Anyone recognize these first-gen HID headlights?

[DonTalarico]

http://www.evsmotors.com/vehicleinve...1/index10.html



Anyone know the brand, or where to buy these kind of headlights? Thoughts, comments, concerns?

[7t3 TA]

Don - they look like the same cheap ones i've seen on epay. I found these after a quick search - maybe not quite the same but close enough to get the idea.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Parts...=p4506.c0.m245



Gary

[MuscleRodz]

Those are those cheap crap non-DOT ones you can get all over Ebay.

[DonTalarico]

Well, glad we cleared that up...what are your guys' suggestions for HID lighting in first gens?

[Rhino]

They are cheap knock offs, however they are not HID's. I believe they're Hella Optilux 2500 housings. They use Halogen H4 bulbs.

[DarkoNova]

Well, glad we cleared that up...what are your guys' suggestions for HID lighting in first gens?

The only way I've seen that isn't cheap crap is to retrofit your own. I bought some Acura TL bi-xenon projectors (supposed to be the best bi-xenon projectors available right now) and they're not even aimed right but they're way better than my old setup (upgraded to H4 with a Painless relay harness). I haven't bothered to wire in the high beams yet because I need to figure out how to keep power going to the low beams when I turn the highs on (by default, the factory harness kills power to the low beams when you switch to highs).

I can take pictures if needed.

Matt

[Rhino]

The only way I've seen that isn't cheap crap is to retrofit your own.

Would you happen to have any pictures of this setup?

[Fesler built]

If you have not found anything yet we will be selling our HID kits in a few weeks for all 7-inch and 5-inch lights. I will have DOT Halogen Headlamp kits and from there you can add our HID convertion to them. I will post more pics soon we are just waiting for all our packaging to come in now.

[1969CamaroRS]

If you have not found anything yet we will be selling our HID kits in a few weeks for all 7-inch and 5-inch lights. I will have DOT Halogen Headlamp kits and from there you can add our HID convertion to them. I will post more pics soon we are just waiting for all our packaging to come in now.

Looks nice, any idea on pricing for the 7" and 5" kits?


Thanks!

[Fesler built]

Looks nice, any idea on pricing for the 7" and 5" kits?


Thanks!

we are working that up right now, we just got all the final packaging so we can figure it out. I will post everything up here in the next week about them. I am waiting on one more part for final price but they will be much cheaper and nicer as we were tired of buying crap that did not fit or look right. Took some time to put all this together but I think its all good to go now.

[texasdvldog]

interested!

[DarkoNova]

Looks nice, any idea on pricing for the 7" and 5" kits?


Thanks!

So how does the HID conversion work? Is there a way to open the lens or...? HID's aren't going to be worth a damn if there's no projector. I'm not trying to badmouth your product or anything, I'm just curious.

Would you happen to have any pictures of this setup?

I can take some pictures tonight of the output. Basically all I did was buy the $30 or so H4 upgraded lenses from Classic Industries, threw away the bulbs that came with it, and cut a hole in the back so I could fit the Acura projectors in them. Right now, they're just zip tied together until I get them aimed correctly and set where I want them, then I'll probably JB Weld them. I know, it sounds ghetto as hell, but surprisingly the lights don't vibrate over bumps, and I haven't had any problems with them. Plus it's too hot and humid lately to finish working on them so they'll have to suffice for now, lol.

Matt

[bobhamilton15090]

HID lights work fine without a projector. Mercedes had them throughout the 90s with no projectors. A projector for either halogen or HID bulbs is for direction of the light and looks. This is unless you are running an auto focusing bi-xenon system.
Anyone who wants to retrofit one of those with lenses and the motors I would love to see it!

[Rhino]

I can take some pictures tonight of the output. Basically all I did was buy the $30 or so H4 upgraded lenses from Classic Industries, threw away the bulbs that came with it, and cut a hole in the back so I could fit the Acura projectors in them. Right now, they're just zip tied together until I get them aimed correctly and set where I want them, then I'll probably JB Weld them. I know, it sounds ghetto as hell, but surprisingly the lights don't vibrate over bumps, and I haven't had any problems with them. Plus it's too hot and humid lately to finish working on them so they'll have to suffice for now, lol.

Matt

Thanks Matt I appreciate it. I'm actually more interested in their daytime appearance if you would happen to already have a pic of them.

[DarkoNova]

HID lights work fine without a projector. Mercedes had them throughout the 90s with no projectors. A projector for either halogen or HID bulbs is for direction of the light and looks. This is unless you are running an auto focusing bi-xenon system.
Anyone who wants to retrofit one of those with lenses and the motors I would love to see it!

I have no comment as I've never really seen older Mercedes lights at night, but from what I've seen of people putting HID's in regular halogen housings in Hondas and the like, the end result is light thrown everywhere, potentially blinding oncoming traffic. That's why I like projectors, the cutoff is in the projector, not the bulb, so regardless of what bulbs you end up using, the cutoff never changes. There's less chance of blinding oncoming traffic.

Thanks Matt I appreciate it. I'm actually more interested in their daytime appearance if you would happen to already have a pic of them.

I keep forgetting, but it's definitely easier to just snap a pic when I get home from school than it is to have to move a few cars just to get mine into the street at night. So tomorrow I'll take a couple pics in the afternoon for ya.

Matt

[4MuscleMachines]

If you have not found anything yet we will be selling our HID kits in a few weeks for all 7-inch and 5-inch lights. I will have DOT Halogen Headlamp kits and from there you can add our HID convertion to them. I will post more pics soon we are just waiting for all our packaging to come in now.

What kind of bulb do they use if non HID?

[GetMore]

Matt, the issue is the design of the headlights. DOT regulations required a beam pattern that had the light going everywhere, while European (e-code) lights have a cutoff that keeps the light down, on the road, instead of blinding other drivers. Hella has had some lights out for a long time now that were DOT approved, but had the cutoff built into it. I have a set from about 15 years ago. These could be converted to HID without causing the glare issue you are familiar with.

My VW has a set of e-codes in it with an HID conversion on the low beams, and it works well. I was not going to install the HIDs in the DOT lights because that would be too annoying.

[DarkoNova]

Matt, the issue is the design of the headlights. DOT regulations required a beam pattern that had the light going everywhere, while European (e-code) lights have a cutoff that keeps the light down, on the road, instead of blinding other drivers. Hella has had some lights out for a long time now that were DOT approved, but had the cutoff built into it. I have a set from about 15 years ago. These could be converted to HID without causing the glare issue you are familiar with.

My VW has a set of e-codes in it with an HID conversion on the low beams, and it works well. I was not going to install the HIDs in the DOT lights because that would be too annoying.

Ah, thanks for the info. Definitely clears things up a bit.

And here are some pics for those who were asking. They're not the greatest as there wasn't a lot of room in front of the car, and I was in a hurry.







Matt

[bobhamilton15090]

The "cut off" that you are all refering to would be on a bi-zenon system and actually is a shutter to creat a low/high beam situation. The lens does help direct the light and control the beam size, and was created for DOT standards. There are some lights that try to mimic the look of a bi-zenon system because it has a very deliberate flat line in the headlight beam. Headlight design is not as simple as it once was, this is part of the reason only a handfull of cars actually have a true bi-zenon system and everyone else tries to copy the look!

[Rhino]

Matt,
Thanks for the pics. I really like the fact that they're pretty stock in appearance. Exactly what I was looking for. I have a set of similar e-code housings that were destined for my Jeep, but I think I may end up cutting them up for HID's. Mine will be a little more noticeable than yours, but they'll also be hidden behind headlight doors most of the time.

Bob, Do you know if the bi-zenon systems are legal for road use? If I recall correctly they require auto levelers and something about that wasn't legal in an aftermarket system.