Aftermarket Halo Projectors/Angel eyes [Archive]

ngwylie

07-20-2011, 10:37 PM

I bought halo projects awhile ago and have been unhappy with the brightness of the angel eyes (unfortunately they were from ebay). I posted about this awhile ago and was recommended to some new cheap LED bulbs to put into the angel eyes. The bulbs ended up making the angel eyes look even dimmer, and the lights didn't even "connect" with eachother (there were small spaces in between each of the 4 sections of the angel eyes). Is there any other way I can make these look brighter/way better? I don't want to have to buy angel eye strips and put my headlights in the oven and all that mumbo jumbo.

Thanks
Nick

OMEGA PHX

07-20-2011, 11:22 PM

I don't own the lights, but I would suggest better leds, with a wider light angle, remember leds are really focused if yours have a narrow angle then there will uneven areas. Also maybe the rings that cover the bulbs aren't doing their job on diffusing the light. If I were you I would try to open them and install ccfl rings but you don't want to open them so, its all about the width of the beam and diffusing it efficiently, try some leds with more chips that fit, measure your spacing and the select the led that fits: http://autolumination.com/194.htm

I though about telling you to sand the clear cover on them if your leds have it cause that would diffused the light but that could make them even dimmer if your leds aren't that bright.

Thats all I can think of hope you can get them the way you want.

ngwylie

07-20-2011, 11:30 PM

Ahh that's what I need. These LEDs were so cheap they didn't have chips... they were like 50 cents each.

Skyforger

07-20-2011, 11:30 PM

I've had experience with these cheapo eBay projectors...your best bet IS the crack them open, and replace them with better halos.

Me personally, halos look ricey as hell on anything but a BMW. Take advantage of having projectors and run some 6000K HIDs, and you'll forget all about the lame halos.

ngwylie

07-20-2011, 11:32 PM

I have 6000k HIDs lol you can see them in my sig

ngwylie

07-20-2011, 11:34 PM

Too bad I can't even afford these bulbs... at 9$ a piece and I need 16 of them. 144$ without shipping or tax

Skyforger

07-20-2011, 11:35 PM

Cameras can be deceptive.

Like I said, forget the halos. Unless you're using them as legit DRL's, it's lame.

Function > Form

ngwylie

07-20-2011, 11:43 PM

ngwylie

07-20-2011, 11:44 PM

And the angel eyes are wired to an individual switch. I can turn them on and off whenever I want

Skyforger

07-20-2011, 11:52 PM

I wouldn't use eBay for LEDs...

http://www.oznium.com/

I've ordered plenty of LED bulbs from this company, a bit expensive, but great quality. BRIGHT bulbs.

OMEGA PHX

07-21-2011, 10:38 AM

Those ones you linked are extremely expensive. I think something like these would make them brighter
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/10pcs-Super-Bright-Blue-9-LED-Wedge-Light-194-T10-168-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem4a9ad2ea35QQitemZ32042 5093685QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccesso ries

These are the bulbs I have in there right now which are obviously crap
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/10x-Blue-LED-T10-Bulbs-Wedge-Car-Light-Bulb-168-194-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem1e655bf34eQQitemZ13054 9543758QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccesso ries

Yeah lol that site is expensive but probably better quality than ebay, My license plate bulb and my dome lights are ebay leds, they aren't that bad I've had them for several months and still going strong, so get some ebay ones if you want, if you want many chips you will need to get the measurement since the length of the bulb sometimes increases with the quantity of chips

PR8GG

07-21-2011, 11:36 AM

if you want to replace the halos with something better, I actually use CCFL rings. They work great.

ngwylie

07-21-2011, 02:18 PM

OMEGA PHX

07-21-2011, 02:58 PM

I think I will try and purchase those LED's I linked. There are a ton with actual chips that are much cheaper than that other website... can get 20 real LEDs with 4 chips for 16$ rather than $144 lol.

Try them, they don't make you happy then ccfl halos is the only way to have them really bright.

ngwylie

07-21-2011, 05:08 PM

Yeah. I just haven't had much experience with working on cars and I don't really want to have to bake my headlights and all that... I guess I'll have to if these don't work. But, my question is, if I get the ccfl rings, would I just glue them over the built-in angel eyes?

Galant306m

07-21-2011, 05:22 PM

cold cathodes ftw

finald8ta

07-21-2011, 05:52 PM

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-Bulbs-White-194-168-T10-SMD-SMT-5-LED-Lights-NEW-/150482457311?_trksid=p4340.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSI%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D 10%26pmod%3D220800104949%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D15081 37250902823639

go with the leds i posted, i have a set of reds in my cluster and they bleed threw the plastic also i have the white face gauges el lights, im still un happy with the effect cuz my speedo and tach needles are not as bright as i want them to, looks like ill be doing a needle led set up here this weekend, ill post a pic of it later if u like

PR8GG

07-21-2011, 10:28 PM

The CCFL will replace your current halos, you need to order them the correct size. You can forget about the LED's; this are mine:
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c225/pr8gg/new%20Jade/P1010055.jpg
and this is only the halos, they are really bright. I think Omega PHX saw them in plain sunlight, ask him if he notice them.

oakrdrs187

07-22-2011, 01:47 AM

^^ Why didn't you flip the low beam halo like the high beam, makes it look more like original BMW.

ngwylie

07-22-2011, 02:14 AM

Dang... those look really nice. I'm just not big on working on cars or anything related to cars. I'd have to pay someone to do them for me =(. Also another issue with the halo projectors I bought, BOTH high beam lenses came unglued and are just dangling there in the housing. I never use high beams and didn't even buy a high beam HID kit but I was very unhappy with it... it was also way past the stupidass 30 day warranty so I couldn't even return to the stupid company eBay. I probably should get that fixed too because it shows small gaps at the high beam area since they are no longer glued on. These lights were from racinghouse so... don't buy from those bastards.

oakrdrs187

07-22-2011, 02:24 AM

You should go ahead and buy the aftermarket halos you want, and patiently install them yourself and glue everything real nice. Trust me the key word in this post is 'patiently' This past year I opened up a few headlights myself and it's not that bad. I did a projector retro on a Prelude at my buddies shop with out having any prior experience and it turned out awesome. Did take me 8hrs though, Fear not my brother for we are here to help.

ngwylie

07-22-2011, 02:44 AM

Yeah... I need to stop being lazy and just try it. Maybe I will when I have some extra time.
To open up the housing, what temperature does the oven have to be, and how long do the lights go in? And when you buy the rings are there any instructions that come with them?
Gah I feel like such a dummy. I would have to wire them also to the switch in my dash also, right? Or could I use the wire I already have connected to the switch in my dash? (It's a stand alone switch I had installed when I bought the lights).

PR8GG

07-22-2011, 07:28 AM

I think there is a tutorial on how to "bake" them open, I use 200, for 2 1/2 minutes, aprox., use gloves, and dont let unatended; measure the size of your halos, inside dimmension, so you can order the correct ones. inside and outside are typicaly different diameter. you can connect them to your parking light wiring, I use them as daylight driving lights. If you go with CCFL, they come ready to replace your helos. They even come in color, if you want to go that route.

cleazy123

07-22-2011, 07:35 AM

I used ccfls off of Theretrofitsource talk to matt he'll hook it up , I actually blew one by not resiliconing the housing so I ended up buying 90mm for the low beam and 80mm for the high beam a lil trimming to get the 90mm to fit but you can see a difference at night and it looks sweet it looks more angry/aggressive

cleazy123

07-22-2011, 07:39 AM

Lil picture hanging wire fine drill bit , oven 250 degrees make sure it's preheated then put it in 7 minutes ....set oven timer . Pull it out and make sure u have a couple different siZes flat head screwdrivers ready. Pry it apart and Try not Yo get the stringy black silicone on anything thats gonna be hard to get it off of.

cleazy123

07-22-2011, 07:43 AM

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z407/cleazy123/0110c4c5.jpg

oakrdrs187

07-22-2011, 12:35 PM

Worry about the wiring later just run the wires out of the headlight before you seal it. All the headlights i opened I used a heat gun.

ngwylie

07-22-2011, 01:59 PM

I see some CCFL rings as cheap as 10$ for 90mm and some as expensive as 100$+. What's the difference?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-Car-Angel-Eye-Light-Headlight-CCFL-Halo-Ring-90mm-New-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem3cb944e767QQitemZ26080 6338407QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccesso ries

ngwylie

07-22-2011, 02:01 PM

Or these
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2x-White-CCFL-Angel-Eyes-Ring-Car-Motorcycle-Headlight-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem45faea6f08QQitemZ30056 2411272QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccesso ries

oakrdrs187

07-22-2011, 02:09 PM

^^ Quality, durability, Brightness. Always remember 'You get what you pay for.'

wetamup2k3g

07-22-2011, 02:10 PM

Plus, the first link doesn't mention the inverter, unless by "connector," that's what they meant.

ngwylie

07-22-2011, 04:22 PM

Well thank you for all the info and inspiration. I really appreciate it. I'm not going to get the cheap ones because this will be a project I will only want to do once lol. I'll have to wait until I have enough funds to pay for some better ones... probably will spend around 60 for them

oakrdrs187

07-22-2011, 04:49 PM

^^^Actually between the $8 ones and $10 ones I don't think there is much difference, I'm saying the differences I mentioned were between say the $10 ones and the $90 dollar ones. To be honest the $8 ones look nice.

OMEGA PHX

07-22-2011, 08:17 PM

BassinG

08-04-2011, 01:26 AM

(my 1st post lol) I have the same projector headlight from ebay. Kinda regret buying them. They are way over priced for the quality of the headlights. I had to replace all the bulbs in the halos like you are doing. Actually thinking about getting the CCFL's, just need to figure out what size i need (if anyone knows please let me know).I bought a bunch of leds for my halos and have a bunch of them left over if you want them. PM me and we can talk about a price. They are pretty bright at night... cant really see them during the day... I will try and post pics a little later...

cleazy123

08-04-2011, 07:38 AM

Theretrofitsource $30 a pair w/inverter as long your gentle with them when putting them in ccfls are definately the way to go ...lasts long...bright enough to see during the day and real sick at night. And I don't think anyone else has tried this but me but...if your crafty enough and you own a dremel, offset them 90 mm in the low beams and 80 mm in the high beam the offset looks like a new Beamer front end very aggressive . Besides I did all 80mm on my other 8g and all circles same size just looks too much like the eBay usdm projectors , uniqueness is where it's at...

wetamup2k3g

08-04-2011, 09:46 AM

Damn you cleazy that was my plan for some JDM's when I get 'em lol I wasn't gonna say anything because i didn't think it had been done yet. Oh well!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk fam!

cleazy123

08-04-2011, 02:19 PM

Lol my bad kid looks mean Oo oO scroll up I think I posted a pic of it awhile ago on this thread

BassinG

08-05-2011, 01:41 AM

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i112/JAYMAN07/2011-08-04_13-44-14_115.jpg

Here are my halos

SpecialCannonBeam

08-05-2011, 02:34 AM

Those three leds on the ends really take away from the halos
I wouldnt even bother wiring them up.

Still looks good!

ADExternal

08-05-2011, 03:25 AM

Just buy the morimoto ones from theretrofitsource.com http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=103
they are $30/pair the include the inverters. I can't imagine the $10 ones including the inverters

thanks gonna go redo mine now :D
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/248888_2139310642255_1230817132_32566771_6962695_n .jpg

BassinG

08-05-2011, 10:26 PM

Those three leds on the ends really take away from the halos
I wouldnt even bother wiring them up.

Still looks good!

I actually kinda like the 3 leds right now, they look good at night... but once i install the CCLF's im probably gonna get rid of the 3 leds on the sides.

ngwylie

08-06-2011, 01:11 AM

Both sets of the 3 vertical LEDs on my headlights are all burned out already... I've looked back there once to try to take those bulbs out but I don't remember finding the same easy bulb-cable things to pull out. I'd like to do the CCFL rings soon... will probably just unwire the 3 LEDs.

ngwylie

08-06-2011, 01:12 AM

BassinG

08-06-2011, 05:34 AM

Also, Bassing, when I put an HID kit in these it made a melt-mark on one of the headlamps. Also, both high beam lenses have came unglued and are just resting in the headlamps. Have any of those issues?

Nope have not had those issues... only issue i have had is one side being dimmer than the other.. but i heard that is a common issue with galants.Its not because of the headlights. The voltage is weak on one side it seems but i dont really know.

Did you use H1 HID bulbs??? Thats what i used.

ngwylie

08-06-2011, 05:18 PM

Yeah it's a raptor H1 55w HID kit.

oakrdrs187

08-08-2011, 01:17 PM

Nope have not had those issues... only issue i have had is one side being dimmer than the other.. but i heard that is a common issue with galants.Its not because of the headlights. The voltage is weak on one side it seems but i dont really know.

Did you use H1 HID bulbs??? Thats what i used.

What happens is overtime the wiring gets frayed and corrosion builds up which causes bad or limited contacts to the bulb. Which is why any one with upgraded lighting whether it's halogen or HID should use a relay and heavy gauge wiring to prevent this from happening.

zobgel

08-09-2011, 07:30 AM

Here's my CCFL angel eyes from theretrofitsource.com

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff141/zobgel/2011%20summer%20Project/IMG_20110806_164620.jpg

ngwylie

08-09-2011, 04:45 PM

Those look sweet =) Now do mine!

BassinG

08-10-2011, 12:11 AM

Here's my CCFL angel eyes from theretrofitsource.com

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff141/zobgel/2011%20summer%20Project/IMG_20110806_164620.jpg

What size are they????!!!

They look really nice!

gian7675

08-10-2011, 12:37 AM

Just wanted to confirm...is it true that these aftermarket projector headlights are fitted for USDM 8gs?

I think that I've read somewhere that these won't fit or have some fitting issues if used on 8g's here our side of the world JDM, PHDM...our headlights I think are in 2 pieces...the USDM headlights aftermarket ones are one piece.

Anybody here has experience on fitment issues?:icon_neutral:

zobgel

08-10-2011, 12:29 PM

What size are they????!!!

They look really nice!

They are 80mm so around 3"

=gian7675]Just wanted to confirm...is it true that these aftermarket projector headlights are fitted for USDM 8gs?

I think that I've read somewhere that these won't fit or have some fitting issues if used on 8g's here our side of the world JDM, PHDM...our headlights I think are in 2 pieces...the USDM headlights aftermarket ones are one piece.

Yes, the aftermarket projector headlight are USDM fitment. It will fit on your JDM, PHDM galant but I think you will have a gap between the front grill and the headlights. I have JDM headlights with retorfit projectors.

oakrdrs187

08-10-2011, 04:43 PM

I have JDM headlights with retorfit projectors.

Best way to go IMO.

gian7675

08-16-2011, 11:02 AM

They are 80mm so around 3"

Yes, the aftermarket projector headlight are USDM fitment. It will fit on your JDM, PHDM galant but I think you will have a gap between the front grill and the headlights. I have JDM headlights with retorfit projectors.

Just wondering, why would there be a gap? Are these aftermarket projectors smaller in length thus the gap?

or are the USDM grills bigger?

Nice headlights and workmanship....I wish i can copy yours :049:

BassinG

08-17-2011, 11:48 PM

They are 80mm so around 3"

80mm for both the low and hi beam?

I heard the hi beams are a little bigger..90mm???

zobgel

08-18-2011, 03:41 AM

Just wondering, why would there be a gap? Are these aftermarket projectors smaller in length thus the gap?

or are the USDM grills bigger?

Nice headlights and workmanship....I wish i can copy yours :049:

Grill and headlights are not mounted properly yet when I took that pic, It's a test fit. =]
thanks!
Here's new pic. Grill and headlights installed.
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff141/zobgel/2011%20summer%20Project/IMG_20110812_193257.jpg

80mm for both the low and hi beam?

I heard the hi beams are a little bigger..90mm???

I used 80mm projectors on both Hi and low beams.