MPD47

I couldnt edit the title of the old thread, so it showed as last being updated sometime in late July, so I started a new thread with a fixed title.

Here is the old thread:
https://rennlist.com/forums/924-931-944-951-968-forum/216633-my-fixed-headlight-mod-wired-up.html

Here is the update for August 5th 2005:

Ok, finished building the bracket for the passangers side. Clearence between the power steering/oil cooler stuff and the backside of the 90mm lights is EXTREMELY close. You actually have to pull the bumper forward about 4inches to clip the wires in from the ballast or you wont be able to do it. They dont touch, but they are within an inch of the power steering stuff and about 3 inches from the oil cooler. I may need to make a heat shield, we'll have to see. The lexan covers are being a ROYAL PITA mounting wise, I've got them cut already. I had an issue where I had random lights dropping out, and the highs not coming on yesterday while I was working. It occured to me that the battery hadnt been charged in awhile and the car hasnt been run in over a month. You guessed it, the battery was dead causing it to not have enough juice to power up the ballasts. I've got it wired up for lows to stay on when you goto high beams. Holy bright light! The lights are not perfectly aimed yet, but they are getting there. I can probably bring the low beam cutoff up just a slight bit, and spread them out. I included a modified stock wiring diagram at the bottem of the post for those of you wondering how it's wired up. I've started working on the tutorial for anyone who wants to do this with HID's or the standard Hella 90mm H9's. Anyway, enough talk, here are the photos:





Output, looking down the driver's side, same exposure/fstop.
Lows

Highs w/ Lows


Wiring Diagram

http://www.americacoasters.com/MPD47/NewWiring.jpg

Blue S2

Wow that is awesome!!!!!!!!! I wonder what it would take to make an HID kit for the main headlights instead of the bumper space.

MPD47

Tony, well just GUESSING but it looks like the lights in Headlight mod that tedwright is pushing are about the same size as the Hella 90mm's I'm using. Be warned though, retail there would be about $2700 in this project (mounting, hardware + Hella Lights, capsules, ballasts @ ~2500). You can do it WITHOUT HID's (H9's) for closer to $450.

Zero10

$2250 extra for HID lights and ballasts?...

I see complete bi-xenon kits for $700ish.

I see used kits on EBay for ~$300. Even with seperate highs and lows I don't think it should top $1000 for a new set...

Blue S2

And we also see 996s and Boxsters missing their headlights in Miami...

j/k !

Serge944

Not to be an *******, but why do you argue with someone who just purchased those lights?

http://www.rallylights.com/hella/90m...p#90mmHIDXenon

Look it up before you speak, h9 hid-xenon lights are very expensive.

MPD47

$2307.68 give or take for Lights (capsules), Ballasts, the Hella Housings, and you can garuntee it's perfect, and has a warrenty. Oh yeah, and the majority of ebay kits are absolute CRAP. I didnt want to go BiXenon, I prefer the 4 light look and light output. Serge Susquehanna is exactly where these came from, they have great quality and customer service.

WesM951

Looks awsome Mike!




I'm on it.

I'll Initally be using non-HID's but HID's will be easily adapted.

IceShark

Well, you can get the Hella 90mm HID cheaper, but the price you are throwing around would be about right if they are coming out of Hella USA. I can buy parts from Hella cheaper than Hella USA can. Hella USA is sort of like a franchise, it is not really part of Hella, so pricing and product availability can get crazy. Susquehanna is a retailer that buys from Hella USA so you are at the end of a markup food chain.

Now remember, those lights are too low to the ground to be legal as headlights. Expect some cop sitting at night eating doughnuts looking for drunk drivers to come after you for an equipment violation and whatever else he can find. If this does happen then you face the dilemma of what to do. You are in the system and the equipment violation won't just fade away. You've got to do something to get back legal.

Blue S2

Yeah i figured those would be too low to be run alone. I know they would NEVER pass Maryland inspection! Maryland is beyond obssesed about everything. I've gotten pulled over 3 times in my GTI strictly for not running a front plate. I bet with that other kit that just popped up to put those in the actual headlights they might be ok.

I'm really wondering what it would take to make our big main headlights HID though.

IceShark

You can't make the 7" round mains HID, well, at least that work right. Sylvania came out with the Xenarc HID in 7", but the project was FUBAR from the start and the resulting product they had was about on par with a plain 'ole sealed beam in performance. As I recall the lights first had a price of around $800+. Then prices started falling like a rock. Then Sylvania terminated the product line. Lights just didn't work all that well. Not that they couldn't have made the project work but because they outsourced it and lost design and manufacturing control and everything went haywire. I think the actual manufacturer got rights to still sell the lenses. So, if you see them on Flea-Bay or somewhere, those are the bastard child Sylvania dropped in the lake with a brick tied to his foot. The kid had a knife in his pocket and resurfaced.

The other deal is installing HID arc capsules in a H4 filament type lens. Forget whatever the marketing scam claims, those don't work very well either. The Lens was designed for a point like light source from a filament bulb. Put in an HID arc bulb and the original design of the lens goes all to hell in a handbasket. Don't waste your money on those no matter what they claim. Actually, manufacturers like Philips and Osram have been trying to shut down the trade in this as they know it is poor and they may get dragged into a lawsuit. But the people doing it are inventive and it is still going on.

Bottom line is stick with a 7" round E-Code lens, rewire for more voltage, and go overwatt. It is far cheaper and it works. You will be at HID levels, maybe better. Here are pictures of what you can do with halogen:

https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...light=IceShark

WesM951

The light-cannons are just INSANELY BRIGHT! I was going to go this way, but its a long story as to why i'm going fixed. (not to mention i think these cars look 100x better with the lights down). I'm going back to work on mine soon, next week hopefully as my training here at work is almost finished.

MPD47

To low for some, it's a non issue for me, these are my main and only lights. And Iceshark I SERIOUSLY doubt, despite what you may have been able to do with your light setup, that it matches this for output.

I'll post full photos when the project is completed, aimed etc. Outdoors on a main road.

Blue S2

A CHALLENGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!


haha j/k ...

IceShark

Well, doesn't really matter how good they work, they are too low and illegal. So you are left wide open for equipment violation stop when driving the car and some of the Eastern States that have equipment inspections will probably nail you for it as they are pretty pickey.

In the old days you could probably get away with it. But now you have people running blue or purple bulbs in headlights or the HID arc bulb conversions in a filament designed lens (which doesn't work very well and glares other drivers) and law enforcement is getting sick and tired of it. People are getting in accidents and even killed in some cases.

So if you spend all this time and money and then get caught and put in the system, all your effort just went down the tubes.