B00STDZ Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 HID'S without projecters arent worthless... Installing a projector takes alot more work and planning then slapping in just the HID's. To be honest when the time comes I probably wont put the extra time into fitting a projector unless I have help with someone who knows what theyre doing and does it right the 1st time. Im not trying to argue, just saying HID's with projectors=Lots of work-Lots of Light HID's=Little work-Lots of Light Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoov100 Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 HID'S without projecters arent worthless... Installing a projector takes alot more work and planning then slapping in just the HID's. To be honest when the time comes I probably wont put the extra time into fitting a projector unless I have help with someone who knows what theyre doing and does it right the 1st time. Im not trying to argue, just saying HID's with projectors=Lots of work-Lots of Light HID's=Little work-Lots of Light come on man, with all of the work you have done to your car you are going to let a few hours of work to make something properly work keep you from doing it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240Z_Master Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 What really boggles me is everyone says HID without projectors is useless... I half agree and half disagree... From what I can see or observe... a HID D2S light bulb doesn't have the glare shield (which is why a projector is needed). And then there are HID D2R light bulbs that you can put into a propper housing (like a DOT or ECE) housing, which could possibly allow you to drop in HID's without projectors. My personal reason why you can do this is because it has the glare shield that allows the light to be blocked so it doesn't shine up (projectors have this shield/cover/step built in). Can anyone confirm this? These are just my observations. (This picture somewhat shows what I'm talking about) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B00STDZ Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 Someones done some homework... That makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240Z_Master Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 Also placed in a well designed housing such as the ECE or DOT spec housing lamps (as recommended by 240Hoke) really makes sense to me. I realized the Ebay drop in housings don't really do justice. Getting a good housing that is spec'd also helps the beam cutoff as to not distract other drivers as well. Examples of some E Code housings below... As you can see what a lot of the guys are referring to the step on one side is higher to illumiate pedestrians, street signs, and to not distract drivers. Making sure the correct lens (projector housings, or bulb housings) installed on the correct side according to your driving side (RHD or LHD) is also key to doing things the right way. LHD E-Code Housing RHD E-Code Housing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhp123166 Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 I wasn't gonna weigh in but what the hey. There is another option to having HID lights on ones vehicle: HID driving lights. I have been thinking about doing an HID headlight conversion for years. I have watched the price drop and was very close to doing it earlier this year. I bought some PIAA Xtreme white headlight bulbs and they are bright but just not bright enough. I am also extremely apprehensive about messing with my stock headlights. All these HID companies are advertising something like a "98 %" success rate of a good product which in my mind is still a 2% failure rate. Something happens on the road at night, my headlights f*** up then where am I? If it ain't broken don't fix it. Then I was at Kragen and lo and behold there is a company which makes 4" and 7" completely enclosed one piece off road lights. I bought some 4" ones. They look trick and the amperage draw is so low I don't even need to use relays. Their use is entirely discretionary so I can use them only when I need them. They throw light everywhere and I can see everything for hundreds of feet. As far as blinding others, I have been getting blinded/ distracted for years by suburbanites in duallies running HID headlights and driving lights. I got over it and so will others, if the use of these lights makes me a bad person than I am so very sorry. Yes their use is illegal but so is retrofitting HID headlights. I got pulled over a couple weeks ago for speeding and the policeman did not say anything about my lights. Who knows better than the police? On a side note I have had drivers in opposing traffic flash their headlights at me, indicating excessive brightness maybe twenty times. 17 out of 20 of these drivers have been HID owners. What are they really saying, "No one can be brighter than me in my Beemer. " ? Have a great day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stan401 Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 i wonder, what light i should get, if i only want to have h4 lights into them i dont plan to put hid into them for now just a better light than stock one and looking more 2009 ! #1 #2 #3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexicoker Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 I've been researching this for past couple of hours and here's what I've learned: I (personally) dislike the look of the modern projector HID's that some people have for their Z's. The metal boob with nuclear nipples. HID bulbs plopped into H4 housings blind people. With some proper glare shields and a little work, you can make HID bulbs in H4 housings not blind people: http://www.hachiroku.net/forums/showthread.php?t=700 Obviously the light isn't as good as projectors, but that doesn't bother me as long as I'm not blinding people. (possibly my biggest pet peeve ever) My plan right now is these housings: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230154579497&_trksid=p2759.l1259#ht_1572wt_1831 These bulb adapters: http://www.hidexpert.com/ph4_adapters.html And whatever ballasts/bulbs I can find from the pick and pull (hopefully) Any input is appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S130Z Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 Stan, Those housings with the lights provided by the seller are terrible. I feel like if you don't go with a retrofit projector HID setup, then you should run a quality sealed beam lamp. You get what you pay for, and $30 is not getting you that much. Spend a little bit of money for some quality lamps. I did my HID projectors for roughly $120 bucks and some elbow grease, and that's including everything. Now I get 10X better lighting and I am actually comfortable driving at night with 30% tint on my windshield. Running these cheap $30 dollar lights is kinda like driving on 4 spare tires(the ones that come original with the Datsun), it's just not safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slown280z Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 Quick question... would the drop in D2R lightbulbs and ballast be a good idea on the normal H4 housings? I'm still confused by this. I know the D2S bulbs are meant for projectors. No one has really cleared this up for me. I personally don't like the looks of projectors.. that's my opinion. So what I want to do in my car is... 1) Keep my H4 housing 2) Buy D2R lightbulbs and ballast 3) Plug in and go Advantages and disadvantages of doing this? EDIT: BTW my housings are 7" units that have H4 bulbs in them. If it's meant for projectors it's meant for projectors. Otherwise they will scatter too much light and glare oncoming drivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogie Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 Has anyone tried running a projector through a standard 7" glass headlight (I.E. non ebay clear plastic lense)? I am sure it would mess up the throw of the light a bit deal, but it would hide the "metal boob with nuclear nipples look" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogie Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 Also, arent these the same lamps that everyone says are good from H4lights.com? I am leaning the same way as mentioned above about reducing glare. As much as the XB3's cost I would rather spring for a bit more and peice together an HID set-up. My plan right now is these housings:http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230154579497&_trksid=p2759.l1259#ht_1572wt_1831 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RB26powered74zcar Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 (edited) Has anyone tried running a projector through a standard 7" glass headlight (I.E. non ebay clear plastic lense)? I am sure it would mess up the throw of the light a bit deal, but it would hide the "metal boob with nuclear nipples look" Been there, done that. BMW e46 hid projectors retrofitted into 7" Autopal eCodes Edited April 7, 2009 by J. Soileau RB26zcar resized pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DistantXtremes Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 General Guide for HID's True Xenon projector bi-xenon lamps round (X6024) are always going to have a better light output and less glare then reflective based lamps with HID kits. J. Soileau RB26zcar - your retrofit looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stan401 Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 for 2.99 for a set of two im not surprised that they are crap! thanks for the infos s130z actualy didnt like the nuclear nipples on those lights, but i tought they whould light more than stock its good to know before i did intend to get a set i think that the euro model that Flexicoker showed looks the best! looks more like factory but clear and h4 bulb can be used. anyone had used them? if you got a set Flexicoker keep me in touch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogie Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 What I meant was the focused lense on a standard headlight...such as a stock replacement. It looks like those are the cheap clear lenses again. I thought the ecodes still looked like a normal headlight, not crystal clear. Though I do prefer the projector you used there to the smaller ones people seem to have been using lately. Been there, done that. BMW e46 hid projectors retrofitted into 7" Autopal eCodes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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