Manning

BTW, from what I have read in a few different places recently, DOT is quietly heading toward implementing E-code standards for all vehicle lighting. So far it seems they have adopted those standards for everything but headlights. I'll see if I can find a link about this.

Manning

Also, legal or not Mike's convertion does look pretty killer diller. Kind of reminds me of Broadfoot's Daytona car from several years ago.

Jfrahm

I bought a 2004 Passat last year and the OEM lights have a very e-code like pattern, with a sharper cutoff and a RH bias. They are pretty decent at stock wattage.

As for fixed 944 lights, I think the shadow from the front valance makes any fixed light in the stock location a bad idea.

-Joel.

MPD47

Actually it does matter how well they work, that's the whole idea behind building a better headlight solution for my car. I'm not marketing these, or competeing with you so I dont understand why you're getting so down on this. Oh well to each's own. The lights are within INCHES of being legal, if I changed my ride height they would be. In terms of this scary "equiptment violation" you're refering to, here in good ol NYS, we get "Fix-It Tickets" for stuff like that, if you decide you dont wanna fix it, you pay a fine, and sometime down the road you'll probably get pulled again and have to pay $50. In this case, I can just raise my car to the legal level and get the ticket signed for and I'm fine. So actually, my setup will be fine. Again, Iceshark, I dont know why you're coming down so hard on this, maybe because I'm putting a tutorial up when it's done, for free, and you just paid to be a sponser...

TaylorSea4

Looks HOT, Mike. I presume that nose intake feeds the intercooler? Hot, man. Hot. Good on you for making it work.

MPD47

Make up your mind.

Those of you with constructive critism, I'm all for it, but Iceshark's comments just feel like solid bashing IMO.

dmoffitt

Ice, you were always someone I respect and in fact your craftsmanship inspired me to really step-up to the plate and rewire my whole car the "right" way - but you couldn't be further from the truth with a comment like this:

that is SO ABSOLUTELY DEAD WRONG it's not even funny. this setup used to be on my car and was brighter than my friend's Audi S4 with 3x HID conversion (stock lows, added highs and fogs). It was brighter in fact than ANY car I've seen. PERIOD. The non-cutoff MOTORSPORT high-beams are already illegal, part of why they are soooo bright, so who cares about mounting height etc. In (somewhat) rural upstate NY it's easy as hell to find a "sympathetic" inspection station - there's tons of guys running around with 60s/70s muscle cars that are far from street-legal, Mike's car won't stand out like a sore thumb, that's for sure. Believe it or not, cops aren't out to get you, and actually having a "simple" equipment violation will often provide them the opportunity to ticket you for a fix-it violation INSTEAD of the reckless endangerment (drifting) that they originally stopped you for (you can guess how i know). I think Mike's install is top-notch (it's what I had planned for the silver car until I remembered the two Setrab units were located there) and can't wait to see the finished product.

Just because you sell a competing product and are a "co-sponsor" means f**k-all in this thread, so please go harass another competing product and stop putting down someone as innovative as Mike. It's a rarity that someone as young as him isn't a stupid ricer looking to put MOMO stickers and 4 15" subwoofers in his "r4ceKAR-y0!!1!" so stop discouraging this kind of productive and well-executed mod. KTHXBYE.

dmoffitt

PS - as to how I know the comparison, I had overwatted e-codes (from the P.O.) that I literally THREW AWAY after doing this comparison. Not saying your product isnt' a significant improvement over the miserable stock lights but it's only that - an improvement, not a drastic step up like the hella 90mms. lets see, 10-15 years of technology's worth of improvement, vs a little P=I*V. hmm...

IceShark

OK, I give up. I wasn't bashing the lights, just noting that they were too low to be legal so people might run into problems with them from LEOs.

If you put them up in the headlight bucket area like some of the fixed headlight projects are doing then you would be AOK.

The Hella 90mm HID is a great light. It is just a bit expensive when you have to go and buy 4 of them. More than the typical 944 owner will want to fork over. The HID with the shield that moves to change between high and dipped beam would be much cheaper (like in half) but I'm not sure what fitment issues would arise with the servo motor and all.

As to the Co-Sponsor deal, I'm not sure how that actually happened or what it even means. I went to bed one night and the next day that was there. And if you think I'm selling the lighting stuff as some sort of business you are on crack or meth. I could care less if guys are offering different lighting ideas, I was pointing out the obvious problems, too low to the ground and probably too expensive if in HID.

TRWright

FWIW, I drive around with ONLY the driving lights unless I am on a dark deer covered back road in the middle of nowhere. These are going to be great, and I really doubt you will have a hard time with police. The police in Rochester will probably think that it is OEM.

Manning

What is the typical minimum height anyway (obviously different from state to state)? Isn't it somewhere around 24" or so?

TRWright

I just got off the phone with a friend who is a judge and ex NY state trooper. He told me that as far as altered height regulations go, NY currently only has a law against headlights being too high. (I believe he said they need to be 54" or lower.)

eniac

FYI Michigan law states headlights must be between 24" and 54" off the ground. I looked this up because I would greatly like to get rid of the pop-up lights. With my old intake system I wasn't even able to have the lights up b/c the brackets were in the way of my intake. I had that system for 2 years, and for 2 years I drove with only the lower lights. Passed many cops at night and not a single one ever gave me a second look for my lights. BTW, I have 100w bulbs in them so lighting is fine on city roads and they are too low to cause any interference with other drivers.

Now with my new MAF I use the regular lights until I find some way to get permanent stationary lights.

Manning

I just did a google to see if I could find anything about it. The heights are just as eniac stated, between 24 and 54". It looks like some of the factors regarding heights were updated or restated pretty recently, I guess as a result of issues with SUV lamp heights and the increasing age of the average driver.

EDIT Oh, and they are based on USDOT guidelines.

IceShark

Yeah,

I'm pretty sure it is 24" as the minimum height. That is to centerline of the lens. Never really had this issue come up much before so haven't got it memorized. I've got the Fed regs at home. individual States can adopt different rules but they don't matter as the Feds trump everything States do. But out of whack state laws do matter when it comes to enforcement by local LEOs in that state.