuminated until you're about 60ft from them. Yes, the self leveler is set to the 0 position. The highest setting.
I'm talking about side roadsigns like the speed sign or caution signs.
With projectors you can't see overhead signs until you've practically 10ft from the sign!!
I can't wait to get the FD back on the road!
Lates,
The 3's headlights are aimed perfectly. I wish I could aim them higher, but the screws won't let me.
This is an inherent problem with projector style housings. The same problem occurs in our CX-7. The only thing that helps is the height of the vehicle. But it still has the same annoying cutoff. Not too much of a problem in this vehicle, but some roadsigns don't get illuminated until you're about 60ft from them. Yes, the self leveler is set to the 0 position. The highest setting.
I'm talking about side roadsigns like the speed sign or caution signs.
With projectors you can't see overhead signs until you've practically 10ft from the sign!!
I can't wait to get the FD back on the road!
Lates,
03-19-07, 03:25 PM
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i was bored 2 summers ago and decided to replace my headlights. i decided to go with projectors. i also did a bunch of research about headlights, and this is what i learned about projectors:
- the reason most newer cars come with projector headlights is that, 1) they are a smaller package, and 2) a higher output light source can be used with less effect of glare to oncoming drivers
the first point is more of a design/cost issue since the manufacturers don't have to pay much attention to headlight design and optics, they just get the projector modules and stick them on the car essentially.
the second point is the one of interest in this thread. basically the advantage of projectors is that the optics and the cutoff allow a brighter light source to be used. this is why pretty much every OEM HID system uses the projector module. more light can be output and because of the cutoff the light goes where it is needed, and glare towards oncoming drivers is minimized.
unfortunately i suspect that halogen-based projector modules usually don't employ that bright of a light source so the light output is less than what would be desired.
i am using simply halogen-based projector modules on my car, but the bulb output is much higher than normal halogen bulbs and i find visibility great. however i have full range of adjustment on my setup and i have aimed the projectors quite high, which is doable with projectors because of the cutoff. in any case, i can easily see 100ft at night with the low-beams.
my high-beam projector modules on the other hand don't have any cutoff shield in them, so i can see as far as needed when those are on.
oh, and the only reason i care so much is because i drive a lot in country side. that means empty roads that aren't lit and have animals crossing them often.
- the reason most newer cars come with projector headlights is that, 1) they are a smaller package, and 2) a higher output light source can be used with less effect of glare to oncoming drivers
the first point is more of a design/cost issue since the manufacturers don't have to pay much attention to headlight design and optics, they just get the projector modules and stick them on the car essentially.
the second point is the one of interest in this thread. basically the advantage of projectors is that the optics and the cutoff allow a brighter light source to be used. this is why pretty much every OEM HID system uses the projector module. more light can be output and because of the cutoff the light goes where it is needed, and glare towards oncoming drivers is minimized.
unfortunately i suspect that halogen-based projector modules usually don't employ that bright of a light source so the light output is less than what would be desired.
i am using simply halogen-based projector modules on my car, but the bulb output is much higher than normal halogen bulbs and i find visibility great. however i have full range of adjustment on my setup and i have aimed the projectors quite high, which is doable with projectors because of the cutoff. in any case, i can easily see 100ft at night with the low-beams.
my high-beam projector modules on the other hand don't have any cutoff shield in them, so i can see as far as needed when those are on.
oh, and the only reason i care so much is because i drive a lot in country side. that means empty roads that aren't lit and have animals crossing them often.
Last edited by coldfire; 03-19-07 at 03:34 PM.
03-19-07, 04:12 PM
#17
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Coldfire,
Yep, unfortunately that's why the manufacturers went with projector housings.
Some people are always going to have their lights misaligned. Either with Projectors or reflector housings.
If you've noticed, the 1st year the Honda TL came out it had HID's in reflector housings. The later models employ the projector housing. The 1st TL's have significant lightout compared to it's projector successors.
I live out by the country side and it's extremely annoying to be driving around with only my projectors on. Like I said, I have the 3 on high beams the majority of the time. But sometimes I forget I have them so I get the occasional flash from a passing driver.
Not so in the case of the FD.
Damn cheap manufactures!!!
Yep, unfortunately that's why the manufacturers went with projector housings.
Some people are always going to have their lights misaligned. Either with Projectors or reflector housings.
If you've noticed, the 1st year the Honda TL came out it had HID's in reflector housings. The later models employ the projector housing. The 1st TL's have significant lightout compared to it's projector successors.
I live out by the country side and it's extremely annoying to be driving around with only my projectors on. Like I said, I have the 3 on high beams the majority of the time. But sometimes I forget I have them so I get the occasional flash from a passing driver.
Not so in the case of the FD.
Damn cheap manufactures!!!
03-19-07, 04:30 PM
#18
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I have H.I.D.'s in my FD and I also got these lights to replace the stock headlight's. They are crystal clear and are a perfect fit to the stock ones. the car looks amazing although I dont have highbeams but seriously when you put these on you will never need highbeams anyways. I also removed the thing in the middle of the light because the H.I.D bulbs touch it. Maintains the stock pop up headlights and look awesome. You can find these on ebay from time to time.
Last edited by b@@sted_fd; 03-19-07 at 04:37 PM.
03-19-07, 04:55 PM
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yeah i think the standard reflector housings work fine with HID but it costs the car company more to design a reflector housing just for a specific car that meets the regulations. since they all use it now, but projectors these days work great with HID.
one thing to consider is it should be easy to retrofit the halogen projectors in cars like the Mazda3 to HID.
one thing to consider is it should be easy to retrofit the halogen projectors in cars like the Mazda3 to HID.
Originally Posted by Neo
Coldfire,
Yep, unfortunately that's why the manufacturers went with projector housings.
Some people are always going to have their lights misaligned. Either with Projectors or reflector housings.
If you've noticed, the 1st year the Honda TL came out it had HID's in reflector housings. The later models employ the projector housing. The 1st TL's have significant lightout compared to it's projector successors.
I live out by the country side and it's extremely annoying to be driving around with only my projectors on. Like I said, I have the 3 on high beams the majority of the time. But sometimes I forget I have them so I get the occasional flash from a passing driver.
Not so in the case of the FD.
Damn cheap manufactures!!!
Yep, unfortunately that's why the manufacturers went with projector housings.
Some people are always going to have their lights misaligned. Either with Projectors or reflector housings.
If you've noticed, the 1st year the Honda TL came out it had HID's in reflector housings. The later models employ the projector housing. The 1st TL's have significant lightout compared to it's projector successors.
I live out by the country side and it's extremely annoying to be driving around with only my projectors on. Like I said, I have the 3 on high beams the majority of the time. But sometimes I forget I have them so I get the occasional flash from a passing driver.
Not so in the case of the FD.
Damn cheap manufactures!!!
03-19-07, 06:08 PM
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just spent $200-250 (labour included) in some random Korean HID...it's reliable and much much more brighter compared to those stock lights, and save the money to accomplish the 99 spec front conversion@=@
03-20-07, 04:28 PM
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projector > reflector, all else being equal (including proper aiming).
In Canada we have the luxury of choosing between ECE or DOT projectors - ECE ftw! And the shields provide sharper cutoff than reflectors could ever hope to, as well as projectors taking up far less front-end real estate.
In Canada we have the luxury of choosing between ECE or DOT projectors - ECE ftw! And the shields provide sharper cutoff than reflectors could ever hope to, as well as projectors taking up far less front-end real estate.
03-20-07, 05:42 PM
#23
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coldfire,
Yep, the HID replacement is a drop in solution. It won't help with the distance still, but at least everything up to 50ft will be bright! lol
Manntis,
It should be the other way around. The reflectors are much better providing overall lighting.
Damn projectors! Hate those things!!
Lates,
Yep, the HID replacement is a drop in solution. It won't help with the distance still, but at least everything up to 50ft will be bright! lol
Manntis,
It should be the other way around. The reflectors are much better providing overall lighting.
Damn projectors! Hate those things!!
Lates,