make my own headlight conv. [Archive] - Toyota MR2 Message Board

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m_r_210-09-2010, 01:12 AMi had a brain storm today :idea: and i think i want to try it. i like the sleepy eye look but i think it would be dumb to only use half of your headlight.
i want to do sleepy eyes like this.:ugh:

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff450/Tylar_Spencer/mr2/moddeduk06-waynne-212.jpg

but i want to try to take a thinner light from a kit like this and mount it inside the original housing :ugh:

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff450/Tylar_Spencer/mr2/mr2_91_karmotion_carbon_fiber_headlights_aspo_comp lete_01.jpg

what do you guys think about my idea?:confused: i think it would be nice. and different! :omg: or does someone already make a kit like this :confused: 328FTW10-09-2010, 01:42 AMA few people have done it. A light like that makes the car look blazed lol. I used es300 headlights to give it a quadlamp look. Just don't use foglamps or something, use proper housings for your lights.

Mine

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff323/328FTW/V6%20Build/008-11.jpg



Revision 6

http://www.revision6.com/images/298/00.jpg



Something DavidV has on his car.

http://davidv.smugmug.com/Other/MR2/IMG3025/114148700_jbbtG-XL.jpg m_r_210-09-2010, 02:00 AMyeah i like the rev6 but they cost alot and im looking for a cheep nice look. i wander what headlights davidV used thats the look im going for with maybe a cheep ebay HID kit. dont know if i will find a light that small with high and low beam m_r_210-09-2010, 04:51 PManyone ever done something like this i am looking for tips. i already sent davidV a pm about it hoping for some tips WrenchswingeR10-11-2010, 12:14 AMhere's an old pic of mine. Simply purchased 2 sets of driving lights and mounted them to the underside of the headlight cover. Very little trimming had to be done, and the surround was snipped and re-installed. Wiring was a whole nother project though, i double-relayed them and had to use a resistor so it wouldn't pop fuses. Best part=$83 total!! m_r_210-11-2010, 01:58 AMi like that i was looking for a way to get high and low beam from the same housing. but two housings on each side would solve that. i was planning to go with a hid kit so idk if i would still have problems with fuses??? WrenchswingeR10-11-2010, 06:41 PMit all depends on how much amerage the load is drawing and what circuits you tap into. or even better to run separate, fused circuits for the lights. I wanted to keep the factory headlight switch and wiring so i had to put resistors inline to cut down on the amps the lights were drawing. it looks and works great, i have hi and lo beams and can put all 4 lights on at the same time for max lighting.. m_r_210-11-2010, 06:46 PMnice im really thinking about doing this CJMR2T10-11-2010, 08:12 PMDON'T DO IT WITH DRIVING LIGHTS!!!! Its ILLEGAL for a reason. Its a dangerous for you which is your own prerogative but what's more important is that its dangerous to oncoming drivers. Putting HID's in them makes it safer for you but even more dangerous for oncoming drivers hence why 99% of the HID kits on the market clearly state "For Off Road Use Only"... it is illegal to install a HID bulb in a non HID housing because of the glare and therefore danger...

As for doing it correctly, get projector housings that are intended for HID's. The Acura MDX projectors come in HID form and can be had for pretty cheap. There are several others too.

As for the wiring, WrenchswingeR's comments make no sense. For one, the double relay setup is not needed with a HID conversion since HID's actually draw less current then a halogen, 35watts for HID vs. 55/65watts for Halogen. I can't see any reason why a resistor was needed in any circuit either unless something wasn't hooked up right. I'm running dual relays on my car and never have popped a fuse nor needed to use any resistors anywhere. WrenchswingeR10-11-2010, 10:05 PMand neither does your comment..current draw is measured in amps, not watts.
You didn't install these lights so i don't expect u to get it over a few typed words on a msg board, but since you're calling me out, here we go- I needed double relays to run hi and lo beams together. I kept the factory lo beam circuit and relay for my lo beam and powered a 2nd relay for the hi beams from the 15amp park light circuit. Problem being the 30amp driving light was popping the fuse for that circuit, so i soldered in a resistor to drop current draw in half (30-15=15amps). Now i have outer lights as regular intensity driving lights(lo beams) and the inner lights are about half the brightness due to the resistor(hi beams) and are aimed slightly higher. the contrasting brightness gives it a really cool look.

As for the legality of it, i drive the car maybe 30miles a week, hardly at night and do not blind anyone. I've driven several cars w/ pop up headlights that i customized w/ DOT legal driving lights and have never gotten a ticket or made someone swerve into a pole by blinding them..so calm down about it. THATS ILLEGAL :lol: how many legally modded cars are out there anyway m_r_210-11-2010, 10:19 PMit is illegal to install a HID bulb in a non HID housing
i live in PA not CALI:rofl::rofl::rofl:
almost EVERY car in the area has HID's and IMO i think a 6k-10k should mandatory on every car. the deer are bad around here and you can see cops/animals/signs a mile away with HID's

cops dont care about HID's in my area, they just want doughnuts:rofl::rofl::rofl:


HID's actually draw less current then a halogen

this is ture thats why i didnt understand why i would have a problem:confused::confused::confused: rocklizzard9110-12-2010, 10:11 AMWrenchswingeR, why didnt you just modify the headlight relay?
i run dual relayed lights in my jetta (seperate high and low beams)
low beams on activates low beam relay giving power directly off battery
pull the high beam switch and it activates the high beam circut, driving the relay and giving power from the battery to the highs as well.

you relay lights to give direct power from the battery. more power from the battery = more light output. the stock wiring should ONLY drive the relay.
(used to be a vw guy and vw's have terrible light wiring, so common practice is to relay VW headlights)

so when you turn the switch on, it turns the relay on, letting the battery power the lights. the amps used to activate the relay is minimal. i run a 10amp fuse in my setup.
i have a feeling you have them set up differently or possibly incorrectly CJMR2T10-12-2010, 01:24 PMand neither does your comment..current draw is measured in amps, not watts.

For starters, I wasn't trying to "call you out"!!!

It might not make sense to you cause you obviously know VERY LITTLE about electrical, especially based on the fact of what you said about amperage and wattage.

If you knew any decent amount about the subject, you would know that amperage and wattage are both measurements of power consumption. If you have X amount of amps draw at a specific voltage then you have X amount of Watts drawn at that same voltage.

A standard 55watt halogen low beam at 13.5v consumes roughly 4amps of current

A typical 35watt HID setup (one bulb and ballast) at 13.5v consumes roughly 2.5amps. CJMR2T10-12-2010, 04:10 PMJust to add to my previous post. You can not directly convert Watts to Amps however, the equations to figure one out from the other are very simple and are as follows.

Amps = Watts / Volts
Watts = Amps x Volts

Back to WrenchswingeR, I will agree that running 2beam low and all 4 for high does make wiring a bit more difficult and intricate but there shouldn't be a need for any resistors.

Doing it the way rocklizard said is how the relays should be done, but it would have to be revised slightly to allow quad illumination during high beam use.

Even better would have been a bi-xenon projector thus fully legal and SAFER for everyone.

About the legality and safety part, its illegal becase of the safely. My issue is not the fact of legality, its the safety in in itself that's the point. Personally, if its safe for myself and others on the road, then who cares if its legal or not.

In many cases many people just deal with the glare of oncoming cars with either illegal setups or bad adjustment and don't bother to flash them. Just like many how most people on the highway don't move over if you going faster and flash them from behind. Its funny how much different Europe is compared to the US when it comes to driving.

The other thing is simply the fact that there are no driving and fog light (even with HID's) that even come close to a proper HID headlamp. This goes for overall light output and beam pattern. WrenchswingeR10-12-2010, 06:34 PMrock, i did set them up differently. I couldnt use the factory lo/hi beam circuits together because i wanted all 4 projectors on at the same time for hi beams, and just 2 outer on for regular lo beams. I tapped into parking light circuit (from front bumper sidemarkers) to power lo beam relays and the lo beam circuit to power the new hi beam relays. now when i turn the headlight switch to park i have parking lights and lo beams, when i turn it to lo beams on the switch i have power to the hi beam relays and lo beams for quad illumination. And yes i know how relays work but i was adding just enough draw to pop the fuse since the park light circuit powers park lights, gauge lights, and others.

CJ..not sure why u insist on belittling people here with your vast expanse of knowledge on everything.. I MUST KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT ELECTRICITY? ok dude, i've only been repairing electrical circuits on modern cars for the last 13 years. And you're little equations there with watts mean very little in automotive electric theory..you forgot OHMS, or resistance which is of utmost importance. Without factoring ohms into your equations you will surely light a car on fire, or if equipped pop the fuse. which is why i needed a resistor, to add ohms to my circuit, to not pop the fuse by cutting down on amperage draw, not WATTS. i know what volts, amps, ohms, watts are, i know how circuits work, i know how processors, diodes, one way diodes, grounds , switches, fuses, fusible links,etc work..thanks for the free lesson but i'm good bro Archidamus-R10-12-2010, 10:01 PMThere were some es300 headlights on ebay for $40 each. My local salvage yard has some J30 Infiniti headlights. They want $45 apiece, but I won't have to pay shipping. I'll follow 328's lead as soon as I get the damn car running again . . .

I also like the ginormous [holy shit, that word wasn't spell-checked by Firefox?!] fog lamps . . . What are they from? 328FTW10-13-2010, 12:04 AMThere were some es300 headlights on ebay for $40 each. My local salvage yard has some J30 Infiniti headlights. They want $45 apiece, but I won't have to pay shipping. I'll follow 328's lead as soon as I get the damn car running again . . .

I also like the ginormous [holy shit, that word wasn't spell-checked by Firefox?!] fog lamps . . . What are they from?

They are 4x4 offroad lamps, I took the big 4x4 chrome grill off them. The jdm fogs on it were smashed to bits CJMR2T10-13-2010, 05:15 PMrock, i did set them up differently. I couldnt use the factory lo/hi beam circuits together because i wanted all 4 projectors on at the same time for hi beams, and just 2 outer on for regular lo beams. I tapped into parking light circuit (from front bumper sidemarkers) to power lo beam relays and the lo beam circuit to power the new hi beam relays. now when i turn the headlight switch to park i have parking lights and lo beams, when i turn it to lo beams on the switch i have power to the hi beam relays and lo beams for quad illumination. And yes i know how relays work but i was adding just enough draw to pop the fuse since the park light circuit powers park lights, gauge lights, and others.

CJ..not sure why u insist on belittling people here with your vast expanse of knowledge on everything.. I MUST KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT ELECTRICITY? ok dude, i've only been repairing electrical circuits on modern cars for the last 13 years. And you're little equations there with watts mean very little in automotive electric theory..you forgot OHMS, or resistance which is of utmost importance. Without factoring ohms into your equations you will surely light a car on fire, or if equipped pop the fuse. which is why i needed a resistor, to add ohms to my circuit, to not pop the fuse by cutting down on amperage draw, not WATTS. i know what volts, amps, ohms, watts are, i know how circuits work, i know how processors, diodes, one way diodes, grounds , switches, fuses, fusible links,etc work..thanks for the free lesson but i'm good bro

And this just shows more that you know little about electrical.

All 4 are (voltage, ohms, amps and Watts) are 100% directly related to eachother. You only need to know 2 of them and the other two can be calculated. They all are of equal importance. If you change one, the other three change too.

Your the one that pointed out that my post made no sense cause of the amps vs. watts and that HID's draw less current. Because you didn't understand how, I had to explain. If you have the 13yrs of experience as you say, you would have known this and also would have wired up your setup the correct way and not needed any resistors. WrenchswingeR10-13-2010, 10:37 PMthe resistors were used to cut draw and dim the inner lights for separation from hi/low. its really not strange for resistors to be used in automotive electrical circuits. i never said HIDs draw more current either, they use an amplifier to amplify voltage thus drawing a small amount of amps.

why do so many threads on this board take such a stupid hijacking..the post is about headlight conversions. NOT ELECTRICAL THEORY, home made headlight conversions..which is what i posted. Stick your finger in a socket and get focused people:lol: CJMR2T10-14-2010, 05:21 PMYeah it was about headlight conversations and info was posted that is the wrong way of going about things. If someone wants to do something, they should go about doing it the correct way. If someone posts something that is not exactly the correct or best way to do what's wanting to be done, then it should be pointed out...

Lets say someone asked how to Turbo their 5sfe and I said that I'm running 10psi of boost on a stock 5sfe with absolutely nothing else done, no tuning of sort or anything.
Don't you think it should be pointed out that I'm doing it wrong or not the best way?????

That's all I was trying to do. By you saying that my post made no sense cause of the amps vs. watts thing I therefore had to explain it thus the off topic of electrical theory.

I due understand how you wired it and your use of resistors, it there are much better ways of going about doing it, not to mention that the use of fog and or driving lights is not a great idea for several reasons. This is especially true when real DOT approved HID modules can be had for not much more then you spent. That route would have therefore been legal for one and much safer and much better light output then a setup using fog or driving lamps. Archidamus-R10-14-2010, 08:54 PMThey are 4x4 offroad lamps, I took the big 4x4 chrome grill off them. The jdm fogs on it were smashed to bits

Sweet. Thanks. Mine came fog-less. :( Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2026 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.