Headlights?

[Mr_Chunks]

Im gonna sound like a fat moron
and probably gonna get flamed for this

But why is everyone going with projector headlights to put their HID in? And retrofitting other size bulbs for HID?

Dont they make an H4 HID dual filament bulb for gen1 solara? And does the factory headlight with HID pouring thru it really look that bad? I put those crystal blue xenons ( halogen whatever ) in there and it doesnt look bad.

[krook]

i think it's more personal preference than anything else. i've had an HID H4 kit, and i was fine with that.

[NVDIS1]

I have the h4 hids also and no need for me to switch to projectors imo

[NeFaRiOuS_SLE]

Well, retrofitting projectors for HID is usually a wiser choice for visibility, since Halogen and HID have different intensity points.

Imagine that this is a Halogen bulb's filament, yellow=brighter, red=dimmer.:

@@@@@@@@@

Note how the center is more brighter than the edges at an almost uniformal scale, except the edges fade to being more darker. Also, I'm not able to demonstrate this, but since Halogen spreads light at a more even rate from the filament, a more straightforward projector/reflector inside would be preferred.

However, this is that of an HID bulb, but blue = dimmest and white = brightest:

@@@@@@@@@

Therefore, the reflector for your average Halogen is designed to optimize that for the reflector, and placing an HID in place of it would distort the light. Also, HID almost expands this light in a downwards crescent-shaped matter (VERY obvious in HID-equipped Nissan Maximas that were made before 2004 (?)), so the pattern would be best directed to accomodate for that "crescent".

Although the light displacement already looks brighter and tends to even bring misconceptions if you were to put an HID in a reflector-designed enclosure, the visibility is impaired and realistically not much more than one's fog lights in some cases, which for some is almost disappointing when pulling next to say, a Bimmer or Acura.

So without retrofitting or redesigning the reflector, having an HID kit is one step above Halogen "HID look" bulbs, but one step below having a car with OEM HID.

Some people also prefer to have "Eurospec" lighting, which is patterened to illuminate the road in a much more different way than USA standards, the most commong being to have the right side illuminte further upwards to be able to illuminate road signs and send as much light forward without blinding oncoming traffic, but this minimal amount doesn't project too far, whereas Eurospec is designed for the road, but does not illuminate too far overhead, but keep in mind it is also illegal.

[krawzyazn]

for some reason CHP told me its legal as long as its not blue and your not glaring all over the place

[woa_its_j3ff]

Well, retrofitting projectors for HID is usually a wiser choice for visibility, since Halogen and HID have different intensity points.

Imagine that this is a Halogen bulb's filament, yellow=brighter, red=dimmer.:

@@@@@@@@@

Note how the center is more brighter than the edges at an almost uniformal scale, except the edges fade to being more darker. Also, I'm not able to demonstrate this, but since Halogen spreads light at a more even rate from the filament, a more straightforward projector/reflector inside would be preferred.

However, this is that of an HID bulb, but blue = dimmest and white = brightest:

@@@@@@@@@

Therefore, the reflector for your average Halogen is designed to optimize that for the reflector, and placing an HID in place of it would distort the light. Also, HID almost expands this light in a downwards crescent-shaped matter (VERY obvious in HID-equipped Nissan Maximas that were made before 2004 (?)), so the pattern would be best directed to accomodate for that "crescent".

Although the light displacement already looks brighter and tends to even bring misconceptions if you were to put an HID in a reflector-designed enclosure, the visibility is impaired and realistically not much more than one's fog lights in some cases, which for some is almost disappointing when pulling next to say, a Bimmer or Acura.

So without retrofitting or redesigning the reflector, having an HID kit is one step above Halogen "HID look" bulbs, but one step below having a car with OEM HID.

Some people also prefer to have "Eurospec" lighting, which is patterened to illuminate the road in a much more different way than USA standards, the most commong being to have the right side illuminte further upwards to be able to illuminate road signs and send as much light forward without blinding oncoming traffic, but this minimal amount doesn't project too far, whereas Eurospec is designed for the road, but does not illuminate too far overhead, but keep in mind it is also illegal.

good info, didnt know this stuff

[SleeperSolara]

Yeah that's right "NeFaRiOuS_SLE" projectors will control the HID projection.
Reflectors just project halogen everywhere but controlled.
If you put HID's in a reflector the light just bounces everywhere.
Which is what you don't want.
You want the HID to be projected that is controlled so you can see better on the road.

[Mr_Chunks]

Ohhh
okay

so placing H4 HID in stock headlight housing would cause like a really nasty looking light beam?
You know ive noticed my right beam goes higher i always thought there was something wrong with my left headlight but now i know why it does that haha.

[krawzyazn]

Ohhh
okay

so placing H4 HID in stock headlight housing would cause like a really nasty looking light beam?
You know ive noticed my right beam goes higher i always thought there was something wrong with my left headlight but now i know why it does that haha.

looks good in some nasty in others

[---CAMRAZY---]

looks good in some nasty in others

Yo Mark where did you get the yellow bulbs for the corners and such, pm me fool

[NeFaRiOuS_SLE]

Ohhh
okay

so placing H4 HID in stock headlight housing would cause like a really nasty looking light beam?
You know ive noticed my right beam goes higher i always thought there was something wrong with my left headlight but now i know why it does that haha.

Well, not aesthetically nasty, but just affected visibility since a lot of the light is gathered closer to the car and not too much for the road ahead.

As far as the light pattern, click below for an illustration (and how to aim your lights if you DO think it's off):

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html

As you can see, the European (ECE) has a sharper cutoff, while the American DOT-using government thinks that you can't even do vertical adjustments.

[agent007]

what projection lights are being retrofitted. i have been wanting projections for my car for a while now.

[SleeperSolara]

what projection lights are being retrofitted. i have been wanting projections for my car for a while now.

You mean projectores retroed to our headlights????
Any projector will fit, most people use TSX projectors.
I think i'm goin' to be usin' E46 Bi-Xenon projectors.

[agent007]

okay i thought some were modding the projections on. but the projectores are only being added. how much work does that take. who has it completed already with pics for review and refrence.

[Astro]

Check out the place I'm having mine done at, Custom Lightz. They will do it for a labor fee of $250, and starting at $450 - you can get '05 TSX projectors, ballasts/ignitors, and 4300K bulbs (Osram or Phillips). If you got your own projectors and ballasts, they'll use those. Plus, for an additional $40, you can get a custom wire harness (to make it plug-n-play). For free, they'll also paint the housing with several different choices. You can also send them your own paint and they will still paint it for free. They even have custom shrouds to put in to give it a very clean look. Here's what my lights look like so far...I'm also getting some H1 halogen projectors for the high beam, so my total cost is hitting $1250 (this does not include the headlights - I bought brand new ones for this). This is what it costs to have a shop do it for you. Not bad IMO, because this isn't an easy job. I'm not sure for you, because I've converted my '00 with the gen1.5, but I think you can get a single bulb for your high and low.
They still need to work on the shrouds...