what is the difference between left hand drive beams and right hand drive beams? i can get the left hand drive beam headlamps for like $1750 and the right hand drive beam headlamps for $1100. so the price makes a difference, but why? left: http://www.wheeldude.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=608 right: http://www.iaperformance.com/produc...d=414&osCsid=010651dfb8af0a6a8f9931c345fcf888 a little help on this please. if i can save $650 by running the right hand drive headlamps then that just makes sense.
I would like to think for the extra 650 your are getting HID's but it doesn't appear to be the case, at least if it is they don't advertise it very well. The beam pattern has to do with what side of the road the lights shine towards. True JDM lights (Right hand drive beam pattern) shine to the left of the road as those people over there drive on the wrong side of the road and that being the case all of their signs are located on the left side; so the idea is that at night while driving the lights help illuminate the reflective signs more efficiently.... and then you can assume the complete opposite for the other. At least this is what I have been told. I'm assuming you are paying extra for the convenience of having the lights calibrated for us... although that wouldn't justify the extra $650 to me so again maybe they are actually HIDs??? my 2 pennies
I'm pretty sure you did too, I tried to wave but you were actually moving while I was just parked on the highway; needless to say you flew on by. :wavey:
hey slug, where did you get yours and for how much? did they say if they were left or right? i'm just wondering if i get either set i'll still have to calibrate them to how i want them. shouldn't i be able to move the beam to be striaght? and neither are HID's, but i can buy a kit for $200 to change it to them. it's cheaper than buying the actual JDM HID's. lol
I actually got mine off of ebay several years back, and they are showing their age , It didn't inform me that the lights would be a little stronger on the left side. I think you can adjust them up and down, not sure about left or right. Side note: When I first got them I would constantly have people flashing their high beams at me b/c they thought I had mine on, so if you go that route be prepared :wiggle:
it wasn't directed at you. I have one extra sti headlight and posted it up not realizing exactly what he was looking for.
Slug is correct, kinda. for clarification. the JDM headlights CANNOT be adjusted enough to compensate for the opposing beam pattern. the EDMs are the exact same look as JDMs but have the correct beam pattern already for USDM roads. you CAN hack up a set of JDM headlights and get them adjusted correctly, and most people will swap out projectors for upgrades while they got them all chopped up (see 10th st JDM for this). SO if you want off the shelf no need to adjust headlights spend the big bucks and get the EDMs, by the time you pay for the JDMs and hack them up/upgrade projectors you're at the price you would've paid for the EDMs if not over (depending on how much upgrading you choose to do)
Also it looks like the EDM's come with the proper wire harness which should make installation much easier and cleaner.
yes that too. you have to cut up the wiring and splice everything together on the JDMs, but you'd probly be doing that anyways if you were upgrading the projectors. waiting for Alex to chime in here. he would know the best upgrade/bulb/ballast/etc options...
While on the topic of headlights, anyone know how to clean them so they look like new? I have a haze or fog covering the top portion of the light which appears to be un-cleanable. Any Tips/suggestions would be great!
my uncle has some that he just used to clean his headlights with. I want to say it was a turtle wax product. His lights came out looking like new. Also, there was a thread on nasioc where they did a Supra...here's the single post from thread: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showpost.php?p=27412533&postcount=13
its a product used to remove small surface scratches and oxidization from clearcoat. you can get it in liquid form too.
If you want to go with HID's in either of those projectors, I reccomend finding some used JDM non-HID projectors and having them retrofitted by 10th St. JDM. The retrofit will correct the beam pattern and also have the correct projector housing and lens for HID optics. One day I want to convert my JDM projectors to HID, but if I get a kit for them, I will just end up blinding all on coming traffic.
so i could buy the headlamps for $1100 and then add the HID kit for like $200? and everything would workout ok? or would i be better off just buying the EDM ones?
Alright, alright. Sorry it took me a minute to reply to your thread There are several issues if you purchase the JDM lights. First and foremost, you are creating a hazzard for on coming traffic. The lights are designed to illuminate the left hand side of the road (as in Japan), not the right hand side. As a result, you are not only short changing yourself on light output in front of you, but also hitting the drivers coming at you. Installing a "HID Kit" will do very little for your light output in my experience. Installing one in the JDMs in particular will increase your glare into oncoming traffic. I have opened JDMs before and I have seen both with and without HID Kits. 9 times out of 10, you are simply wasting your money. With that said, a HID kit can be used as a less expensive means to obtain decent Chinese ballasts and decent Chinese bulbs. These parts are no where near the quality of the OEM manufacturers (Philips, Matsushita, Mitsubishi, Hella) but they are a nice affordable start. Several months ago Nicad and I had a similar discussion. Nicad owned a set of EDMs (high resale value). We were talking about a retrofit and ultimately decided that the best route was to purchase non-hid JDM assemblies, sell the EDMs, and use that money to purchase the ballast, bulbs, projectors (went with TSX in his), etc. There are many many things to consider if you want to do this type of project correctly. And it is the type of project that you really only want to do once Good luck!
Several months ago Nicad and I had a similar discussion. Nicad owned a set of EDMs (high resale value). We were talking about a retrofit and ultimately decided that the best route was to purchase non-hid JDM assemblies, sell the EDMs, and use that money to purchase the ballast, bulbs, projectors (went with TSX in his), etc. [/QUOTE] so should i not get the EDM ones? if i want the headlamps that look like the JDM ones but work well over here, what's your suggestion?
EDMs are the correct choice if you wish to perform zero modification to the lamps. Otherwise, I encourage you to purchase the JDMs and update the projectors inside to US DOT spec
let me throw my two cents in here since I've been down the bugeye light road. good luck finding EDMs. they are fucking $TEXAS. they get more rare by the day it seems like. I usually see 1-2 good pair a YEAR for sale. mine were snatched up quickly. expect to spend north of 41,000 for an unmolested set in good shape. EDMs will be the easiest route to go. honestly, if I were you I would get the EDMs and throw a NICE quality set of halogen bulbs in them, with a proper wiring harness (switched with a relay). this will be world's better than the stock headlights if you buy a set of JDMs, please don't be a dick and mod them, or put cheap ass ricer HIDs in them. they suck, you can never adjust them so they won't blind everyone else (and don't listen to idiots who claim that they can). if you go the JDM route, do it right like I did, and mod the entire lamp assembly (shrouds, optics, etc). this will probably run you around $1400 with labor and everything so if it's worth it to you (and do it right), get out your checkbook. otherwise, build a harness, and put some nice halogen bulbs in your stock headlamps and call it a day. but you won't get the bling factor
I put TSX optics into my JDM housings and run a 55W HID setup. it's pretty ridiculous, but $$ unfortunately
For nicad's lights we installed a set of TSX clear lens projectors, slight color modification, and a 55w ballast/bulb setup. Nicad made his own wiring harness for the setup. It should not take that long to source the lamps.
the harness is pretty key here. don't overlook it. alex: I still need the bulb side high beam connectors so I can wire up my flash to pass, etc