BMW Headlight Conversion!!! **DONE**

[13r1an]

Well it took me about a week, working on and off, but I finally finished. I bought these sexy things off ebay for about $180. They're BMW E36 Halo Projector Headlights. I figured if I was going to do a conversion, I might as well get the prettiest ones I could find. Here's wut they looked like when I got em in. One pic is with a flash, another without. They're really chromed out.

[13r1an]

All right, so I really did this because I can't stand my old headlights, they were horrible, I could never see at night. Plus I'm a big fan of hard work, not spending money on direct replacements. So let me first say I have a 93 Mazda Protege DX... Basic of the basic... It's slowly becoming something to be proud of. First, the picture of the headlight area once the stockz are removed.

[13r1an]

For some reason, I musta gotten different headlights than IdentityX, cuz mine required a LOOOOT more cutting, and definately did not want to fit at all. These were a good inch wider on each side, and about 2 inches deeper, plus had these adjusting knob things that stuck out and got all in the way. Here's the after affect of the cut area. Front view.

[13r1an]

Obviously, there's a lot cut shaved off the top, the bottom, the side is cut away, the corner lense area is just demolished. Another problem I had was the radiator overflow thing was in the way... So uh... yea, I dont' have that anymore. My radiator leaks anyways, so I figured if it overflows, it's an act of god. BTW, that piece of crap was a bitch to remove. I had to take out the whole air intake system to get to it.

[13r1an]

Once I had a huge hole where they could slide in, I built brackets to hold the lights in place so they looked level. Then I just used the adjuster knobs to get them to exactly where they should be. It definately wasn't an exact science, and I still have abit more adjusting to do... but it sure as hell worked, and I couldn't get it any better.

[13r1an]

As for the wiring, cuz everyone was asking about that... BMW has seperate high and low beams, so I had to split the negative wire into 2. Then I just put those clip things onto the end of each of the 4 wires and they literally just plug into the bulbs. I assumed it would be harder, but I was pleasantly surprised. Perhaps I did it wrong, but they work. I got some wiring harness thing in the mail with the lights, but never used em. I liked my method better. As for the halo rings, I wired those directly into my corner lights so I can cruise with running lights and halos but no headlights. Looks sic as hell. As for bulbs, I went all out again and bought those Sylvania H7 Cyber Whites. Very nice, I'm very pleased with the light output. Once I actaully adjust the fuggers, i should be able to see very well at nite.

[13r1an]

Close up, you can tell they're still not adjusted to perfection, but I just finished em up last nite, so I'm a tad excited and takin pix before I'm done. Plus it's blazing hot outside right now, so I am definately not going out there to work on my car. Let me give MADD props to Identy_X, he's my inspiration for all this. Although his pix didn't help me at all, knowing what to buy and knowing it could be done was all I needed. His look really good, and definately serve as a standard of perfection that I'm shooting for. Hell, once i get my bumper back on, my car may even look better! :p: In this picture, you can see my awesome dual air horns mounted below the bumper. Those WERE under the hood, and were also in the way, so I had to spend a good hour movin those damn things and rewiring them. Well worth it though, they're actaully louder now.

[Kelly]

get that schitt put back together so we can see the finished product.

[13r1an]

As my final message, I just want to say I had to modify the frame of the car, I still need to modify the corner lights (mine definately did NOT clip up, in fact they stick out), and I'll need to modify the grill. So unless you really like customizing... lol, dont' attempt this. As for pictures of the Halos (and the beam patterns), I'll get back to ya'll tonite with those. I am amazed at both. Also, this was my first time in my entire life to cut metal... and I did this whole project with my faithful little Dremel tool. And 37 "heavy duty" disks. Obviously I wasn't using metal cutting ones. Uuuum, yea, and make sure if u cut metal, to prime it so it wont' rust. I live on the beach, so I literally have rust powder all over my garage from all the grinding/cutting. All right, Hope you all enjoyed as much as I did! ~H0lla~

[Kelly]

lol you just shavee 20 pds off your car...

[Semtex]

i honestly dont like the way they look, its the chrome, if they were black housings that would be completly awsome, good work on the fabbiing and cutting of it all.

[D323]

looks good. awesome work.

I am with smetex tho, I like the black/gunmetal housing look.

[Tweeaks]

actually primer wont protect from rust.

[mike_moss]

Looks alright, but E-specs look alot better, not to mention they don't mess with the strength of the front of the car...not much more expensive, either!

A+ for effort!

[Knowledge]

where do u get these E-spec lights that everyone has been talking about and what do they look like cuz personally i think the halos on his car look sick