HID's for pop ups

[TheSmuggler00]

Well this is gonna probably be labled a stupid question, but does anyone have HID's on their pop up headlights? I mean i've never seen anyone talk about retro fitting, and I don't even know if the pop up headlights could accept HID retros or if anyone makes a kit. I'm only familiar with fixed level headlights. Thanks for the help all, and yes I searched lol =)

[OptionZero]

www.clearcorners.com

[West]

I put a set of Brightstar HID's (Thanks ImportHookup.com) in my s13 Popups, whcih were the crappy ebay brand H4 Conversion's at the time and the light output was poinless... I havent got a chance to re install them with my Hella conversions. Id image them to be a little better as far as output, but in all honestly... HID in the H4 Conversion's is a waste of time & money. Like someone said above, talk to Mike @ clearcorners.com, he has an excellent HID system for the s13.

[TheSmuggler00]

Wow thanks for not flaming guys =) Ill have to do that clearcorners call. I appreciate it. Does anyone else have HID's in them?

[TheSmuggler00]

Well crap I just looked and it says they will only sell their kits (I was looking at the DS9's or whatever) inhouse only and instalation inhouse only. That sucks because I'm in orlando, florida.... oh well i guess im destined to have crap non hids forever... =*( I love hid's... =*(

[kandyflip445]

If you have enough money to pay for them just take a road trip :p

[TheSmuggler00]

^^^ hahah jebus that would be fun but I think I'll pass =) lol

[S14DB]

You can't mail the housings?

[kandyflip445]

IIRC, Mike once said that he fabricates new arms and such so when the housings open they only go so far, eliminating the need for a headlight controller. I'm sure he also uses relays and rewires the lighting system to handle the system he installs also. Probably why it's an "in-house" conversion is cause he wants to make sure no detail is overlooked so someone can't screw up his product.

[s13driver]

how about this ? :D
a kit is working in process.

it hasn't been aligned at the time the pictures are taken, so output wasn't optimum.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v282/s13driver/PIC00015.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v282/s13driver/PIC00012.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v282/s13driver/S13lights/PIC00003a.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v282/s13driver/S13lights/PIC00005a.jpg

[TheSmuggler00]

well clearcorners.com dosent help me cuz i wont be able to get it... so no one else has anything to do with HID's in the pop ups?

[Phlip]

Mike at Clearcorners.com has in route to me right now his Hella H4 conversion for my pop ups, I am not so big an attention whore that I feel I need HID, a simple high-output lighting system will do it for me.

[HyperTek]

Not HID but a nice alternative IMO.. Raybrig H4 Headlight housing (expensive$$$) & Sylvania Silverstar bulbs
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v72/streetphase/frontlight2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v72/streetphase/sidelight.jpg

[kandyflip445]

^looks like there's no light hardly. Nice color though. I bet they're brighter then they appear but the pics suck to see a light pattern.

[derux]

I think if you were serious about buying the kit from clearcorners and knew your way around a car mike would sell you a set. They are a great set of lights

[wootwoot]

hypertek, how expensive is expensive to you?

[phrozen]

jdm beam pattern tho.. on those raybigs

[Muzzy]

S13Driver: take that carp off your hood..makes it look super bad

but uh...yea...lights um.......so H4 conversions suk?? could it jus have been the brand or style of the light bulb??

[kandyflip445]

If I were to get H4 conversions I'd get the ECE ones cause they have a better cut off. Don't think they're really legal though. Dunno why, cause they keep the oncoming traffic from being blinded.

[TheSmuggler00]

hmm so i hope that I can get the conversion from clear corners. I mean ive done audi retros on 2002 civics and all so im not new to retroing or fitting shaving splicing. I hope his kits come with new new harness though b/c i bet the s13 harness would short out if you tried to hook it up with the ballasts and all

[HyperTek]

Well my pic wasnt to show the light pattern, since it was in the rain, and that would be a bad example since you cant see much in rain.

well everywhere, the raybrig housing /w bulbs is around $80-$100, but i got mine alot cheaper. http://www.prolightstar.com/lightingsystem/sealedbeam.html . THen I paid like another $40-50 just for 9006 silverstar bulbs (just becuase I wanted color of these). Yes they have JDM light pattern, so its glare for left hand drive. but overall lighting output is best ive seen for 6054 type anything.

As for another H4 housing.. these are pretty cheap.. http://store.yahoo.com/classicgarage/20h4recheadc.html

A nice route would be something like this... with addition of a headlight relay harness kit... that powers directly from teh battery and plugs into teh original headlight harness to use as a switch to turn em on. http://jeepin.com/features/ipf/index.asp

P.S. My previous headlights where 6054 Silverstars (the replacement ones you buy at any auto store) which are IMO probably the best your going to get without doing an H4/9006 conversion.

[TheSmuggler00]

Yeah, I figured these lights would be more difficult than a normal fixed light. So you think my best bet would be to get something like you have? I mean I dont mind JDM beam patterns b/c they really dont affect that much (I've sat in cars with and without so I know). See I think your setup is effective b/c it was made to work with it, and if I go the real HID route I'm going to have to fiddle alot more with it, and then even possible end up with it not working. I'm probably going to go your way Hypertek, and then if I don't like it I'mm try a retro... thanks for the helpful imput guys, it's appreciated

[TheSmuggler00]

I'm looking at that site and I only see 2 Raybrig choices, which one did you get? So I'm taking it that the 180 sx's never came with HID's over in Japan then? Hmm that woulda been the best to buy if they did lol cuz then we would know it would work

[kandyflip445]

ECE housings would light up the road signs better than the JDM housings because they're meant for drivers on the left side of the car and the cutoff is opposite. I would do what Hypertek said with the relay and direct power so that you don't burn out your combination switch and you can use bigger wire for the higher wattage bulbs.

[sr_sil80]

I have Hella conversion housings w/ Factory Nissan complete HID bulbs/ballasts. I took out the piece that the light reflects off of onto the housings. It's kinda hard to explain what piece i'm talking about, but if you look into the hole where you put the headlight it's the metal thing that you could touch, in between the glass and the hole. Well I took that out, and they're extremely bright, just as bright as high beams, maybe brighter. I have the sleepy eye headlight look, so they're not as bright. They look bright when you look at them, but they don't shine the road that well.
hope that helps, good luck on what you decide to do

[KiDyNomiTe]

Forget what he is using IM him at tougefactory or e-mail him, e-mail addy is on website. They look pretty good.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid141/p402805f14ddf00d5dc85bef84172bebd/f6cb76aa.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid141/p92a39cf6e7c37becc8cdd078d5e425b6/f6cb788a.jpg

[TheSmuggler00]

IM who? lol i dont see a name, but that red one looks sweet, just the look im going for, so if you could explain what i need to do to get in touch with that person, hook me up =)

[KiDyNomiTe]

tougefactory = aim screen name

[TheSmuggler00]

ohhhhh ok
=)
thx bro

[TheSmuggler00]

Well I talked to Tougefactory, great guy and told me that he converted to h4 lights and threw on a catz hid kit. Thats soudns good to me, but i did some moere searching and found this: http://www.brightheadlights-hid.com/HID-Headlights-x6054.htm

It let me search by my vehical and I did 89 240sx. it showed me a kit that should be a bolt on to our stock headlights. I dunno check it out and tell me what you think. If it seems shady or prob wont work, I'm going to by the raybrig h4 sealed beam housing and through some catz hid's in it. that or ill try to retro in some audi lights =) Gimmie some info on what you think of the above linky guys

[bing]

that link u posted above, it looks like it is just an H4 conversion with an HID set up added to it.

i've heard of guys grabbing Hella or Bosch H4 conversions and putting in the McCulloch H4 kits, will that not work? and if so, what about them makes them something you havent considered yet?

[TheSmuggler00]

Heh, well I was actually looking for something to fit in w/o gonig H4 at first. McC is mad expensive and hella and bosch are nice, but I'm not looking to break the bank. I've done plenty of hid conversions (non on pop ups though) and even if you buy catz (phillips) or even other companies that are somewhat cheaper if you know what your doing you can get the cutoff right and not look cheap/crummy. This is my first endevor with anything pop up so thats why I want peoples considerations. =) If someone found me a site I missed or something that said "end all convert your damn 240 into H4 with thes McC SB headlights and there hella bi-xexon (hi/lo)" I'd prob buy it =) I'm just trying to find concrete evidence before I drop the change =)

[Phlip]

On the real, you should have asked Mike from clearcorners.com at the first mention of his name... Mike is a bit of an elitist, meaning that he will only have the shit that works (WELL) on his car and has done the research/testing you seek... I know that Mike is still popup on his S13 and has HID lighting, which he also sells. I find it odd having not seen him in this thread, but perhaps you should reach out to him...

[TheSmuggler00]

Yeah, I'm still new (as evidence of my join date) so I'm tryign to get a feel for thigns first, and see what you guys think. I'll deffinatley talk to him but I'm going to let this run a couple more days. In my oppinion the more input I've gotten on things the better the final product has been =) I just like to hear all sides of the story. I don't know why these pop ups make me nervous, I guess since I'm so used to just retroing into oem lighting like my civic. Funny, I did a search on google to find mccolloch its and didnt find anything hmmm =)

[HyperTek]

if u want h4 housing.. i just went to local Kragen (Checker auto etc) and they have Pilot H4 housing for less then $40 bucks.. id rather cut those up and stick a projecter instead of cutting up some raybrig housings.

[KiDyNomiTe]

I find it odd having not seen him in this thread, but perhaps you should reach out to him...
He has answered this a lot, he is probably aware of the thread. And you are right if you are doing this for maximum light output search for some of his posts.

[theicecreamdan]

I looked into putting some porsche projectors into some H4 housings I got on ebay jsut to see how hard it would be to fit... it didnt seem like it was going to be all that hard but I never got around to trying any harder at making it all fit, because around that time I got my s14 zenki headlights that I really wanted to put the projectors in, and eventually get some clear covers.

then I hit a tree and now I have JDM s14 kouki headlights and they are good enough for me.

[old_s13]

I didnt see this thread until today, a customer actually let me know about it.

While the low-profile HID projector conversion is still listed on the website, its not really a popular product because most people are more interested in price and appearance, not performance. They dont care about the details, they just want something cheap (again, both in price and in quality). Those who know me and my company philisophy, know I am interested in performance and quality, I care little about selling an inferior product. Those who stumble into our site should realize we're not into high volume sales, the lack of shopping cart should show that...

Back to the topic at hand, the conversion is sold as local install only. Modifications must be made to the headlight buckets, electrical system, lift mechanisms, combination switch, etc. You're looking at a big project if you're one who cares about details.

For *MOST* people, a set of ECE H4 headlamps with high-output bulbs is enough. A relay harness will help. As for HID, there is no other feasible alternative other than going with low-profile projectors. Lots of money, time, fabrication, wiring, etc. The H4 housing isnt ideal for HID and the Sylvania XenArc kits are trash and were discontinued for obvious reasons (piss quality). Cutting a set of headlamps and mounting a projector in it is stupid, illegal, and will look ugly.

I wish I could offer some better alternatives for you guys, but there's really no solution unless you're either going to make a scheduled road trip out here, or are willing to bite the bullet and try it yourself. If you are a do-it-yourselfer, best of luck.. a "finished" conversion is very involved.. which you'll eventually find out should you decide to try to walk that path.

Mike / ClearCorners.Com

ps: we have H4 ECE headlamps and high output bulbs in stock, Philip I will get yours out before I leave to SEMA.

[TheSmuggler00]

Yeah, see I knew these dumb pup-ups were gonna cause me trouble. I mean I have no problem retroing Audio proj's into fixed headlights... but then again that was on newer Civics and the new car headlights probably play nicer with HID's. So Mike, you would "not" be willing to sell me your kit out of house? I understand completley if that's the deal. Mabye I should just not mess with this and go for some nicer looking bulbs with higher outputs. I mean you all must admit though the stock housings and lights fuction and look like complete yellow ugly crap =) Oh well, destiny got another free shot at me =*(

[old_s13]

Yeah, see I knew these dumb pup-ups were gonna cause me trouble. I mean I have no problem retroing Audio proj's into fixed headlights... but then again that was on newer Civics and the new car headlights probably play nicer with HID's. So Mike, you would "not" be willing to sell me your kit out of house? I understand completley if that's the deal. Mabye I should just not mess with this and go for some nicer looking bulbs with higher outputs. I mean you all must admit though the stock housings and lights fuction and look like complete yellow ugly crap =) Oh well, destiny got another free shot at me =*(

If you want to work with me, I can look into making a kit.. but I cannot make any promises. E-mail me at [email protected] Leave me your full contact info and also e-mail me a pic of the car so I can make sure you have good taste. ;)

- Mike

[TheSmuggler00]

Haha, will do. Thx for the info guys

[bing]

sorry, i read what you wrote mike, but if you will permit me to ask this question again:

hella H4 conversion housings and a McCulloch HID set up is no good?

i have some buddies that put these kits on their cars and they seem great, i dont know anyone personally that has used them on the 240sx w/ pop-ups though, although i have read in the past that it was a viable option.

[RBS14]

Since Mike is most likely at SEMA now, i'll answer. The answer is the same for ANY halogen housing that you put a HID kit into..........

IT'S SHIT!

HID reflectors are completely different from halogen reflectors. HID's in halogen housings yield a horrible beam pattern, and amounts of glare you could only dream of. Many people lie to themselves and think that their new HID kit they stuck in their halogen headlights are great, they're wrong. The total light output is greater, but it doesn't have hardly any beam pattern anymore. the only way to get the correct beam pattern is to retrofit HID projectors/reflectors into your halogen housings, or a completely new setup like what Mike offers.

[S14DB]

HID's are much better than any filament bulb I put in my car. I went thru them all... The 100w ones would almost melt the housing and would last like 3 months. Regular halogens would look yellow as hell and didn't contrast the road that well. The PIAA's were too dim for me (they look ausome now on my friends WRX).

[HyperTek]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v72/streetphase/lights1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v72/streetphase/lights2.jpg

[kandyflip445]

Could you put a caption to go with your pics, saying what they are of? :p

[HyperTek]

read on first page.. Raybrig clear housing w/ Sylvania Silverstar 9003...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v72/streetphase/sideview.jpg

[sticky240]

anyone tried the Raybrig blue tinted housings? I would imagine they would look like HyperTek's cept with a blueish tint

[HyperTek]

Ive seen em before.. that was what got me interested in Raybrig housing in the first place.. they where on a Ford Econovan.... lol.. but it was a company van from a shop... It was cool, but Id just go clear so you can rock whatever color bulbs (insert ricer happiness here) .

[INeedNewTires]

this is a little OT but not worthy of another thread. I was searching around for some better bulbs, of course i would want HID but dont feel the $$ deems them worthy right now. I noticed many bulbs are a 12v/55w output. obviously the 12v is standard on our cars 12v system, but the 55w, wouldnt that be the light output? then i saw some much more expensive ones rated at 95w. Then i found the PIAA hyperwhites (or somethin like that) and they were rated at 155w. So would they be the brightest? their all on a 12v system so i dont see any damage coming from them right? would they really melt the housing or damage anything like what s14db was talking about? thanks for the input

[TheSmuggler00]

It says I must buy these on the Sylvania WS: http://www.costore.com/performanceshop/productenlarged.asp?peid=34&pid=237402

[Maeda]

obviously the 12v is standard on our cars 12v system, but the 55w, wouldnt that be the light output? then i saw some much more expensive ones rated at 95w. Then i found the PIAA hyperwhites (or somethin like that) and they were rated at 155w.

You must be high or stupid.

w stands for................... c'mon fill in the blank.

and does that word mean light output(measured in lumens btw)?

[HyperTek]

55w is the wattage (like house bulbs, oviously higher is brighter, but will also be hotter). 95w might be a rally bulb, which are cheap but bright. But you will melt your wires if you dont upgrade em, and can cause damage. I think PIAA bulbs just rate something high as a comparison a sales gimick.

You can try these.. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7926911885
or just hit up http://www.hidplanet.com

[MakotoS13]

If you want to work with me, I can look into making a kit.. but I cannot make any promises. E-mail me at [email protected] Leave me your full contact info and also e-mail me a pic of the car so I can make sure you have good taste. ;)

- Mike

dude if you build something that looks classy (as i'm sure ya would) and that has good output i will buy the first set. i ain't even kiddin, yo... i knew you had sumthin cookin :)

[98sr20ve]

For *MOST* people, a set of ECE H4 headlamps with high-output bulbs is enough. A relay harness will help.


What is the difference between the ECE and teh US market one? With, bulbs, relays, etc what is the cost?

[Phlip]

dude if you build something that looks classy (as i'm sure ya would) and that has good output i will buy the first set. i ain't even kiddin, yo... i knew you had sumthin cookin :)
Actually, Makoto, you missed the rest of that post "Phlip I will get yours out before I leave to SEMA." I will fill everyone in when they are in the ride and take plenty of pictures, which will be the first time ANY of you see the project, except for Steeles and the ones with a hand in at.


What is the difference between the ECE and teh US market one? With, bulbs, relays, etc what is the cost?
When I talked to Mike and we were putting together my order, he explained to me that this was a "European lighting pattern," I would assume this has something to do with the allowed light output through the reflectors and aim of the lighting as well, given the fact that they drive on the other side of the road over there... Again, I will offer my assessment and pictures when I have them in the car.

[98sr20ve]

given the fact that they drive on the other side of the road over there...

Only England drives on the wrong side. Most are the same as us.

Mike, I actually tried to buy some of these from last winter. You were out for 3 months and then the car was put away for painting and other things and the lights were put on hold. Back then you were talking about a plug in relay kit for the 240. Did you ever make it? I want the higher wattage bulbs more then likely. If you don't make the kit can you be a resource for doing it. I have done some of this before but most the instructions I have found are for a 4 lamp setup rather then our 2 lamp setup. Consider one of your ECE setups sold. I just need to contact you to give you a credit card. I am not missing out on better lights this time around.

[RBS14]

ECE housings and projectors allow more light output than DOT ones.