Chedderknight

they any good? cause im getting tired of buying the whole casing, rather just swtich the bulb,i believe it would save money in the long run, so anyone do any business with ebay light conversions? and how does the city light thing work?

l2aine

Last time I went bulb shopping with my S13 friend, we noticed that the Sylvania H4 conversion housing is about the same price ($25.00 +/- $1) as your standard, full headlamp assembly that S13's use.

They way I see it, I think the only reason for the H4 conversion is if you want to go HID, or if you want to use those "Ion" or "Hyperwhite" bulbs or something other than standard OEM white.

Also, due to the design of the S13 headlights, if I'm not mistaken - even with an H4 conversion, you still have to remove the whole assembly to change bulbs.

'Citylights' is a nickname here in the U.S. for extra lightbulbs that you have in your headlamps, usually a different color (red, purple, blue) and it's for show - but also illegal. In some countries they have citylights built in - the name "city light" referring to how, when in the city, if you come up behind another car at a stoplight, the driver in the second car would momentarily turn their headlamps off as a courtesy to the car in front. Then when the light is green, headlights go back on and drive as usual.

Chedderknight

oh i dont mind the whole taking out the casing etc etc, just the buying of a whole casing, and never knew that about city lights, thanks alot, so where can i find this sylvania H4 conversion? it sounds alot more better in quality than a ebay product oh and congrats on becoming a moderator raine

l2aine

They have it at Kragen and "the Zone" LOL

The good combo would be the Sylvania H4 conversion + their Silverstar bulbs. Nice and bright, minus the price of HID.

And thanks for the last comment...

ArticDragon

Actaully, no need to take out whole housing. Just pop off the covers to the lamps and you have access to the rear. I've done the H4 conversion, hoping to find some HIDs lying aroynd somewhere, lol.

l2aine

But if you take the lids off, you have to re-align them with the hood after.

I know, it's not hard to align a small piece of metal - but I know you Edgar; if I left my post 'as is' you'd come back with a "it's not that hard" comment just to get the last word in.

-> sometimes predictable

Chedderknight

LOL, thanks for the advice, gonna go this weekend to kragen and pick up a set, and then order some PIAA lights from PDM racing.

l2aine

why PIAA?

Chedderknight

the PIAA's seem like a good buy, unless you have a better suggestion? im treading on new ground when its coming to lights now

l2aine

Siilvania Silverstar bulbs are pretty bright, nice and white too; IIRC they run about $25 a bulb, but they're worth the money. I think PIAA bulbs are a little more expensive? Not sure, but hey - if PIAA is your flavor, they're already proven to be good

ArticDragon

But it isn't hard. Plus, it's a lot less work than having to take of the actual headlamp assembly and having to play around with the black trim surrounding it.

l2aine

told you. LOL

QR25DE

aahahah yea u were born to be a moderator. Hmm I went to check "the zone" for the h4 converson and they all had the housings with bulbs stuck in them.. =0( Does the design of a housing affect the beam of the light? Im lost about sealed beam and Some raybrig multi reflection housing.. =0/

l2aine

Some cars depend strictly on the reflector surface to project the light to a specific direction (i.e. S15, G35, your garden variety 95 Accord). Most of these "reflector-dependent" lamps have clear front lenses, since the lense doesn't need to direct light anywhere.

Other cars depend strictly on the front lense itself (i.e. our cars). In this case, the lense has ridges and indentations that are precisely calculated so that when a light source hits that lense, the light is directed to a speficic location (somewhere in front of the car LOL).

With both of the above light types, light direction is usually adjusted by moving the entire headlight assembly (lense type) or the complete reflector assembly within the lamp housing (reflector type).

Other cars use neither - they have the bulb mounted with it's specific reflector and lense (inside the complete headlamp assembly), and the whole thing is designed to move as a small portion compared to the actual headlight assembly. The cars with projectors up front do this.

So in effect, yes the design of the housing can affect the beam of light. If you get a cheap H4 conversion, the rear of the housing might be the same surface that the reflector is attached to on the other side. I'd go with the Sylvania H4 conversion...

...oh, I think we found them at Kragen, not the Zone

ArticDragon

I found my set at the zone. It was 40 bucks. What's inetresting about teh set is that it is DOT and SAE approved. If I'm taking this the right way, doesn't it mean that when coupled with a competent bulb, it will provide adequate lighting and lighting superior to thsoe e-bay ones that aren't DOT and SAE approved?