I finally got around to installing my low profile headlight buckets that I purchased from Fiero1Fan. I have not had the car out of the garage in several weeks... the back of the car is on jacks while I work (slowly) on a few details to clean the engine up... so this is the only picture for now. If all goes according to plan, I will have it out for pics next weekend.



Overall, the project was more involved than I thought it would be. The buckets are close tolerance fit, so I had to adjust the buckets numerous times to get them to go up and down clear of surrounding stuff.

The adjusters for the headlights themselves were a huge pain in the rear to get in the sockets. After fighting them for a little while, I tried using the end of a hammer as a press... by pushing it against the adjuster screw, the ball snapped into the socket pretty easy. If only I had thought of that an hour earlier.

The one thing that I did not think about until after they were all together was that the two buckets are definitely different left to right. I lucked up and had the headlights in the right places without thinking about it, but had I got it wrong, it would have been another pain to swap the low and high beam projectors out.

Overall, I am more than pleased with the outcome. The projector/low profile headlamps look so much better than stock to me. I always disliked how HUGE the stock Fiero headlights looked when they were in the up position, but I did not like the flush mount headlights enough to put them on my car, so this is a win-win for me.

Thanks for the workmanship Timo!

do you have any more pictures? is that an 88? looks just like mine, all white

Here are a few from last fall. I have an SC3800II mated to a four speed muncie, digital dash, Mr Mike's leather interior, 10" subwoofer in the stock location, auto-dim/compass temp rear view mirror, and a few other minor touches...

Oh, the car is an 86

certainly a nice one.

Thanks for the kudos. I tried a few different sizes on the width of the buckets and these were the ones I thought looked best. Sorry about the extra install time it cost you but they do look GOOD!!

Nicely done all way round. A real beauty.

Arn

What was the total cost to put this together? It looks very nice, I'm just curious what it costs all-in-all.

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Nic



Beware the toes you step on today, for they may be attached to the ass you must kiss tomorrow.

Proud member of MIDWEST FIEROS!

quote Originally posted by musicman_L7: What was the total cost to put this together? It looks very nice, I'm just curious what it costs all-in-all.

Timo sells the buckets for $208.00 (shipping to the US included) and I got a group buy for the projectors and connectors, and the total cost for those was $246.00 so the total cost for this mod was $454.00.

The lights and buckets were purchsed at different times, so the total never occured to me until just now. But would I do it again?

Absolutely!

If you can find the projectors cheaper, that would cut your cost. I looked high and low for the cheapest 90mm Hella modules, and $58.00 each was the cheapest that I could come up with. The group buy saved a few bucks, but it was still a little pricey.

nice wheels............

Yep, it's a great-looking mod! Looks good on your Fiero...

nice wheels............

Looks really nice, can't wait to get mine

quote Originally posted by formula2: nice wheels............

Thanks for the compliments. The wheels were a steal. I won them on eBay last year for less than what it cost me to do the headlight mod. They are Motegi MR7

Very Very nice. I might have to go this way with my headlights. I can't wait to see them operational in person.

Also, you have a PM.

Cory

Hou do you modify the light such that it only comes up part way? Is that included with the kit?

Look at your stock headlights. The bucket is pushed up from the bottom, so if the bucket isn't as tall it's not going to stick up as high.

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My Build Thread

I just looked at the 17 pages of that thread in the mall and Orief posted some great pics and I felt like a goof for asking a stupid question. It makes perfect sense now. Thanks.

Nice light's. What size, width and offset are those rims. I have been looking at the same ones.

quote Originally posted by can machine: Nice light's. What size, width and offset are those rims. I have been looking at the same ones.

The wheels are Motegi MR7, 17x7, and if my memory serves me the offset is a 40.

Could you show a close up from the side with the light up?
Did you do anything to give them a finished look or is there still a gap where you can see behind the light?

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Don't take life too seriously -- you'll never get out if it alive.

[This message has been edited by DRA (edited 04-10-2007).]

It will be later tonight after work before I can snap a pic from the side.

Stay tuned

quote Originally posted by DRA: Could you show a close up from the side with the light up? Did you do anything to give them a finished look or is there still a gap where you can see behind the light?

Well, getting the camera out for pics is the last thing I felt like doing after work today. I will snap a few and get them posted before the week is over.

Bump

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Don't take life too seriously -- you'll never get out if it alive.

Pictures Please...

Until I receive mine I am forced to live vicariously through the pictures of others.

I have my engine wire harness all tore out right now, so I can not get the car out of teh garge for pictures. I am also changing the tranny mounts to poly, so more pics will have to wait a week or so.

bump, more pictures of the lights please.

And are those Xenon (HID) projectors, or regular ones? If they are regular ones, are Xenon's available?

-M

I think these are GREAT lights.

Assembly was easy for me. I used a large "C" clamp to just press the adjuster screws into the sockets.
I used POR-15 Chassis topcoat to paint mine.
The only thing you need to be careful of is the buckets mount on the outside of the original bracket and the original buckets mounted on the inside. This isn't a "problem", But depending on how your original motors and headlight covers were aligned, You may find you could be a hair off and either the motor assembley or the headlight cover on the hood will require some minor alignment.

Tonight I FINALLY was able to get mine adjusted. I am waiting for it to get dark out so I can see how well they light up the road.

And here are the pics:
Headlights and foglights on:




Headlights on Fogs off

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Happiness isn't around the corner...
Happiness IS the corner.
ZZ4 Powered !!

The big question is have you been out at night? How big of a difference do they make?

quote Originally posted by Austrian Import: If they are regular ones, are Xenon's available?

I don't mean to be abrasive, but I believe you've asked this question before, and the answer is still the same.

The Hella 90mm modules are available in both halogen (H9 lamp) and xenon HID (D2S capsule) versions. The halogen modules are about $56 each, including the H9 lamps; the HID modules are about $500 each, including the D2S capsules, ballasts, and igniters. With careful shopping you can reduce the cost of a proper HID installation (i.e. using DOT compliant components) by about 40%.

quote Originally posted by Toddster: The big question is have you been out at night? How big of a difference do they make?

The Hella 90mm halogen modules are a huge improvement over the stock H6054 sealed beams, and they should be adequate for any sane person (present company excepted). See the pictures below, which I've previously posted elsewhere on PFF, for a comparison under carefully controlled conditions. The difference when driving at night is even more dramatic than these wall shots suggest.

Baseline low beam for comparison ... the Fiero's OEM Delco H6054 headlight, a rectangular 65/35 watt (h/l) halogen sealed beam lamp (~800 lumens):




Hella 90mm low beam module, 65 watt H9 halogen lamp (~2100 lumens, DOT compliant):




The expensive Hella 90mm HID low beam module, D2S HID capsule (~3200 lumens, DOT compliant):

[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 04-22-2007).]

anyone have any idea about these... the price is right ... and if its true hid it will be nice... just putting this out http://www.xenonlink.com/pr...69_73&products_id=84

quote Originally posted by vamper: anyone have any idea about these... the price is right ... and if its true hid it will be nice... just putting this out http://www.xenonlink.com/pr...69_73&products_id=84

FYI: Any "conversion kit" to plug HID capsules into halogen housings is illegal anywhere in North America or Europe. The kit you provided the link for is manufactured in China, is not DOT compliant, and is illegal to import into the U.S. ... although that won't prevent you (or me) from doing so. The result of installing most of these conversion kits is absolutely terrible lighting, which among other things puts a lot of glare into the eyes of oncoming drivers; I've posted some comparison pictures elsewhere on PFF. YMMV.

[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 04-22-2007).]

quote Originally posted by Toddster: The big question is have you been out at night? How big of a difference do they make?

Well after checking them out last night, There is a HUGE difference from stock.
Comparing them to stock, The light is whiter, brighter, and the pattern is so much better. Instead of two oval sections lighting the road in front of the car you with very dim scatter, you now have two bright areas with light illuminating the area between and to the sides. You can see the entire road a lot better including the sides which was one of the biggest things I did not like about the flush mount kits that were sold previously.

Comparing the H9 set-up to HID (we have HID on our BMW) The H9 is very close to the same pattern as the HID. It lights up the whole area just like HID but obviously not quite as bright. The highbeams REALLY light up the street. It looks more like two aircraft landing light beams coming out the front. To rate the headlights on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being really bad and 10 being best) I would rate the stock headlights as around a "4", The 90mm with H9 bulbs about an "7" to "8", and the HID at a "10". So it is nearly a 100% improvement over stock and about 75% of a HID system. Hella does make HID sets for the 90mm lamps but the cost is close to $2000 USD.

I aligned the headlights to the same settings that our BMW has. This seems to work very work very well as both vehicles have the headlight center 26" from the ground. Parking both cars side by side and walking 100 ft away the patterns extend out about the same distance and the glare from the H9's is slightly less for the oncoming drivers. (maybe I won't get flashed as often like when I drive the BMW.) The only problem I have is the driving lights on my Fiero are adjusted too high. The problem is I cannot angle them down because the rear of the light housing is hitting the front support beam. I originally added them because of the poor quality of the stock set-up, But now for normal driving they are not needed for normal city driving. I will probably only use them for dark country roads and highways or foggy nights (they work well in fog because they are low enough on the car to get "under" the fog.)

So bottom line is I am very happy with the results in terms of quality of the products (Hella and Fiero1Fan), Installation, appearence, and actual performance. The entire set-up does cost a bit (about $475-$500 total) to do the entire conversion but if I ever get another Fiero, I would do this conversion again. To me the price is well worth it for the excellent results.

This may have been asked before and I might have just missed it...

After this modification is done...is it reversible?If someone had done this conversion and decided to sell their Fiero to buy a different one...could it be returned to stock fairly easily so that they could install the conversion on their "new" Fiero?

BTW...looks great.

Also...for comparison(and I'm sure this has been answered elsewhere also)...what would the total cost be for a flush mount set?(I'm torn...as both conversions look awesome.)

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--David

quote Originally posted by dcfox: After this modification is done...is it reversible?

Easily. If you keep the original H4 headlight connectors in place (i.e. don't cut the stock wiring, but use an adapter harness), it should take less than an hour to revert both sides back to original.

[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 04-22-2007).]

quote Originally posted by Oreif: Well after checking them out last night, There is a HUGE difference from stock.

Nice! I'm getting anxious waiting for mine to arrive. I currently have a flushmount setup, and am not impressed with the light output. So these lights should be a refreshing change.

quote Originally posted by Marvin McInnis: Easily. If you keep the original H4 headlight connectors in place (i.e. don't cut the stock wiring, but use an adapter harness), it should take less than an hour to revert both sides back to original.

Actually I think it could be done in about 10 minutes if you have everything sitting right there. Just two connections and 6 bolts.

As for the question on cost of flush mounts. If I recall the flush mount kit is $200 and then it $25 per light (4 required) so it would cost $300 for the flush mount. The 90mm lights are $58 each and you also need to buy the connectors to for the harness which is another $40. The 90mm buckets and the flush mount kits themselves (with shipping) are about the same price so the higher expesne is for the higher quality lights used in the 90mm kit. The only thing is in my opinion the flush mounts limit the width of the light pattern so functionality would be better with the 90mm lights.

[This message has been edited by Oreif (edited 04-22-2007).]

Topcat,
Nice work and great looking ride! One question, you say you installed a 10" woofer in the stock location? The only stock location I know of is under the dash on the passenger side and you can only fit a 5" sub? Can you explain this to me?
Thanks

The cost of flushmounts depends on which kit you buy. I'm aware of 3 different flushmount kits (Tom's, Kris Munson's, and Norm's). I have the Kris Munson kit, which was $300 total including the bulbs. The Norm's Fiberglass kit is $495. And Tom's kit is no longer made.

There is a group buy in The Mall for the Hella 90mm lamps. I was able to buy the 90mm lamps and wiring connectors for $247 shipped, and Fiero1Fan's mounting kit for $208 shipped. So I'm looking at $455, not including other misc parts like wire and H4 connectors. I'm guessing the total price will come in at around $500.

[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 04-22-2007).]

quote Originally posted by Oreif: Well after checking them out last night, There is a HUGE difference from stock. Comparing them to stock, The light is whiter, brighter, and the pattern is so much better. Instead of two oval sections lighting the road in front of the car you with very dim scatter, you now have two bright areas with light illuminating the area between and to the sides. You can see the entire road a lot better including the sides which was one of the biggest things I did not like about the flush mount kits that were sold previously.

That "dead spot" between the lights has always been my pet peeve with stock Fiero lights. I may have to go with this option. My eyes are getting older ya know.

Thanks for the write-ups

Thanks for the info guys.
Still haven't decided which way I want to go...if I decide to go non-stock.
I like the low profile lights...but to go that route...I'm also looking at having to rebuild or replace one of the headlight motors.
The flush mount is definitely more cost effective...I'll just have to do some research and see if I can come up with a solution to the aforementioned lack of light output.Maybe the addition of a nice set of driving lights would provide enough output to be satisfactory.