99SEL4ME

Hello boys,
I just read the " How to" on the upgrading from 9004 to 9007. It said I could just modify the bulb housing and swap wires or buy the upgraded harness from APC for $40 or so??
The reason being, I was borrowing a friends 2006 BMW 325i while he was in Korea. I got used to those xenons at night. I get back into my car with the crappy 9004 bulbs and couldn't see sh*t!! What **** poor lighting!! I did look around on here for the plug and play upgraded harness, but couldn't find it. Can anyone point me in the right direction to get this harness? I'd rather get the harness and do it the right way.
Thanks in advance for any assistance.

manny097

iTrader: (1)

just do the retro projectors
9004 to 9007 is not a big difference, you wont be happy

99SEL4ME

Hi, thanks for the reply... Retro projectors?? Sounds like a big job.....is it? Just want to improve the light over the 9004s. I'm sure it involves taking the headlight housing out and sounds costly too.... Any more info on this??
Thanks

max ride 41

iTrader: (4)

but he'll have 500.00 more in his pocket.

99SEL4ME

$500 more in my pocket??? Hell yeah!! I just looked at the " How to " on the projectors, alot of work.... and not to mention beyond my ability, lol. Maybe eBay has them and I can install them myself.....maybe..

99SEL4ME

I just looked at the link on the bottom of this page at the euro headlight direct replacements in JDM black for $264.... just fit them in....that's what I'm talkin' about.

1992maximase30

what?! okay even though this is the 4th gen forums people complain about the 3rd gen head lighting output also.

i did the 9004 to 9007 conversion and it was well worth it.
i even went a step further. you know those blue lights they sell at pep boys...you put them in not only they're blue but it worsens the visibility even more?

well with the 9007 mod you can get the blue bulbs, not only does it light up the road so well, it's SO CLOSE to oem h.i.d. look.

erty67

iTrader: (104)

i love my 9004 to 9007 mod. Well worth it in my mind. I just swapped the two wires in the factory harness. easy mod to do.

99SEL4ME

Hey, so if I bought the euro headlights, I can put better bulbs in like the 9007s? The euros look nice too with the separation between the hi/lo beam... What do you think? Are they worth the $200 for better light and higher bulb number? I tend to think so...

shadyonedeath

iTrader: (10)

just modify the bulb or the headlight housing.
Easy.

much brighter. I've been running it for years, no problems.

99SEL4ME

I looked through members rides for a 4th gen with the new JDM black housing projector headlights, the ones with the separate hi/low beam bulbs and they're rectangular, but couldn't find one so I can see how they look.... Anyone have these? If so, can you post a pic? Thanks, my eyes are killing me looking through all those cars....
Thanks in advance.

MOHFpro90

iTrader: (11)

Not sure what you're smoking, but you're quite wrong. I did a full harness and it was well worth the $15 I spent + bulbs. Best output you can get with stock headlights.

99SEL4ME

Ugh, I don't know what to do....I think those new JDM lights look nice, but not sure about the harness, if they come with one, or its just the headlight and everything else is the same....

Dave H.

iTrader: (5)

If your talking about the R34 headlights, they do look nice but I've heard they have terrible light output, worse than stock. Try the 9007 rewire, it won't cost much to try it.

max ride 41

iTrader: (4)

speaking as someone who knows, output is better for sure, but the aftermarket headlights are almost impossible to aim ON THE ROAD!! do the rewire, i wish i did.

queenambeach

iTrader: (3)

The 9004 to 9007 sucks! Not only that, comparing any kind of halogen to xenon is a waste of time as the 9007 will be nowhere close.

asand1

iTrader: (1)

Glad this thread was started, I didn't even see this in the how-to thread. To think this mod has been around for so long and I was clueless. Sad part is I was looking at getting silverstar 9004s. I'll be getting 9007 Xtra Visions as soon as I have an extra $20.

1992maximase30

if those euro headlights are the same as the 3rd gen...don't do it.
the 3g euro's don't spread the beam out like it should. you put those on all your gonna have is two circles.
if they're different then why not.

but i stuck with the stock headlights.

queena i said they're close as to the COLOR.

cashoit

I changed my headlight bulbs. Switched from stock yellowish halogens H4 9004 to white xenons H4 9004. Not true HID but the white light makes the road much easier to see. I hate the stock yellow.

It is a lot of work to go to true HIDs or to 9007. 9007s are similar but they require rewiring. Why rewire when u can jus buy super white light instead for 5 bucks online w/ no modifications needed. JMO

oVeRdOsE

I did the convertion last week.

#1 becareful if you have the day running light module, he doesnt like this mod...

#2 If you want a difference use something like sylvania ultra 9007 bulb.
I do get a difference, but it's not crazy...





The difference is mostlikely like those pics :




source : http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProd...lverStarUltra/

cashoit

yeah thats how my lights look now. But i found 9004s da same super white color

oVeRdOsE

It's 4100K, fine enough, because here cops dont like blue lights...

99SEL4ME

Well, I'm the one who started this thread and with all the very different opinions, I still don't know what to do....ugh. I've heard to just do the simple 9004 to 9007 mod and stick with the factory headlights, I've heard to go with the new JDM headlights that have separate hi and lo beam bulbs. And from the looks of the pic, putting those lights in looks very simple. Just a matter of screwing them on and plugging in the one plug to the existing headlight plug and the wire splits into 2 for hi and lo beam. These lights look nice as they're all one piece as opposed to separate headlight and corner light. I hear that I'll have problems aiming them, but I don't plan on adjusting the aiming screws upon installation. So needless to say, I haven't bought them yet.....What to do, what to do, what to do... Every ones input has been helpful, but not enough of one way or the other to make a decision.... Anymore???
Oh yeah, I can see on the pic of the new JDM lights, it says a 9006 bulb.... what's different over the 9004?
Thanks again guys...

manny097

iTrader: (1)

The best shot bro upgrade to a hid retro, save youre money keep youre stock housings
and shop around for projectors i pick up mines for $25 on craigslist and thats after 9004 9007 conversion, waste of time and then i purchase cefiros one piece smoke housings waste of money they melted with my piaa's bulbs and had nasty glare. But i dont know what state are you in but out here in Cali there is pick up parts junk yards, and thanks to the cash for clunkers deal there was alot of projector candidates

MOHFpro90

iTrader: (11)

They're referred to as R34's. Not JDM. Your stock headlights are more jDm tyte than the R34s.

If you're looking for output, on a budget, the full 9007 harness is the way to go, hands down. Nothing better out there on a budget. Its NOT about the color of the bulbs, its about the lumens, meaning the brightness. ~4300K (white with a slight tinge of yellow) is really the brightest youll get.

99SEL4ME

Hi and sorry for the name of the headlights name confusion, my bad. So where would I get a 9007 harness? and how much? And get a 4300 bulbs in a 9007? Is this a hard mod to do? There must be a write up on it somewhere...
Thanks

MOHFpro90

iTrader: (11)

There is a writeup. I made my own harness, you can't buy them. Gotta make it. Its not hard, it took me about 2 hours, but I work slow.

fastisnothing

Basically,

If your loaded and you want sick lights, pay some guy $500 and get sick projector swapped headlights.

If not, upgrade to 9007 and put in some silverstar ultra's

or even cheaper, stick with 9004, and get silverstar ultras.

good luck

1992maximase30

yea kzoosho did colombianmax hid w/ projectors on his 4th gen.
you could look up either two member's and i'm sure they'll be glad to show you pics...especially colombianmaxx he'll give you a crapload of photos.lol.

99SEL4ME

Hey, where would I get Silverstar Ultras? Walmart? I'll try the 9004 Ultras first, then If I'm not satisfied, I'll do the wire swap on the harness and do the 9007's. I think I heard somewhere that you can't see sh*t at night in the rain with Silverstars....does this still hold true? I have Sylvania Xtravision 9004's now and I can see very well in the rain at night... in a nutshell, I'm looking for the cheapest easiest way out for more light on the road.
Thanks guys, you've been a big help.

1992maximase30

well imagine that 9007 mod with the ultra's or xtravisions. your light capacity will be better AND you won't blind oncoming traffic.

cashoit

I think man...if u dont like the look of the stock headlights...get the aftermarket black headlights withe the clear marker lights and switch to ultrawhite sylvanias or go online and get a differnet color...if u gonna do it then go hard hehe

sicivic89

iTrader: (58)

Honestly I would stay away from Silverstars. I had a set and they both lasted maybe 6 months before they both blew within a week of each other. And they are almost $40 for two. You can get a set of 9007 regular bulbs are Walmart for like $15.

I have done the 9004-9007 conversion with regular bulbs (Sylvania cool blue 9007 bulbs) and was very happy with the outcome. A good increase. Don't get the wrong, the HID projectors are super nice, but like everyone has said if you can't do the work yourself, you are looking at ~$500.

So, HID projectors = $500
or 9007 bulb conversion = $15 and alot less time.

I opted for the 9007 conversion.

99SEL4ME

HI, excellent to the point advice. I brought home some wire strippers and files from work today to do the basic 9007 conversion. That is swapping the 2 wires and filing the 2 nubs for the 9007 fit. And thanks for the Silverstar update. As you mention it now, I think I remember having the Silverstars and they had a very short life span and definitely were expensive. I've had the Xtravisions and have been satisfied with them. Unless you know of any better bulb with better whiter light out there, I'll go with Xtravision 9007 after the mod....
Wish me luck...

99SEL4ME

Well, the 9007 wire mod is under way....got the 9007 Xtravisions and wires swapped....just have to remember how to get the damn headlight out to file down the nubs....Ugh!!

99SEL4ME

Hi guys, this is my final post in this thread..... I did the 9007 mod yesterday by way of swapping the low beam and ground wires and filing down the 2 nubs in thew housing. It took me all of about an hour to do as I was able to file down the 2 nubs without removing the headlights off the car. So after much contemplation and reviewing all the pros and cons in this thread, I must say when I drove last night, it was definitely worth doing. It only cost me the price of the 9007 Xtravisions at Wally World for $18.88. The beam pattern is better and the light is better and shows much further down the road than the sh*tty stock 9004's. I'm glad I did it and thank everyone for their valuable input. I'm just going to buy new corner lights as the ones on the car now are coming apart from the AE mod I did a few years ago and they never sealed again properly.
So that's it!! Thank you all again for your help.
Jeff The latest 9007 mod member.
As far as the much suggested retro fit projectors that would have drained wallet upwards of $500+, I'm glad I didn't go that route. I just needed and wanted to see the road better, not see Jupiter.

99SEL4ME

Anyone considering doing this mod to get better light without draining your wallet.....I highly recommend this mod....it was sooooo easy. I barely need my high beams anymore.