zedevan

render it up in photoworks (go to tools addin's, and depending on ur version it should just load, if not download a larger version ), for quick renderings it sure beats 3ds, not mentioning the process of importing all the parts into 3ds (last assignment i just finished for uni i had to rendering something with 2468 parts or there abouts, i'd post a picture of the photoworks rendering but dont have a server atm) nice looking wheels and good luck getting them produced!

thanks for the really quite detailed reply, as you can see i didn't look into it much at all! i wonder how many test units are needed to get it to pass dot approval. i'm just hoping my lights are never much of a problem but i'm sure at some stage they will come up. there seem to be people over at hidplanet that run buisnesses based on doing retrofits into cars for people so i wonder how badly they could b screwed over...

what makes those "dot compliant" ones actully dot compliant? like the lights in my car at some stage would of been the equivilant to whatever dot compliancy is called in my part of the world. the only bits of my lights not making them legal i would of thought would of been the facts that they are not the lights the car orginally came with, they do not have automatic leveling, and they don't have anything to wash the lense cover bit. i could understand a $5000 fine if i were using halogen lenses or was manufacturing parts from scratch using whatever i could find lying around, or using a dodgy "angle eye" projector rice headlight for a civic etc, but besides those three things i stated i would of assumed youl could also call my headlights "dot compliant" since all the parts used except for the peice of glass they are shinnying though are also? the main problem is putting a hid kit in a halogen housing as you said, as then everyone gets blinded, and it probably makes it harder to see at the end of the day anyway due to the fact its so bright but doesn't shine very far or evenly

there's also these wheels that look sexy, pity they are sold as they were 17X9+25 and 10+15 so they were (pretty close to?) the size you were after? now i just need to find some here in Aus

www.hidplanet.com has some interesting info i wish i came across before i made my purchase, but yeah sealing them is the issue we have compared to most cars as the back of hte lights are in the wheel bit go to junk yards or just buy the bits off ebay, i'm pretty sure u can buy e46 lenses and ballasts/globes etc from hidplant.com for US$200-$300, their server seems to be down so i can't check. from reading something on there the other day i found out there are two different types of e46 lenses, and luckily i have the better one! i think you americans get the dodgy sort! but i believe that site sells the better ones (clearer), anyway... then you have to add on the cost of cheap reflector housing off ebay (prices in AUD) $70, dremel copy $40, another set of the bits that hold in the lights $20 so you can cut into them, random mounting bits to hold in the ballast and ignitor $20, screws and bits $10, random bits to try to seal it better $20, hours of thinking u've blown them up...priceless! dissatisfaction with the ugly colour of the stock parker lights compared to the xenon bulbs...so haveing to buy a set of 240z indicator bits and led fog lights to mount in there $100+...my lights cost me $600 then all those bits, and still going very slowly, like i should really upgrade my alternator but ? so i'd say mayb US$500? i still haven't sold the rest of the e46 headlights but hopefully thats worth something to someone... yet all of its worth it! buy bi-xenons if can be bothered getting them to work. if you care about the cut-off colour get for honda accord euro lights (tsx?) as from the pic's i've seen they produce ALOT of blue when moddified to do so if you want to go on the cheap cheap side if you read around for a bit on that site you might be able to find info on some h4 projectors that work ok with hid bulbs so that might save you some money, the 300zx len's seem to be popular, but i haven't seen how they look with just a hid kit behind them, i think its used more for lense swaps...but hey, i'm no expert, i just find this all interesting! if you have the money to blow then something like what 280zforce has is the way to go, i had fun making my lights fit and work, and its something i can atleast do, unlike the more mechanical stuff at this stage they are not yet fully sealed, and i havn't tried to seal mine up properally yet as still need to change some small things, so i get condensation inside them when its foggy, i'm hoping i can find a bucket or something to seal up the back better...although i need to repostion the ballast and stuff so i can get more slack in the wires...fun fun fun!

apparently since no matter what you do, its modifying the orginal headlights from stock we're all screwed either way, but then h4 upgrades aren't really seen as illegal, and then there's all the ricers with their quality "halo" headlights so...i've read somewhere that for them to be legal hid's also have to have autoleveling and washers to clean the cover...so it really just depends how much the cop cares, like most other things... yeah bi-xenons are really the way to go as they are highbeam also, although some of them do take awhile to flick to high beam so the cars still have a halogen light for flashing people, as mine are only lowbeams i've got driving lights as my highbeam, if that counts for anything? if i ever need a roadworthy or sell my car i'll prob put the stock lights back in, i just bought another pair of the metal bits i cut into incase i have to do this! here's a thread all on if people have had trouble with their retrofitting of hid's into cars, the general thought is it "depends on the Cars year and model" "if its a newer can that had a factory HID option like my audi.. and you retro fit it, the police prob wont even notice.. But if you put HID's into a 1992 honda civic then police will know not factory. But if you stick with 4300k bulbs you are going to have a lot better chance of avoiding tickets than if you are running 8000k bulbs that DONT look anything like factory HID's"...so we're semi screwed! i've gone through 3 breath tests and been pulled over once with no problem so far, just weirdish looks, particually when i still had one stock light in

that looks nicer, i'm not a fan of the designs that stick out, unless you go with headlight covers ofcourse...is that bit off a merc? some of the audi ones are nice aswell, i'd love to buy the 300c one but i think it's too deep my headlights get condensation in them as i havn't glued them back together or anythign, i've just placed the glass there for now as i'm still planning on taking them apart to change it a bit. i was thinking of getting another dome/box welded over the back of the bit that holds the light in so seal it up a bit more instead of the dodgy peice of plastic i have there atm, the main issue being how to get the wires in and out of it though the bmw lights aren't very tightly sealed anyway, although the back of them isn't in the wheel arch! i've driven on a fair few rainy nights now where the windscreen wipers can't keep up its that wet and havn't had any issues...besides that initial time when they wouldn't turn on... on a side note my light switch has stopped working, so i'd suggest using a relay as it probably failed due to switching such a high current. the switch still closers but not when plugged into the lights...so i'm hoping i can just add a relay and it will work again, if not i'll just relocate my tempory switch somewhere better and use that

if your serious about getting the best lights for your money etc read over at hidplanet, i've only read it a bit as i dont have the time, and am more than happy enough with my lights, but they seem to mix and match different lenses with different reflectors and eletonics to get the best overall headlights, like s2000 projectors with bmw electronics and some other companies globe holder bit etc to get nicer light cutoffs etc the one bit i've read glimpses of that interests me is something about colour modifications to change to colour refraction at the cutoff and something to do with putting washers in to space the projector out further on various lights including the ones i have...i think either way any light upgrade is better than stock, and for high beams you could always have some driving lights pointing up nice and high, as you need to remember for bi-xenons it takes awhile for it to move the motor generally. also retrofits are illegal, and most of the cars they are done on can semi get away with it as they can appear semi stock, but no matter how well we do the retrofitting our cars being 30yrs old is a dead giveaway that the hid's are not stock!...although in saying that i nearly ran down a cop standing in the middle of the road (as it was closed just around a blind corner) one night and he didnt give me any greif, just told me to do the recommened speed around corners! (not the speed limit like he thought i was doing, little does he know muhahaha)

reading through stuff over at hidplanet.com, they dont see these as an upgrade over other cars with stock hid's, infact people who do change their stock projectors for these say they'd be better off with the stock ones just these look special, which i'd have to agree with the one swap/part i'd really like to swap mine with besides bi-xenons would be to get the 300c front bezel bit, as it has that nice tri spoke thingy happening and is actully circular, and possibly even 7"?

i think i've said this before, but i reakon something like this would look nice with a shaved rear end like the car in the "who's car is this" thread that has a fairly shaved rear end

yeah, i prefer it all black, the yellow stripes makes it look...ugly, the other way looks nice, clean and sexy

http://zdriver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15554 not my write up but same sorta idea (this is the set that inspired me to do it) you basically just cut and make it fit...you can see on the pics of the projector with its small reflector and where they join, i simply took out those screws and bought longer ones which then also went though holes i cut in the the 7" reflector to help hold it all in place. in about a week i plan on pulling mine apart to add indicators if i have time to, so if i do that i'll take some photos

you can see from my quality trail basla wooding fabrication what needs to be cut out i reakon they are going to look nice as they stick out instead of being recessed, and i dont have to worry about where to put the reverse light dodgy photoshop but you get the idea, i'm tempted to just not bother and get 240z lights instead, or to go and get an s15 gt spoiler too, which i reakon would look pretty sweet on the back of a zed

http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=3252&cat=500&ppuser=3241 that car has r32 lights in it, i'm sure r33 lights would be possible also, but i dont think you'd be able to use the indicator or reverse lights as they curve off to much and also would make the circles not in the centre of the panel. for the lights i've got i cut into some stock light housing, u've just gotta watch out for the depth of the lights, but this is where a dremel comes in handy! i've still got to cut the peice of metal between the holes for the reverse and brakes likes in my car though i was going to buy some r34 lights just to see if htey'd be easier to use than the ones i had but the seller couldn't be bothered taking a photo from the top of them and of the back so i could see if i should waste money on them, although they would look nice sitting in my room next to my e46 headlights and r33 4 door lights hehe are the lights really expensive in america? here you can pick most of them up for for $100

wow i'm surprised i've missed this thread up until now as its something i was thinking of doing on my (darker green) car to cover up my stone chipped bonnet and the rust along the very bottom of the doors, so i was wondering what i should do instead of painting the whole top of the car one colour (either a darker green so its only just noticable or a black)...since i dont have a carbon fibre bonnet i was thinking of it colour along with the battery cover bits and the bit just infront of the windscreen so the two stripes aren't the only bit besides the bonnet, and then the bottom section of the sides of my car most likely black to match the flares i have sitting here (hence y i dont know what colour the top should be) along with the two stripes coming up from it. but it would probably look better if the bonnet bit was black and hte sides were the darker green, i need to photoshop it, i think i did awhile ago but not very well, i'll do one of your car on3go since its already got the flares, but that washable paint sounds like a better idea! i "panda'd" my car with gaffa tape a couple of months ago to see what that would look like and it looked pretty nice (the second stripe helped cover one spot of rust i have up higher on the door , so my thought was mayb this stripe could merge into the bre one, like they stop at the intersection of them)

sorry i dont really get your question...the bmw bits are from a bmw and the others are just crappy ones off ebay they are really nice J. Soileau! what are you going to put at the front of the lense to cover it? as mine dont have the bi-xenon motor i only had to cut a circle out of the back about the same size, and the black bit that clips in the bulb sits outside of the housing, but yeah it allowed me to have that glass over the front but sealing the back is a bit of an issue, i'm worried with winter coming up...something i need to work on, in the free time i no longer have on other notes i'm going to buy some 6/12 led fog lights to put where the stock parkers and indicators are and hurry up and put an indicator in the 7" light, but once again time is an issue, but i'll take some pics of it apart this time!

hey, thanks for all of your inputs. i think the tokicos are the way i'm going to go, and hopefully by the time they would need a rebuild i'd be looking at getting coilovers and sectioned struts, and would then go for some koni yellows from a golf or something i think it is (where as right now i dont have the money, yet alone the need to do this, just the desire hehe) it'll give me something to play around with and adjust so should be a bit of fun, and works out atleast AU$200 cheaper than the koni reds, now just to organise the bushings and some better sway bars

thanks for the reply! they dont require shortening of the struts, instead they weld a spacer nut onto the top so they fit better into the 260z struts, which adds about $100 to the price of them (which i believe is the same difference between the illuminas for 240z or 280z's) you make me wanna get for the tokicos, the only issue is the koni distributor are kinda family friends...and i keep hearing "koni are the best" from random people hehe

While this might come down to personal preferance, i'm really having trouble deciding weather i should buy some koni red shocks for my car or tokico illuminas. my car is just my daily driver that i lenjoy driving hard, which is why the stock shocks are an issue, and one day i'd like to take it on a track. they both work out to about the same price, with the koni's being a bit more, with their advantage being they can be rebuilt (for about half the price of buying them new again, so i dont think this is that great of a selling point) and they are ment to be one of the best in the world. although i think i'd like to have the ease of adjustabililty of the illuminas, but can you actully feel a difference? or do you just end up leaving them on the one setting all the time anyway? from what i've read, paying the extra for the shipping of the illumina springs would be a waste of money, so i'll probably use king springs for both setups. any input would be appreshiated, but i realise this is a pretty pointless post, yet alone thread, sorry! -evan

i was very resently told about a freshly rebuilt carby turbo for $1100, 45mm carbs (not sure of brand, claimed value of $400 alone) with all the manifolds that would be needed and external wastegate etc to bolt it onto my L26. i've tried to read up on carby turbos vs efi ones but it brings up to many results (carb vs turbo threads), i was told that with everything stock besides this "bolt on kit" i'd be able to run it at normal boost levels, so i'm thinking it might be a bit of fun while i keep saving for a newer straight 6, and i'm thinking if worst comes to worst i could always sell it for the same sort of price? or is are the carby ones that much mucking around compared to efi ones and just going to give me a headache? its not fair that a turbo l28 can be had so cheaply in america!

hey thanks for the compliment i'll get some pics of the light out sometime to show how its all assembled, as the drivers side one is on a slight angle as i just guessed where to drill the holes instead of doing it a better way, but that probably wont happen for quite some time. i'm also planning on putting some side indicators up the top, i'm thinking 2002 wrx type ones facing upwards to block the hole and then putting some leds where the current indicators are, but i'll wait and see (do 240z indicators have a parker down there also? just they dont seem to have the orange section my 260z ones do.)

yeah you can easily tell cars that are just using those, normally by being blinded by them as cars stock reflectors aren't made for such bright globes i'm guessing so they end up reflecting off parts of their reflectors that are facing the wrong way etc, i was blinded last night by a 4wd that had a hid kit installed i was driving next to an ae86 one night that had them and looking across at their light pattern there were a few spots that were really bright and that was about it, they didn't throw the light anywhere near as well as projectors do and spread it out evenly (but they were a nicer colour ofcourse), but then r34's xenons are using reflectors so i'm not saying they can't be as good, but say you just use cheap reflectors off ebay its not going to be anywhere near as good

those two diagonal bits are actully lined up to hit the road at the same point, its just coz its focusing on something closer than its ment to that they dont line up you can make it so the cut off is purely horizontal but they are much better like this, as they dont blind on coming drivers and dont hit rear view mirrors of cars infront

yeah rust aint good at all, i might do it the whole wheel arch but dont have a peice of plastic big enough, but it did cross my mind. it does rub on the wheel when they are on full lock, but i can live with that for now. well here's some pics, (sorry about the size) i need to fix up the light going straight up, but not a huge issue. my plan is to put a cars side indicator up there to cover the hole and put an array of leds down where the parkers are, just need to find some indicators that fit.

i made an inner fender out of an old plastic folder to help prevent the lights and electronics getting drenched! and also sealed the electronics in a box, so hopefully water doesn't get near them when i was swapping the lights over to see why one wasn't working the connectors were wet, but i think the controllers are smart enough to recognise a short and turn them off...but i dont really want to test this out!