i want to start off and say i did search this subject and the information i found was outdated, with old links invalid parts number and such.

that being said, what is everyone doing to upgrade their headlights? i would be interested in just going with a composite headlight and just halogen bulbs or even HID upgrade.

let hear it people, what is everyone doing and where do you buy your lenses

 

E36 mod and got them on ebay. You could always buy the housings off ebay and then put HID's in them as alot of people do that as well

 

I replaced the inner pair of hi-beam lights with a stock pair of outer hi/lo bulbs i pulled from the local U-Pull and replaced the 55w bulbs in my fog lights with a pair of 100w H3 bulbs. Then i wired in new relays to run the all the lights straight off the battery instead of through the headlight switch. Doubled my light output while keeping the stock look, all for less than $20.

 

I will be replacing the outer lamps on mine with quality H4 E-code lamps.

My manufacturer of choice is Cibie, but they no longer manufacture the 4x6 size. I wull not use Hella and none of the junk conversions that litter the internet

Talbotts still sells Cibies in 4x6 but I'm not paying their outrageous prices. Daniel Stern is selling Bosch lamps for this size as his supply is gone. I found one of my local suppliers still has them and many other quality brands of yesteryear such as Marchall. Once I get out by him I will take a look at what he has and refine my selection at that point.

I actually saw quite a few third gens over the weekend and at least 2 were not running oem lighting.
The first one was a projector retrofit that looked like it must of been sourced at the component level as the assemblies did not appear to look like they belonged in something else, and the lamps were all the way to the front of the housing.
The second one was some generic h4 clear assemblies stuffed with HIDs, Actually was able to see them in use, and was still unimpressed.

 

HID Projectors are the way to go, I got mine from the retrofitsource.

 

details please?

 

Hawks sells a set for $150 or so. They're decent at best, very poor quality control, I had mine break twice already, they replaced them but I was ticketed once while I waited for the replacement.

 

Sylvania Silver Stars,the Ultras might be to bright. The Silver Stars are true-white bulbs =
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...1576&ppt=C0335

 

replaced headlights and fogs with HIDs

 

Try classicgarage.com. They were recently selling NOS Cibie 4x6 H4/H1 conversions.

I bought the H1 Hi beams from them for ~$125/pair.

I had already scored set of H4 Hi/Lo's off of ebay.

 

Do yourself and your wallet a favor, spend a couple bucks the first time and buy the Autopal 4x6 headlamp housings, they are on ebay and I payed $50 for both housings last year. They come with H4's to use but I stepped up to HID's and will never look back. The best part is that the Autopal housings are E code approved(Europe) which satisfies DOT standards I.E. they are legal. Plus they focus the light just right with enough to light up signs but not blind anybody. Not to mention it's made from real glass lens and a real metal reflector.

If you buy one of those fake "projector" housings on ebay you'll be very sadly disappointed just like I was after wasting $35.

My .02 and from experience.

ALSO, one last note: If you do an H4 conversion you'll have to swap two wires in the headlight plug on the car, comes out very easy with a pocket screwdriver.

 

To the best of my knowledge the only standard that any of the h4 retrofit lamps have met is SAE-M as in motorcycle.


Will keep this in mind.... going to be checking out lamps next week

 

going with a true HID projector, you'll get the benefits of HID but not blind everyone else on the road. You can see in the picture I posted, how the cutoff are.

Here is another one that shows the cuttoff, notice there is now scattered light above the cutoff.


what I really love about mine, is they are a lo and high beam projector. When I put them in highbeam, there is a shield that moves up and it lights up everything. I can't believe how much improvement there is over the old stock lights.

 

Where did you get your set?

 

Way up at the top above is his first set of images

 

what housings did you guys use? all I can seem to find are the sketchy looking ebay-looking ones

 

Tried the H4 kits, 3-4 different brands...all crap.Next sylvaina cool blues...slightly better, then silverstars...way better.Then sylvaina Xenarcs (later modified w/ Valeo projectors, below)

 

u gota hardon for sylvania don't you.

 

If it works, it works.

 

I'm looking to do HID's not just h4's

 

If you want the best output from HIDs, projectors are necessary & OEM projectors are the way to go.Not aftermarket with H4s adapted.

 

the **** is an oem projector, cuz they dont come on 3rd gens.

 

****? Well camaros were equiped with 4656 halogen lamps.Valeos are OEM in many cars (w/hid).

 

camaros are not my style. I prefer firebirds, so...

 

Im sure you can find some here who has done a retrofit on a FB.Ive seen the post in the fabrication board.

 

whats the keyword. I've only seen one firebird on here with HID's and the guy didnt use projectors so they blind everyone

 

All i remember was some about making them non pop-up.I think maybe with miromoto projectors from the retrofit source.

 

I like the pop ups. because otherwise I have to wire in a bunch of daytime running ****

 

Pretty sure the mod can be done w/out deleting the pop up.

 

I need a housing that I can actually take apart. that's what I'm asking for.

 

Those cheap ebay fake projectors are what someone here used.Cant remember if it was the pop up delete or someone else, but its been done.Thats also what i used for my valeo retrofit, w/a 4656 though.

 

ugh. damn chinese crap

 

Crap headlamp is what you want.If it fails your only out 20 some bucks.Your not using it for the reflector or lense.You just need it as a housing for the projector.

 

what projector do I want then

 

Thats up to personal preference, but the mirimoto seems to be compact enough to fit.I have the Hella E55 on my bike, but they're slightly larger.Just make sure its a bi xenon projector, because those are the ones with both hi/lo in one.Single xenon are what camaro guys should use.Check out HIDplanet.com, there is tons of info there.Thats where i got educated on HIDs.

 

another forum. damn I though it was just a page with info.

 

Yeah, its a forum, but very good & useful info.Just browse, if you dont wanna join.

 

too lazy