95-01 Projector headlights, Part 2

Hard to fathom since the 2nd generation effectively ended about 8 years ago. There didn't seem to be much in the way of new aftermarket offerings, but since 410 Fortune did up his aftermarket projector setup a few weeks ago, there is now another rendition. To boot, a new EF Vendor is offering a pretty good Group Buy on them.

Hey mods, sorry for the cross post, but I thought this was a logical place to link the buy too. Selfish motivations too because I'm on the Buy list now and the Buy needs at least 10 people. I'm surprised there seems to be so little interest so far. They've got a lot of potential if you can get by the LED halos and LED corner lights (not my cup of tea).

 

[celly]

FWIW, Henry (group buy guy) said he's going to cap the buy at 10 now. Only two more to go if anyone's still on the fence (and get off the fence so I can get my projectors!)

 

[410Fortune]

I like the dual projectors in those,

I dont like the halo's or the top turn signal housing

I am VERY happy with my lights, FAR SUPERIOR to the stock housings or the black diamond clears, these ones are a bit different from the ones I bought made by Eagle Eyes its nice to see we have a few new options! Gen II lights were leaving alot to be desired!

 

[celly]

I like the dual projectors in those,

I dont like the halo's or the top turn signal housing

I probably won't hook up the halos and hope to replace the upper LEDs with something more amber.

 

[410Fortune]

I dont mind the LED side markers or the halos on my lights, but they dont look like these!
The turn signal housing above the projectors is what I find weird on these lights

For now my halos come on with the parking lamps, but I will likely put them on a switch so when I get tired ofthem I can turn them on or off, the switch will be under the hood, no reason to go to the dash

 

[bp1506]

I would buy them but I dont really like the look, i dont know maybe the pictures dont do them justice. I think i would just go for the clear housings and that would be good enough for me.

But ebay rapes you on shipping, otherwise i would have ordered them. Also i avoid sellers that ship through ups.

 

[celly]

I dont mind the LED side markers or the halos on my lights, but they dont look like these!
The turn signal housing above the projectors is what I find weird on these lights

For now my halos come on with the parking lamps, but I will likely put them on a switch so when I get tired ofthem I can turn them on or off, the switch will be under the hood, no reason to go to the dash

To me, these units look a LOT like a combination of your usual diamond headlights and corners. but in a much more convenient one piece design like yours. I did check out yours and while that version was tempting, they weren't my cup of tea, but that's probably because they were in black and I'm looking for silver/chrome to go with my front-end.

I did check out your install thread and your vid and figure this setup will install in a similar fashion.

re: Halos, I prefer lower profile mods and halos scream out "look at me, I'm pretending to be a BMW!". I'll most likely hook them up anyhow just to check them out and will probably look into an option like you mentioned....a switch to turn them on and off.

 

[410Fortune]

the ones I have are also avail in clear/chrome not just black

yeah I feel yeah with the pretending to be a BMW thing LOL
We recently put halos on my wife FJ cruiser also, so we are just now going through the "my halos are cool" stage I imagine it will wear off
They do look so awesome at night though! it may never wear off, and BMW has nothing on my truck LOL!!!

 

[celly]

the ones I have are also avail in clear/chrome not just black

yeah I feel yeah with the pretending to be a BMW thing LOL
We recently put halos on my wife FJ cruiser also, so we are just now going through the "my halos are cool" stage I imagine it will wear off
They do look so awesome at night though! it may never wear off, and BMW has nothing on my truck LOL!!!

Who knows...I might like them too (Halos)!

The reason I want them most is so my HIDs don't throw such a scattered pattern in the Diamonds. I could never do a retrofit so this is the next best thing. I also like the concept of a true dual beam. I've used two different hi/lo kits and they simply don't work as well as true high beams (including halogen 9007 bulbs). I'll go with HID 4300K in the projector and a halogen in the other spot (i.e. high beam).

 

[Bill Kemp]

Celly, When you do the HID in these lamps you will also need something like this http://www.kchilites.com/store/Quad-Beam-HeadlightbrConversion-Kit-6314-P253C83.aspx to keep the low beam HIDs on when you turn on the high beams.

 

[celly]

I would buy them but I dont really like the look, i dont know maybe the pictures dont do them justice. I think i would just go for the clear housings and that would be good enough for me.

But ebay rapes you on shipping, otherwise i would have ordered them. Also i avoid sellers that ship through ups.

I'm in Calgary too. I know all about the UPS hassle and avoid them as well. If you follow the Group Buy thread you'll see that the seller is virtually guaranteeing there won't be a brokerage fee and they're only charging us $15 more to ship to Canada over US buyers. Not a bad deal. He wants $265 US/shipped to Canada. The eBay seller wants $265 just for the lights and then charges $80 for UPS Ground Shipping and $140 for UPS Express. You'd end up paying another $42 in brokerage with the cheaper method (brokerage is included in the Express method). So you're saving about $120-$140 on this group buy if you ship to Canada.

I've got the clear corners and headlights already. I love em and prefer the looks to just about anything (including these). The issue is that I use HIDs in mine and they're a pain to adjust. Not only are the rods cheaper and of lower quality to OEM in the clear headlights but when using HIDS, they throw a ton of glare. I actually take the time to tweak, tweak and tweak again so as to not blind oncoming drivers, but even then, the beam pattern thrown by the clear units is blotchy. I still get the odd person flashing me, but not many at all. I prefer the light output even if the pattern isn't as clean as it could be (or if I was using halogens as I was when I used Silverstars in them).

I'm willing to forego a bit on the looks front to get something that is more functional with HIDs. Any time I drive a car with regular halogens now, I feel like I'm driving in the dark. HIDs made a world of difference and projectors do a better job with HIDs, hence the atrractiveness of these new offerings, to me anyhow.

 

[celly]

Celly, When you do the HID in these lamps you will also need something like this http://www.kchilites.com/store/Quad-Beam-HeadlightbrConversion-Kit-6314-P253C83.aspx to keep the low beam HIDs on when you turn on the high beams.

Thanks Bill. I actually deal with a local guy for my HID kits. I sent him a link to the group buy thread and he's already got it all figured out for me. My plan is to hopefully get the headlights (if the group buy flies). Then I'm going to plug them in as is (with the halogens) and then hook up with him to wire some HIDs into the projectors using the existing ballasts and wiring. He'd mentioned something about needing some relays etc to get it done, but he's done similar installs in the past. The last time I hooked up with him (to do some hardware upgrades a few months ago), he said it was too bad there were no projectors out there for 2nd gen Explorers because he could help me do good things with me Ex.

He spoke too soon!

This will all be moot if the Group Buy dies because I won't pay eBay shipping charges! :thumbdwn:

 

[IAmTodd]

I'm looking forward to the upgrade as well. I have never been happy with the light output of the existing housings. A set of 5000k HIDs will be making a home in the projectors.

 

[bp1506]

I'm in Calgary too. I know all about the UPS hassle and avoid them as well. If you follow the Group Buy thread you'll see that the seller is virtually guaranteeing there won't be a brokerage fee and they're only charging us $15 more to ship to Canada over US buyers. Not a bad deal. He wants $265 US/shipped to Canada. The eBay seller wants $265 just for the lights and then charges $80 for UPS Ground Shipping and $140 for UPS Express. You'd end up paying another $42 in brokerage with the cheaper method (brokerage is included in the Express method). So you're saving about $120-$140 on this group buy if you ship to Canada.

I've got the clear corners and headlights already. I love em and prefer the looks to just about anything (including these). The issue is that I use HIDs in mine and they're a pain to adjust. Not only are the rods cheaper and of lower quality to OEM in the clear headlights but when using HIDS, they throw a ton of glare. I actually take the time to tweak, tweak and tweak again so as to not blind oncoming drivers, but even then, the beam pattern thrown by the clear units is blotchy. I still get the odd person flashing me, but not many at all. I prefer the light output even if the pattern isn't as clean as it could be (or if I was using halogens as I was when I used Silverstars in them).

I'm willing to forego a bit on the looks front to get something that is more functional with HIDs. Any time I drive a car with regular halogens now, I feel like I'm driving in the dark. HIDs made a world of difference and projectors do a better job with HIDs, hence the atrractiveness of these new offerings, to me anyhow.

Sounds like a good deal. I am going to pass since i cant afford it right now, but hope you have good luck with the projectors. I know projectors work great as I've seen them on my friends BMW, should be a nice upgrade.

Hey, maybe if you are looking to sell your diamond clear lights hit me up, I might be interested.

 

[celly]

Hey, maybe if you are looking to sell your diamond clear lights hit me up, I might be interested.

I'm going to hold on to them because I don't have any OEM headlights if I decide to go back. Besides, the driver's side adjuster is hooped so you're better off looking for a better set.

Group Buy closed tonight.

 

[techieman33]

Gen II lights were leaving alot to be desired!

Unless you have a mountaineer

 

[celly]

Unless you have a mountaineer

Mountaineer=crosseyed Explorer.

 

[IAmTodd]

Sounds like a good deal. I am going to pass since i cant afford it right now, but hope you have good luck with the projectors. I know projectors work great as I've seen them on my friends BMW, should be a nice upgrade.

Hey, maybe if you are looking to sell your diamond clear lights hit me up, I might be interested.

Mine will be up for sale. I can PM you details if you're interested.

 

[Turdle]

Mountaineer=crosseyed Explorer.

:

 

[IAmTodd]

Could be worse!!