Creation of clear lens - GTS clear cover transplant

[MX3-Freak]

Considering your using the stock housing you would do it the same way you would an oem set up, no??

Shouldn't be that difficult just to go in to back and replace the bulb.

[mx3frik]

[quote]Originally posted by MX3-Freak:
Considering your using the stock housing you would do it the same way you would an oem set up, no??

Cheers and have a good weekend,

Eugene

[MX3-Freak]

lol... for some reason I was thinking of the projector unit's light. Never even thought about the FF50's... oh well

[millionflame]

How think are those GTS clear covers you people are using?

Just wondering out of curiousity.

Most OEM lenses are made with 3.2mm (1/8") think material.

I made my own clear lenses a few months ago out of some raw 3.2mm perpex, and I'd just like to compare these to the GTS covers.

[mx3frik]

Hey Aiden! Haven't seen you posting on the list for a while.

I haven't checked the chickness of the lens yet but I'll be surprised if it's over 3mm. I'll see if I can borrow a gauge sometimes and get back to this thread.

Cheers,

Eugene

[luis castro]

ok guys, just tried this myself. they look awesome but only one problem tho. it has cost me money and time to fix this and i think i should warn you guys about it. DO NOT SEAL THE GTS LENS!!! if you do, you WILL regret it. those things get soooooo foggy with the rain. plus it will be a pain in the *** to replace a bulb if it ever goes out. i just left mine alone and they work fine. they do get foggy but i'd rather be able to take the covers off to clean them then to be stuck there with foggy headlights. as long as you paint the housing black, they will look good. sorry, i don't have pics yet but i will post some soon. oh yeah, one more thing before i forget, that protective film from xpel is awesome. it makes the covers thicker so strength is not a problem

[marshmallow15]

Eugene, rather than use aluminum, why not fiberglass the opening? it'll be pretty much waterproof. then if you need to replace the bulb, you can remove the fiberglass, replace bulb, then fiberglass again since its an easy process.

[mx3frik]

Originally posted by marshmallow15:
Eugene, rather than use aluminum, why not fiberglass the opening? it'll be pretty much waterproof. then if you need to replace the bulb, you can remove the fiberglass, replace bulb, then fiberglass again since its an easy process.

I've thought of using fiberglass, problem with opening it up is it'll create a lot of dust during cutting and it'll be a pain if it gets into the housing. Plues I think it's less work slipping two pieces of aluminum outta weatherstrippings than having to cut and redo fiberglass everytime.
Just how I saw things when I was planning...


Eugene

[mx3frik]

Originally posted by MiGhTymOuSe:
ok guys, just tried this myself. they look awesome but only one problem tho. it has cost me money and time to fix this and i think i should warn you guys about it. DO NOT SEAL THE GTS LENS!!! if you do, you WILL regret it. those things get soooooo foggy with the rain. plus it will be a pain in the *** to replace a bulb if it ever goes out. i just left mine alone and they work fine. they do get foggy but i'd rather be able to take the covers off to clean them then to be stuck there with foggy headlights. as long as you paint the housing black, they will look good. sorry, i don't have pics yet but i will post some soon. oh yeah, one more thing before i forget, that protective film from xpel is awesome. it makes the covers thicker so strength is not a problem

I don't think I'm painting the picture quite right. So you're saying you didn't seal the GTS lens so you can wipe of the "fog" when it rains? By fog I'm assuming you meant condensation on the insdie fo the lens? If that's the case then sealing will prevent this from happening since condensation occurs when water gets into the light at the first place. and if they're not sealed and you're indeed using them as clear front lenses then you have all the guts of the headlight exposed??

Unless you were not referring to a clear lens transplant but just sticking the GTS's over the stock one...

Eugene

[millionflame]

Yeah, no problems with my clear lense set-up either.

I did have a "foggy" problem at first, but I solved it with a drill bit and a hole!

As long as there are those holes in the back (usually have that rubber hose on them in the shape of a "U") then the condensation will not be a problem.

[mx3frik]

Hey Aiden,

Haven't seen you posting on the light forum for a while!

Would you honour us with some pics of your setup? Last picture I saw of yours were the miata headlights and heard you got bixenons in the housing. Now that people on the list are more enthused with retrofiting and informed maybe it won't turn into a huge debate like before :p

Eugene

[MX3-Freak]

I would love to see those photos. You seem to be well versed on automotive lighting, thus I take the majority of your posts for good fact. If you want to just email them to me, this is fine as well. coquette2028@netscape.net

[wyldside]

I was attempting the dual Hella 90mm setup but I just can't get them to fit propperly.
<img src="http://wyldsidetech.com/images/3d_hella90mm.jpg" alt=" - " />
It's not the housing that is the problem. It's the metal on the car that gets in the way. I'm changing to the FF50 & 90mm Hella setup as well. I am making a whole new housing out of fiberglass and I am designing it so that I can seal the assembly properly and change bulbs without difficulty. I'd like to know where you got the GTS cover's as well. I looked for those last year and couldn't find them. I really don't feel like sanding the focusing grid off my existing housing. That hard plastic takes for ever to sand.

<small>[ July 07, 2004, 11:24 AM: Message edited by: WyldSide ]</small>

[mx3frik]

I ordered the lenses off a site online from a random goodle result looking for "gts clear hedlight cover".

Looking at the order form I want to say this is where I got it from. I wasn't too happy with thier business attitude...they mailed the wrong headlight covers (for a durango) to a wrong address (reading off a faxed order form!). Took about a month to get everything straightened out and they haven't backed their words on reimbursing me for the return shipping of the wrong covers....but I did end up getting the right lens eventually...

Eugene

[wyldside]

Ooooo, that's nasty. Maybe I'll have to see if some of my local sources can find them. It seems there is only one part number (GT0518) and I'm not sure it that's the clear or black. It the only part number I can find. Even www.drivewireaccessories.com has the same thing. Maybe I'll have to send an email.

<small>[ July 07, 2004, 10:52 PM: Message edited by: WyldSide ]</small>