Projector Headlamps, Aftermarket headlamps Options

[Frost]

Hey guys, i was at my friends shop and i was talking to him about HID's and how i couldn't put them on my car and then he introduced me to these headlights. They have a projector, and he said i can pop the bulb out and put HID's in it. What do you guys think about these? I put a LED in the engine bay and the interior lamp in between the seats. I have the Sylvania headlamp on the left and the projector on the right.

[Mike Bellis]

You can put HID's in your car without the projector. You need an H4 lamp assembly. I had them in my 911. You can even find High/Low HID's to fit the H4 style bulb.

I dont really care for the projector you have pictured.

[matthepcat]

You can put HID's in your car without the projector. You need an H4 lamp assembly. I had them in my 911. You can even find High/Low HID's to fit the H4 style bulb.

I dont really care for the projector you have pictured.

Running HID bulbs without a correct projector like you said you have done on your 911 is down right dangerous to other drivers. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif)

I think the projector installed in the 7" round light is legit. Just aim it right and you get 100x better night vision.

Nice work!

[Mikey914]

Actually if the HID unit is set up correctly, it should be no more dangerous in a stock H4 than a projector. I have a similar (if not the same) projector lens like you have on your rig on my 951, I like it. The stock was a sealed beam and I picked up a pair on EBay for $30. The only thing with that type of lens is that it's not a true projector lens. You get refracted light out the sides of the lens that goes out in a larger cone. You can see the edges of the lens "cone" way outside the projected beam.

The issues with the HID units I have found is that some only have HID on the low beam (stay away from this) as you'll never use your high beams and if someone flashes you, you look like a chump for turning on your high beams, that seem much less bright, but now are higher.

If you get the high / low HID units, the HID slides up and down simulating the angle for the high and low beams. This is the best as it will not hit the oncoming driver with the "high" beam, that's really not as bright.

I had brought in a few of these with the idea of reselling them, but the problem was they are kind of a pain to instal, and the flickering issue. You have to allow for the wires to the ballast, and mount the ballast. I also found in my testing that over time and with moisture you will get "flickering" I have found this with 3 different manufacturers.All of them clained to be water tight, with pictures of thier units operating under water and impressive tests to suport the claims, but they all performed simularly. This is probably more a function of the moving bucket assembly in our car and the 951. The good news is that it will fault out and can be reset.

Don't get me wrong, I liked them on my 951, but they're not real easy to mount. They are pretty inexpensive, the hi / lows can me gotten in the $65 range. And they do typically run on 35w, so no need to rewire for additional wattage.

Just what I have learned. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Mike Bellis]

You can put HID's in your car without the projector. You need an H4 lamp assembly. I had them in my 911. You can even find High/Low HID's to fit the H4 style bulb.

I dont really care for the projector you have pictured.

Running HID bulbs without a correct projector like you said you have done on your 911 is down right dangerous to other drivers. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif)

I think the projector installed in the 7" round light is legit. Just aim it right and you get 100x better night vision.

Nice work!

I disagree. My HID's are brighter, not dangerous. If you don't know how to aim headlights they may be too bright for oncoming traffic. I do know how to aim head lights by following factory specs. If the light still looks to high, I can lower it again. The lamp light angle will change by installing different lamps as the length from the rear of the lense to the filiment is different. Any time you change a headlamp they need to be re-aimed. If a person does not know how to aim, there could be a problem. Most aftermarket projector lenses have very poor optics. They will not necessarily give you any better light. the only consistancy between them is the light shield that gives you that "line" of light on the horizon.

[toon1]

I like them, Stock lights suck, anything brighter is an improvement.

I have the camp 914 fog lights and they are 10 times brighter than the stock headlights. I use them for the head lights most of the time.

Where are the kits avail?

[gopack]

You can put HID's in your car without the projector. You need an H4 lamp assembly. I had them in my 911. You can even find High/Low HID's to fit the H4 style bulb.

I dont really care for the projector you have pictured.

Running HID bulbs without a correct projector like you said you have done on your 911 is down right dangerous to other drivers. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif)

I think the projector installed in the 7" round light is legit. Just aim it right and you get 100x better night vision.

Nice work!

I disagree. My HID's are brighter, not dangerous. If you don't know how to aim headlights they may be too bright for oncoming traffic. I do know how to aim head lights by following factory specs. If the light still looks to high, I can lower it again. The lamp light angle will change by installing different lamps as the length from the rear of the lense to the filiment is different. Any time you change a headlamp they need to be re-aimed. If a person does not know how to aim, there could be a problem. Most aftermarket projector lenses have very poor optics. They will not necessarily give you any better light. the only consistancy between them is the light shield that gives you that "line" of light on the horizon.

That light line and shield is to limit the glare (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif) encountered by an oncoming motorist. that is why you should NEVER install HIDs in a normal non-projection housing. especially as the temerature gets higher than say 4000K, as the bluer the light the more glare it causes. there is a reason that the DOT has a hand in approving auto headlights (not just a big brother thing)
There is tons of real scientific research on these topics and I suggest before doing any mods that you like, as a good citizen you check it out. Aim is only a small part of what needs to be considered. (END lecture)

[rekphiv]

Where would one find a correct projection housing for our cars?

[Mike Bellis]

Where would one find a correct projection housing for our cars?

There is no "correct one" for our cars. The one at the top of the post can be had on ebay. Search 7" projector or H4 projector. You must carefully aim it though. If in doubt sent it lower and to the right. That way you wont bother oncomming traffic.

[jetboy]

That light line and shield is to limit the glare (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif) encountered by an oncoming motorist. that is why you should NEVER install HIDs in a normal non-projection housing.

I absolutely agree. Aim all day long and it doesn't change the simple fact that normal headlight housings create too wide a spread to contain the increased glare from HID's. You can even get tickets for installing HID's in incorrect housings (as well as using overpowered and non-DOT approved bulbs). Nothing worse than a tall F150 or Blazer running HIDs right at eye level. Be it oncoming or tailgating traffic, that is a recipe for night blindness.

So for those of you who swear that you have aimed your HID conversion perfectly... Thank you for blinding me (IMG:style_emoticons/default/alfred.gif)

[matthepcat]

Here is Acura TL Bi-xenon projector output on my 914.

Click link--> 914 TL projectors


This video is not the best as you can't see the real world driving improvement, however you get the picture.


My 914 came with no headlights, so these were a "fill in" while I figure out what to do as a final solution.

Matt

[JmuRiz]

Hey guys, i was at my friends shop and i was talking to him about HID's and how i couldn't put them on my car and then he introduced me to these headlights. They have a projector, and he said i can pop the bulb out and put HID's in it. What do you guys think about these? I put a LED in the engine bay and the interior lamp in between the seats. I have the Sylvania headlamp on the left and the projector on the right.

That's pretty darn cool, how do they work? Is there another bulb for the part surrounding the projector (to use when the high beams are on)?

We need details...granted I have H4s in mine and rarely drive at night, but they are cool.

[Mike Bellis]

Here is Acura TL Bi-xenon projector output on my 914.

Click link--> 914 TL projectors


This video is not the best as you can't see the real world driving improvement, however you get the picture.


My 914 came with no headlights, so these were a "fill in" while I figure out what to do as a final solution.

Matt

I have a complete 914 headlamp system if you need it. Not sure what its worth. I removed mine to install custom headlamps. I'll have to bring it by so you can see it. If you find the thread "lets see your 914 headlights on" or what ever it was called. you will see multiple posts by me of my new headlights. Here's one of my fovorite pics..

[jsayre914]

i purchased a HID kit, with the correct lenses from this guy, and i am very pleased with it, however they are low beam only. I have never found a need for high beam. Its sorta like driving a spaceship at night... very cool

im sure he would sell you just the lenses

http://www.944online.com/

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Nürburg Nomad]

Dislike... it looks odd and way out of place on a 914.

Do yourself a favor and buy the Bosch H4 headlamps from Bus Depot, they are made in Germany/Sweeden and a CRAZY good deal while they're still on sale at less than $50.00 I just swapped mine out 2 weeks ago and they are much brighter, look better because of the almost flat glass (hence the reason they're referred to as "flat" 7" headlamps) and because they're technically a DOT approved motorcycle headlamp the spread of light is wider. The bulbs are also only $4 each and made in Germany! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

LINK: http://www.busdepot.com/

Also, compared to other H4 headlight assemblies I've handled the Bosch units were sturdier than Hella, and had a much tighter rubber boot sealing the back of the headlamp.

[FlatIV]

Might be interesting
Headlights

Andrew

[strawman]

Might be interesting
Headlights

Andrew

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/shocked[1].gif) $600/pair? Yikes!

[VaccaRabite]

Might be interesting
Headlights
Andrew

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/shocked[1].gif) $600/pair? Yikes!

They use less power then regualr lights, and they last a long long time, so for trucking applications they pay off.
BUT!
They don't throw heat light halogens. Which means that they can't melt snow or ice like regualar lights do.

There was a bus fleet somewhere (New York maybe?) that got outfitted with these lights, and had to go back to standard bulbs as the snow would not melt off them in the winter, and the busses did not have headlights.

Zach

[turboman808]

I deleted all my online pictures but I did healdights similar to Neo914s. They are not perfect but pretty cool.

The good news is Hella has made some new products that make creating your own lights very easy. At some point I will go back and do them over with new projectors.

hi beamonly
http://www.myhellalights.com/index.php/def...n-de-high-beam/

low beam only
http://www.myhellalights.com/index.php/def...on-de-low-beam/

Hi and low beam
http://www.myhellalights.com/index.php/def.../90mm-bi-xenon/

[BRAVE_HELIOS]

I deleted all my online pictures but I did healdights similar to Neo914s. They are not perfect but pretty cool.

The good news is Hella has made some new products that make creating your own lights very easy. At some point I will go back and do them over with new projectors.

hi beamonly
http://www.myhellalights.com/index.php/def...n-de-high-beam/

low beam only
http://www.myhellalights.com/index.php/def...on-de-low-beam/

Hi and low beam
http://www.myhellalights.com/index.php/def.../90mm-bi-xenon/

Bring on the funk! I like it!