headlights?
01-22-2010, 11:20 PM
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Fayetteville, NC
Posts: 246
headlights?
anyone know if there are aftermarket headlights for the 3rd gen? im debating whether or not to smoke tint the amber part of my headlight to match my smoke tinted rear tail lights....any opinions there gurus?
01-22-2010, 11:32 PM
#2
there are no GOOD aftermarket lights. only the ebay clear ones which do not aim the light AT ALL... so if you are going to get a set of those you have to put actual projectors in them or else you will blind everyone to the point that they might crash into a ditch from not being able to see the road. Hardest part of putting projectors in is just getting the frigging glass to come off w/o breaking. I'm working on a 6th gen bixenon retro on my Z right now.
also people take bmw e36 lights and they fit more-or-less with some custom mounts and a little bit of metal trimming but don't quite fit flush like projectors-in-euros do.
also people take bmw e36 lights and they fit more-or-less with some custom mounts and a little bit of metal trimming but don't quite fit flush like projectors-in-euros do.
02-02-2010, 11:26 PM
#5
do it right, or don't do it. there's nothing so horrible about the stock lights worth risking people getting in accidents over cuz you think such-and-such lights "seem cool"
02-05-2010, 02:31 AM
#6
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Newark, DE
Posts: 28
Wow Capedcadaver, your an a#@hole and don't know me to insult me but anyway I just stated their cool not that he or you for that matter should buy them. I guess you were traumatized by someone with bright lights because I noticed this isn't the only thread you have ranted in about bright lights..Try adding value to this forum by giving helpful advise rather than ignorant insults.
02-05-2010, 06:12 AM
#8
Wow Capedcadaver, your an a#@hole and don't know me to insult me but anyway I just stated their cool not that he or you for that matter should buy them. I guess you were traumatized by someone with bright lights because I noticed this isn't the only thread you have ranted in about bright lights..Try adding value to this forum by giving helpful advise rather than ignorant insults.
and you actually said you were thinking about putting them on your car.. meaning there's a possibility that you might actually do it.and i AM adding value (aside from comparing you to a bent piece of metal)... telling people in graphic detail why NOT to get crappy lights... if you were the very first person to ever propose using those lights there wouldn't be an adverse reaction about it because nobody would actually know if they are any good or not... but since we know that they are god-awful, it's most effective to paint a very vivid picture about how bad they are instead of saying "they aren't very good" because to most ricer n00b modder types, "not very good" is what you say but "good enough, it'll be fine" is what they hear. It's called persuasion by exaggeration.
And frankly i have had issues with people blinding me with crappy lights... on more than one occasion i have been COMPLETELY blinded by someone on a narrow 2-lane road and if I didn't know the road pretty well the only thing I could do was get on the brakes to give my eyes more time to recover. And the more popular it becomes for people to carelessly put HIDs into stock housings, or using "cool" housings that don't aim the light, the more often it's gonna happen.
Basically i'm just trying to get people to THINK about form vs function and to consider that some peoples' eyes are more sensitive to sudden changes in light levels than others and that some peoples' night vision isn't as good as theirs.. and that in the wrong conditions it CAN cause an accident, and any accident has the potential to be fatal. And i know there's people that like to say "well if you can't see that well at night then get off the f**king road!" but yeah, no, that doesn't work. That's why i am using legitimate D2S projectors on my 300zx (from a 6th gen maxima), because they have a flat cutoff and no light shines above a certain point (so other people can see), but a ton of light shines below it (so I can see).
and seriously dude... you know "mental capacity of a staple" is a line you're gonna use someday
Last edited by CapedCadaver; 02-05-2010 at 06:14 AM.
02-05-2010, 06:44 AM
#9
I agree with caped, regarding the lenses (we were both banned for being more vocal at one point, but we have learned.... sorta, anyway...) improper headlamps are a danger to other people. the only times those headlights should be used is after modifying for an HID/projector combo (or projectors only), or in a trailer queen that never sees a single inch of asphalt. seeing as we are talking about a 3rd gen, the latter is highly unlikely, and if it is, you'll want projectors, anyway...
02-05-2010, 06:59 AM
#10
there's nothing "cool" about blinding people and you actually said you were thinking about putting them on your car.. meaning there's a possibility that you might actually do it.
and i AM adding value (aside from comparing you to a bent piece of metal)... telling people in graphic detail why NOT to get crappy lights... if you were the very first person to ever propose using those lights there wouldn't be an adverse reaction about it because nobody would actually know if they are any good or not... but since we know that they are god-awful, it's most effective to paint a very vivid picture about how bad they are instead of saying "they aren't very good" because to most ricer n00b modder types, "not very good" is what you say but "good enough, it'll be fine" is what they hear. It's called persuasion by exaggeration.
And frankly i have had issues with people blinding me with crappy lights... on more than one occasion i have been COMPLETELY blinded by someone on a narrow 2-lane road and if I didn't know the road pretty well the only thing I could do was get on the brakes to give my eyes more time to recover. And the more popular it becomes for people to carelessly put HIDs into stock housings, or using "cool" housings that don't aim the light, the more often it's gonna happen.
Basically i'm just trying to get people to THINK about form vs function and to consider that some peoples' eyes are more sensitive to sudden changes in light levels than others and that some peoples' night vision isn't as good as theirs.. and that in the wrong conditions it CAN cause an accident, and any accident has the potential to be fatal. And i know there's people that like to say "well if you can't see that well at night then get off the f**king road!" but yeah, no, that doesn't work. That's why i am using legitimate D2S projectors on my 300zx (from a 6th gen maxima), because they have a flat cutoff and no light shines above a certain point (so other people can see), but a ton of light shines below it (so I can see).
and seriously dude... you know "mental capacity of a staple" is a line you're gonna use someday
and you actually said you were thinking about putting them on your car.. meaning there's a possibility that you might actually do it.and i AM adding value (aside from comparing you to a bent piece of metal)... telling people in graphic detail why NOT to get crappy lights... if you were the very first person to ever propose using those lights there wouldn't be an adverse reaction about it because nobody would actually know if they are any good or not... but since we know that they are god-awful, it's most effective to paint a very vivid picture about how bad they are instead of saying "they aren't very good" because to most ricer n00b modder types, "not very good" is what you say but "good enough, it'll be fine" is what they hear. It's called persuasion by exaggeration.
And frankly i have had issues with people blinding me with crappy lights... on more than one occasion i have been COMPLETELY blinded by someone on a narrow 2-lane road and if I didn't know the road pretty well the only thing I could do was get on the brakes to give my eyes more time to recover. And the more popular it becomes for people to carelessly put HIDs into stock housings, or using "cool" housings that don't aim the light, the more often it's gonna happen.
Basically i'm just trying to get people to THINK about form vs function and to consider that some peoples' eyes are more sensitive to sudden changes in light levels than others and that some peoples' night vision isn't as good as theirs.. and that in the wrong conditions it CAN cause an accident, and any accident has the potential to be fatal. And i know there's people that like to say "well if you can't see that well at night then get off the f**king road!" but yeah, no, that doesn't work. That's why i am using legitimate D2S projectors on my 300zx (from a 6th gen maxima), because they have a flat cutoff and no light shines above a certain point (so other people can see), but a ton of light shines below it (so I can see).
and seriously dude... you know "mental capacity of a staple" is a line you're gonna use someday
i was dumb and got the black euro headlights and took them off almost immediately. They are rubbish.. Do not buy them unless you use them for a projector retro.
02-05-2010, 07:55 AM
#11
I agree with caped, regarding the lenses (we were both banned for being more vocal at one point, but we have learned.... sorta, anyway...) improper headlamps are a danger to other people. the only times those headlights should be used is after modifying for an HID/projector combo (or projectors only), or in a trailer queen that never sees a single inch of asphalt. seeing as we are talking about a 3rd gen, the latter is highly unlikely, and if it is, you'll want projectors, anyway...
no homo thoanyways, to give visual perspective... what you want for lowbeams is for the upper part of the beam to be the widest, so that it casts light out wide enough to light stuff up down the road. that works best with a projector
like this
however the euro housing you were looking at just makes a ball of light with no cutoff, meaning that if you want any usable light you have to aim them up which blinds everyone like highbeams, and if you don't want to blind people you have to aim them down to the ground like a foglight.
02-05-2010, 11:58 AM
#13
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Newark, DE
Posts: 28
there's nothing "cool" about blinding people and you actually said you were thinking about putting them on your car.. meaning there's a possibility that you might actually do it.
and i AM adding value (aside from comparing you to a bent piece of metal)... telling people in graphic detail why NOT to get crappy lights... if you were the very first person to ever propose using those lights there wouldn't be an adverse reaction about it because nobody would actually know if they are any good or not... but since we know that they are god-awful, it's most effective to paint a very vivid picture about how bad they are instead of saying "they aren't very good" because to most ricer n00b modder types, "not very good" is what you say but "good enough, it'll be fine" is what they hear. It's called persuasion by exaggeration.
And frankly i have had issues with people blinding me with crappy lights... on more than one occasion i have been COMPLETELY blinded by someone on a narrow 2-lane road and if I didn't know the road pretty well the only thing I could do was get on the brakes to give my eyes more time to recover. And the more popular it becomes for people to carelessly put HIDs into stock housings, or using "cool" housings that don't aim the light, the more often it's gonna happen.
Basically i'm just trying to get people to THINK about form vs function and to consider that some peoples' eyes are more sensitive to sudden changes in light levels than others and that some peoples' night vision isn't as good as theirs.. and that in the wrong conditions it CAN cause an accident, and any accident has the potential to be fatal. And i know there's people that like to say "well if you can't see that well at night then get off the f**king road!" but yeah, no, that doesn't work. That's why i am using legitimate D2S projectors on my 300zx (from a 6th gen maxima), because they have a flat cutoff and no light shines above a certain point (so other people can see), but a ton of light shines below it (so I can see).
and seriously dude... you know "mental capacity of a staple" is a line you're gonna use someday
and you actually said you were thinking about putting them on your car.. meaning there's a possibility that you might actually do it.and i AM adding value (aside from comparing you to a bent piece of metal)... telling people in graphic detail why NOT to get crappy lights... if you were the very first person to ever propose using those lights there wouldn't be an adverse reaction about it because nobody would actually know if they are any good or not... but since we know that they are god-awful, it's most effective to paint a very vivid picture about how bad they are instead of saying "they aren't very good" because to most ricer n00b modder types, "not very good" is what you say but "good enough, it'll be fine" is what they hear. It's called persuasion by exaggeration.
And frankly i have had issues with people blinding me with crappy lights... on more than one occasion i have been COMPLETELY blinded by someone on a narrow 2-lane road and if I didn't know the road pretty well the only thing I could do was get on the brakes to give my eyes more time to recover. And the more popular it becomes for people to carelessly put HIDs into stock housings, or using "cool" housings that don't aim the light, the more often it's gonna happen.
Basically i'm just trying to get people to THINK about form vs function and to consider that some peoples' eyes are more sensitive to sudden changes in light levels than others and that some peoples' night vision isn't as good as theirs.. and that in the wrong conditions it CAN cause an accident, and any accident has the potential to be fatal. And i know there's people that like to say "well if you can't see that well at night then get off the f**king road!" but yeah, no, that doesn't work. That's why i am using legitimate D2S projectors on my 300zx (from a 6th gen maxima), because they have a flat cutoff and no light shines above a certain point (so other people can see), but a ton of light shines below it (so I can see).
and seriously dude... you know "mental capacity of a staple" is a line you're gonna use someday
Wow caped loser, once again, open mouth and insults plus stupidity comes out. You stole that line from a comedian. Anyway, Maxitech, thanks man, options for my 3rd gen is a beautiful thing.. Hetic, its cool.. He "thinks" he's a Guru here and can insult whenever someone post something but little does he know it makes him look insecure and stupid. Yes, I'm new to this forum/site but not to cars. If he read my words and understood what I actually said "I just saw them and they seem cool and might(may) get them" he would know it was just a thought about the lights. Function over Form always. I actually do have projectors for Euros that would work. Anyway after speaking with others here in this forum, people that actually give great advice, I've decided against them and bought a set from someone else here on Max.org.. Thanks to those others that have actually helped.
Maximafan4140 sorry dude, good luck with your search man..
Last edited by TTYME; 02-05-2010 at 12:33 PM.
02-05-2010, 12:38 PM
#14
I was advised against this by someone I trust because of the higher amp flow will degrade the wires faster, perhaps causing a situation if the wire already has a bit of resistance. Just FYI...........
02-05-2010, 01:21 PM
#15
Does anyone know if you can hook up bi-xenons to projector headlights in a 5th gen?
I have a conversion kit right now but i am looking to get projector headlights, just wanna know if it will work
I have a conversion kit right now but i am looking to get projector headlights, just wanna know if it will work
02-05-2010, 01:34 PM
#16
This is a 3rd gen section, you may find an answer, but typically, the sections are pretty specific to their appropriate vehicles/parts. FYI - try there first, you won't be hassled if you say, "I can't find an answer in my gen.s section", as much as you would posting like you did, but we all are noobs at heart. Enjoy the forum!
02-05-2010, 02:24 PM
#18
Several people on here have done this and as far as I know, no problems have surfaced. I have been running mine for 2-3 years without incident.
02-05-2010, 02:25 PM
#19
Wow..
Wow caped loser, once again, open mouth and insults plus stupidity comes out. You stole that line from a comedian. Anyway, Maxitech, thanks man, options for my 3rd gen is a beautiful thing.. Hetic, its cool.. He "thinks" he's a Guru here and can insult whenever someone post something but little does he know it makes him look insecure and stupid. Yes, I'm new to this forum/site but not to cars. If he read my words and understood what I actually said "I just saw them and they seem cool and might(may) get them" he would know it was just a thought about the lights. Function over Form always. I actually do have projectors for Euros that would work. Anyway after speaking with others here in this forum, people that actually give great advice, I've decided against them and bought a set from someone else here on Max.org.. Thanks to those others that have actually helped.
Maximafan4140 sorry dude, good luck with your search man..
Wow caped loser, once again, open mouth and insults plus stupidity comes out. You stole that line from a comedian. Anyway, Maxitech, thanks man, options for my 3rd gen is a beautiful thing.. Hetic, its cool.. He "thinks" he's a Guru here and can insult whenever someone post something but little does he know it makes him look insecure and stupid. Yes, I'm new to this forum/site but not to cars. If he read my words and understood what I actually said "I just saw them and they seem cool and might(may) get them" he would know it was just a thought about the lights. Function over Form always. I actually do have projectors for Euros that would work. Anyway after speaking with others here in this forum, people that actually give great advice, I've decided against them and bought a set from someone else here on Max.org.. Thanks to those others that have actually helped.
Maximafan4140 sorry dude, good luck with your search man..
you act [imply] more mature because he is insulting you, but are doing the same stupid **** he does.
congratulations, I am officially adding your dumb *** to my ignore list. and it is a small list with one other person.
edit: actually, you are the only person on the list. I would ask how it feels, but I really don't care.
02-05-2010, 02:49 PM
#20
Wow..
Wow caped loser, once again, open mouth and insults plus stupidity comes out. You stole that line from a comedian. Anyway, Maxitech, thanks man, options for my 3rd gen is a beautiful thing.. Hetic, its cool.. He "thinks" he's a Guru here and can insult whenever someone post something but little does he know it makes him look insecure and stupid. Yes, I'm new to this forum/site but not to cars. If he read my words and understood what I actually said "I just saw them and they seem cool and might(may) get them" he would know it was just a thought about the lights. Function over Form always. I actually do have projectors for Euros that would work. Anyway after speaking with others here in this forum, people that actually give great advice, I've decided against them and bought a set from someone else here on Max.org.. Thanks to those others that have actually helped.
Maximafan4140 sorry dude, good luck with your search man..
Wow caped loser, once again, open mouth and insults plus stupidity comes out. You stole that line from a comedian. Anyway, Maxitech, thanks man, options for my 3rd gen is a beautiful thing.. Hetic, its cool.. He "thinks" he's a Guru here and can insult whenever someone post something but little does he know it makes him look insecure and stupid. Yes, I'm new to this forum/site but not to cars. If he read my words and understood what I actually said "I just saw them and they seem cool and might(may) get them" he would know it was just a thought about the lights. Function over Form always. I actually do have projectors for Euros that would work. Anyway after speaking with others here in this forum, people that actually give great advice, I've decided against them and bought a set from someone else here on Max.org.. Thanks to those others that have actually helped.
Maximafan4140 sorry dude, good luck with your search man..
and frankly, your invalid assessments of my aptitude do little more than prove that you haven't taken enough time to figure out that i'm one of the few 3rd genners who KNOWS what the **** he's talking about... i am verifiably a guru on here seeing how many questions i've answered that nobody else could and how many problems i've solved without even seeing someone else's car that nobody else could figure out (for example rmdl51's careless mechanic miswiring his car after replacing the transmission). Don't confuse a harsh tongue with a lack of intelligence; I just have no tolerance for imperfection and I don't sugarcoat anything.
As for "reading your words and understanding what you actually said"... the fact that you even CONSIDERED them is a problem. That's like... considering raping someone... i mean it's great that the end result is that you realize they are godawful (and so is rape) but it really never should have even been a consideration at all. Smooth glass + smooth reflectors always = fail for lowbeams. Not all that bad for highbeams, but fail for lowbeams.
02-05-2010, 10:41 PM
#21
It was advise, and it resounded with what I knew to be true of electrical wiring, in general. I do not know specifics, and I am happy to here they work for you and others without any distastful performance or incidents. May we open a "3rd Gen war zone thread" for those who want to duke it out and full fill the quest of the ego. Sorry to see people in such disarray when the function of this community is not to rise against each other, but to embrace what we all have to share.
02-05-2010, 11:10 PM
#22
It was advise, and it resounded with what I knew to be true of electrical wiring, in general. I do not know specifics, and I am happy to here they work for you and others without any distastful performance or incidents. May we open a "3rd Gen war zone thread" for those who want to duke it out and full fill the quest of the ego. Sorry to see people in such disarray when the function of this community is not to rise against each other, but to embrace what we all have to share.
TTYME, all people want to do here is help and stop others from making bad decisions based on their knowledge that they've gathered with first hand experience on these cars. Those euro headlights for our cars are truly rubbish, and many people (including myself at one point) ask "hey these look cool, should I buy them?" That we emphatically tell them not to get them since they are truly terrible.
Last edited by Garf; 02-05-2010 at 11:22 PM.
02-06-2010, 08:10 PM
#23
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Newark, DE
Posts: 28
Garf n VE30MAX, I agree 100% that these forums are for helping or getting help/ideas for our cars. BUT he offerred this "you have the mental capacity of a staple" Yeah that's helpful and constructive. I'm here for help myself with my 93'. I made a small comment abt a prodct and got an adolecent response and what's really funny is how some of you over look the insult that started this entire situation, but come at me like I did something wrong.. I'm not new to forums as I am a moderator on some, some of which some of you are on yourselves. But its cool. I'm over it. Oh and for the comment from lil Mountain Dew boy(Bestoked) who's short list I'm on by myself? LOL..grow up.
02-06-2010, 10:17 PM
#24
Garf n VE30MAX, I agree 100% that these forums are for helping or getting help/ideas for our cars. BUT he offerred this "you have the mental capacity of a staple" Yeah that's helpful and constructive. I'm here for help myself with my 93'. I made a small comment abt a prodct and got an adolecent response and what's really funny is how some of you over look the insult that started this entire situation, but come at me like I did something wrong.. I'm not new to forums as I am a moderator on some, some of which some of you are on yourselves. But its cool. I'm over it. Oh and for the comment from lil Mountain Dew boy(Bestoked) who's short list I'm on by myself? LOL..grow up.
02-07-2010, 12:07 AM
#25
Garf n VE30MAX, I agree 100% that these forums are for helping or getting help/ideas for our cars. BUT he offerred this "you have the mental capacity of a staple" Yeah that's helpful and constructive. I'm here for help myself with my 93'. I made a small comment abt a prodct and got an adolecent response and what's really funny is how some of you over look the insult that started this entire situation, but come at me like I did something wrong.. I'm not new to forums as I am a moderator on some, some of which some of you are on yourselves. But its cool. I'm over it. Oh and for the comment from lil Mountain Dew boy(Bestoked) who's short list I'm on by myself? LOL..grow up.
. Ben got a bit TOO jacked up on his mountain dew tho 
, but the point is, anyone who KEEPS them on their car after seeing what the beam pattern is like really is as dumb as i previously stated. I guess i can't hate for you liking the look of them because the stockers are kinda ugly but in no way are "cool looks" ever worth compromising safety. I'd be interested tho to see if taping would reduce glare on the euros.. as kind of a cutoff of sorts. It depends if the light reflects from the bulb and outward (fan shape) or if the light reflects from the bulb inward and criss-crosses. I'm almost curious to have a set just for the sake of testing how to "improve" them while still using stock bulbs. May be possible, may be impossible.
i'm always right 
02-07-2010, 11:15 AM
#26
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Fayetteville, NC
Posts: 246
wow ok a thread question turns into hostility about ones intelligence factor and so on...all over headlights lol now thats funny but moving on...
ok my question was answered...now how hard is it to do the projector retrofit?? what all would i need to do it and how long does it take?
SeaMax...damn i love the amber lens tinting you did? if thats tinting on your amber lenses lol
ok my question was answered...now how hard is it to do the projector retrofit?? what all would i need to do it and how long does it take?
SeaMax...damn i love the amber lens tinting you did? if thats tinting on your amber lenses lol
02-07-2010, 11:27 AM
#27
wow ok a thread question turns into hostility about ones intelligence factor and so on...all over headlights lol now thats funny but moving on...
ok my question was answered...now how hard is it to do the projector retrofit?? what all would i need to do it and how long does it take?
SeaMax...damn i love the amber lens tinting you did? if thats tinting on your amber lenses lol
ok my question was answered...now how hard is it to do the projector retrofit?? what all would i need to do it and how long does it take?
SeaMax...damn i love the amber lens tinting you did? if thats tinting on your amber lenses lol
and you'll get a bunch of threads with tons of pictures, instructions etc on how to do it.
02-07-2010, 11:30 AM
#28
wow ok a thread question turns into hostility about ones intelligence factor and so on...all over headlights lol now thats funny but moving on...
ok my question was answered...now how hard is it to do the projector retrofit?? what all would i need to do it and how long does it take?
SeaMax...damn i love the amber lens tinting you did? if thats tinting on your amber lenses lol
ok my question was answered...now how hard is it to do the projector retrofit?? what all would i need to do it and how long does it take?
SeaMax...damn i love the amber lens tinting you did? if thats tinting on your amber lenses lol
if you want just buy the materials and a set of the euro headlights to put them in and I'll take care of the rest. A spare set of stock lights would be good too, for the initial mockup to help find out exactly the least amount of cutting that has to be done for them to fit cleanly. But i have some spares i can test with i think, from the crashed car. Easy to aim too, cuz you just adjust it the same way you'd adjust stock lights.
Last edited by CapedCadaver; 02-07-2010 at 11:36 AM.
02-07-2010, 01:21 PM
#29
caped is right i too didnt heed the word they are great if you want to look good during the day,thats about it.You'll get so many people flashing their high beams at you.Either do the retro or leave'em be.And to the new guy ttyme,dont take anything personal these guys have alot of knowledge that they dont HAVE TO SHARE.Just ride in front of some one with improperly adjust headlights,or have someone coming at you you'll change your opinion real quick. Your both right,from custom stand point the "look" great but from a functional stand point their horrible.So again dont take anything personal.
02-07-2010, 05:19 PM
#30
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Fayetteville, NC
Posts: 246
depends how handy you are with jb-weld, dremels, random strips of metal, screwdrivers, and aluminum tape. depending what kind of projector you get you would bake the headlight in an oven to soften the glue then carefully pull the glass off the front... then position the projector to point straight forward (which would be at an angle to the housing itself)and cut away the back of the housing until the projector fits in deep enough for you to put the glass back on. Then it's just a matter of attaching it securely inside there and sealing up the back with fiberglass or aluminum tape. I'd suggest FX35 projectors ($125ish) and you can get the bulb kit for $70 (D2S bulbs.. 5000k is the whitest and brightest, everything else is blue therefore dimmer and more illegal) from the Group Deal section on the .Org
if you want just buy the materials and a set of the euro headlights to put them in and I'll take care of the rest. A spare set of stock lights would be good too, for the initial mockup to help find out exactly the least amount of cutting that has to be done for them to fit cleanly. But i have some spares i can test with i think, from the crashed car. Easy to aim too, cuz you just adjust it the same way you'd adjust stock lights.
if you want just buy the materials and a set of the euro headlights to put them in and I'll take care of the rest. A spare set of stock lights would be good too, for the initial mockup to help find out exactly the least amount of cutting that has to be done for them to fit cleanly. But i have some spares i can test with i think, from the crashed car. Easy to aim too, cuz you just adjust it the same way you'd adjust stock lights.
i just might have you do that for me while im away at school in florida nad just have you ship the finished product to me there unless you can do it before i leave for florida and ill get them when i come get the other stuff from you? oh and did you check on that rear right window regulator?
02-07-2010, 05:24 PM
#31
i just might have you do that for me while im away at school in florida nad just have you ship the finished product to me there unless you can do it before i leave for florida and ill get them when i come get the other stuff from you? oh and did you check on that rear right window regulator?
02-07-2010, 05:44 PM
#32
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Fayetteville, NC
Posts: 246
well ill be in florida for 3 months so i mean if i get you the materials before i leave you'll have plenty of time to get it done and not have to rush. all i would need to know is the places to buy the materials necessary lol
02-07-2010, 06:56 PM
#33
enter the coupon code "fspecial-m" on checkout
http://www.hidextra.com/HID+Conversi...rsion+Kit.html
housings
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1989-...Q5fAccessories
projectors
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MERCE...Q5fAccessories
i already have plenty of aluminum tape and wire to cover up the open space between the dish and the projector lens (gonna have to do the same thing on my car)
Last edited by CapedCadaver; 02-07-2010 at 07:02 PM.
02-08-2010, 10:22 AM
#34
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Fayetteville, NC
Posts: 246
yeah... this setup will be identical to what's going on my z31 except obviously maxima housings instead of 7"x6" housings like my car has.
enter the coupon code "fspecial-m" on checkout
http://www.hidextra.com/HID+Conversi...rsion+Kit.html
housings
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1989-...Q5fAccessories
projectors
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MERCE...Q5fAccessories
i already have plenty of aluminum tape and wire to cover up the open space between the dish and the projector lens (gonna have to do the same thing on my car)
enter the coupon code "fspecial-m" on checkout
http://www.hidextra.com/HID+Conversi...rsion+Kit.html
housings
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1989-...Q5fAccessories
projectors
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MERCE...Q5fAccessories
i already have plenty of aluminum tape and wire to cover up the open space between the dish and the projector lens (gonna have to do the same thing on my car)
well i already have the HID conv kit in my headlights right now...so all 'd need is the projectors and the headlights to get and give you?
02-08-2010, 10:56 AM
#35
the ones you have right now won't work. well the ballasts might but the bulbs won't. at the very least you'll need some 5000k d2s bulbs otherwise they won't fit into the back of the projector.
02-08-2010, 12:19 PM
#36
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Fayetteville, NC
Posts: 246
so pretty much im lookin at another 250 bucks to do the headlight projector retrofit lol
02-08-2010, 01:10 PM
#37
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iTrader: (11)
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Cherry Hill, NJ / Hoboken, NJ
Posts: 1,325
The way the factory headlights in 89-96 maximas work is they have a 9004 bulb with a parabolic reflector.
A parabolic reflector is a smooth reflector that collects all of the light and makes it into a narrow spotlight.
The factory lenses have lots of little vertical ridges on them. What these ridges to is spread the light to the left and to the right, so rather than a circular spotlight it becomes a somewhat elliptical one.
This is because for driving, you want a beam with a lot of horizontal spread (so you can see on curvy roads and stuff like that), but you don't want a lot of vertical spread (or it will glare or over-light the area right in front of your car).
So the normal 3rd gen factory lights do a circular spot from the reflector, then use the ridged lens to spread it to the left and right, giving the normal beam pattern.
What these ebay guys have done is taken apart a normal 3rd gen headlight, copied the reflector design, but made a lens with no ridges. So it's just a circular spot, often called a "pencil beam"
Having a pencil beam is great for high-speed driving on straight roads in the middle of the night, but if the road is curved even slightly, you won't be able to see anything with them. That's why the standard DOT lowbeam is elliptical, so you can see things to the side as well.
Now, the reason some headlights do work with clear lenses (97-03 maximas) is because they have a multi-faceted reflector that can form the correct beam pattern without those vertical ridges spreading out the light. But 89-96 smooth reflectors need the correct lens optics.
That being said, without a projector retrofit, the best way to improve factory 3rd gen lighting is by getting Philips Xtravision or GE Nighthawk +30% bulbs (dont bother with Silverstar, PIAA, or Luminics trash) and getting a heavy duty 9004 relay harness to improve the voltage at the bulbs.
The 9007 conversion is a bad idea. AFAIK, I am the only person on these forums to do the 9004 to 9007 conversion and take detailed, accurate, and clear pictures of both bulbs with the same camera settings and ambient lighting. Here is a thread with my results:
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...ut-photos.html
The cliffnotes is this - the 9007 seems brighter because it actually lights up the same as the 9004 high-beam. So doing the 9007 conversion is like having the high-beams on all the time, because of the different filament geometry. You can get the same results as the 9007 conversion (brighter lights and more glare) by just driving around with your high beams on all of the time.
A parabolic reflector is a smooth reflector that collects all of the light and makes it into a narrow spotlight.
The factory lenses have lots of little vertical ridges on them. What these ridges to is spread the light to the left and to the right, so rather than a circular spotlight it becomes a somewhat elliptical one.
This is because for driving, you want a beam with a lot of horizontal spread (so you can see on curvy roads and stuff like that), but you don't want a lot of vertical spread (or it will glare or over-light the area right in front of your car).
So the normal 3rd gen factory lights do a circular spot from the reflector, then use the ridged lens to spread it to the left and right, giving the normal beam pattern.
What these ebay guys have done is taken apart a normal 3rd gen headlight, copied the reflector design, but made a lens with no ridges. So it's just a circular spot, often called a "pencil beam"
Having a pencil beam is great for high-speed driving on straight roads in the middle of the night, but if the road is curved even slightly, you won't be able to see anything with them. That's why the standard DOT lowbeam is elliptical, so you can see things to the side as well.
Now, the reason some headlights do work with clear lenses (97-03 maximas) is because they have a multi-faceted reflector that can form the correct beam pattern without those vertical ridges spreading out the light. But 89-96 smooth reflectors need the correct lens optics.
That being said, without a projector retrofit, the best way to improve factory 3rd gen lighting is by getting Philips Xtravision or GE Nighthawk +30% bulbs (dont bother with Silverstar, PIAA, or Luminics trash) and getting a heavy duty 9004 relay harness to improve the voltage at the bulbs.
The 9007 conversion is a bad idea. AFAIK, I am the only person on these forums to do the 9004 to 9007 conversion and take detailed, accurate, and clear pictures of both bulbs with the same camera settings and ambient lighting. Here is a thread with my results:
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...ut-photos.html
The cliffnotes is this - the 9007 seems brighter because it actually lights up the same as the 9004 high-beam. So doing the 9007 conversion is like having the high-beams on all the time, because of the different filament geometry. You can get the same results as the 9007 conversion (brighter lights and more glare) by just driving around with your high beams on all of the time.
Last edited by nalc; 02-08-2010 at 01:15 PM.
02-08-2010, 07:16 PM
#38
02-09-2010, 01:54 AM
#39
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Fayetteville, NC
Posts: 246
02-09-2010, 07:35 AM
#40
That is cheap, I bought all new stuff and went with non-Ebay suppliers and with labor to put it together was in about $800 when it was all done. Don't forget about added shipping to and from the person doing the work if you aren't doing it, it adds up.