HIDs in my Maxima - pictures

[tay]

Hey guys,

I just got finished installing HIDs in my 1997 Maxima. I used clear lens OEM headlights. It looks nice. Bulbs are 4300k, projectors are MDX with modded cutoff shields.

Projectors:

Housings:

Custom shields:

Look at all that cutoff color. Note: The clear plastic headlight lenses remove most of this color, so it's not nearly as visible.

On the car:

Before:

After:

Notice how there is less glare, because of the cutoff, but there is way more intensity everywhere, and the beam is much wider, without any hotspots. You can see how well it illuminates the stones to either side of the garage.

And here's them against a brick wall, which shows the intensity a little better, and shows the reduced color of the cutoff with the lenses re-installed.

And, before I get interrogated about it, the projectors are very securely mounted. They're on a L-channel aluminum bracket, and they're evenly balanced. I can grab the projector and pull it and it won't move at all.

 

[MichaelW]

Are you going to mount high beams in the front upper grill?

 

[-Virgil-]

I was gonna say…the low beams are pretty nice, but where's your high beam? There's no such thing as low beams so good that you don't need high beams.

Looks like your cutoff shield mods consisted of closing the "window" for upward light…anything else? Did you deliberately fiddle with the cutoff shield spacing or anything in an attempt to get more of a blue glint just above the cutoff?

Your photos clearly demonstrate why photos of beam patterns are basically useless except for roughly illustrating the shape of the beam and/or cutoff. Just look how much more intense and less brown the "before" picture seems compared to the dim/brown reality of the Maxima's stock headlights!

 

[tay]

One shield is the OEM with the "squirrel finder" cutout sealed off

The other shield is made from scratch. Took a few hours with a dremel, a drill, and a fine file to match it perfectly to the original.

I bought a pair of H3 halogen driving lights that I was going to wire as dedicated high beams, and mount above the bumper, inboard of the projectors. The housings are deceptively small: they don't have room for a second projector inboard of the low beams. I originally thought they did, and had a pair of halogen high beam projectors lined up to go inside.

Later on, I realized that anything is going to look white when reflected off a white garage door. The narrow garage doesn't fully show the width advantage of the projectors either. Notice the stonework to either side, and the difference in illumination. Also note that the first picture was 9004 45w low beams with poorly aimed 55w H3 foglights (the foglights in my car are actually aimed higher than the low beams - no idea why - I've since stopped using them)

I don't really care much for the blue cutoff... I hate how my lights look light blue and "ricey" when viewed at certain angles. The plastic lenses remove a lot of the color, but it still bothers me sometimes.

All in all, I'm happy with my first foray into HID. I need to mount the projectors better - they're stable, but they are aimed far too low. In both those pictures, my car is on an uphill incline. The cutoff hits the road about 50 feet in front of me. I've got nice width, and nice intensity, but terrible distance at the moment. The first time I turned them on, I had a momentary freakout. They were aimed so low that they hit the ground ten feet in front of the car. I had forgotten to turn the H3 fogs off so instead of my nice cutoff and wide beam, I had a weak halogen blob. I maxed out the aiming screws and they look fine if the car is parked on an incline, but the distance is lacking.

I'll probably end up trimming the cutoff shield (the top part above the projector) and possibly having to cut the housing a little more to tilt them further up. 2-2.5" drop at 25' is DOT. I'm maybe a 10" drop at 25'

Right now, the projectors are in my parent's basement, and the stock 9004 reflector headlights are back on it. And, I replaced my aftermarket clear turn signals (don't worry, I have orange bulbs in them so they light up orange) with OEM amber ones for the upcoming inspection, so the car looks very weird. IMO the maxima looks a hundred times better with clear front turn signals than with orange ones, especially if its a dark color like mine is.

 

[Stereodude]

Nice, now what about the fog lamps? :naughty:

 

[MichaelW]

Fix the aim, than get selective yellow.

 

[tay]

Yeah, I have my eye out for yellow Lexus glass capsules, but they're hard to find.

 

[MichaelW]

You could put yellow film over the front plastic, but some might find that tacky.
http://i38.tinypic.com/2en21pj.jpg
http://i36.tinypic.com/33zfel1.jpg
So you could just put a selective yellow H3
http://store.candlepower.com/tugoseyeh355.html

 

[Stereodude]

*cough* Put 3000k 35W HIDs in your fogs */cough* :naughty:

Not that I would know anything about that

 

[tay]

I've always heard that the Lexus capsules are the best.

Oh well, I have 2 months to do my research, because I can't do anything until Spring Break.

 

[Stereodude]

I've always heard that the Lexus capsules are the best.

Not Lexus, but they work. oo: