94BlackBowtie

OK guys, I am considering some options here, but I want some answers first...

•PT (purenrg) - you have the Hella FF75's now and know what they are like...how does the pics of the beam pattern/output that Sam took of the 90mm's compare to that of the FF75's?

•Sam what ($$$) do you have invested into this project if you don't mind me asking? For lows, highs, extra bulbs, everything...

•If the 90mm really is that much better, and I can justify buying them (I am married, need I say more), I may can get some sort of a "cover" worked up. I was thinking of using metal (steel or aluminum). I can get the holes laser cut, so they could be perfect fit, and I go to church with a guy that does VERY high end metal fabrication. I can't promise that it would be cheap (IF I do decide to do this) but it would be first rate. Then what could be done is just paint the cover black with some high temp paint, and voila! I am just talking about a sort of mask for everything behind the lights...

But here's where the first problem comes in that I see. Everyone's mounting procedure/placement is going to have to be exactly the same. No matter what kind of cover, etc. someone might fabricate, if one person has their lights mounted slightly different, it's not going to work. The kits that have been mentioned for the RX-7's etc. I bet have some sort of standard mounting. That's just a few thoughts.

Thanks Sam for the time...

pu12en12g

I think the 90mm's seem to have a better beam cutoff which allows greater side to side illumination.

The rest is going to be up to the bulb you choose..

Sam95ZNoTop

I bought the following:
2 low beam housings
2 high beam housings
5 H9 connectors (in case I messed one up)
2 spare H9 bulbs

Total cost was about $270 including shipping. It may be a little cheaper if you order all at once, because I did this in two stages lows first then highs. This is including 10% off that I got because it was a special offer between thanksgiving and christmas.

I am married too BTW , but as women say:"Your money is our money and my money is my money!" LOL
Anyways, as far as mounting location goes, for the low beams, there's really no room to move around, unless you bring the housing forward a lot, but my feeling was that that would look weird as well as make the mounting kinda tricky because the screws would not be long enough to reach the bracket. The reason for this is because the rear of the light sticks through the hole in the bracket. I guess you could make a bracket/cover that would serve for the mounting as well as a cover and bring the whole thing forward. In my opinion, that would be the only way to "standardize" the mounting, but I am not sure how well that will look. I like the fact that they are deep under the hood. If you mount it yourself onto the stock bracket (like I did), then it's gonna be different every time. This is expecially true for the high beams, they are smaller and you have a little room to play with the side to side position. I tried to get it in the middle of the room that was left after I took off the stock high beam. The new housing is actually mounted a little more outward than the stock light (about 0.5"). I tried different positions and that looked best.

If you're getting into making a cover, let me know, I would definitely be interested in that! I could also provide some photos or measurements. There is not that many choices, because there are several stiffeners on the bracket that limit the possible positions for the mounting holes. BTW, I noticed that you live in northwest Georgia, that is not very far from here, I am about an hour from Chattanooga...

Sam

Two-Face

first id like to say that i appreciate you responding to this thread and keeping it alive..i think its a great idea and im very intrested in doing this due to the poor looks of the headlights and less then ample lighting our cars have.. i understand the drilling and adjustment these lights have but how much more filing did you have to do for the high beams? also have you sprayed your lights with water or have they been in the rain yet.. are they working well with no electrical problems.. because they had to be in a sealed assembly (meant for a focus ..right?) but im not sure here..and finally is the wiring easy because drilling and filing are no problems for me but when it comes to wiring im as paranoid and ignorant on the subject as the amish...is it a simple connection? thanks again

94BlackBowtie

Two-Face...that is one of the best sig's I have ever seen. I LMHO...thanks for that one, don't change it!

I can't really answer your questions from experience, but I can tell you that all you would have to do is splice the connectiors into the existing wiring harness and you would be ready to go...and the stock wiring wiring will support it all fine.
(I had to add something to my post to keep it from being just totally useless...)

GREAT SIG!

Two-Face

thanks for the help man.. i just saw this thread and i had to join the site..i cant wait to purchase all the stuff but i gotta wait a little bit due to being a bum college kid.. let my funds grow.. "sheet yall dont take a post dated check?"

Geoff Chadwick

Anyone know if Hella makes housings that are closer to stock in shape (I dont like the little round buggers)

Otherwise, I'm still deciding what to do, but I looked at the wiring harness over the weekend, and started to upgrade it.

pu12en12g

The FF75's are very close to the stock shape.

http://store5.yimg.com/I/levineauto_1724_2102262

http://store5.yimg.com/I/levineauto_1724_2117882

Sam95ZNoTop

One of the pics on my ftp page (i wouldn't call it a webpage ) shows the high beam bracket in stock form and then in modified form. I am in the process of making a write-up and will post that when done. But you should get the idea from the pics. It really doesn't take that long, especially if you have a Dremel .

As far as water is concerned, that is no problem. The units are weatherproof, they can be mounted just like they are and have ventilation etc... The Focus kit for that matter is not weatherproof either and also relies on the housings taking water and such. I washed my car over the weekend and also drove through pretty heavy rain a couple of times and can confirm that there is no problem from that standpoint.

About the wiring: I took the old connectors off and replaced them with the H9 connectors (soldered the pins on for a good connection) and that was all that is required.

HTH

Sam

Sam95ZNoTop

I was originally considering the FF75's, for the same reason: close to stock dimensions. But I ultimately went for the 90mm's because I don't like using a driving light as a low beam. The 90mm's are true low beams (and also DOT approved) and I also like the lighting a projector gives you. You can't really expect that from a driving light. At first I wasn't too sure about the round lights, but now that I have all 4 on the car, I really like the looks.

JMHO

Sam

dlx3200

Summit Racing has rectangular Hella lights. Would these work a little bit better than round ones? Does anybody know if they would fit between the hood and the bumper cover when the hood is shut?

Geoff Chadwick

Wait - are the ff75's not DOT legal? I dont want to rip them off every time it comes to inspection each year. That'd be a POS.

pu12en12g

Any headlights that cannot be adjusted by the dealership are technically illegal. But a DOT sticker might help you out somewhat.

A clean install would help you out more...

Geoff Chadwick

Technically, I might not raise a flag if the housings could be adjusted easily and looked clean then?? Hmmm... Another pro side to the 90mm... But for $59 a pair as well as rectangular over round...

Sam95ZNoTop

Well, don't worry about the adjusment, it is VERY easy! I put two of the mounting screws on the bottom and one on the top. You use the bottom ones to adjust side to side, then the top to adjust height. It can't ne easier!

I guess the installation could be done cleaner that what I have done. But you would have to get rid of the stock bracket and fab something to mount the lights on, that would probably not look very clean either, except if you get a machine shop to machine something.

Price: Yes, they are twice as expensive. But well worth it IMHO.

Round shape: That's out of my control!

Sam