The Great Quest for Headlights

[TheStig]

I kept my OEM bulbs in case i dislike it, but short term i would just upgrade to somewhat whiter bulbs. Wish someone had already made a path for a projector retrofit, what setup to use and what modifications are required. If i have spare funds id buy a set of somewhat damaged headlights and try doing it myself, it appears to be alot simpler than i thought. But issues are still present and even a set of slightly damaged headlights will cost me around 70$ a side.

 

[Chris G]

Yeah and I'll tell you it's expensive to have someone else do it for you. I've looked into that!

The whole reason I went with the LEDs is because I wanted something to better match my Luxeons. Not sure if there's a decent white bulb out there to do that.

 

[TheStig]

Doubt there is. Im gonna try to hunt down for cheap some factory lights from a wrecked car. If possible see what sort of kit will work for us with the least amount of cutting.

One thing i dont get is these guys that use their oven in the house to bake headlights and soften up the adhesive to pull them apart. Wouldnt you never want to put food in that oven again with the possibility of chemical fumes you just let go inside it?

Id be too sketched out to try that.

 

[Etyrnus]

From what I've heard, that doesn't work on newer cars anyway.

 

[Chris G]

That doesn't work on Ford lights due to the Permaseal they use.

 

[Chris G]

Went out to try and adjust the height and check out the lights. Ehhhh... not quite sure how I feel about the massive glare on the side of the headlights. Probably wouldn't bother most folks here but it bugs me. Also, I found that my lights were aimed pretty damn high. Still have not gotten the adjustment quite right yet but I think they are better than they were.

I'm going to give it some time to see if the glare bothers me. The lighting itself is pretty impressive.

Went back out AGAIN and aimed the lights correctly. I'll likely have to do it all over again when I get my springs installed but that's alright. I'm so used to leveling HIDs with a real cutoff so this was slightly annoying. [emoji23]

 

[TheStig]

Chris,

I think we are just a little more anal than people who loved theirs, and a little less anal than people who didnt like them. We have the same situation going on, aimed them low and light output is still massive. Tts lighting up markers in the center of the road FAR in front of me, and still probably has double the usable distance from the car.

On the sides the glare does bother me a bit aswell when i pass cars, but when im driving down a dark highway its really nice what it lights up on the sides of you. To be honest ill probably live with it, but i may change my mind.

 

[Etyrnus]

Chris,

I think we are just a little more anal than people who loved theirs, and a little less anal than people who didnt like them. We have the same situation going on, aimed them low and light output is still massive. Tts lighting up markers in the center of the road FAR in front of me, and still probably has double the usable distance from the car.

On the sides the glare does bother me a bit aswell when i pass cars, but when im driving down a dark highway its really nice what it lights up on the sides of you. To be honest ill probably live with it, but i may change my mind.

I notice it tends to make cop cars with the reflective markings pop out of the darkness, less hiding for them.

 

[TheStig]

Exactly, which was a hall mark of PNP HID kits in reflector headlights. Also some factory HID projectors will do it but its not as common since the light is more focused.

 

[Etyrnus]

Well, them being picked out is a good thing to me. I've never run an aftermarket HID kit, just these, so I have no comparison.

 

[TheStig]

Well, them being picked out is a good thing to me. I've never run an aftermarket HID kit, just these, so I have no comparison.

Ive done it twice before, when i was younger and didnt realize how blinding they could be to other drivers. But yes they also picked up reflective anything a long distance away. Police car off the side of the road in the bushes trying to catch speeders, shines like a disco ball from a mile away.

 

[TheStig]

That doesn't work on Ford lights due to the Permaseal they use.

Anyone know how they remove this? If its new as in afew years new, people have been able to pull apart other models lights to retrofit them.

 

[CanadianGuy]

What i read is they cut them apart and reseal/glue.

 

[Chris G]

Hot knife from what I gather. One of the fitters I spoke with said they actually will order a set of replica lights and retrofit those instead of cutting the stocks open. I've been considering that because there wouldn't be any downtime. The bummer is the added cost.

 

[Chris G]

Chris,

I think we are just a little more anal than people who loved theirs, and a little less anal than people who didnt like them. We have the same situation going on, aimed them low and light output is still massive. Tts lighting up markers in the center of the road FAR in front of me, and still probably has double the usable distance from the car.

On the sides the glare does bother me a bit aswell when i pass cars, but when im driving down a dark highway its really nice what it lights up on the sides of you. To be honest ill probably live with it, but i may change my mind.

You're probably right. I'll likely live with mine for a bit too. Hoping that I don't notice the side glare after awhile. Once I aimed them I felt much better. Felt good when I stood out in front of the car, snapped pics, and didn't see any glare or go blind.

I still want Retros down the road though.

 

[TheStig]

Hot knife from what I gather. One of the fitters I spoke with said they actually will order a set of replica lights and retrofit those instead of cutting the stocks open. I've been considering that because there wouldn't be any downtime. The bummer is the added cost.

There are no aftermarket options from what I can gather, im currently trying to contact Anzo USA about making some simple projector headlights for our cars. They can even be ugly chrome, i dont care. As long as they dont grossly overdo it with halo's and LED's everywhere.

I read up more on perma-sealed headlights and apparently direct head works best. Heat an area and work on it, then head another and work on it, moving forward so on so forth. Which personally will work best for be as i will NOT use my oven which i make food in to bake headlights.

 

[westcoaST]

Just get a Dremel with a serrated blade, and cut these lights apart. Its much faster, and cleaner than trying to pry them apart. Check with some of the retrofitters (lightwerkz, Sick HIDS, etc, and see how much they'll charge you just to get the headlights apart. Then purchase your own projectors (I used Morimoto). Some of us have an extra set of headlights that will soon be up for sale, as soon as I finish modding, and can take some pictures and post on different forums.

 

[Chris G]

I want the extras just to have a set of extras. Never know when I'll take the plunge and do a retro.

 

[TheStig]

Black Flame Customs wont touch them, says they are not the best design and the Perma-seal used is particularly difficult to get off. Lightwerkz labor cost alone starts off at around $1,000 then you still need to pay for the projectors themselves and also your shipping, a spare set of lights. Once all is said and done, you could have just purchased the odd but attractive set from The Lighting Firm.

Your Retro:
Labor: $1,000
Parts: $400
Shipping: $100
Spare lights: $150 (if you find good condition ones from a wrecked fiesta)
Total: $1,650

Lighting Firm:https://www.thelightingfirm.net/product/11-14-ford-fiesta-stage-ii-bixenon-led-headlights/
Lights: $1,815
Your lights: (-$250)
Total: $1,565

 

[DirtyBlueshirt]

At that point, the $800 shipped price for the OEM EU projectors are a bargain.