spyder/carpart4u projector post-install thoughts (w pics)
Posted: February 8th, 2009, 8:17 am
i received my projector headlights from carpart4u on tuesday and finally put them in last night. it'd snowed a couple times last week, so i was waiting for a stretch of clear skies to throw these bad boys in. my car looks like it's been rolled in flour from all the rock-salt it's accumulated, so i'm washing it today and then posting some pics.
first off, this isn't a write-up, but just some things that went through my head before, during, and after the install. if someone can take something from my little insights, great.
THE TRANSACTION:
smooth. i bought the black lights. i declined the hid upgrade because i already have a kit for my stock lights. if you're in this position, you just need to by a set of h1 hid bulbs. anyway, shipping was quick, 4 business days, and came via ups. the packaging was perfect with everything packed tight.
QUALITY:
comparable to oem. the lamps are solid. i was expecting them to be lighter, or cheaper. there are some really shoddy projectors floating around out there, but these aren't them. the plastics are solid, and the lenses have a nice thickness to them.
INSTALL:
pretty straight-forward. the bolt configurations are a little different, they actually don't have the bolt that anchors them to the stock bracket. i removed mine for more maneuverability in addressing gaps. you have to work a little bit to get the top tabs to slide into place, but when you do they're a nice tight fit.
FITMENT ISSUES:
the lights are a bit different shape-wise than the stock lamps. i also have an aftermarket bumper and a cf hood and both have their own adjustment requirements. If you have either, be prepared to move things around to get everything to line up.
WIRING:
the headlights themselves are simple enough, but between the halos and the little leds, you have ten wires that need splicing. my bumper doesn't have side-markers, so i was able to remove those sockets and wire everything directly to them. just connect all the positives
and all the negatives, and your good to go.
THE LOOK:
beautiful. the halos are white and look great with the regular h1s. the leds are a bit brighter than the halos, but i even like them. my hid bulbs haven't come yet, and im just hoping that the intensity of the hids dont take away from the halos. the h1 is a great upgrade from stock 9004s and i think most people will be completely satisfied without hid.
THE WILDCARD:
if you have an alarm and wire the halos/leds accordingly, it looks awesome when you arm the alarm and get those confirmation flashes from the headlights.
first off, this isn't a write-up, but just some things that went through my head before, during, and after the install. if someone can take something from my little insights, great.
THE TRANSACTION:
smooth. i bought the black lights. i declined the hid upgrade because i already have a kit for my stock lights. if you're in this position, you just need to by a set of h1 hid bulbs. anyway, shipping was quick, 4 business days, and came via ups. the packaging was perfect with everything packed tight.
QUALITY:
comparable to oem. the lamps are solid. i was expecting them to be lighter, or cheaper. there are some really shoddy projectors floating around out there, but these aren't them. the plastics are solid, and the lenses have a nice thickness to them.
INSTALL:
pretty straight-forward. the bolt configurations are a little different, they actually don't have the bolt that anchors them to the stock bracket. i removed mine for more maneuverability in addressing gaps. you have to work a little bit to get the top tabs to slide into place, but when you do they're a nice tight fit.
FITMENT ISSUES:
the lights are a bit different shape-wise than the stock lamps. i also have an aftermarket bumper and a cf hood and both have their own adjustment requirements. If you have either, be prepared to move things around to get everything to line up.
WIRING:
the headlights themselves are simple enough, but between the halos and the little leds, you have ten wires that need splicing. my bumper doesn't have side-markers, so i was able to remove those sockets and wire everything directly to them. just connect all the positives
and all the negatives, and your good to go.
THE LOOK:
beautiful. the halos are white and look great with the regular h1s. the leds are a bit brighter than the halos, but i even like them. my hid bulbs haven't come yet, and im just hoping that the intensity of the hids dont take away from the halos. the h1 is a great upgrade from stock 9004s and i think most people will be completely satisfied without hid.
THE WILDCARD:
if you have an alarm and wire the halos/leds accordingly, it looks awesome when you arm the alarm and get those confirmation flashes from the headlights.
