New Kit for the Birds
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 11,328
Likes: 346
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
Having driving lights come on with the high beams on a Firebird is illegal because your are only allowed four white lights on the front. That's why the factory fog lights go off when you turn on the high beams.
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 11,328
Likes: 346
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
Nice to see you're finally not blinding everyone on the road. I wish more people would consider doing conversions the right way rather than the cheap way. 
Anybody ever try the generic 4x6 conversion housings. They offer them with projector lens. Just not sure they would fit.
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Last edited by 30birdy99; Jun 5, 2014 at 08:13 PM.
Copy & Paste Moderator
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 9,764
Likes: 208
From: Eastern MA
I don't see a pic or link since someone removed it, but almost all of those 4x6 "projectors" on ebay aren't actually projectors. They are poor quality reflector housing with a hunk of glass stuck in them to fool people. Output is bad. Especially if you get the black painted ones.
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Verdad Gallardo Copy & Paste Moderator
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 9,764
Likes: 208
From: Eastern MA
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 1,183
Likes: 0
From: VA
I would like to point out that the posted photo actually was an LMC conversion. Note how there are bright spots above the cutoff line (circled in red) and light scatter across the entire width (circled in yellow). That's caused by the misplacement of the light source within the reflector. You can make it less annoying by aiming the lamps down but you can't get rid of it because it's a function of the shape and position of the arc of the HID capsules. Besides, aiming down really kind of eliminates the benefit of extended light range.
That said, they aren't meant to be very bright and the HIDs do look blinding. If I were to upgrade the bulbs, I'd look into some of the newer Crees that have 1800lm output and seem to output light similar to halogens from what I've seen online. These honestly are very bright anyways though - well worth the money.
Last edited by Flaring Afro; Aug 1, 2014 at 03:04 PM.
On The Tree
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 158
Likes: 1
Just a bump. I was reviewing this thread after getting the bird back on the road and came across led 9005/6 bulb replacements.
http://www.automotivelightstore.com/...mentBulbs.aspx
Wonder if anyone's tried them yet. At $199/pair they're pricey, and they rely on a small fan for cooling, which in my experience with electronics (laptops, power inverters, and small battery chargers) end up noisy and failing with constant usage.
I love the allure of leds. Low power consumption, low heat, long life. It's amazing to me we've gotten along with the little metal string of filament bulbs for as long as we have.
I really want to have these, and have them work for a long time. But experience with similar products tells me the life span will be short to moderate. So I'd have to polish off the RMA sheets and carry traditional bulbs in case one dies on the road.
http://www.automotivelightstore.com/...mentBulbs.aspx
Wonder if anyone's tried them yet. At $199/pair they're pricey, and they rely on a small fan for cooling, which in my experience with electronics (laptops, power inverters, and small battery chargers) end up noisy and failing with constant usage.
I love the allure of leds. Low power consumption, low heat, long life. It's amazing to me we've gotten along with the little metal string of filament bulbs for as long as we have.
I really want to have these, and have them work for a long time. But experience with similar products tells me the life span will be short to moderate. So I'd have to polish off the RMA sheets and carry traditional bulbs in case one dies on the road.
Just a bump. I was reviewing this thread after getting the bird back on the road and came across led 9005/6 bulb replacements.
http://www.automotivelightstore.com/...mentBulbs.aspx
Wonder if anyone's tried them yet. At $199/pair they're pricey, and they rely on a small fan for cooling, which in my experience with electronics (laptops, power inverters, and small battery chargers) end up noisy and failing with constant usage.
I love the allure of leds. Low power consumption, low heat, long life. It's amazing to me we've gotten along with the little metal string of filament bulbs for as long as we have.
I really want to have these, and have them work for a long time. But experience with similar products tells me the life span will be short to moderate. So I'd have to polish off the RMA sheets and carry traditional bulbs in case one dies on the road.
http://www.automotivelightstore.com/...mentBulbs.aspx
Wonder if anyone's tried them yet. At $199/pair they're pricey, and they rely on a small fan for cooling, which in my experience with electronics (laptops, power inverters, and small battery chargers) end up noisy and failing with constant usage.
I love the allure of leds. Low power consumption, low heat, long life. It's amazing to me we've gotten along with the little metal string of filament bulbs for as long as we have.
I really want to have these, and have them work for a long time. But experience with similar products tells me the life span will be short to moderate. So I'd have to polish off the RMA sheets and carry traditional bulbs in case one dies on the road.
Copy & Paste Moderator
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 9,764
Likes: 208
From: Eastern MA
Those LED replacements and other current LED drop-ins are not good. From all the pics I've seen, the hot spot is way off. You'll get increased pool of light directly in front of the car, but less distance vision and more glare for everyone else. They don't properly use the optics to be useful.
Wait until someone comes out with a LED drop-in that properly uses the optics (which may never happen).
Check out these threads to see what I mean about a ruined beam pattern:
http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/show...output-picture
http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/show...rojector/page6
http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/show...ht-Bulbs/page8
Notice that the spread is wrong and the center is darker compared to halogen.
Instead, if you want brighter bulbs in those housings, take a look at HIR bulbs.
$18-$27 per bulb. Similar pricing compared to other higher output halogen bulbs. HIR bulbs are still halogen. HIR used to mean Halogen Infrared Reflective (in reference to special coating which reflected IR back to the filament to get it to burn brighter), but the current generation of HIR bulbs skip the coating and instead have brighter filaments to meet the lumen outputs of the spec.
HIR 9011/9012 bulbs are noticeably brighter than Standard 9005/9006 Halogen bulbs. Some cars come with them stock.
Here is a Lumen Ratings comparison (same wattage):
Low Beam (55 watt)
-- STD 9006 -- 1000
-- HIR 9012 -- 1870
[87% increase in lumen output]
High Beam (65 watt)
-- STD 9005 -- 1700
-- HIR 9011 -- 2350
[38% increase in lumen output]
9011
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Philips-H...11B1/203654601
http://store.candlepower.com/9011.html
http://www.autozone.com/collision-bo..._0_18268_8548/
9012
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Philips-H...LLB1/203654603
http://store.candlepower.com/ph3rdge90h.html
http://www.autozone.com/collision-bo..._167897_18268/
Watch out for fakes on ebay.
Wait until someone comes out with a LED drop-in that properly uses the optics (which may never happen).
Check out these threads to see what I mean about a ruined beam pattern:
http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/show...output-picture
http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/show...rojector/page6
http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/show...ht-Bulbs/page8
Notice that the spread is wrong and the center is darker compared to halogen.
Instead, if you want brighter bulbs in those housings, take a look at HIR bulbs.
$18-$27 per bulb. Similar pricing compared to other higher output halogen bulbs. HIR bulbs are still halogen. HIR used to mean Halogen Infrared Reflective (in reference to special coating which reflected IR back to the filament to get it to burn brighter), but the current generation of HIR bulbs skip the coating and instead have brighter filaments to meet the lumen outputs of the spec.
HIR 9011/9012 bulbs are noticeably brighter than Standard 9005/9006 Halogen bulbs. Some cars come with them stock.
Here is a Lumen Ratings comparison (same wattage):
Low Beam (55 watt)
-- STD 9006 -- 1000
-- HIR 9012 -- 1870
[87% increase in lumen output]
High Beam (65 watt)
-- STD 9005 -- 1700
-- HIR 9011 -- 2350
[38% increase in lumen output]
9011
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Philips-H...11B1/203654601
http://store.candlepower.com/9011.html
http://www.autozone.com/collision-bo..._0_18268_8548/
9012
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Philips-H...LLB1/203654603
http://store.candlepower.com/ph3rdge90h.html
http://www.autozone.com/collision-bo..._167897_18268/
Watch out for fakes on ebay.
Last edited by VIP1; Feb 22, 2015 at 08:44 AM.
Teching In
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
info needed Hi, I am new to the site and I have read this thread about the conversion. Can anyone tell me is this the latest upgrade? I am asking becasue as much as I want to do this and order the truck headlights and ddm tunning hid kits, is there anything current or new since this thread(conversion) was posted 5 years ago? or is this still a good mod? Any info would be great
thanks
thanks
Hi, I am new to the site and I have read this thread about the conversion. Can anyone tell me is this the latest upgrade? I am asking becasue as much as I want to do this and order the truck headlights and ddm tunning hid kits, is there anything current or new since this thread(conversion) was posted 5 years ago? or is this still a good mod? Any info would be great
thanks
thanks
There is a member here named Tram (I think) that sells some water cut plates that bolt in place of your headlight. They are made to be used with the Hella 60mm projectors (same as the BLS V1 low beams). I have been useing this for at least 6 months now with a cheap 35w 6000k HID kit. I love it. I had the LMC housings with halogen bulbs and of course this is way better. My only regret is that I went with a cheap kit, I wish they were a bit brighter, but I'll switch them out later.
The BLS kit is great, but for what I paid for mine I'm happy. $80 for the brackets, $59 each on the projectors, and around $60 on the HID kit.
I know there not as pretty as the BLS kit, but there only open at night.
The BLS kit is great, but for what I paid for mine I'm happy. $80 for the brackets, $59 each on the projectors, and around $60 on the HID kit.
I know there not as pretty as the BLS kit, but there only open at night.
Last edited by Mongoose350; Mar 16, 2015 at 09:34 PM.
