Screw pop ups! headlight conversion
 

Hey everyone I am starting a company to offer headlight conversions for very inexpensive. I have found that most conversion cost around $1000 and I am currently workign on a headlight conversion for 1g DSM's (eagle talon, mitsubishi eclipse, and plymouth laser) I originaly got the idea form a pic I saw of an RX-7 with a headlight conversion like this *see attachment* With my method of fabrication I would be able to sell a conversion kit with EVERYTHIGN for around $450. It would be EXACTLY like the one in the attachment (except mine WOULDN'T be carbon fiber, it would be paintable, and my design would look better:cool: ) How many people would be interested at a price of $450??

Hmm... Something under the hood looks.... "strange"? :D

And you're working on this for 1gDSM's?

Uh, I think you have the wrong forum.

If it's 450 for an FD conversion... I think you'll piss off quite a few people who already have a project underway... But whatever... We'll see if you get any farther than anyone else.

Umm like the LT1? Ha Ha that's jimlab's FD...

At any rate I think if you want to make them for the 1st gen dsm's then that's fine and dandy but the rx7 market is flooded with headlight conversions.

I have been researching everyday and calling companies for the past month and I have already started on a prototype and please dont make any smart ass comment cause its made out of clay:bash: its only a plug for a mold. I am very aware that this isnt a dsm forum. I am just getting some feedback form rx-7 guys. by the way.....what does LT1 FD mean???

are you saying that people will get pissed off because I am sellign a product similar but for cheaper??

*the pic looks a tiny bit distorted for unknown reasons*

LT1 as in 93-97 camaro/firebird v8. And FD is sorta like a body code of 93+ rx7's.

I say go for it. I'm all about getting a better lighting system for a good price. This is what capitalism is all about.

Yeah, I'd say go for it too. I've been looking at the conversions once I get my '99 spec bumper, but theres no way I'll pay 1k when that money can go to the engine.

I somewhat agree, however the lighting on my FD is HORRIBLE. If I don't do something about it soon I'm likely to wrap it around a pole in the middle of the night :eek:

When is your '99 spec bumper supposed to come in ?

He's saying that we've seen countless number of people come on here claiming they'll have a product that is cheaper/better/lighter/cures baldness, but very few actually materialize.

It's best if you have a working prototype before posting more on it. Not trying to discourage you (as that I certainly wish for more low-cost/high quality parts for our car), and I wish you the best of luck.

Oh no I haven't bought one yet. I'm searching for rims at the moment, so a bumper is on hold until then. I was tempted to get the pettit '99 replica recently. But I heard its not that good.

My only negative to this was that there are soooo many already on the market...

C-West
MB Autosport (replica c-west again)
C-Wings replica (I believe replica of the c-west again)
Rotary Extreme
Re Amemiya
East Bear
Run Racing
PanSpeed(Their new light kit)
+ a couple forum members who have talked about doing this or have some on the way.

And with that many already on the market, and sometimes used sets floating around... I don't know if this would be a profitable item to make.

But as others have said if you can make one that looks good, is super low in price or improve on others designs/lighting then go for it.

shit let me know when it is ddone if it looks and fits ok




for 450 i'll buy a set




:bigthumb: :boink:

hmmmmm....yea I can see how I might not sell a whole bunch of kits because the market already has alot out there. everyday I get closer and closer to completing my conversion for 1g dsm's and after I get the process down with them I will start moving on to other cars. I just mainly wanted some feedback form rx-7 guys on their opinions so if I do make a inexpensive kit for the rx-7 it would be in a while. but I will be posting pics of the 1g ocnversion just to show people I am one of the few people ACTUALY making it. I should be busy for the 1g conversions cause I have about 6 people perosnly telling me they want the kit ,,, I know some may back out but I still have quite a few definite buyers, so I will be tied up with them for a while. here is one problem. I need a car to get measurments form to make a conversion. is there anyone in the rochest new york area on here????

oops I ment to say "anyone with an rx-7?"

youre kit may be cheaper but being cheaper isnt always a good thing... will yours include Hella lighting? or what type of lights will it come with? thats one reason these light kits are so expensive because FD owners upgrade their lights for better lighting, not looks... so they get expensive lights, making a sleek light kit with shitty lights is just wasting money, hope you take it into consideration if you haven't already

Charlie

make some dual pop-ups that are low profile and utilize the stock switches. and uhhh for the 2nd gen RX-7(89-91) dang hehe

Fred

Call me when you have a finished product. everone and their mother has posted about "upcoming" headlight kits that are "almost finished" and will be the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Build it and they will come.

ok I'll keep everyone updated when I finish the first one. which shouldnt be long!! o yea and.....I compared the headlights to the stock headlights on my saturn and the lights I got for the conversion were almost identical to the saturn lights. so the conversion lights arent super mega 9000 HID quality better, they are just as bright as the stock ones stock ones (on the saturn) but if I were to use hello 90mm for high and low beam it would probaly put the price somewhere around $475..but thats still a good price. I will be talking to you guys again soon!! *wiht more pics

i am game if they fit good.

sounds great
 

Wow, if your light conversion looks like C-West with better lighting which you can ugrade them to HIDs then I'm down for one. Sounds great and hopefully you can finish it and give as an update on it(with pics).

I don't see how that looks like the CWest, more like the East Bear. The carbon fiber is what makes the CWest kit in my opinion. The tinted lense is what ruins it, because it darkens the light uotput. For $1,000 you can get a hi/low HID upgrade. But anyow if yours is only equal to the stock lighting it makes no sense to upgrage other than cosmeticaly.

from what I have heard you can upgrade hella 90mm lights to HID. so lets see here....$230 for lights(high and low beam) + $390 (thats just an average price) for HID conversion + $220 for light housing, all mounting hardware, instructions, etc, with clear plastic "bubble". total $840

so HID would raise the price but its still a kick ass deal!!!

east bear kit is fugly!! isnt that the one that sticks way above the hood line?? and it doesnt have a bubble. I liek the clear bubble. I just picked up some lucite-tuf arcylic panel to use as the clear "bubble" for the conversion.

o yea by the way......while I am waiting for the clay to dry I picked up some fiberglass and have been perfecting my teknique (sp?) the light housing will be made of fiberglass and it will be paintable, and it will all be held in mechanicaly, this means NO messy glues or crap like that!

Are you sure dood? I was really looking forward to gluing my light kit on.;)

we need results

LOL you too? I'm planning on using white elmer's glue but it takes forever to dry..

sounds kool
 

Man, if the kit turns out to look like the East Bear, just throw it away cuz its sooo ugly. From what I hear so far sounds pretty dam good for a light kit less than $1,000. Hopefully you can finish it cuz i really want one. I cannot see anything at night even with my manufacture pop-ups(with piaa bulbs), piaa 1000X fog lights, and 99 j-spec fog lights. Hurry up and finish the light conversion. I really really want to see it. Give us an update on it okay.

Thank you soo much,

I didn't mean to throw any flames when this thread popped up. I just know how it gets in here when someone starts making projects. I know that completing something like this is difficult and time consuming...

Some people think that "is there any interest in a HID kit for 3rd gens?"

Means... "I am offering a 3rd gen HID kit, what should I charge?"

That's all. People get their hopes up when a new project starts... Thinking they will save a few bucks. But many times they have been let down.

Good luck, though. And keep us posted.

Oh, and yeah.... that's jimlabs FD. One bad mofo if you ask me. :D

hey I know how you can be let down by some dork saying he will make a wonder product. a guy on the dsmforum started saying he was selling carbon fiber wings and he kept blabbin on and on about how he had sold 24 and all kinds of crap .....so people blew the pic up of his "cf wing" and you could easily tell it was photoshopped and all a fake. so I understand you guys can be skeptical. I am skeptical too to people saying they are makign a new product. I think that untill I see a product I am not gonna piss my pants from excitment. lol but anyhoo. the clay is finaly dried but it also cracked so I gotta fill the crack in. I will post pics of its current phase very soon

btw... I despise the eastbear kit and my kit is designed to look almost identical to the kit I pasted in my first post

If people can afford a fd they can afford a non ghetto light setup, gluing some fog lights in some carbon fiber doesnt make a good set of lights.

But he said we would not have to glue our lights.:)

well I worked on it sanding, trimming, and smooooving last night for a while and here is how it is at this point. the pic looks a little squashed for some wierd reason??? anyhoo...the metal brackets were just cheap scraps I had lying around. I will order STrONG metal sometime in the week hopefully

Looks like it may be a nice turnout coming... Keep us posted. I do have several friends with 1G DSM's that would most likely be interested.

http://www.rothbuilt.com/GatewayDSM/MBoard/default.asp


:D

I am interested in non pop up lights for my 94.
What are the cheapest ones right now?

I'd be willing to help you out, you could use my car as a test bed. I'm not really all that close, but this does strike some interest for me.
I wouldn't let the other guys get to you, the must not know that you have to glue on the RE-A and the Rotary Extreme head light lenses.
If you can create a better mouse trap I'm all for it!!!

concentrate on the lighting man, and people will buy. I promise.

But what about those of us who don't have rich nannies to support us or kick ass jobs? You know...those of us who can only afford a lowly first or second gen? I think this setup looks cool...and beings I can't see worth a damn with my stock lights I'm gonna opt for something that looks interesting. Good job eagletsi!

Project Update
 

After further testing of the lights I decided I want some lights that will be BETTER than stock instead of equal to them:D And I was calling stores all around and finaly found a Hella lights distibutor!!! it was an hour aaway but I made the drive and picked up some lights to test.

well its dark out now so I am gonna test the hella lights. I will give a report later tonight or tomorrow

ok I tested the hella lights and all I can say is WOW! they completely smacked the stock headlights on a minvan I conpared them too!! they were a little more expensive than the previous lights I was gonna use but hella's are worth the extra $$

project update
 

I tested a different light for the low beam and found a better light. so it will be smaller than the original one but this is all good. my flat metal bars came in today (I had to reorder them cause teh stuff I got b4 felt a little flimzy) so I will be making the mounting brackets next

sounds good so far....
 

Wow, seems like you're really gonna finish it. It sounds really good so far. Just remember to keep us updated and remember to post some pics. Hey if they're HID, I think the violent HID (or really deep blue) lighting is better. I mean I'm down for lighting but I'm also down for looks too...great job so far

Maybe you could post a couple of pics of your current progress...and maybe some good profile shots so maybe we with weak imaginations might better see how this would look on our cars:D...we would really like to see how far above the hoodline this may extend....we need to try to avoid the froggy look of East-Bear syndrome:D!

I agree with everyone else, make the conversion and let the product speak for itself. If it's good then people will buy it

The problem with the Hella 90mm lights, although they are DOT legal, is that they're so damn big that they have to be mounted far to the rear of the headlight area in order to keep them from "bulging" above the hoodline of the car like the East Bear kit. Unfortunately, that means that you have to cut a significant piece of sheet metal out of the car on either side for clearance for the lights (RE Amemiya, Rotary Extreme).

My kit is still in the works, but I can tell you that we're working towards a single projector design (Bi-Xenon, handles both low and high beam from a single projector) which should be compact enough to eliminate cutting and a bulged profile. To balance out the appearance, we've discussed including a small Hella projector fog light for aesthetic reasons (Ferrari F360-style) as well as for filling in the area immediately in front of the car.

I've got some prototype pods made that I haven't seen yet, unfortunately, and I'm still trying to source the Bi-Xenon projectors at a reasonable price, but it's coming along. Still, there's no guarantees that the only set anyone will ever see will be on my car. :)

The benefits of this setup are many, but here's a summary:

1. No cutting involved (RE Amemiya, Rotary Extreme)
2. No bulging pod (C-West, East Bear)
3. Only single HID ballast required (2 for all the others)

Cost should be lower and quality higher than anything available from Japan, and wiring should be a piece of cake, but things are moving a lot slower than I would have liked. Good luck with your own project. :)

c'mon someone speed this up. i want to see different designs than what is currently offered. hey jim if it is a one off project and works out to be the best, would you help someone else with it, to make thier own.

luigi

Say Jim, that extra light you're adding for asthetics could also become a turn signal/parking light combo. I'm sure i can think of someplace to route the air if i could turn my turn signal holes into intakes :-)

project update
 

ok I havesome genuine brackets done!! in the pics you can see the lights I have chosen. I was beating myself over the head wondering if I should put the smaller oval lights on the outside or the inside edge and finaly decided to put them on the inside. this makes it appear a little more slanted inward (like evil eyes:mad: ) you cant realy see what I am talking about but you will see what I mean when its finished. sorry the pics are blurry my dig cam batteries crapped out so I had to use my vid cam to get pics. when I get batteries for the dig cam I will get some close ups of the lights (they are tough!) the brackets went in smooth. I decided to drill a hole in the bracket(for the oval light) and through the sheet metal. I originaly wanted teh kit to be a "no drill holes needed" but I want the extra hole for extra support.

clay or foam for the prototype mold?:
I have been wanting to try some foam but havent had a chance to pick any up. I dont have my license at the moment and my parents r too busy to get me anywhere most of the time. but I am taking my drivers test on monday!! WOOHOO!! thats right... I dont have my license...untill monday. anyhoo if the foam thing doesnt work out I found a store that sells "self hardening clay" so it doesnt need a kiln to harden as solid as a rock, and it wont crack while drying.

here are the picshttp://www.imagestation.com/picture/...0/fd0506d8.jpg http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...e/fd0506d7.jpg http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...d/fd0506d6.jpg

as you can see in the pics teh lights are almost 100% flush with the hood line. and from what I have seen I think the rx7's have a steeper hood angle so those lights would probaly be 100% flush on an rx-7

the only changes I made to the car was drilling 2 holes!!