DIY: The Best Headlight Upgrade You'll Ever Do For Under $50

EURO · Post by **EURO** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:59 am

any chance of getting some pics jono? would like to see what the blue looks like....

Ther - I had the same problem with (hb4 blue globes) in the fto, the fogged lens cut out all the colour... i just thought with the extra power in the H3 it might work..... did you notice any blue at all when you had them in the drivers light rather then high beams?

ruchi · Post by **ruchi** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 11:20 am

Ther wrote:Ruchi - I have found a bit of rust on the light connectors..any ideas how to remove it properly?...
cheers

Scratch it off with a small screw driver or some fine sand-paper.

Ther · Post by **Ther** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 11:55 am

Ruchi - Tried both...didn't remove much...better try again i guess.
my biggest prob is that sometimes the light doesnt come on and i have to open and try to re plug the light for it to work.....

Euro - nope..couldn't really notice it too much...but on the high beams it works fine....
the super white bulbs work on the driver light...bit bright at times but i make sure they point downwards.

Black_FTOGPX · Post by **Black_FTOGPX** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:03 pm

Ruchi,

I am going to do this probably this weekend, just one thing I want to ask is.

Will this blind people driving towards me? I mean will they think that I just have my high beams on?

Or is the light pointing in a way in which that wont happen?

Sorry for the dumb question, but itâ€™s the only way Iâ€™ll learn

ruchi · Post by **ruchi** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:20 pm

No such thing as a bumb question Joel.

Short Answer
No, you won't blind them.

Long Answer
If you did this mod with a normal "reflector" based headlight, which most cars have, then yes it would be just like having your high-beams on and you would be blinding everyone

Because the FTO uses a "projector" based lighting system we can do this mod with no problem. Projector headlights use a lens infront of the globe to precisely focus the light (this is that foged lens that everyone complains about

). Along with this, projector setups also have a "cut-off" which stops the light from going too high. If you park near a wall and turn your headlights on, you'll see that while the light goes to the bottom and sides quite freely, the top of the light has a wide "V" shape cut-off point.

As long as the cut-off is below the eye-line of the traffic in front of you, you won't be blinding them. As you install the new headlights you may alter the alignment slightly, so double check this and dip the headlights slightly if needed.

The headlights are noticably brighter, but as the projector system keeps the light focused and clipped, it's quite different to the glare produced from high-beams. They just look light really bright headlights.

ellusion · Post by **ellusion** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 5:50 pm

I bought some Premium Xenon Bulbs (forget the brand) and although they were labelled as "cool blue" they are YELLOW!!! I can't return em coz i've modded them...

After i think about it, i've spent around $200 bucks in headlight bulbs. Should have bought HIDs in the first place!

Boris · Post by **Boris** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 7:18 pm

I bought those ones of ebay that i mentioned earlier, so far they are really cool blue, and look good, but like some people mentioned they don't last long, so i'm trying to go for a record here...

I know what you mean, I spent a lot on bulbs too! I've run out of bulbs to try in Aus... I think... next is the US...

efteoh · Post by **efteoh** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 1:55 pm

ellusion wrote:I bought some Premium Xenon Bulbs (forget the brand) and although they were labelled as "cool blue" they are YELLOW!!! I can't return em coz i've modded them...

After i think about it, i've spent around $200 bucks in headlight bulbs. Should have bought HIDs in the first place!

i just suck with the plus 30, its proven and happy with the results, i could have gotten a set of HIDs from HK, but the insurance hassle just isnt worth it.

ellusion · Post by **ellusion** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 4:28 pm

I've tried 2 pairs of those bulbs on ebay. Very bluey white indeed. But died on me in 6 weeks.

hnm738 · Post by **hnm738** » Fri Sep 17, 2004 12:30 am

i've been using phillips blue vision for about a year now and every thing is still good

i did that process that ruchi mention when i first bought the car got the instructions from the version r website

Dannyh · Post by **Dannyh** » Fri Oct 01, 2004 5:29 am

Just two questions,

1, Will this work on a facelift?
2, how do you get access to change the bulbs in the first place?

ruchi · Post by **ruchi** » Fri Oct 01, 2004 12:06 pm

Both pre and post facelift models use the same globes.

If you don't know how to take your globes out then I suggest you get someone local to show you. They obviously pull out from the back and they simply twist-lock into place.

msbchi · Post by **msbchi** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:20 am

Thank's Andrew tried the +30's out today and it is significantly brighter. Tested it out on the right side only to compare the difference (if you find a spot with no/little ambient light i.e. no street lights) it is amazing how much brighter they are. However at the risk of confusing the modification process I found it easier to trim down one of the larger tabs. The smaller tab and the one one the left fit straight in and by shaving a couple of ml (using a scalpel and latex gloves...kinky) off the square shoulder on the right hand tab they dropped straight in. Hope this doesn't confuse the process as it is incredebly easy to do 1/2 hour max.

ruchi · Post by **ruchi** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 10:36 pm

Glad to hear it worked so well. So far it seems that everyone who has used the Narva +30's has had very positive results.

I understand what you are saying, but to help others, what you called a "tab" a refered to as the "flange"

rxboy · Post by **rxboy** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 11:37 am

Where are you Melbournians finding these Narva HB3 Plus 30 globes?

I've checked SuperCheap Auto, Repco and my local auto store and the closest I could find was a normal Narva HB3 globe

Can you point me in the right direction please?

FTO338 · Post by **FTO338** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 12:56 pm

Hmmmm Alex they use to have them in the Auto store at the corner of North Rd, & East Boundary Rd (i think is call).

mxysxy · Post by **mxysxy** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 1:39 pm

I bought mine from Repco on Bell St Preston.
And cant believe the difference it made, everything is so much more brighter now.

onnzo · Post by **onnzo** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 3:33 pm

Rx boy,
I purchased mine from a new auto store on Westall rd extension. they were $13 each... it's next to the subway if you're from the area.

Mike

rxboy · Post by **rxboy** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 11:00 pm

Thanks guys! I actually found them at the store you're talking about Kev. It's called East Coast Auto Spares and they were the first ones I talked to on the phone. Over the phone they told me that they don't stock the Narva Plus 30 globes. Pffft the lazy sob could not be bothered looking. I found it as soon as I walked into the store.

Anyways, I didn't buy the Narvas cos my brother, an employee of Hella got me some freebies

RallyMad · Post by **RallyMad** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 8:24 pm

Just a quick question everyone, I've got a version R right, with HID standard, anyway not that my lights a dim, they aren't but out of interest i was reading this and I swear my high and low beam are one bulb, at least the second square part of the head light assembly has 2 bulbs in it but the park light is in there as well.

How are the GPX's different, do they have 2 bulb's one each in the two parts of the head light assembly?