Quintanillac5

Does anyone have any information on these lights as far as the installation process and how well they light up the road?

http://www.topgearautosport.com/part...eadlights.html

cloud 9

MAC5

They look like the ACA assembly, with a led halo around the low beam projector. The set up is not HID, but a low beam projector lens with Halogen bulb. High beam is reflector lens with halogen bulb. Installation not that difficult. As for seeing down the road improvement over stock, minimal. Appearance improvement, yes but most of the time no one see's them anyway.

cloud 9

So, worth the $150? I can only assume anything over the stock lights would have to be better. I'm just having a hard time swallowing the $650 for the radio flyer ones. I know they must be a great upgrade. I just can't afford them.

jrprich

For another $100 you can change the low beam halogen bulbs out for 55 watt HIDs and that WILL improve your night lighting! If you do so be sure you also buy a decent relay based wiring harness and adjust the low beam projectors correctly. BTW, the black ones look better than the all chrome ones.
Lots of install posts here. Seach ACA install or look up the best set of instructions by member Patches.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...otsa-pics.html

MAC5

Having the HID setup it's a hard call. Don't know the source of the lens assemblies. That being quality of the projector, whether the assembly projector low beam and high beam reflector aim is anywhere close to being aligned (keep in mind the C5 adjustments will not compensate for low/high beam alignment individually). I'd say that just having the projector low beam with a halogen bulb would be a improvement over the stock lens but I can't say to what degree. Hope this helps.

striper

To me, they look worth the $150. As long as they are decently made, the projector bulbs could be up graded as you can afford it. The way they are they could still be an improvement over the stock lights. I might consider trying them myself.

huesmann

So simply putting a HID bulb in a reflector bowl designed for a halogen bulb is the wrong way to go. Does the same proscription apply to a projector reflector?

jrprich

The low beam unit in the ACA style headlight is a projector so a HID bulb should work fine.

lionelhutz

HID and halogen projector housings are different. They are specifically designed for the light source.

alcoed

Installed these assemblies in my 03 anne. very happy with the results. Look great and I can see at night. Got hids' in all fours. installed a h4 relay so the lows don't go out when the highs are on. Wired the halos so they are on with the side markers. They can be on without any hid's, on with park lights. Also hids' in fog lights.

jrprich

Original ACA housings and projectors shipped with Phillips HID low beam lamps and Phillips 35w ballasts, I installed an original ACA set in my 99 a decade ago and ran them up until I sold the 99 this year. Since the ACA company went under many others have used the design, perhaps copies of the molds to create the copies we see all over.
As to projectors being designed for HID or Halogens, projector assemblies that were built for halogens often work just fine with HIDs IF they have a cut-off bar/plate and if they are properly aimed. Stock C5 fog lights are a good example. They make a really nice light pattern with a sharp cutoff when HID bulbs are installed in them........I have done this in my 99 for a decade and now in my 02.
The problems come when HIDs are installed in a traditional Halogen based reflectors that have no cut-off bar/plate.

lionelhutz

Well, obviously a HID bulb will ~work~ in any housing.

I posted that a HID projector is specifically designed for the HID bulb. The bowl of the housing will be wider so it spreads the light out further and the cutoff lens is typically a little different too.

Quintanillac5

They do look great once installed. Were there any issues with the install? One of my buddies installed some lower price projector headlights (forgot what brand) and he now has to engage the high beams first before he can open or close the flip up lights.

Also can you post a picture of how the projector light up the street? Want to get a feel for how bright they can be.

alcoed

To get the lids to operate properly...you must install a load resister in the low beam circuit BEFORE THE BALLAST on each side. These load resisters are available at most vette vender sites, even on ebay. No install problems, don't even need to use supplied harnesses, the ballasts plug directly into the exisiting bulb sockets. I'm happy to help.

jrprich

This may work but it is unnecessary if a good battery based relay harness is used to connect the HID ballasts. The OEM wiring gauge is too small.
Using the proper wiring will provide normal function without the need for resistors. Resistors will generate quite a bit of heat and often fail.
Take a look at any high-quality auxiliary lighting systems, almost all require a battery based relay harness to ensure full voltage is supplied to the lighting system.

Looks like the TopGear set comes with a pair of relay harness. At least they show in the pics showing the parts of the kit.
http://www.topgearautosport.com/img/...8796723855.jpg

jrprich

Search for "ACA install" there are many such pics and step by step installs.
The best one is by member Patches:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/...otsa-pics.html

Quintanillac5

Thank you. I'll look into this. Debating on getting these top motorsport headlights or JW Motorsports with the high beam and fog light kit, but pretty pricey

alcoed

If you connect an ampmeter in series to a stock sylvania #9006 halogen bulb, you will see it draws a steady 4.14 amps. If you connect a 35w ballast with a hid bulb you will see a 5.1 amp draw for less than 2 seconds and the draw drops to a steady 3.81. Furthermore when installing a h4 relay to power the lows when the highs are on, there is no noticeable differance in low beam brightness even though the relay is direct battery fed. A load resister is needed because the ballasts do not draw enough current to trigger lid movement. The same senario exists when leds are used in turn signals causing hyperflash because of low current draw. Extra wiring harnesses could be added if one wants to, but I don't see any reason for, and it does add a whole bunch of underhood clutter.

lionelhutz

I have my original harness only powering relay coils, one relay for low beam and one relay for high beam. The headlights go up and down just fine. They controller needs some load, but it certainly doesn't need a 55W load or a load that would draw 4A.

With no relays, the little hi-beam indicator bulb in the dash cluster was enough to make the headlights go down.

The HID ballasts are actually electronic switching power supplies and the circuit turns off when the voltage drops below a certain level. This is why they put no load onto the headlight wires when the headlights are turned off.