JasonC SBB

Thanks.

Now which one do I buy for my 2000?

Saml01

iTrader: (9)

The 60 dollar kit isnt 55 watt. 55w is 75 bucks. The 60 dollar kit has a pretty label on the ballast. Personally I think its all the same ****. Get the 40 dollar kit.

From what I understand these kits are plug and play, they plug into the H4 harness on the car and draw the power from there. So you wont be getting the relay with it.

cardriverx

iTrader: (12)

Alright so im def going with the raptor $40 kit HID Xenon Kits, HID Bulbs, HID Accessories


Now its up to the ebay lenses joe posted eBay Motors: 7" ROUND PROJECTOR HEADLIGHTS CONVERSION KIT H6024 H4 (item 110329342808 end time Jan-21-09 10:02:13 PST)


and the hella lenses...

AbeFM

iTrader: (3)

My 55W are way way brighter than my friend's 35W kit. When I got everything I'd need off that site, it came up at 99 pre shipping. Still not a bad price... Maybe I'd need to look around first, except I already have HIDs for every vehicle. :-P

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

I did some searching last night, and came up with some info that may guide you here.

1- Of, the eBay 7" projectors, elesjuan notes "Second, don't waste your time or money on the socalled 7" projector light housings, they're complete and total ******* trash. Even with my HID lights, they put out less light than in a standard h4 parabolic housing."
https://www.miataturbo.net/forum/t17917-2/#post226574


2- Ben notes "Got the Hella E-codes from Bill @ miataroadster.com.
Tried them with halogen bulbs first. They did a much better job than stock sealed beams, but failed to impress me vs ching chong + HID. So I put the HIDs in the E-codes. (...)
The cut-offs are pretty damn amazing with the E's & HIDs. Looks very much like a real projector. The patterns are better, with even light distribution." (note that Ben's ching-chongs are reflectors, not projectors)
https://www.miataturbo.net/forum/t17917-3/#post228798


3- elesjuan follows "Left side is E-Code, right side is crappy chingchong "projector" junk lights. Identical HID bulb in each housing. Painfully obvious which puts out better light, and chineese headlight housings are just complete and total junk." (the picture here is worth a thousand words)
https://www.miataturbo.net/forum/t17917-3/#post241897


The consensus seems to be that while "real" OEM-style projectors (ie: the Hella H9s that are used in the Moss lo-pro kit) are awesome, the 7" projector conversions commonly sold on eBay are ****. The best results seem to be from a set of Hella E-code 7" reflector housings, with HID lamps in them.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

Thinking out loud...

The Moss low-profile headlight package with the 90mm H9 projectors is probably the best of all commonly available headlight assemblies, and a set of HIDs installed in said package the best of all headlight solutions.

The downside is that those things are shockingly expensive- $500. Of that, a large portion of the cost seems to be the headlight modules themselves. Hella 90mm modules (both projector and free-form) typically sell for about $60-$70 each, while the "proper" Bi-Xenon versions are a terrifying $600 each.

What if a person were to go full-DIY here? Projector headlights have been fairly common in a large number of vehicles for some time now- everything from BMW to Hyundai, with a large number of Hondas and Toyotas in the middle. If one could obtain a pair of the OEM headlights for one of these vehicles from a junkyard, it might be possible to dismantle them and then re-assemble them into a tight side-by-side form that would fit into the NA headlight housing. Come up with a homebrew version of Moss' low-profile mounting hardware, find a way to seal 'em back up (lexan and glue, anyone?) and you could probably have a killer setup for relatively little money.

gospeed81

iTrader: (51)

I've actually looked into this (and started threads stating I would find THE solution), and just become frustrated. Even used projectors are somewhat pricey, you might as well just buy new ones that are exactly what you're looking for. You may get lucky, but I've been looking, and I haven't. After putting the VVME.com kit on my wife's ride I've decided to just get the Hellas and do this to the Miata as well.

karter74

iTrader: (4)

Does anyone have any experience with the "bi-xenon" lights that retract the bulb partially to simulate high/low beams? Or anyone have long term experience with specific ballasts or is the general consensus that they are all the same?

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

VVME.com, eh? Hadn't heard of 'em before. Just checked out their website.





Yeah. Looks like a real reputable, top-notch outfit.

ZX-Tex

iTrader: (15)

I have the same question. I see the links, but those are only for single beam HID setups, right? The OP talks of a dual-beam HID setup that is motorized to switch modes, which is what I would need with the stock housing.

gospeed81

iTrader: (51)

My initial reaction as well...

I was surprised though. Despite the instructions in pure Chinese, everything seems pretty well made, and has held up fantastically.

I think the Chinese have finally discovered Quality Control, now they just need to work on customer service.

AbeFM

iTrader: (3)

That's it. I'm done with this thread.

karter74

iTrader: (4)

I apologize as for whatever reason I missed this.


So, for a real question, will the longer 55W bulbs fit into the E-code housing or will they be too long?

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

I must admit to being slightly confused by the 9003 designation on the NB(1) headlight. Some sources seem to indicate that it is the same as (or compatible with) the H4, whereas others list these two separately.

So the question is: will an NB(1) take an H4, and is said lamp less optimal than (or different from) a 9003?

Most of the vendors seem to have, single-beam, "bi-xenon" (movable) and dual-element systems available. To refer to the bi-xenon as motorized might be a stretch- the ones I've seen actually used a solenoid to push the bulb in and out, so it's a rather quick transition.

In the H4 series, the common nomenclature for the bi-xenon lamp seems to be H4-3, while the dual-element (Xenon lo, Halogen hi) is H4-2.

Example of H4-2:


Example of H4-3 (aka telescopic H4):

pschmidt

iTrader: (19)

Affirmative.

cardriverx

iTrader: (12)

I also have looked and even used projectors are $$. I think ill go with e codes and HID, susquehanna gives a %10 discount if you mention m net too.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

In that case, VVME needs to brush up on the various consumer fraud statutes in the US. Excerpt from their website:Like anything else, it varies. It's a large and diverse country, and to say that all of China is one way or another is too much of an oversimplification. Some factories are equipped with modern tools and run by people who have a focus on producing high-quality parts. Others operate in dilapidated conditions and/or are focused simply on high-volume, low cost.

Look at the auto industry in the US, for example. On the one hand, you have the Corvette plant in Bowling Green and the (former) Saturn factory in Spring Hill, and on the other you have Moraine and Flint East, which might as well be located in Smolensk and Krakow.

gospeed81

iTrader: (51)

Trust me, I know Joe. I test parts (steel fasteners) we purchase from China at work. We went through a couple of vendors before we found on that had internal QC. I was alluding to the fact that they (some of them) have discovered and implemented what we and the Japanese have known all along: Check your **** before sending it to the customer.

As far as design, manufacturing, or warranty claims, trust it as far as you would a grammatically incorrect eGay ad. The warranty thing has to be a joke, but I knew going in there was no returning them. Others have tried and failed, and shipping to Beijing has to suck.

But for a $40(or $80) swipe of your Paypal you will have a kit show up to your door that works, and works pretty damn well. If you have qualms about where it came from, who they copied the design from, or want customer service, it's definitely not the kit for you. And for all of those reasons if I had a single problem with them I would stand up and make sure no one on the intrawebz ever bought one again. But it works, so oh well.

AbeFM

iTrader: (3)

The place I got mine from is at least CE compliant, ISO 9000 and 9001 certified, and I'm tickeled pink with both of the H4 kits, the car and the TL1000R are a joy to drive now. I test drove a friend's bike the other night and was scared just opening the throttle. Thankfully it was a 600 so there wasn't really anything on the line. :-P

SamS

iTrader: (2)

HID Xenon Kits, HID Bulbs, HID Accessories

This place is popular and reputable with the Bimmer and VW crowd.