I think you just explained why it's narrow...it's close the garage door...it is DOT certified so I'm sure it fulfills the spread pattern...

Just curious for the guys complainiing about output, are you using HID or incandescent bulbs? I use 55w HID high/low...low lights up the road just great...high beam and it lights the next county...

 

I am just running the bulbs that were in the kit. I adjusted the beam alignment and it lights up the road much better.

I am getting ready to get the HID set up as well. Did you have to modify the housing at all? How did the HID bulb fit with the plastic cover? Did you have to cut the cover?

Any pictures available?

Thanks.

 

Mind posting some cut-off pics with the lights a bit further back so that we can see how wide they are?

 

The beam spread horizontally was never been a problem for me. My issue was the sharp vertical cut off that when I am driving through interstates without street lights I do seemed to use high beam more.

This can be compensated by adjusting the light though which I later found out.

Love the headlight. Will be adding the HID lows soon.

 

Hi all,
I have registered on this forum specifically to obtain some answers on MSFITOY's headlights from Spyder.

I would like to buy a set of these however I live in a left hand drive country so the lights will not be road legal out of the box. Can anyone please guide me on whether the adjustment screws at the back of the lights can be used to convert the beams between RH/LH, at least by a professional person?

I am also willing to convert the Spyder factory bulbs to HID if that could help in any way, however my belief is that the difference is all in the inner projector/holder itself rather than the bulbs.

In fact I have also seen a thread explaining that the beam cutoffs under projector lights can be taken out and swapped, probably resulting in a perfect RH/LH beam conversion
http://www.heeltoeauto.com/pitboard/?p=90
I would really appreciate if someone who actually owns the Spyder lights could provide any insight on whether this is possible, at least for a professional.

Incidentally I have another set of aftermarket headlights for the BMW Mini MK1 which is correct for my country (http://www.ultraauto.co.uk/Tabs/Prod...8/Default.aspx), so I might just have a chance of being able to swap the Spyder ones if the adjustment screws are not intended to convert between RH/LH.

Would really appreciate any kind of feedback whatsoever on this topic since I would like to remain perfectly legal. Obviously I am not even considering sticking masking tape on the lenses of such a beatiful set of headlights to convert the beams

Thanks in advance!

 

I installed mine and ran the loose red/black wires from the assembly to the existing parking lamps. The only problem with this is that the Halos work with daytime running, but the LED sides do not.

Can anyone take a pic or please tell me what wires to tie the side LEDS into to have them as daytime runners rather than only working with the lows?

Thanks,

B

 

MSFITOY - wondering where you got your HID kits - there are a lot of choices out there. Any reason for going H1 instead of H7? Still working well a year later?

 

Just picked up 55W slim HIDs for mini for $25 shipped. I have two other vehicles with Made in China HIDs for the past 6 years.

It really doesn't matter if the seller is in US or not. I bet they are all from the same factory.

H1 fits the Sonar headlights.

 

Thanks for all the extra info. Do yours flicker a few times when turning on? Seems to be a complaint I'm running across on the eBay reviews for the ones that are around $25.

If you got these on eBay, which seller did you go with?

TIA!

 

Picked up a set of these headlights and have to say I'm pretty impressed with the output.

I adjusted the angle by using my old headlights as a template and taping the cutoff line and main beam spot on the garage wall before taking them off the car.

Out on the road, the difference is pretty significant from the stock headlights. Both the low and high beams are much more effective. After seeing the output difference, this swap is really more about safety than looks.

Wired the LEDs to work as daytime running lights by using a fuse tap on the heated seat circuit.

Will be installing a 35-watt HID kit for the low beams soon and will post some pictures then.

 

thats good to know, ive been wanting to update my headlights to these, wether i stay halogen or go HID will be a different story. i know alot of aftermarket headlights are just not good, i really like the look of these esspecially with the black housing, i may just have to pick some up for my self

 

I'm thinking the complaints of output I've seen here and there on reviews of these has to do with poor angle adjustment. The beam is more focused, and cutoff more sharp (making them a decent choice for HID use), so if they are poorly adjusted, you may not see as well. Adjusted correctly, a definite improvement over stock halogens.

 

Well, I've been reading quite a bit about HID beam patterns over at HIDplanet.com, and for what it's worth, it looks like that little upkick on these projectors is never really used with true HID projectors:



With halogens, it works fine and is common, but with HIDs, that upkick is really going to shine very brightly on cars to your right as you pass on the left. HIDs projectors use a basically flat beam pattern, and the spread is wider and less focused than what's on these.

I might look into retrofitting true HID projector lenses into these housings. Will update as things progress.

Still liking the headlights a lot with the regular halogen bulbs in though...

 

ima prolly end up ordering them i really like the look, i was gunna upgrade my halogens anyways, the output isnt that great, need some silverstars but mind as well put them in those spyders

 

any pictures of your hid setups?

i am planing to get 35w HID kit with a projector headlight for a Mini 06. actually i just ordered 06 projector lights. what would be the best way to set it up?

see pic

 

I picked up some Mini H1 projectors from theretrofitsource.com that I plan on installing in my Spyder headlights this weekend. Will take pictures when I'm done.

If you really want a good aftermarket HID setup, you'll probably need to do something like what I'm doing. The projectors that come with the aftermarket headlights are usually not ideal for HIDs. I'll snap some before and after pictures of the headlight output beam and you'll see what I mean...

 

How is the project so far?

 

Much more time-consuming than I expected. The new projector lenses are in and they are much, much better than the stock spyder ones, but I still need to adjust the headlight angles a little, which I'm planning on doing tonight.

I'll try to do a larger post today or tomorrow on the project, but I'll say this for now - know that it requires a lot of dremel work and trial and error on many levels!

 

Here's a teaser post for you comparing the output of the true HID projectors vs. the projectors that come with the Spyder headlight. You can see there's a world of a difference.

 

Gknorr excuse my ignorance since I know nothing about this subject but I'm looking to get this setup in order to upgrade my halogens on my 05 R53. Why is it that the projectors on the spyder setup are not ideal for HID's? Thanks I appreciate any input.

 

Lol never mind I just saw your later post and I get it now. Thanks for the teaser

 

WOW, what a different. the true projectors has a clean look. can't wait to do mines.

 

is it safe to assume the one of the right is the HID in the halogen projector? cause that doesnt look terribly bad

 

The one on the left is HID in HID projectors. Right is halogen in spyder projectors.

The distribution of light is far more spread out with the HID projectors. It's hard to show it with a picture, but out on the road it's a world of a difference. Color-wise, the picture won't show you, but the HID bulb is much whiter and much more like daylight out on the road.

With that said, the spyder projectors aren't bad for regular halogen bulbs. I liked them better than the stock halogen headlights. But there are two reasons why it's not really appropriate to put HID bulbs those:

1. The cutoff beam has a "kick" up on the right - this is a "e-code" beam pattern common on european halogen headlights. Putting an HID bulb will cause the upkick to be far too bright and you'll start lighting up the cabins of cars to your right.

2. There is strong center hotspot and the dispersion is not that great - you basically won't be using the extra lumens from an HID bulb effectively with the spyder projectors.

 

good to know, now was this the 3 light or the 2 light assembly headlamps? and are you doing a write up for your retrofit?