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new popup headlight upgrade

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Old Sep 8, 2003 | 03:04 PM
  #1  
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new popup headlight upgrade

the info is on my site:

http://www.lighter.net/afe/products/rx7headlights/

the kits are available now except for the bezel which i am still working on as its the most difficult part.
anyone who buys a kit now will recieve the bezels as soon as they are completed.
if i can get 5 or more orders the price will be 400 each.

comments?
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Old Sep 8, 2003 | 04:49 PM
  #2  
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I'd personally go with flat lights, rather than spending money on upgrading the pop ups, but to each is own.
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Old Sep 8, 2003 | 04:51 PM
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sleek lights have inherent problems with the beam pattern due to how far back they are mounted.

also there is no sleek light kit this cheap.

myself i prefer the look of popups during the day.
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Old Sep 8, 2003 | 09:18 PM
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I like popup's too.

A few questions:
Easy install? Completely bolt on? Any trouble with them bouncing or vibrating on rough roads?

Thanks,
-IG
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Old Sep 8, 2003 | 09:20 PM
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Not a bad kit. The different sized lights lookt a little odd, but it's not too bad.

I would definitely prefer something like that over a sleek light kit. However, when that time comes, Knight Sports will have my money as I like the fact that their lights don't rise as much as the stock housing.
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Old Sep 8, 2003 | 09:22 PM
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This looks pretty good. I've been looking for an HID kit that I can use with Popups. Will there be any heat issues? What do all the pictures mean on your page? Comparisons with what?
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Old Sep 8, 2003 | 09:23 PM
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I don't like it that much. I still like knightsport ones more. I'm saving for that kit now, or something else comes up cheap with the same style.
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Old Sep 8, 2003 | 09:36 PM
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everything i have heard is that the knightsports lights are not that good when it comes to lighting the road. sure they look neat but what are we really after here. its very hard to beat the hella 90mm projectors. dont the knightsports cost nearly twice as much?

IG: completely bolt on except for cutting a small 1x1" section from the stock headlight bucket to clearance for the plug. the kit comes with a small wiring harness that plugs directly into the stock H4 plug. i purposely made the mounting very solid so that i would not have problems with bouncing on rough roads. my fd is pretty stiffly sprung.

piano prodigy: i cant forsee any heat issues. the carbon and aluminum should be able to easily withstand the heat and i have not had event a hint of any issues on my car. the hid version should also be cooler as it is only 35w and more efficient. the comparison photos of the beam pattern are stock on the right and mine on the left. the head on shot is mine on the right. the pictures dont really do justice to the difference. especially the color and greatly increased midground lighting.
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Old Sep 8, 2003 | 11:12 PM
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Originally posted by rockshox
everything i have heard is that the knightsports lights are not that good when it comes to lighting the road. sure they look neat but what are we really after here. its very hard to beat the hella 90mm projectors. dont the knightsports cost nearly twice as much?
To be honest, I've never had a problem with the lighting of the FD. I've owned my car for more than 7 years and it's never bothered me. I've been running better bulbs and I adjusted the light pattern, but that's about it.

However, a majority of the people get light kits because they look cool, not necessarily because of better lighting. Take a look at all the sleek light kits which we all know don't light that well yet they sell a lot of them because they "look cool".

Never underestimate what a customer wants, they are always right.
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Old Sep 9, 2003 | 08:12 AM
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What about shipping to Canada?

What bulbs do those lights use? What bulbs (wattage) are included? what is the bezel that you are referring to, and how long will it take to get, and can they be installed without the bezel?

Cheers
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Old Sep 9, 2003 | 10:18 AM
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shipping to canada is no problem. i will say its a gift so you dont get raped on taxes. the bulbs are hella 65w H9 for the low beam and piaa 55w H3 for the high beam. the bezel is the covering over the front around the lights. the pictures show the stock black plastic bezel installed, so yes you can use that just fine. it will probably take me a month to finish them.
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Old Sep 10, 2003 | 08:27 AM
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They look good. Is there any chance you could make them so that the larger lamp is towards the center and the smaller is outboard? If you did that in conjunction with making the housing open left you'd have a killer setup. I think people would jump at that. I would.
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Old Sep 10, 2003 | 08:50 AM
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Well, since you asked for comments....

Personally I think it is the ugliest kit I have seen. I would never want myself or others to see it. You are on the right path of thinking, but as other mentioned, if we are already spending that much on a light kit, the knightsports look so much cleaner, and doesn't go up the whole way, basically the whole reason for buying a "pop up upgrade."

As far as actual lighting, as much as we all like to think it is performance over looks, looks still play a huge part. And personally, keeping the stock housings and throwing some pepboys ultra bright ricer lights in works great and certainly looks better.

For ideas, you may want to try to move both lights to the same level if possible within the housing, and work on a way to modify it so you can get the sleepy light look. If you did that, I am sure you would have a lot better response!
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Old Sep 10, 2003 | 11:54 AM
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so basically youre saying that you are all ricers and would never buy anything that performs better and is half the price just because its not half height?

i thought it looked even worse with them level:

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Old Sep 10, 2003 | 12:17 PM
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Originally posted by rockshox
so basically youre saying that you are all ricers and would never buy anything that performs better and is half the price just because its not half height?
Most of the guys on here flame for doing "rice" things but are the first ones to be hypocrits about it.

Keep up the good work. Looks good.
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Old Sep 10, 2003 | 12:26 PM
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Originally posted by rockshox
so basically youre saying that you are all ricers and would never buy anything that performs better and is half the price just because its not half height?
Easy there killer... You're beginning to insult people, and that's probably not the best way to conduct business.

Your kit obvisouly improves the light quality a great deal, which is very good. But it doesn't improve on the other negative aspect of the stock system: the crappy look of how high they pop up. Personally, I love the look of the pop-ups during the day, but I hate how high they pop up at night. Plus, due to the fact that you are using smaller bulbs, it kind of accentuates how big the housings look.

I think what a few people are trying to say is that, if they are going to spend some money to upgrade the lights, then they might as well spend a little more and have it done the way they want it.

I give you major kudos for putting in some work and thinking outside the box. I'm sure there are people that will purchase your kit. I personally will not purchase it. I'm sure functionality is great, but I can't stand the look of it (same reason why I haven't considered purchasing a Pontiac Aztek).

Do not ever call me a ricer again.... thank you

Rob
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Old Sep 10, 2003 | 12:51 PM
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Originally posted by rockshox
[B]so basically youre saying that you are all ricers and would never buy anything that performs better and is half the price just because its not half height?
First, you said you wanted comments, so that is what I gave you. If you can't take the good with the bad, then don't ask! All I tried to do was give you a little info on what I have noticed that people like, trying to improve your product and that is all you have to say? I think that pic you just showed would look nice, assuming you could get them to raise halfway. I would definitely consider buying them then, as well as a few others as well if that could be done. Cause while obviously performance is the most prioritizing factor, looks do play a big part as well. Hell, the veilside front end has one of the largest openings i have ever seen on a front end, yet no one likes it cause it is ugly as hell. Are they ricers too? Other than that, saxyman summed up exactly what I would have said.
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Old Sep 10, 2003 | 01:07 PM
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hey i was just asking for clarification. you come off a little harsh yourself there with "its the worst kit i have ever seen and i wouldnt want to look at my own car or let anyone else see it"

keep in mind you dont really see the lights well because when theyre up, its dark! especially with the lights on you cant see anything.

as for half height its not something that is easy to do. the hella modules are large and not easy to fit in there with room for anything else. when you go half height then everything gets mounted at this extreme angle relative to how it was designed to hold stuff and you end up having to do a lot of cutting.
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Old Sep 10, 2003 | 01:37 PM
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Your light kit is different, but has an interesting (unique almost exotic) touch to it. While the look had to grow on me since I first saw it, the one thing I would consider is a glass housing over the lamps. As saxyman990 said, the housings are rather large, and a lot of emphasis is being placed on their actual size with this upgrade (or it could possibly be the contrast between the white FD and black housings...photoshoping them onto different color cars may be an idea). The level lamp idea is also a great one IMO, as is the half-height idea- but with both, it would just be a cheaper copy of the knightsports kit (not bad, but not very original either). There would be some other factors I would consider before purchasing any light kit, but yours looks good and seems to be rather functional for the price. Nice work.
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Old Sep 10, 2003 | 01:52 PM
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Personally I prefer the horizontal bulb arrangement but could live with either. Unfortunately without a nicely finished bezel to cover the mounting apparatus it will always look like something pieced together rather than a fine product.

Personally I like the idea of just having improved lights. I don't need "style" just for its own sake, but I do insist on attractive design. All that said I am still considering the kit and taking care of the cosmetic issues myself.
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Old Sep 10, 2003 | 02:31 PM
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Do you guys drive around during the day with your headlights up?? If so, maybe this kit isnt for you. Look at the pictures on the website. All I see are the bright-*** circle halogens lighting up the road. I could give a **** what my headlights look like at night. All I care about is seeing a piece of tire on the freeway when I am doing 100+, not buying some lights b/c they only came up half way and look "cooler"

Ricers

Rockshox- I like them. Im still undecided if I like them horizontal to eachother or staggered. I will definately consider your kit when the time comes. I am not trying to pay close to a 800 bucks for the same thing but it only goes up half-way. Rice if you ask me.

He asked for comments not "thats the ugliest kit I have ever seen, I wouldnt want anybody to see it". You could of said, "I dont really like them, the housings are not for me," and you wouldn't have sounded like a dick.
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Old Sep 10, 2003 | 02:32 PM
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i am working on the bezel. it will be made of carbon fiber and will completely replace the stock black plastic piece. this is the hardest part and since i got the rest done i thought i would offer it now. i could offer the bezels in a carbon/red kevlar mix as well that would look pretty neat on red cars. so when thats done there will certainly be fewer cosmetic issues

there is no room for a cover over the actual lamps themselves as the low beam comes within about 1/4" of the body when closing.
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Old Sep 10, 2003 | 02:35 PM
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Hear of any kit for a second gen? I want to change my lights....the stock big thing lights are uber ugly.......
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Old Sep 10, 2003 | 02:46 PM
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Originally posted by JDMrx7
Do you guys drive around during the day with your headlights up?? If so, maybe this kit isnt for you. Look at the pictures on the website. All I see are the bright-*** circle halogens lighting up the road. I could give a **** what my headlights look like at night. All I care about is seeing a piece of tire on the freeway when I am doing 100+, not buying some lights b/c they only came up half way and look "cooler"
Some comments may have been overboard, but all aspects of it's design should be considered. Some people just prefer to balance function, with aesthetics.
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Old Sep 10, 2003 | 04:45 PM
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I like them, with the bezzel you mentioned Id probably buy them.. But they are not HID correct? Could you take pioctures of how well they light up the road not just shown against a garage? Could an HID convesion be done?
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