Headlight Options

[Bdawg]

Ok, maybe this topic is over done, but im just trying to get some things straight. What im talking about is the "flush" headlights for the 89-94 240sx. so far i know of eastbear and ab flug (r these still in production..?), i also found a few links to other ones like them and see if they would work, one is for a miata and one is from importfan.com. what i really want to kno is the price of these and where i can buy them from and if they work for night driving. here are links to the other 2 i was talking about:
http://www.midtennmiata.com/round_headlights.htm
http://www.importfan.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=104_285_287&products_id=2029
so if anyone wouldnt mind just setting it straight because i find different prices and different imformations in different threads where it metions these types of headlights. Thanks...

[Rennen]

I assume you found this thread because you dug up my miata link ;)

http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=27190

So pretty much your options are:

pay out the ass for AB Flug / Eastbear

or

DIY

or

Forget flush headlights and just be happy with some H4 conversions. :)

-Matt

[HyperTek]

wow that miata kit looks pretty good, I would contact them to stir up interest in producing it for s13.

[ThatGuy]

I am planning to start prototyping these lights for the 180sx front end the beginning of next year.

http://www.midtennmiata.com/images/Hwithcovers.jpg

If all goes well I may be producing them to sell, if not I may just trade the prototypes to someone for a S13 Silvia front end. :D No price as of yet, but Zilvia will be the first to know when they are ready.

[CoasTek240]

the second link you had for the 'c-wings' brand flushheadlights suck. those are imitation eastbear.
fitment is shitty i've heard.

i had the eastbear headlights on my old fb. i loved them. 3 years ago, they looked unlike what anyone here in the states had.
now....theyre so expensive, id do what rennen said and get an h4 conversion. ehhh but who am i to talk. i spent close to $900 on my silvia front end swap last year. doh!

[mr_240sx]

im not a big fan of those flush mounted headlights, what i have seen which i really like is the projector pop-up lights from clearcorners.com, the only problem is they only install in house. its kinda hard to drive from ontario to california just for headlights!! :mad:

[Rennen]

hey, mr240sx: You might try reading the link I posted... or even searching... perhaps for the terms "Halo" and "in house conversion" I believe this canadia vs clearcorners thing has been touched on before ;)


ThatGuy: Best of Luck prototyping those lights, everything except the lenses would be pretty straightforward. And I am sure there are plenty of rice.... I mean image conscious people :D who would be all over those if you put em on ebay. What lights would you use? Projecters or aux driving lights?

-Matt

[mr_240sx]

tks man, i searched and still didnt find the answer to my question but i e-mailed mike from clearcorners (old_s13).

[ThatGuy]

Best of Luck prototyping those lights, everything except the lenses would be pretty straightforward. And I am sure there are plenty of rice.... I mean image conscious people who would be all over those if you put em on ebay. What lights would you use? Projecters or aux driving lights?

-Matt

I would only use DOT SAE legal Projectors. But thanks for your jackass...I mean insightful remark about ricers buying them. I'll be sure to let that affect my decision while building them.

[MakotoS13]

yeah, its total rice for all those lemans cars that originally came with popups to go with a better light source that is also aerodynamically sound.

fuggin posers.

correctION. I will be the first to know when they are ready!

[ThatGuy]

Yes Makoto, I will be sure to keep you and any one who is interested up-to-date on the progress of the lights. I should be starting work on them in either Jan. or Feb. I am hoping to design 2 or 3 different models, all of which should be bolt-in applications for the 89-94 models. :rawk:

[Rennen]

I would only use DOT SAE legal Projectors. But thanks for your jackass...I mean insightful remark about ricers buying them. I'll be sure to let that affect my decision while building them.

My apologies, despite the fact that I am a jackass at heart, I did not mean the post as such. I only meant to say that your efforts in prototyping will most definitely pay off because there is a market for such items.


And makoto, don't kid yourself. In an S13 application, these would be purely for aesthetics. There isn't a single person on this board who has entered their 240SX into any sort of night endurance racing. And while you may think you are flying down the Mulsanne straight while driving on the street at night, the drag created by pop-ups is imperceivable in street driving. So, you might ask yourself who the real poseur is.

[TK]

sounds like a good project ThatGuy, maybe also make a option for an HID version using an appropriate HID projector

[ThatGuy]

I am considering an HID model, but that all depends on the demand for the lights to begin with, as the the HID projectors cost nearly 10x the price of the halogen projectors. Glad to see people are interested.

Rennen sorry if I took your words a bit stronger then you intended, just didn't appreciate what I thought you were trying to say. No biggie, I'm not losing sleep over it.

Makoto, yes I agree with the aerodynamic aspect of your argument. I happen to like the sleeker nose of the 180sx and feel it throws it all off with big pop-up air dams in there. While I may never drive fast enough on public roads for it to make a difference, I'm hoping to at least create another option for people. These lights will be functional and flow better with the 180sx front in my eyes.

[KiDyNomiTe]

make one of these

http://www.super-made.com/top/top180.jpg

[mr_240sx]

make one of these

http://www.super-made.com/top/top180.jpg
WOW~!!! thats different and i Like that! where could i see more pics of different angles?

[ThatGuy]

Those lights are cool, my only concern would be the legality of the lights used. It does give more ideas for more prototypes though. :D

[mr_240sx]

why wouldnt they be legal?

[ThatGuy]

In most states it is illegal to run fog-lights in place of headlights. That's why I'll be using only DOT/SAE compliant lights. Check your local laws to make sure. I know here in NC you can't run just fogs.

[mr_240sx]

well i know in my town, if our foglights are bright enough the law doesnt bother us! would that be the only reason they wouldnt be legal? and would it be possible to plug HID to those lights?

[nightwalker]

I've seen very nice flip up light conversions in Option Mags. There's a company that makes some really nice ones. One of my favorites was the one with a fog light added to it.

[mr_240sx]

do you have a pic of those head lights? i personnaly would like to get the projector low-profile pop-ups from clearcorners but im from canada and cant drive down to california to get them installed. i would like to keep my pop-ups though but have something that not everybody has! Ex: H4 conversion

[Rennen]

do you have a pic of those head lights? i personnaly would like to get the projector low-profile pop-ups from clearcorners but im from canada and cant drive down to california to get them installed. i would like to keep my pop-ups though but have something that not everybody has! Ex: H4 conversion

:hammer:

Since you didn't use the search hints I posted earlier, here is the direct link:

http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=27724 read all the pages.

Hella 90 mm projectors (http://www.susquehanna.com/susq/hella/90mm.htm) + brackets + ingenuity = saved drive to Cali

-Matt

[mr_240sx]

i swear to god that i used the search button and found a few threads but never came up to that link! tks man!

[MakotoS13]

since when is fighting drag a bad thing? road race cars aren't setting speed records but they use those lights. these would also cut down on some weight as well as just plain looking nicer at night time.

oh yeah, and since you suck so badly at context clues i feel compelled to illustrate that i was sarcastically calling those race car drivers posers.

[Dustbunnie]

Just a somewhat-related, somewhat-not question...how does one go about wiring up one of these headlight conversion jobs, if I were to do it myself with foglights? I don't even know how to do just the normal headlight rewiring, much less the wiring necessary for going to a system that uses a second bulb for the high beams...

[wootwoot]

January or Febuary?? But its December...Thats like, 2 months away until you even start =(
Get off your ass lazy man and start making those lights! I want I want!

[scir16v]

The Japanese company that you guys are talking about that have a projector light conversion is AllRound. They have about 4 or 5 different setups. Koguchi runs one on his green 180.

I'm doing like halo did, bought the hella 90mm projectors, and have made a set of plates for them to bolt to. I'm almost done, just need to bend the plates, weld em, wire em, and lazy eye 'em.

[mr_240sx]

The Japanese company that you guys are talking about that have a projector light conversion is AllRound. They have about 4 or 5 different setups. Koguchi runs one on his green 180.

I'm doing like halo did, bought the hella 90mm projectors, and have made a set of plates for them to bolt to. I'm almost done, just need to bend the plates, weld em, wire em, and lazy eye 'em.
i want to do the same thing but i want my pop-ups to be able to fully close! Did Halo find a way to fix his pop-ups to finally close?

[csdcowboy]

i want to do the same thing but i want my pop-ups to be able to fully close! Did Halo find a way to fix his pop-ups to finally close?

If you read to the end of the thread, he says he got one done completely, recessed properly. I can't remember if he said he got the other one done, but he said he was going to do it "tomorrow."

On a side note....damn I want those Hellas.............

[ThatGuy]

scir16v, Koguchi is not running AllRounds lights on his 180, he is running Ab-Flug Grim Lights. I thought about purchasing the same lights for my car, only 2 problems. #1.) They cost $1200+ #2.) The light output is less then desirable. Hopefully if I get mine built I can solve both problems. :D

Koguchi's Car
http://www.c-west.co.jp/event/das/das2004/drft/img/koguchi01L.jpg


Ab-Flug Grim Lights
http://www.ab-flug.co.jp/abflug_shop/item_img/0033030002.jpg

[mr_240sx]

If you read to the end of the thread, he says he got one done completely, recessed properly. I can't remember if he said he got the other one done, but he said he was going to do it "tomorrow."

On a side note....damn I want those Hellas.............
but if you read it carefully, he said that he could close it buy hand! I was wondering if when he shut his lights off if it still went back down?

[scir16v]

ok, so he used to.

Here's a pic.

[JH]

i want to do the same thing but i want my pop-ups to be able to fully close! Did Halo find a way to fix his pop-ups to finally close?

All you have to do is shorten the headlight actuator rod by "x" amount, and then shorten the double-hinged-reciprocating arm by the same "x" amount. At that point, the max closing and max opening of the light resides at 180 deg from each other much like the stock set up, except the height of the popup is lowered by "2x" now.

The rod is double threaded with a lock nut, which means you can shorten it without trouble up to a point. After that you just cut off more of the threaded portion and screw back the ball joint for more lowering adjustment. With the double-hinged-reciprocating arm, however, you will need to cut and weld...there is no way around that one.

After those two mods, your headlight will move up and down much like stock, all without the need of aftermarket headlight controller like Pivot.

[MakotoS13]

ok, so he used to.

Here's a pic.

wrong, those are just sleepy eyes, DAWG.

your bad

[Shin_Kudo]

make one of these

http://www.super-made.com/top/top180.jpg


Those are defenitely my favorite S13 light convo. I was gonna try to describe them, but fortunately, you did it a better way.

[Dousan_PG]

wrong, those are just sleepy eyes, DAWG.

your bad


actually its not
custom setup.
thats the max height they went up.

[zeek]

Im diggin the flush (one on Miata) lights, and thats one less damn thing to brake on your car(headlight motors) and less drag at higher speeds.

[MakotoS13]

actually its not
custom setup.
thats the max height they went up.

the point was they weren't what he said they were... Mr. technical.

and if they LOOK like sleepy eyes as far as i'm concerned they ARE sleepy eyes.

[s13nismo83]

What you say about these light´s?
These are HOMEMADE!!!!

[old_s13]

"These are HOMEMADE!!!!"

...and they look it.

[JH]

"These are HOMEMADE!!!!"

...and they look it.

that's all good...that's what a hobby is all about. half the fun is trying things and making it work.

[scir16v]

Actually if you look closer, The headlight is only as high as the popup goes, so it's very similar.

[old_s13]

that's all good...that's what a hobby is all about. half the fun is trying things and making it work.

like putting skyline tail lights on a civic? :)

[sideviewcivic]

Another similar kit is made by Taitec for the NSX. In the kit they use HID wide-beam flat fog lights with a lexan lens for protection and aero shape as an upgrade. Frankly I want a kit to eliminate drag. Some people say why bother, but if it makes a 3-7% change in better aero coefficient im all for it. http://www.scienceofspeed.com/products/exterior_performance_products/NSX/TAITEC/JGTC_fixed_headlights/ Just use some epoxy sealant and your good to go. Sure the kit is offrad use only, but how many of us use offroad products on the street. BEWARE, oncoming traffic will be like a lynch mob on you.

[s13nismo83]

@old_s13...so you buy all the parts that you like and take your car to a mechanic to put it in (this is very difficult) ?

I have seen the light´s on a drift car at clearcorners.com but i don´t have 1200$ for them so i built them in the same style but my light´s only i have and that´s the important thing.

[wootwoot]

^^^^ :keke: :keke:

[Hondamatic]

i dont see how you guys can drive with those, i would be scared flying down some dark backroad with foglights as headlights

[Ian]

yeah, the OEM lights were designed and produced for a reason...if they were THAT bad, they wouldnt have been released...

if you honestly think you need more light...just add some fog lights to your lower bumper as to not bling unsuspecting motorists...

unless of course you can shell out for clear corners (which are fuckin awesome IMO)

[twitchy]

i want some ridiculously bright set of fog lamps or driving lamps or whatever to go in the airdam thing in front of the rad on mine. Something dangerously bright, something so bright, that when i turn them on, oncoming traffic bursts into flames

any ideas?

[Rennen]

yeah, the OEM lights were designed and produced for a reason...if they were THAT bad, they wouldnt have been released...

if you honestly think you need more light...just add some fog lights to your lower bumper as to not bling unsuspecting motorists...

unless of course you can shell out for clear corners (which are fuckin awesome IMO)

:eek2:

Are you serious?!? I really, really hope this is sarcasm.


If not, #1) You have never ever driven a S13 with sealed beam headlights. Those pieces of shit were designed at least 80 years ago, and are made for cheapness/planned replacement rather than anything else. Try using your OEM logic a bit more and ponder why the OEM has stepped up to H4s, then to projectors, now to HIDs.
#2) Upgrading to projectors from Hella, a leader of the lighting industry for years will be 10 times more effective than adding some generic pep boys foglights. The projectors have an actual beam pattern that was created to light the road and not piss off other drivers. The glare from foglights is far more likely to blind oncoming motorists.

I have driven with Hella's 90mm projectors at night, on germany's autobahn, with the speedometer pegged for 4 hours. Needless to say, I was impressed, and would gladly pick the lighting output of these over my current H4 conversions + aux driving lights.

Again, I hope I am just misreading sarcasm.

-Matt

[old_s13]

Actually, both of you guys made good points.


f they were THAT bad, they wouldnt have been released...

Not really, there are minimum requirements but its hard to say, certain cars like the Camaro come with those small rinkey dink headlamps -- an absolute joke but its "legal" huh? Lets just say, some cars are released with the BARE minimum. The old Crown Victoria came with 10" rotors and they would warp ALL the time, how is that allowable? It just is what it is.


You have never ever driven a S13 with sealed beam headlights. Those pieces of shit were designed at least 80 years ago, and are made for cheapness/planned replacement rather than anything else. Try using your OEM logic a bit more and ponder why the OEM has stepped up to H4s, then to projectors, now to HIDs.

Sealed beams are acceptable when new, as they get old (like any bulb) they lose light output. A set of Hella H4 ECE is superior to sealed beam, you also have the choice for different quality bulbs as well. The high output bulbs we sell with our H4 headlamps sell all the time, we actually are shipping out several sets next week as we just restocked.


The projectors have an actual beam pattern that was created to light the road and not piss off other drivers. The glare from foglights is far more likely to blind oncoming motorists.

There is a difference between a headlight, a foglight, and a driving light. Each one serves a purpose. A lot of the smaller auxilary lamps being sold in the aftermarket are NOT foglights, they are driving lamps -- the difference is the beam pattern. Foglights are mounted low and emit a very wide beam pattern, typically yellow in color to assist in visibility during poor weather (usefull too). Driving lamps are almost like high beams, just smaller and usually not as strong.. but still.. they often glare and this is why people get pissed off. A headlamp, of course, has a useful beam pattern.

mike / clearcorners.com

[HaLo]

The Japanese company that you guys are talking about that have a projector light conversion is AllRound. They have about 4 or 5 different setups. Koguchi runs one on his green 180.

I'm doing like halo did, bought the hella 90mm projectors, and have made a set of plates for them to bolt to. I'm almost done, just need to bend the plates, weld em, wire em, and lazy eye 'em.


yeah, i got it resolved btw, a long time ago. ;)

[HaLo]

Oh, and for all that wonder:

1. My headlights open up to that maximum height now.
2. They work just like regular headlights: i turn them on, the popup goes up to the sleepy eye level, stays there and my head lights turn on. when I shut them off, they close down.

I'd like to thank Mike from Clearcorners for his tips. He's a great guy and he did not give me ANY information on how to do it before I attempted it myself... I thank him for that. :)