Well, I am starting to get tired of how crappy my stock headlights are now that I am driving at night more and more and the old pop-up look is also starting to fade for me.
I have looked at all of the "sleek" kits out there and none of them do it for me except for the Run Racing lights which are about as easy to find as a sane woman. I liked the way they looked but I didnt like the fact that you have to cut into them and that they are starting to look a little dated. I wanted something that updates the looks of the car. So, like about everyone else on here who has an idea, I fiddled with it in paint/photoshop to see what it would look like. I used the old Endless RX-7 since it had the Rotary Run lights that I liked the design of as a starting point. The headlight would be a large oval shape and hopefully could be sourced in a bi-xenon format so that it gives real world light with proper cut-offs. The other light would be an amber driving light that would or would not replace the 99 lights. I am still working on how I want this to look. The reason I am posting this up is that I definitely wouldnt mind suggestions and tips/tricks as I go about this.

Once I am happy with how it will eventually look, I will take out one of the headlights and foam up the opening to create a plug to carve the design out of.

Here is the quick and dirty design I made using the Endless car.

 

that would be oh so sexy

 

Just need to have someone reproduce the RRR headlights. Anyone have a spec sheet on them?

 

I found no info on those headlights. also, I dont like all of the frame fab work that needs to be done with those. I am going to be trying for a style like the ones above.

 

I hear ya man but it's not as if we have alot of space in that area anyways or anywhere for that matter, haha

 

Who would want those lights anyway?

Anyways on to your drawing, if you dont want to cut out the frame, than your going to need to move the two holes for the lights more forward, almost to the point of the curve that way you can fabricate some sort of mount to the stock frame. You would still need to cut into the front bumper either way. And for those who are thinking of making copies, its much more complex then it looks. From the brackets to the bucket, everything needs to be precise, i have sent over 1500 in making just the bucket mate with the front bumper and fenders and countless number of hours modifying the bracket to align to the bucket. Then once i did that the lights were up in the tree and no where near being pointed onto the road. Their would have to be a lot put into consideration on the next design, as replicating would cause a lot of headaches. You really have to see them in person, pictures just dont do them justice.




I need to get some new pictures up with new mirrors and wheels, but if i were to revise them i would find a way to eliminate the two lamps and put them into one, i never use the fog light at all, this would help streamline the design. If you made the light flush with the curve i think it would look terrible, it needs a certain perception and depth to it. I like how you used the lighting, get a large enough rectangular shaped light, i think the amber turn signal is pointless considering the turn lamps in the front bumper. I think if you could permanently attach the lights to the bucket instead of using the bracket to the frame you could free up a lot of space and shorten the bucket thus eliminating both the need for frame and bumper cutting.

 

Thats why I am just listing these as a design and not a product. I am not so much concerned with the fab work and costs for these as much as finding the right parts and getting the look that I want. Thanks for the comments so far, proving to be very helpful.

 

I agree 100% on your design. The housing shape is awesome, I wouldn't have an issue with modifying the front bumper to accommodate them. Hid projectors are a must and an option for a lens would be great. A single headlamp leaves room to relocate the turn signals as well. You could take the design further by eliminating the 99 style combos and add another hid projector and use the Feed lenses. The first step would be to copy the RRR housings then look at how to mount them.

 

you might want to do a search on a member called team afx he took the stock headlights and modified them to look very similar to the rotary run racing. I remember before i got mine we were talking about him making me a set.

 

Pure (sorry dont know your name) - could you do me a favor and measure the length of your headlights front to bad and the depth of them from the highest point in the open portion?

Right now I think I need to start off with making a bucket for the headlights to sit in that would allow them to be mounted just like the stock pop-ups. This will give me a basis to work from building the headlights up rather than to fill the entire cavity with 2 part foam.

I agree that there needs to be some depth to these rather than a flush mount for the lense. I also need to source a real world projector for these. I want to find one that is currently being used as a headlight rather than a fog or "driving light" because I want the cut-offs to remain true and to be able to regularly source replacement bulbs etc.

 

I can, it will have to wait till this weekend, i am busy with school.

 

Thanks, Im in no rush.

 

Its times like this that I wish I had my own copy of autocad

 

I'm in the same boat as you - I don't care for any of the other sleek light kits besides the RRR. If I could get a mold of the actual fiberglass peice then making the brackets etc wouldn't be so bad. Custom will be the route I take so I can rid the car of the damn pop ups.

We have millions of body panels etc but no good options for headlights haha

 

the problem is that its alot more complex to make something like a headlight than a fender.

The biggest issue I can see is sourcing the lights themselves. I want to use a light that you can pick up replacements for at autozone if you dont have the HID kit and not have to worry about fog lights.

I want to keep the styling as clean as possible so it can go with just about anything out there.

 

FX35 Projectors, various BMW projectors, etc would make that possible.

Biggest issue is getting the design, mold, fitment, uninterrupted flow of the car, and ease of adjustability/maintenance.

 

yeah, that would involve some work on the backside of the assembly. I would love to find a way to make this a plug and play piece (aside from the trim work needed to the bumper etc).

 

I agree, problem would be on perfecting it as a single unit and finding the proper light setup that will fit as a single unit.

I really liked Waels 4 eyed sleepy headlights vs all other options aswell. Since keep the stock headlight assembly wouldn't ruin the look of the car provided the correct height of them popping up, nice oem sourced projectors, placement, and a good mold to cover them.

Thanks Mazda for the stockers

 

I think your biggest problem is going to be alignment on the road, once you get the bucket and lights asphyxiated who knows where they will align on the road. My biggest time consumption of the project was adjusting the bracket to fit the bucket and to light up the road properly.

 

WOW clean car!

 

I think that this can be resolved by a piviot on the lights themselves with a screw type adjuster for height and angle that is similar to how the alternator is used as a tensioner on the REW. I think this would go a long way to help to be able to angle the lights depending on ride height. I want to try to incorporate a back piece that is currently on the market to make the first run on this one. I dont even know if i just want to make a one of copy or what. It all depends on how big a pain in the *** this is going to be.

Right now I am drawing up a rough paper copy of how I want it aligned and will go from there.

 

Here is my first draft of the overall top look of the cover. I havent added the central ridge to it as I need to figure out the light size before I do that so that it doesnt come out awkward. It will atleast give me reference points though.



The actual image is on 1/1 scale.

 

first though of the front

 

So you want to copy the lights that purerx7 has. It isnt hard to do. Its just the cover you need to copy. Any body shop or fabricator can do that. Its getting the lights to fit that will be the pain. I personally will be putting tsx projectors in my evo R base lights. Not as pretty as yours but hey it works! good luck

 

Yeah, it is soucring the units that will be the issue. I still havent decided if I am going to do projectors behind the shield or a housing sourced from a cheap oem unit. Projectors would be easier but they also would not look as clean and may jumble it up.