DIY low profile headligts!
 

so i finally took some time and did driver side headlight. took me roughly an hour. headlight cover is not bolted up yet. still need to make bracket for it.

https://www.t-mobilepictures.com/mya...199f87bb9.jpeg
https://www.t-mobilepictures.com/mya...009717575.jpeg
https://www.t-mobilepictures.com/mya...e9c589525.jpeg
https://www.t-mobilepictures.com/mya...ace5a6f5d.jpeg


bonus pictures:

carpc installed!
https://www.t-mobilepictures.com/mya...f1553051a4.jpg

ebay valve cover:
https://www.t-mobilepictures.com/mya...bbc5325a40.jpg
https://www.t-mobilepictures.com/mya...327e2a6d9d.jpg

oh yeah... and those are ebay fog lights :)
i need to get some proper lenses in 65W/85W configuration.

fixed position it appears...

Not enough turbo

turbo will be installed shortly. i was planning to do it today but im still missing few pieces.

Looks like the car is winking at me. Turbo>headlights.

can you go into any more detail about the headlight?

well... i went to home depot. picked up some aluminum rails with holes in them for $7 a piece or something like that. bend that crap to shape, drill 2 holes in car, screw that shit in, mount light brackets with 2 screws and nuts to the bracket (magically - holes lined up), hook up wires - done!

How's the light output and what lights are you using?

the left (bluish) light is obx 1600, the other one is piaa with angel eyes (not hooked up and never will be)

not sure of output thus far - its not dark out yet :) both lights are 55w

actually, its not piaa but hella.

Now its dark.. how do they look? Better than or = to stock?

https://www.t-mobilepictures.com/mya...f4d2ed441.jpeg

judge for yourself. as i said before, its not a proper light to use because of the lens but it sure lights better then stock!

Did you wire them into a toggle switch of some type or splice them into the factory headlight wiring?

wired them into oem wiring. easier that way :)
still need to do passenger side and also need to remove motors. my intercooler piping will go there!

If you're wiring them in so that the high beam/low beam still work like oem, you mind posting up how you wired them? even a picture of the splices will work, Im thinking about doing this soon and don't want to have to go tracking down a wiring diagram.

there are 3 wires on oem harness. black is ground (duh) and 2 red wires with whatever stripes. i used circuit continuity tester (screwdriver with a light on it) to see which one is which. whole wiring took me approximately 3 minutes.

Nevermind then, never looked at the wiring for the headlights but assumed there would be more to it than that.

here is how you test which wire is which: ground your continuity tester somewhere, stick the screw driver end into one of the holes on oem bulb plug, turn on your low beams. if it works then wire is low beam, if it doesnt, try turning on high beams and i guarantee you that if you followed my complicated instructions - this wire is high beam. then skip the black wire as you wont need it and other red wire is either low beam or high beam (opposite of first wire you tested).

cut those 2 wires, label them if you want, connect your new headlight positive leads with those 2 wires from oem harness, and you are set.

make sure you dont use electrical tape as it gets VERY wet down there.

where should you get / what size headlamps should you get? How much do they usually run?

i paid around $50 for a set. look around, you will be able to find a bunch. im also going to try some integra round headlights. will see how well that works.

The integra headlights are only "round" because of the bumper, once they're off the lights are one big piece with two circular protrusions from them...the bumper lays over that piece hiding the rest...doubt they would work for this. I'll try to find a picture.

EDIT:

http://monsterautoparts.com/ACURA/IN...7221-0088R.jpg

^What he said

And Integra projectors suck anyways. Ask me how I know.

You should make these DIY headlight brackets and lights a group buy;)

Consider this asking...

EDIT: It just occurred to me that I have no idea how I knew that about Integra headlights, I've never had/worked on/desired any type of honda, in fact I hate them with a passion.....weird.

in that case i would have to talk to my fabricator and see if we can have brackets cut out on his plasma cutter... maybe make lights optional and do a GB on brackets that would attach to oem shit like moss kit? although it would be cheaper to use "my style" brackets but cut professionally :)

Going that route would cost more and thus lose about half your sales, especially since you just showed us how to make them for like $7 plus the lights :fawk:. Figure out a way to make them $100 or less with lights and you wouldn't be able to keep up with demand.

for me to just bolt up and not have to fab up the brackets and source the lights would be worth ~100 :giggle:

well... "fabbing" took me roughly 15 minutes... times that by two for other side and whole thing should take about 3-4 hours tops including removing oem stuff.

by the way, it seems like my car likes to run on high rpms now :) i can already feel that whooping extra .5whp i gained with additional air (yes, its really free-flowing now)!

next step after i finish passenger side would be to make some covers for whole thing to have at least SOME aerodynamics...

Won't the cover's act as parachute's of sort since they are fixed and don't retract anymore? Which would mean that they're more aerodynamic as is...right?

ghm... problem is that they are ALWAYS open now so there is pretty bad drag...

If you boxed in the lights so the air went around them instead of into them (like the plastic shroud on the stock light) I would think that would be your best bet drag wise...

Before the Miata I had a 96 Integar GS-R. I installed HID's specifically for projectors and the glare was unacceptable so I went back to halogens.

thats what im planning to do out of abs plastic

I cant see the pictures, and I really really want to see them.

I came to my conclusion based on the Integra in my driveway. :giggle:


But this pretty much sums it up:

:hahano: Honda's are bad...mmkay?

i can see them just fine.

Mine is reliable. :giggle:

you know what? my girls '97 integra havent had a single problem since we bought it over 2 years ago!

is there a cheaper equivalent to Hellas 60mm lights??

probably... i have an extra set sitting here if you want. i bought 2 sets but only used one.

Are the lenses scratched up?

My Integra has always had nice lighting, but after doing a little mod where you grab a second set of 9005 (high beam) bulbs and modify them to fit in the low beam housings, it is better than pretty much any non-factory-hid or regular halogen I've seen. The 9005 is the same bulb as the 9006 (low beam) but does not have the paint on the tip to block the forward rays.

Due to the way the lenses are focused, the low beams don't project upward at all. I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to blind anyone on the road, so I did plenty of testing.

When I put the high beams on while driving a backroad, it's like turning on the sun!

I'd love to get that kind of performance in the Miata. The stock system is lame, comparatively.

thats pretty cool, i might have to look into that as my next mod

Nope the lenses are mint, immaculate for being original from 94. PO kept it in a garage, so they aren't even sun baked at all.

Thats the problem, it projects no upward light. I'll have to look into the bulb swap you mentioned, I tried aligning the housings but after 5min of messing with the adjusters with no result, I gave up and found something better to do. :p

[/hijack]

this is great...I hope there is a formal write-up coming up soon

will see...

Anyone know how to modify the headlamp motor to stop in another position?

I'm interested in doing a DIY lowpro set up that would actually function and not have the barndoors permanently open like Urban's. I've always liked the Piaa 3000 set up this guy used in the turn signal openings. Trying to decide between a DIY Lowpro or this one.

http://www.ziptied.com/Coppermine/al...Headlights.jpg

I like.....

thats really cool but i would be afraid of cops pulling me over for that shit... they know it isnt legal :)

whats wrong with having your headlights open a bit at all times? gives you so much more fresh air into intake!

Pretty sure I've read some threads on m.net (check the garage too) about modifying the barn doors. I think a guy bought some 4x7 lights out of some other flip-up car, and then modified the opening mechanism to get it to look right.

https://www.miataturbo.net/forum/sho...iy+low+profile

Cut the headlight pivot arms. You can make the buckets open as much/little as you want. Then you can modify the bucket itself to put in low profile lights.

Newbsause! You are extra saucy today! Thanks, that's exactly what I needed.

Besides not liking the look of the lids being up all the time I don't like the idea of constant additional drag. I'd rather have them up only when I need the lamps on. Better yet would to never have them up at all. I don't like the B body as much as A but I don't like our pop up lamps.

What's not legal about the piaa lamps in the turn signal? You have a high beam, low beam and turn signal. Maybe I'm missing something but it seems fully functional.

I think the reason is most states have a min headlight height.

I have never seen that before, I would love more info on that swap.

if you go to CR(yes I know) and search for the DSM DIY headlights there is a guy who did a step by step on how to do it. I am currently running DSM lights, need to get new lights as mine are the original and suck.

maybe something like this?

http://www.diymiata.com/lowpro.htm

i was considering it but i dont care if my headlights are open all the time. plus id love to get rid of headlight motors to save some weight

There is a set of these Piaa 4000's for sale locally for $175 new in box. What do people think of using these in functioning barndoors as a DIY lowpro headlamp? at 6 1/2" wide and 3" tall they might look pretty clean if they put out enough light.

http://piaa.com/Lamps/Lamp-images/p-4000.gif

if you dont want them, ill paypal you so you can send them to me :)

I really like the lights in place of the turn signals.. looks awesome.

the red one with the lights i nthe turn signals is sick.....but where are the turn signals? lol i want it for the street car lol