HIDs in projector lenses (with angel eyes)
 

We all know the standard headlights are a bit woeful ('53 Blob wagon) and I'm doing quite a bit of driving at night at the mo..

My primary goal is to increase light output by using HIDs but need a projector unit, and these seem to fit the bill:

https://www.energizedcustoms.co.uk/s...ghts-pair.html

The 'halo' LED rings aren't too offensive (but would happily do without), but I'm keen to know whether, with HIDs fitted, the units actually work to boost light output.

Anyone got recent experience (of these particular units, or similar)?

No E-Mark. Therefore not strictly legal?

Have a look at www.thererofitsource.com.

they are in the USA, but easy to deal with.
Get some decent projectors and fit to your blob lights.

I did that with a classic.

Also this kit which I have and I found to be really good. Includes a guide on how to perform the swap and also comes with the specific adapters to make sure everything lines up properly.
https://www.retrofitlab.com/en/car/s...non-mh1-1.html

Good spot. I just found their ad on ebay and it says they are "e-marked and road legal" but I wonder why they don't state that on their own webpage? :wonder:

That looks like quality kit. Not sure how confident I'd be about taking to the projector shroud with a dremel though.. :eek2:

Their stuff is quality, available in 4300K too, which is OE colour temp for Audi, Merc, Range Rover, etc.

DIY is easy enough.

The retrofitlab stuff that Jay linked to?

Yep, that's what I used.

It's the dremmel bit that's putting me off!

Wait for some JDM headlights become available.

I've found a pair.. they're twice the price, but are they as good as these aftermarket jobbies? Are they plug and play? And, without projector lenses, are they legal in the UK (although the Accord Type-R had Xenon lights without projectors.. :wonder:)?

ETA.. I've seen you've answered the second question here: https://www.scoobynet.com/lighting-a...k-blobeye.html so supplementary question - is getting someone to do the wiring harness a faff/expensive?

The guy selling the £500 lights on ebay (assuming they are the ones you have seen) is dreaming. I offereed £400 and he came back with £450. Sourced some from Germany for £330 delivered. What I will say though, is that if you come to sell your car, you can swap your old headlights back in and shouldn't have any problems selling the JDM ones on for near enough what you paid for them.

The JDM lights are OEM so you will have no problem with legality. For the Bugeye they used projectors with HIDS (I have a Bugeye also with JDM HIDs) but for Blobeye (and Forester) they moved to Reflector lens. With projector lens, the lens focuses the beam and provides the cutoff. With reflectors lens, the bulb has a built in cut off. Projector lens accept generic HID bulbs whereas reflectors require specifc bulbs (you can't fit a generic D2S/H1 bulb in a reflector housing, you need to use a D2R bulb). Hence why aftermarket projectors are used in H1/D2S housing because otherwise there is no cut off and you dazzle people. Which is why they are rightly illegal.

There is no noticeable difference in light output between the 2. Projectors possibly have better defined cut off. I haven't compared my Bug JDMs with my Blob JDMs yet but as the Bug has more powerful bulbs (D2S bulbs for projector has a wider range of bulbs to choose from than the D2R bulbs for the projector lens lights for the Blob) it wouldn't be a like for like comparison.

I can't comment whether they are better than the aftermarket ones, only that from personal experience, they are all the light you need. You don't need to back when off cars come the other way at night because you can no longer see the side of the road for example. You can easily press on at night without even using high beam.

As for the loom, you can buy one here https://www.lightwerkz.net/index.php...d-harness.html for £60. But the individual parts are maybe £30. It's just a case of cutting wires to length and soldering them together. I can provide full details if required.

So pros of the aftermarket is that the cost is less and they are readily availble. The cons, well I'm sure you've seem the install video. Also there is no resale value on your lights. Appearance (I admit that this is personal preference as to whether you mind losing originality)

JDM cons are of course cost and availability. Pros are no modifications required, guaranteed to work, legality and you can always sell them on and get most if not all of your money back. Appearance (see above).

** It should be noted also that the Retrofit Lab kit as per the post states that they are bi-xenon (meaning both dip and main beam) when of course they just replace the dip beam and therefore are single xenon. There is noting wrong with the Uk high beam that decent bulb won't fix.

*** You just need to swap you motors over from UK headlights to JDM units. No custom loom is required for the adjustng motors.

You certain about this? AFAIK, the Retrofit stuff IS bi-Xenon and has a movable shield to do dip/main, so you'd in effect get TWO main beams. Worth asking them.

I assumed from the video it was single Xenon as they only replace the dipped beam. I'll call it 1.5 Xenon if it has dip/high function :lol1:

TBH there is nothing wrong with the high beam but I suppose their solution is used across a wide range of vehicles so has to cater for single as well as twin bulb set ups.

I can confirm it is Bi-xenon on that kit, you don't have to use it, as Alcazar says it has a movable shield.

Is the dremmelling (is that a word??!) easy enough?

the dremeling is easy, just a case of a little at a time, If I get back back in time tonight I'll take some pics, my setup looks stock, really clean. Only took a few hours to do.

found this one from when i did it, not to clear but shows it looks clean and not out of place.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...7a5c6be062.jpg

They do look good.. :cool:

Found some JDM OE HIDs in Germany.. I think I'm going take that route.. Anyone know how easy (or otherwise!) it is to adjust the 'aim' from a LHD car to a RHD car?

If they are JDM then they will be RHD.....

The prize for the stupidest question goes to.. Me!! :brickwall

I made my own using eBay projectors in standard housings .
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...334e5c127.jpeg

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...0db93f4e4.jpeg

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...816590a0d.jpeg

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...af44fd58e.jpeg

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F151973185945
These are what I used on my car been on 2 years with no problems