Lets See Some Light: The Definitive Lighting Thread

[Z_Spool]

Black light you say? Hmmmmm.....

[tapdeznutz]

holy shit silviaks2nr, that looks great. i did the tsx projectors for pop up s13 and they are no where near that bright. is it just the projectors thats you used that gives the brightest? please enlighten me.

[S14kouki_10]

Anyone need some bmw projectors (e90), got some laying around.

[hellion240sx]

Originally Posted by silviaks2nr

PM me, kinda depends on the specific setup and parts.

That setup. How much? Pm me. That's inane. Cept I have glass not plastic. And no black paint.

[silviaks2nr]

That cutoff photo is slightly overexposed to emphasize the cutoff color and sharpness. Having said that not all projectors are created equal. The rx330 projectors are just "okay" in factory form, but I modify them with a clear projector lens and a custom curved cutoff shield so that the distance lighting and width is immensely improved. More info on that if you go on hidplanet forums. As far as low beam projectors go they are pretty much the best. TSX projectors concentrate too much of the light to the foreground and not enough for down the road intensity so they are not a great projector to use on a low car like a 240 which needs intense distance lighting instead of foreground lighting.

[silviaks2nr]

I posted a how to a while back for people who want a little help doing their own retrofit as well. http://zilvia.net/f/s-chassis/505768...-retrofit.html This retrofit is without the clear headlight lenses, you can see the difference in the cutoff pattern and intensity.

[tapdeznutz]

Originally Posted by silviaks2nr

That cutoff photo is slightly overexposed to emphasize the cutoff color and sharpness. Having said that not all projectors are created equal. The rx330 projectors are just "okay" in factory form, but I modify them with a clear projector lens and a custom curved cutoff shield so that the distance lighting and width is immensely improved. More info on that if you go on hidplanet forums. As far as low beam projectors go they are pretty much the best. TSX projectors concentrate too much of the light to the foreground and not enough for down the road intensity so they are not a great projector to use on a low car like a 240 which needs intense distance lighting instead of foreground lighting.

Again, great info. so what projector do you know of is or has great "down the road" lighting. I know exactly what you mean, i get great lighting in front of me but thought the TSX projectors would be an upgrade to the 350z projectors I originally started with. Personally i think the 350z projectors are a little better then the TSX. I will have to post pictures up of both sets when i get a chance for everyone to see.

[ManoNegra]

silviaks2nr - question, why plastic covers?
do they offer some kind of advantage over glass ones.
I can only see them getting yellow/foggy over time.

[tapdeznutz]

Originally Posted by ManoNegra

silviaks2nr - question, why plastic covers?
do they offer some kind of advantage over glass ones.
I can only see them getting yellow/foggy over time.

Maybe he meant lexan not plastic?

[silviaks2nr]

lexan is a type of plastic, a polycarbonate. The lenses from the vertex lights are probably made of polyethelene if I had to guess. The reason for using them rather than the oem glass ones is because the oem glass ones are the cause for a significant amount of glare and loss of intensity. They also really hurt the cutoff sharpness and colorband. If you leave your car outside all the time they will start to haze after a few years. You can always just wetsand and polish them at that point though.

[tapdeznutz]

what thickness are you using. i just bought a sheet of 1/4" from home depot for another project that i now want to use. thanks again.

[silviaks2nr]

I didn't make the lenses, just took them off the vertex lights and put them on the oem housings. I have made clear kouki lenses before, before the vertex lights existed, but this is way easier.

[trentjsd]

Would this be the same for s13 buying the clear lens?

[ManoNegra]

Originally Posted by silviaks2nr

lexan is a type of plastic, a polycarbonate. The lenses from the vertex lights are probably made of polyethelene if I had to guess. The reason for using them rather than the oem glass ones is because the oem glass ones are the cause for a significant amount of glare and loss of intensity. They also really hurt the cutoff sharpness and colorband. If you leave your car outside all the time they will start to haze after a few years. You can always just wetsand and polish them at that point though.

I see gotcha, thanks
personally I think I would keep the glass
nice work btw

[tapdeznutz]

Originally Posted by ManoNegra

I see gotcha, thanks
personally I think I would keep the glass
nice work btw

this is the second time i have heard the suggestion that replacing the glass with "lexan" will give a brighter beam. i will be replacing the lens.

[Edwin562]

Originally Posted by trentjsd

Would this be the same for s13 buying the clear lens?

a legit projector retrofit on flip up is difficult due to space and still keeping the flip up function..

here is a link i been told is a legit retrofit on a flip up..
NorCal MR2 Pegasus Headlight Conversion

[silviaks2nr]

The pegasus headlights are a joke. Sure they have a correct beam pattern but the performance leaves much to be desired, that width is dreadful and the light is not distributed where it needs to be at all. They are no where near to having the performance of oem hid bixenon projectors. A 4x6 hid retrofit is not that bad... I recommend oem rx350 bixenon projectors if that's the route you take for s13.

[Edwin562]

Originally Posted by silviaks2nr

The pegasus headlights are a joke. Sure they have a correct beam pattern but the performance leaves much to be desired, that width is dreadful and the light is not distributed where it needs to be at all. They are no where near to having the performance of oem hid bixenon projectors. A 4x6 hid retrofit is not that bad... I recommend oem rx350 bixenon projectors if that's the route you take for s13.

You have any pics or write ups on proper projector retrofit on 4x6?

[Matej]

Supposedly these are quite good.
http://www.jwspeaker.com/products/he...ectangular.pdf

Too bad they are also quite ugly.

[Mister.E]

i would fucking shoot myself before paying $550/ea for those ugly ass headlights.

that has to be one of the worst designs i've ever seen.

[Te37]

just finished...

[Juantwo3]

Originally Posted by Matej

Supposedly these are quite good.
http://www.jwspeaker.com/products/he...ectangular.pdf

Too bad they are also quite ugly.

when the beat dropped i thought some inital d shit was gona go down

[240sxDavid]

Has anyone of you had the gladman projectors? Pictures seem cool but I would miss the lens look on my s13 so I'm going the Cibie headlights route at the end of may

[mikeyee]

hey! thread is alive again!

just finished these up for a buddy



edit

some s-chassis related content

daniel posted some cool shots of his car with the led tails

[ManoNegra]

Originally Posted by alwaysideways14

That's the hair pomade I use! lol /coolstorybro

silviaks2nr - You deleted your how-to thread??

[silviaks2nr]

Originally Posted by ManoNegra

That's the hair pomade I use! lol /coolstorybro

silviaks2nr - You deleted your how-to thread??

Showing up fine for me? http://zilvia.net/f/s-chassis/505768...-retrofit.html

To whoever asked sorry I do not have a write up for a sealed beam retrofit.

[ManoNegra]

Originally Posted by silviaks2nr

Showing up fine for me? http://zilvia.net/f/s-chassis/505768...-retrofit.html

To whoever asked sorry I do not have a write up for a sealed beam retrofit.

apologies, I thought I had subscribed to it and couldn't find it


Got a set of lights with retrofitted projectors but needed the retrofitsource.com address to order new ballasts and harness
the ones I got with the lights were pretty janky

[silviaks2nr]

What projectors do you have?

If you don't want to modify the back housing which is sometimes necessary you can get the 4300k D2H bulbs and 35watt ballasts from TRS. It's best to use oem bulbs and ballasts if you can though. I really like their wiring harnesses and supply one with almost all of my retrofits so you should pick one up too

[ManoNegra]

Originally Posted by silviaks2nr

What projectors do you have?

Waiting for friend to get back to me

If you don't want to modify the back housing which is sometimes necessary you can get the 4300k D2H bulbs and 35watt ballasts from TRS. It's best to use oem bulbs and ballasts if you can though. I really like their wiring harnesses and supply one with almost all of my retrofits so you should pick one up too

I ordered their 35watt ballasts, H1 harness and 6000k bulbs to try out.

Oem ballasts and bulbs - you mean like S2000, TSX, etc projectors and phillips bulbs?

I may do that down the line, I got an extra set of usdms and another set of jdm headlights to play with.

Also Mike from clearcorners is a good friend, he may yet swindle me into buying his overpriced shit.



edit: BMW e46 single Xenon projectors with D2s bulbs is what's in the headlamps according to my friend.

[silviaks2nr]

6000k bulbs are going to be considerably dimmer than oem 4300k by at least 1000 lumens per side, just a head's up. e46 singles are decent but I'd go with oem philips 85122 bulbs though, I'm sure Mike would recommend the same. You can pick up a new pair for about $75 and they can be used with the TRS ballasts. OEM ballasts can be mitsubishi, matsushita, denso, hella, etc. If you were feeling really fancy you could get osram CBI (cool blue intense) for about $195/pair. They are 5400k but just as bright as regular philips/osram 4300k.