i want to use piaa plasma h4 bulbs in my car..i saw them on a 5th gen and they looked sweet. piaa doesnt make them for 4th gen yet, i dont know why. is there much of a difference between these lights and piaa platinum superwhites for example? only somebody who had both please.

i want to use piaa plasma h4 bulbs in my car..i saw them on a 5th gen and they looked sweet. piaa doesnt make them for 4th gen yet, i dont know why. is there much of a difference between these lights and piaa platinum superwhites for example? only somebody who had both please.

too much trouble... the connectors are completely different as are the bases.
<img src="http://www.cyberhosts.net/~gotrice/personal/miata/lights/piaa01.jpg">

what are the brightest lights i can put in my car , even if it takes me a wiring harness upgrade? except the actual hid of course

all you have to do is srip the wires and sodder them on the proper place on the light bulb,next get some 5 minute epoxy glue and line the base of the headlight up with the headlight essembly and apply glue,Thats it real simple.

i wanted to do this before too. They almost fit but not quite. The setup is about the same cause its 3 wires i think. YOu can juss solder the connecter on and glue the bulb in the headlight assembly. The 9004 bulb sits in the headlight housing, if you simply glue the H4 in itll be all aimed wrong...if anybody got ideas id be willing to look into it more.

But glueing the bulb in is not the answer...it never is. If the filament is in a different location the beam pattern would be utterly destroyed. If you remember from high school physics all that stuff about focal points and the theory behind light reflection you would understand.

THe H4 has a different base configuration. The keying involved and the flange shape is totally different from that of a 9004. It would cost some money and some ingenuity to make an H4 bulb fit in the 4th Gen's headlamps housing.

If you want bright light...go to

http://www.rallylights.com

purchase the high wattage bulbs and go to

http://www.carparts.com
or
http://www.autosydicate.com

and purchase the upgraded wire headlamp harness for non-Toyota 9004s.

This is best thing that one can do to improve the lighting situation at this time.

Not only does the physics show the problem, but the way HID works. HIDs burn and emit light vertically, vs. halogen filaments horizontally. The headlamp assemblies are made to reflect the change. A headlight assembly off a 2K I30 with HIDs looks completely different than one with halogens. The beam pattern is indeed affected because the max reflectors are designed for the 9004 bulbs. I have a 9006 HID kit, just like emax's and I couldn't stand the messed up beam pattern. I recently installed a 9004 kit with a modified bulb to adjust to the 9004 reflector, it's a shielded bulb and looks WAY better with minimal glare. It's definitely an issue to take into consideration. You don't want to disperse light to on-coming drivers and become a road hazard. Anyway, just my 2 cents.

The 9004 kit you purchased? It used the D2R bulb right? What kind of beam correction does it use? Where did you obtain this kit from?

Yes, the bulb is the D2R version (shielded internally). It also had some modifications done around the bulb. The bottom of the bulb has a funny shaped aluminum shielding. As far as I know, this provides the appropriate light cutoff at above 3m or so off the ground. It's really nice, minimal glare with a focused field of light directly in front of the car, very much like a Lexus GS HID. It's then surrounded by clear glass to protect the modifications. It looks and feels very professionally done, I purchased the custom kit overseas. He's japanese and performs these mods on Philips HID kits. Kinda expensive though...Email me for more info.

I believe all of what you say. But, I'm curious to see the pattern of light. 9007 and 9006 housings are made to put out the proper patterns (that's why the 9006/9005 housing on Accords is E-code certified) and i'm curious to see how well the 9004 housing on the 4th Gens holds up with a pattern correction.

I recently sold my 9006 Sylvania Kit to a friend with a 98' Accord Coupe (9006 Headlamps). The 9006 bulbs fit perfectly into the headlight assembly. At night, we saw the glare. We could see the inside of a dark public transit bus from behind it. The glare was very dangerous. The light outputted in front of the car was pretty uniform except for the middle which was slightly darker. From the inside of the car it seemed ok. After driving around town and watching all the white cars around you shine up at night...proved how much glare it gave off. Even though the lamps are E-code (European Spec), the headlights were designed for halogen lights. It's very unfortunate because this still causes glare. It seems that even e-code certified, the HID light still gets reflected upward from the bottom of the bulb. I believe no matter what 900x series headlamps you have, if the light assembly is not designed to project HID bulb emitted light (vertical dispersion), you'll never minimize the glare. It's the way the HID emits light, pure physics. Looking at the inside of a 2000 I30 with HIDs, and one with halogens, it's completely different. For anyone looking into HIDs for the 4th gen Max's or 2nd gen I30's, get a 9004 D2R bulb. It will at least provide preliminary shielding. If anyone needs help on modifying a 9004 D2R bulb into a "safe" minimal glare setup, e-mail me, I'll gladly help you