As many of you know, I was the lucky winner of a little thing Automobile Atlanta put on. I received a package today with the lenses, so here's my review and some pictures.

You might wonder why I did US spec lights instead of Euro lights, the answer is simple, because I like the look more and it's more original for my car.

First off, I should say that I am a mechanical designer with a pretty extensive history with plastic injection molded parts. What's nice is I can often easily tell how a part was made, the downside is that I can also see the shortcuts a molder takes. This is probably beneficial for many of you reading the review.

I should also say that I have no experience with the reproduction lenses AA had previously put out and their flaws, I didn't even research it because I didn't want it to jade my views on these new parts.

Alright, now lets get into it. Initial thoughts when I pulled them out of the package were that they look very nice. Plastic is a good thickness and material has a nice clarity to it.



Just like the factory parts, these lenses are three separate plastic pieces glued together, might even be plastic welded. When looking at the joints, there is a bit of an angle. The original parts have a smaller angle here, but only slightly.









I would have liked to see the ends of the seal meet somewhere other than a corner, but that's easily rectified before installation.



The threaded studs coming out of the back are over-molded, very little flash.



The homage logo, an Automobile Atlanta creation made to look similar to the Hella logo that would be on the factory parts, looks good. Placed right where the factory one would be. The rounded off rectangle that surrounds it is caused by what is called an insert, this piece of the mold can be swapped out or in this case turned around depending on if they're molding left or right side parts. Side note, if they wanted they could easily pop out some with the actual Hella logo, though it would probably be illegal.



So the part on the lens that's on the outer end of the part are clearly different molds for the left and right. The left and right mid section are made from the same mold, with the insert for the logo turned 180 degrees. So far it's all just like the original pieces, but this is where it diverts... the AA lenses use the same mold for the inner (clear, reverse) piece where as the factory used separate Left and Right molds. This would be ok I think if the design was altered for the reflector portion, but it was not. It's highly unlikely that it was a mix-up in assembly since the clear portion is not marked with a L or R like the factory pieces. Now that I've pointed it out, many of you will not be able to un-see it.



Assembly to the car went smoothly, everything lined up well and there were no issues. The lens seated down into position well when the nuts were snugged up on the backside, I didn't do a water spray test or anything but in my opinion they looked to seal well.







Overall impression is that I'm pleased. I'm not anal enough to let the clear reflector issue bug me, but I could understand if someone was. That is the only issue I see with them.

Great review!

Paul

Great review!!.....i think that clear reflector issue may have been an issue with you had you paid for these....It would be for me at the price being asked.

Good point.

At least it's a relatively easy fix, just build another mold. Molds are expensive, don't get me wrong, but fixing mold issues can often be worse.

Well I think the best man won, congrats and thanks for the professional review.

That's the reason he won those lenses because he has the knowledged to do the quality check. thanks for sharing!

I bought a pair of lenses and other parts from a member here and it has been inside the box for 2 years maybe. Well hope it has the same fitment like you have won. Now I noticed the white lens on mine has those two lines.

Click to view attachment

Nice write up - thanks for taking the time to post it.

The old ones had the same irregularity in the clear sections.
I know, I sent a lot of them out when I was there.

I'd swear my factory Hellas have the same issue with the reverse lights. Maybe at some point Hella just moved to using one mold. I can't see it being for cost savings since the second mood must've already been produced. But maybe they ran into issues with the mold and decided fixing it for the remaining run of parts wasn't worth it?

Thanks for the great write up, well done, unbiased and with some background information on you that helps to prove your knowledge in the area of molding (my background too).

Looking at my euro Hellas right now (no camera handy). The lines are even. There are even number and a stamping of an "E4" and an "L" on the clear portion....so on the repops, are the numbers upside down? Are there numbers? I see DGM7134 PR

.........what white line?

Yup, mine are in different spots. I didn't look to see if there was info on the clear portion of the lens, it would help to identify if Hella used the same mold for both sides. But either way it shows AA's part doesn't really differ from the Hella unit in that respect. Sorry for the upside down pics, but you get the idea.

Also, this was my second pair of Hellas (one of the originals has a crack in it), if I remember correctly, the old pair had an entirely different clear section in it. I believe the line (or really, a raised portion on the inside of the clear lens) was still there, but the pattern on the inside of the clear lens was different than my current lenses.

Given that George put the AUATL logo in place of the Hella insignia, I don't think he is trying to fool anybody as to origin of the parts. These will never be okay with the CW's, but if they fit and look correct (and I believe they do) it's all good.

On the new AA reproduction pieces there are numbers on the clear portion, since they are from the same mold one side is upside down. There are no L or R indications.

The stock Hellas I have are marked L and R on the clear portion.

Just my opinion of course, but I think Euro with the Phoenix Red would have looked fantastic. Then shave the warts (since you have to fix one fender anyway) and replace the front signal lights with euros. Originality? I don't think you're heading down the concourse path with this car.

Congrats on the win and great write-up!

But Glen, that's great and everything about the lenses - did you get to meet Catherine??

Thanks for the great review and congratulations on the win.

Did you have to pay shipping?

Haha, the pictures may be deceiving you, my 914 is Tangerine. True it's not a concourse car, but I prefer the US lights on my car. I will be shaving the front side indicators though.


Haha, no.



I did not have to pay shipping.

Great review and pics. Thanks.

Problem is, they're sold through AA.

I can't imagine ** culling thru the pile to provide you with the best example. Like buying 2x4s at Home Depot. congrats on the win!

Such cynicism! Really does look like a good product, so I'm sure all those people who bought the faulty earlier lenses will be very happy with these replacements.

Are you saying there is a replacement program for the early ones? I had no idea. Catherine should have mentioned that.

Nice review. I can't say enough how fortunate we are that AA just happened to randomly pick a mechanical designer with extensive history in plastic injection molded parts.

Well, she actually disappeared as soon as that was first suggested, but I'm sure she loved the idea and is putting together a recall program right now.

10-4

Actually, she's viewing the contest thread right now. Oh this one now.

Thank you very much for your honest review of the lenses Glen. We here at AutoAtlanta value your opinion and hope to have the pleasure of doing business with you for years to come!

I am sorry, but I find the fake Hella Logo thing just hokey.

Why not just leave it blank?

And was does it stand for/mean?

AUTAL. Not hard to figure out what it means. They look good too

Well, it's the Hella logo, and they replaced the letters with kindof a shorthand for Automobile Atlanta. Since Hella has 5 letters, that probably dictated the use of AUATL for AUtoATLanta. That's how I take it anyway.

Thanks. Thought it was weird and didn't spin too many brain cells over it.