Yoh, checked back today and the list is already at 30?!? gj guys! hope we get some lights soon before Christmas

Forgot to add RHD by my name btw

1. the_glass_man
2. bb6 -E2- fd3s
3. Samjai (RHD)
4. 93SilverBullet (this time its definite)
5. 7racer
6. faster11
7. fendamonky
8.Beto300zx
9. HalfSpec
10. RENESISFD
11. Ruler_Mark
12. 13BMANIAC
13. BoostedPenGuin
14. rlee429
15. stubba
16. Orbitalmovment
17. Blizzaga
18. neofreak
19. alaskan7
20. $lacker
21. web777
22. monofilm
23. kobbs (RHD)
24. roootary
25. jmac22
26. Brad89au (RHD)
27. Evopanda (Not backing out this time)
28. riceman1998
29. twinsinside (RHD)

 

At this point we are just waiting for a few updated pics of everything that is included as I realize the original pictures don't do the best job at showing what you get. We should have everything ready to go in a matter of days, and we have 34 headlight housing sets pre-ordered which are on a boat headed here as we speak. We're hoping to turn this GB around much quicker than the previous ones (crossing my fingers). So that's going to be the cap (34). We'll send everyone PM's and post a link when the new thread is up (should be just a few more days now).

-Heath


1. the_glass_man
2. bb6 -E2- fd3s
3. Samjai (RHD)
4. 93SilverBullet (this time its definite)
5. 7racer
6. faster11
7. fendamonky
8.Beto300zx
9. HalfSpec
10. RENESISFD
11. Ruler_Mark
12. 13BMANIAC
13. BoostedPenGuin
14. rlee429
15. stubba
16. Orbitalmovment
17. Blizzaga
18. neofreak
19. alaskan7
20. $lacker
21. web777
22. monofilm
23. kobbs (RHD)
24. roootary
25. jmac22
26. Brad89au (RHD)
27. Evopanda (Not backing out this time)
28. riceman1998
29. twinsinside (RHD)
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.

 

I have to say these go so much faster and smoother after you've already done it once, lol. I need to get a damn camera to get some picks before my friend goes to his new duty station. Last night while I was aiming my friends another friend showed up in a 2004 Audi S4 and I think these lights are actually less obnoxious than his.

This time I used 3m molding tape which seemed to hold a lot better than the regular 3m double sided tape.

 

The 3m "heavy duty" mounting tape (which is a gray double sided foam) is the best stuff I've ever used. It will be attached for life with that stuff

 

1. the_glass_man
2. bb6 -E2- fd3s
3. Samjai (RHD)
4. 93SilverBullet (this time its definite)
5. 7racer
6. faster11
7. fendamonky
8.Beto300zx
9. HalfSpec
10. RENESISFD
11. Ruler_Mark
12. 13BMANIAC
13. BoostedPenGuin
14. rlee429
15. stubba
16. Orbitalmovment
17. Blizzaga
18. neofreak
19. alaskan7
20. $lacker
21. web777
22. monofilm
23. kobbs (RHD)
24. roootary
25. jmac22
26. Brad89au (RHD)
27. Evopanda (Not backing out this time)
28. riceman1998
29. twinsinside (RHD)
30. white-rx7
31.
32.
33.
34.

Great Headlights! Good work!

Are the headlights for european light standards too?
Do you ship to Germany?

Paying by Paypal recommended.

 

Yes, yes (but its more than the standard US shipping), and yes .

A note to everyone signed up: I should have the new GB posted tomorrow. I'll add a link here and scrub will PM everyone on the list a link/reminder as well.

 

I think the current set is awesome...

However I concur with David on an option for the sleepy eyes... I think that it would only make sense marketing wise and personally I would go with the sleepy eyes option... Maybe is not "up to date" but it sure is Bad *** !!

Perhaps you can do a poll and make an informative decision...

here is a picture of a member of the forum FD with sleepy eyes conversion. I believe is a Veilside.
I can just imagine your HID's with this set up... Total WIN

Just my humble opinion...

 

Though it would be pretty sweet. I don't think there is a projector out there worth using, that would fit in that headlight housing unfortunately.

 

Sounds like a challenge and also a business opportunity... If it was easy anyone would have done it...

 

Not really. If we build it no one will buy them for the price it takes to make a proper setup. I'm not talking about cheap hella projectors, or halogen high beams, or other BS... a proper lighting kit with two GOOD projectors, a shroud, a clear protective lens, modified arms for the headlights. We're talking about a $1,800+ kit.

Can we make it? Yes.
Have Dan and I talked about it? Definately.

But we decided for the price people wont buy it, or the numbers would be so low that our efforts would be better placed working on parts that people can actually afford. That's my take on it.

 

Cheap Hella projectors and halogen high beams? You taking a swipe at me Heath? . "You talking to me?" he says in his best Robert Di Niro "Taxi Driver" voice.

 

badda bing, badda boom. David you know how i feel about the halogen high beams and the lag with the ballasts turning on and off. So assuming one projector is a bi-xenon, what do you do w/ the other one? If you did a twin bi-xenon setup the cost would be 1800+ like I said before, and you probably would never bother using the second set of projectors.

The lights look cool, but as far as functionality goes, you either have to sacrifice functionality, or add a TON to the cost. I also feel that with a $2K lighting setup, to not have a clear plastic lens in front of the projectors is a sin , cause you get one decent sized rock (or a lot of little ones over time) and the fun is over. Not trying to say that what you came up with is bad, and it does look really nice aesthetically, but as far as performance for price I wouldn't pick it personally. That's just my own personal view.

Not to mention, I don't know many people who would choose to pay 2K for a headlight setup... there are only a handfull of people at most that would actually follow through. At that price range I can tell you that there are a lot of window shoppers out there.
-Heath

 

Food for thought and speaking of my setup only:

1) There is no lag with the hid ballasts as I have a wiring harness that keeps the low beams on at all times. No beating up the ballasts this way. So, when the highs come on, the lows remain on as well and I then get to use the output of 4 lights versus only two. It's quite bright. Interestingly, I don't use the high beam halogens much as the low beams are so bright I don't need the highs very often.

So, no need to sacrifice functionality here for a more appealing aesthetic look IMO. Curiously I would be interested in a poll of RX7 owners to find out if they think my sleepy eye setup is better or worse looking than the SakeBomb kit. Not that I think either of us cares as we got what we wanted.

2) With a four light setup, there really is no need to do two bi-xenon projectors as I agree this would be way overkill. If you don't want to go my route of 50mm HID lows, you could use one of the Hella bi-xenon 90mm projector units and then a 50mm projector halogen high unit. This would give you all projector beams and the use of a 90mm xenon projector for both low and high beams. You'd leave these on just like I do when the highs come on and them you'd have even better light than your kit as you'd have a 90mm HID high with the additional light of the halogen unit. Not that you'd need it, but the light output would be amazing. You'd also have a setup that is completely DOT legal I might add.

The cost? You could do this type of setup for a cost of around $1,800 and make a decent profit to boot. Yes, I think not everyone will want to pay this but for a finished sleepy eye look with killer light output that is DOT legal, it might be worth it to some.

As an aside here, one of our forum members is copying my setup but he has gone with the 50mm projector halogen Hella units. His cost will be under $900 for the look I have but in halogen. Hella claims the light output on these units is 3X the stock FD ones so I think he will be pleased but the proof will be in the result I think. We'll see (pun intended) soon enough.

3) Regarding the plastic lens issue, Hella talked me out of this as it was my original intent to do this. They claim their headlight modules are self contained units designed to be open to the elements. They also state that when you place anything in front of the light source, the beam is diminished so I took their advice. So far, some unlucky bugs have hit them but nothing else.

Now, wanna discuss that "cheap hella projectors" comment?

 

Well whoever is doing the twin halogen setup that is "3x better than stock", I'd rather have Mercedes quality lighting for that price than twin halogens. I would never consider buying (let alone selling) that setup. Your setup is a different story cause it's at least got HID low beams. My only critique with leaving the lows on at the same time as the highs is the current draw. The halogens are probably 60w and the HID's are 35w... that's 95w of load on the system. Thats a good amount of power, especially if you are running other high electrical draw components (say a 20b like you and me ). But you're right, you probably wouldn't use it that often. On the dark deer filled back-roads late at night, I definately use my bi-xenon highs a good amount though, as it lets me find critters a mile ahead before I hit them doing 100 . Last year the lights saved me and a deer... this guy was just sitting in the middle of the road, (presumably 2am is deer tea time) and was not about to move. I don't know how fast I was going but it was not particularly slow , but I was able to get on the brakes, with ABS firing away, and came to rest with the bumper 2 feet from this deer. We both looked at each other (mutually annoyed) and he slowly meandered back off the road while giving me the evil eye. We both had a "hey buddy, who the hell do you think you are" moment . Moral of the story is, drive slow. And the second moral of the story is, if you don't, whatever you are using for lighting, just make sure it's good (whatever it is).

And sorry for calling the hella projectors "cheap". They are not. They are actually quite expensive ... but for all that cost the beam is not that wide and the cutoff leaves a little to be desired. They are DOT legal, but supposedly the flat cutoff is also DOT legal. Either way, no matter how you slice it, a decent HID twin setup costs the consumer about twice the price, and very very few people have that kind of dough for lighting, better looks or not.

 

I can agree with that... the deer spotting ability of the SBG light kit is second-to-none. After some spirited back road runs with scrub this past weekend, I can honestly say that I NEED these lights. We spotted multiple deer on our run that I know I never would have seen with my stock setup. On top of that, the flick of a switch, instantaneous, Bi-Xenon high beams were fantastic when running through the back roads with twisty blind corners and on coming traffic constantly flicking the high beams on and off.

 

Well, we'll agree on the need to have improved lighting. I rode in a FD with stock lighting at Gordon's place and I was reminded again as to why we all need to upgrade. Couldn't see worth a crap.

Regarding the Hellas, the units I have on my car are the same units used on several brands of supercars including Ferrari and Saleen, and I have to think their engineers know a thing or two about lighting. Think they'd settle for as you put it a "beam is not that wide and the cutoff leaves a little to be desired"?

The product manager at Hella states: "There is a very very very thorough task of building quality lamps that will last for years. To be frank, if the company is not producing parts for any OE's at some level, they are not up to standards, or they would be making lights for someone somewhere. There are thousands of factors that go into making a good light. Like anything else, you get what you pay for. I have tested just about every possible Aftermarket lamp in the world, in a real lighting lab. You would be surprised at the "big brands" that fail even our basic tests." And FYI, this same guy has tested units from the retrofitsource.com (sound familiar?) and they have failed DOT.

As to DOT legal or not DOT legal, DOT legality has to do with much more than different types of cutoffs. It's the "tuners" that are obsessed with making a crisp "blue" cutoff line, not the OEM manufacturers. The issue is does the light perform well? Does it provide superior lighting and not blind oncoming drivers? Straight from Hella:

"A stand alone projector that is not contained in any assembly is in no way complaint. It might have come from a complaint headlight (E46/Infinity), but that certification is for that entire unit (housing, markers, reflectors, etc.) as an entire assembly. When you separate any component of it, for it, it is no longer complaint unless re-tested as a stand alone unit. Any projector that goes into another assembly, is not complaint."

Regarding the cost factor, yes, no matter how you look at it, four lights will cost more than two. However, if I wasn't concerned/obsessed about DOT stuff, I could have made my lights with components from the retrofitsource.com and have them all be HID and come in under $1,000 for everything. I actually seriously looked into this and spent some quality time on the phone with Matt. At the end of the day, my DOT gut kicked in and I decided against this.

So where does this leave us? I'm sure no different than when we started this debate about one year ago!

 

Would lights From a First GEN NSX work like the pics posted above?

 

Ok so you're saying that a headlight out of another DOT leagal car, retrofitted into a different car, is not DOT legal, correct? This is because DOT can't be assured the way you are aiming in the new car will comply with DOT standards, right?. Isn't that the same situation you have with your sealed units? (the answer is yes). So the argument is: one is legal cause it's in a self contained sealed housing, and ours isn't legal cause it's... wait... ours are actually "in a self contained sealed housing"


Ok, you have a stamp, we don't have a stamp. Argument over.


We're just going to go back and fourth on this indefinitely so I'm happy to stop now. You think you're right, I think I'm right, lets just let the voters decide.


But, I do have to point out one glaring inconsistency with your argument. You said your "DOT gut kicked in" and that motivated your decision? Isn't it strange that you then put a non DOT legal motor in your car (20b) . That motor was never authorized by the department of transportation to be used on any public roadway in the US, and is not allowed to be imported if you check the box "for use on public roadways" . And I'd bet you never bothered to report this to the State of Florida let alone the Federal Department of Transportation . Isn't this like calling yourself a vegetarian, but you still eat chicken? David, I hate to break it to you, yer car aint the slightest bit legal! LOL

<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">



Also, am i really the only person that thinks this car looks very very sad, depressed, etc to the point of wanting to do itself in? This car needs a counselor, and to be put on suicide watch.

 

^ Yea it looks sad. I am not a fan of it either.



John

 

No, not correct Heath. My units are complete modules and are DOT tested and approved. Your units are components that are made by different companies - the housing is made by one company in China, the lens by another Chinese company, and the ballasts by I think a Japanese company. Has nothing to do with aiming, but everything to do with all the components not being tested as a unit. Thus, the facts are yours are not DOT approved and we have no idea if they would meet DOT standards if they were tested (the odds are no they wouldn't - reference Hellas testing of many aftermarket units including theretrofitsource.com ones and they have all failed). You'd have to send in the entire unit for testing and $100K later you'd know. With the Hella units, they are DOT legal and as long as I don't retrofit them (pull them apart and use other components) they will always be legal. Aiming is another thing and doesn't apply here. Those are the facts and not opinion. End of story.

If you were to take the entire headlight module from another car and use it on your car it would be DOT legal. But once you start pulling apart pieces of the unit, then no, it's no longer legal.

So, mine are legal and DOT approved and yours are not. Debate it any way you wish but those are the facts. Most guys don't care about this but you guys should. What happens if a customer has a crash and blames it on the headlights? DOT can test these any time with one complaint and if you aren't in compliance, the fines are astronomical. As I recall, it's like $6K per headlight, or $12,000 for every unit you are selling. Multiply this by the 30 units you have already sold and that's a $360K fine not to mention the second GB you are doing or the FC or FB potential buys. That would be life altering wouldn't it and not in a good way.

But everyone makes their own decisions. I chose mine and you guys do yours. As I have stated many many times, I really like the lights and the output and think this is a great option for upgrading the stock units. Just don't confuse DOT approval issues.

As for the 20B conversion, I am unaware that my car is now illegal but I will check into this. Pettit claimed otherwise when I did the conversion but you know how well that worked out for me so anything could be possible here

 

"Disclaimer: This product is intended for Off Road use only. By installing these lights you assume all risks and liabilities associated with using this product.
(Though our lights do use DOT approved components, modified lights may not necessarily be DOT legal)"

I think they state that clearly in the instructions, so were at our own risk.

 

David, I have a set of OEM e46 projectors in front of me and two other projectors including ours that I will take pictures of tonight. Then we can all look at the beam pattern and form our own judgments.

And yeah, pettit doesnt know what they're talking about. They obviously didn't import the motor, or they would know it's not legal on public roads. The only loophole is saying the motor is for off-road (racetrack) use... then the 20b can come in. Do I care? No. They perform well just like our headlights. I am however running twin cats on the 20b so it "conforms to DOT standards" even though its not DOT legal. Isn't that really the essence of the law? The DOT "stamp of approval" is a technicality that I personally could care less about, seeing as everything conforms to the rules which are used to award that "stamp".
<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">

 

Do the lights pull ANY current while off?? My battery PC925 is been dying on me since installing these.... Could be unrelated...

 

e46 on top fx on bottom

 

Ok enough of this bickering, apparently the niceties at the Carlisi meet was a mistake. Guess what David, I've proved you wrong before even though you were dead set on the misinformation that was fed to you by others. You probably still think the cutoff style of our lights are ECE As quoted in the post above our instructions clearly state to use our lights at your own risk. You want to offer DOT street legal headlights to the community.. GO FOR IT! You think a DOT approval makes everything peachy? Our stock headlights were DOT approved; they should be illegal and Mazda should be sued for releasing such terrible lighting. I believe your mounting assembly also has to be DOT approved not only the lights; but hey you've obviously got too much free time on your hands so by all means research away tiger! The fact of the matter is you'll believe whatever you read or what is told to you by a "credible" source. See blow:

I bet you'd believe BP if they told you the oil spill had been completely cleaned up too.



You're like a little kid pointing fingers, act your age.. I know the Ed hardy shirts make you feel young again, but it's called being mature. As stated above our lights were designed for off-road use and are to be used at your own risk. Unless you have a genuine interest in purchasing any of our products please refrain from posting in our threads. If you feel the need to continue to post in our threads I will have the posts deleted. We can't continue to respond to your attacks in our for sale threads, I'm sure if the roles were reversed you'd be quite cross. Heath can field any further comments via PM, I'm done dealing with you. Any further issues you have with a product which you are not going to purchase should be posted in the goodguy/badguy section. Our customers can critique our products there. You seem to have taken a particular interest in both of our headlight kits and our fire extinguisher mounting solution among other things.

I can admit to being wrong, but when someone tells you that 5+5 = 10 and you're convinced it equals 9 then that's just called being ignorant. It's pretty funny how you like to pick on us so much, but you get all emo when something is said directly to you.


We've never claimed our lights were DOT approved. Everyone definitely does make their own decisions, you chose to spend 100k+ on a 20B swap which continues to break down and have ongoing issues. If my car was at kilo racing or at the body shop as much as yours I'd probably be a little feisty too. One day you'll get to enjoy your headlights as much as I enjoy mine. I guess when you do your own work you know it's done right

Members can choose whatever lighting solution they want. Just about any projector based headlight will offer better lighting then stock. Thanks for trying to make us second guess offering a better then stock lighting solution. Any FD owners who have seen our lights were very impressed with the road lighting, and our customers are happy. Do I care if our lights are better then your solution? No. You've had the opportunity twice now to compare our lights, but never said a word about it to me. Maybe it just comes down to the issue of confidence.