So many people put up posts trying to get better headlights, tail lights, interior lights, etc, that I figured I would show an example of something I just did to improve my headlights.

Not on my Z06 (for the car I ordered the latest kit from Radioflyer), but on my motorcycle. This HID install was on a 1999 Yamaha R1, but the idea is the same and can be transferred to your vehicle or bike.

The steps to this procedure would be similar for other motorcycles or cars. This upgrade involves removing the H4 bulb, taking apart the headlight assembly, installing an HID projector assembly into the headlight housing, and putting it all back together. You end up with a real HID projector light similar to what modern high end cars have.

The final results were as good or better than what I expected.

If you haven't looked into it yet, but are interested here are a couple other threads you should check: http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/fo...&highlight=HID http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/fo...&highlight=HID

The kit I bought was from http://www.theretrofitsource.com/ , and it was a bi-xenon morimoto assembly that they recommend for motorcycles. It was about $150 for one.

Here it is layed out on my garage floor. And yes, I have a rug in my garage that I park the motorcycle on. The car has to get by with just a U coat it painted floor.



The kit does not come with instructions in the box, but they are on their website and you can print them. The instructions are very good and I recommend looking at them for a better understanding of how this all works: http://www.theretrofitsource.com/pdf...1_Retrofit.pdf



Here's how the motorcycle looked before:





And after:



















As you can see installing the HID kit in one side only provides a different or unusual look. I did this on purpose hoping it may get the attention of car drivers better. There were also a couple of other reasons. One, it was cheaper to buy one kit than two kits. And two, the light patterns between my standard light and the HID light are not the same, similar, but not the same. I was hoping to provide more overall light coverage and avoid the super sharp cutoff (on low beam) and inability to see beyond the cutoff that some people have complained about.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I already had an Eastern Beaver high wattage wiring harness http://easternbeaver.com/Main/Produc...s/h4_kits.html and was using 90/130 H4 bulbs. The remaining halogen light is still a 90/130 bulb so it is somewhat brighter than the standard 55/65W bulb that motorcycles come with. Let me add that using anything more than an OEM type bulb is technically for "off road use only." If you have higher wattage bulbs you must make sure they are properly aimed and that you do not blind other drivers. That also goes for this HID upgrade. Keep in mind that motorcycles have more fore and aft movement when accelerating and decelerating than cars do. If you carry a passenger your headlight aim will be significantly higher and may blind other drivers. This HID upgrade is for the purpose of improving visibility and safety. If you blind other drivers by not having your lights properly aimed, you are not increasing safety, you are decreasing it. Do yourself and all motorcyclists a favor and keep your lights adjusted properly.

The first step is to read the instructions, and then start dis-assembly of your motorcycle until you get the headlight assembly out. The instructions estimate 3 hours for the job, but if you're slightly retarded like I am it probably will take much longer (see my bonehead move(s) below). Just running the wiring and getting everything the way you want it may take a while. So plan for half a day or a full evening.

Here is my head light assembly out of the bike:



The next step is heating your oven to 265* and putting the assembly in for 7 minutes. When the time is up take the assembly out and pull the lens apart. This was actually very easy.




Once the lens is off you take the reflector assembly out of the housing by unscrewing the adjusters all the way and pulling the pivot pin corner apart.







Next step is to prep the bi-xenon assembly by lubing the pivots of the blocking piece and then install the HID assembly onto the reflector. This didn't work out as easy as I thought it would. The instructions say to insure the new projector is positioned in the 12 O clock position, but the R1's H4 alignment tabs don't allow this because they are slightly off. I had to file some material off of the mounting tab slots to allow the new projector to end up in the 12 O clock position.

This shows the file marks in the slots:




The way it was sitting before filing the slots:




Close up showing locking ring for HID assembly in 12 O clock position and sharpie marks showing how much material I removed.




Then finish installing the HID assembly into the reflector, and install the reflector into the headlight assembly. Put the lens back in place and you're ready to re-heat.

 

Another 7 minutes at 265*, take out of the oven, and clamp lens to housing until cool and set.



Even though I only changed one side the whole assembly had been heated twice and had to be clamped to insure I didn't develop a leak in the other side.

Once it's done, re-install headlight assembly in the bike. But wait, time for some repairs. While the fairing was off I noticed some cracked mounting tabs and one was broken off so I did a little JB weld and safety wire repair.







And I had to fix a stupid mistake. Never leave your mirror sitting on the fairing and then turn the handle bars while trying to get better access to a screw, or you might end up with something like this:




Luckily I happened to have a spare right mirror that was missing the bolts/studs, so I came up with a quick fix:








Maintenance and repairs completed, put everything on the bike connected up and test to make sure it will work before final assembly:





Everything appeared to work, so it was time to figure out how to get ballasts, resistors, and wiring in place on the bike. Just get it in there somewhere.







Time to put everything back.






And voila, you're done.






Light tests in my next post.

Dog

 

Before I get to the light output tests let me answer a couple questions you might have. Yes, the flames on my bike are reflective and you can see the reflectivity in some of the photos because of the flash. Yes, there are some other reflective tape areas on my bike. Yes, I was a Pararescueman, but I'm retired after 25 years service and now I'm just a regular guy (still working, retired from the military). And yes, I need a bigger garage with more work space, but what the heck, you get by with whatever you have.

Ok, so for the light tests I called a buddy with a similar R1 for comparison (he also has a C6 Z06). His bike has bright bulbs 90/130 (or something close to that) but no high wattage harness. Also his lights have some coating that makes them appear green. This is good because it is something different that hopefully will get the attention of car drivers. It probably cuts down on the total light output, so that might not be so great. I'm sure its better than the standard 55/65W OEM bulbs.

When we took these photos I did not mess with the camera. We shot all the pictures on auto. Most of the time the camera flashed and that might contribute to the pictures not showing how bright our lights looked. These pictures really don't convey how good the HID light looks in comparison to the halogen lights on my buddy's R1, or the single halogen on the left side of my bike. When we rode together from my house to the testing area all you could see was the pattern from my lights, and especially the HID pattern.

Here are a few shots from the front:
















Also, the guy taking photos for me kept moving around so all the photos do not necessarily have exactly the same perspective.

Both of my headlights were adjusted slightly lower than my buddy's were. After the photos and some night test riding I raised mine closer to where his were already adjusted.

My bike with low beam halogen and HID




My bike with high beam halogen only




Low beam HID only




High beam HID only




Buddy's bike low beam, my bike one halogen low beam only




Buddy's bike high beam, my bike one halogen high beam only




Buddy's low beam, my bike low beam halogen + HID (my now normal low beam)




Buddy's high beam, my bike high beam halogen + HID (my now normal high beam)




After shooting photos we went for a short ride. Here are some conclusions we reached.

The HID upgrade is brighter with more white light (5k bulb)

When standing in the road with the bike coming toward you on low beam you can see the HID and halogen lights separately. When the bike is coming toward you on high beam all you can see is one extremely bright light (HID) until the bike is about 150'-100' away, at which point you can also see the halogen light.

The pattern of the HID pretty much overwhelms the halogen, but the HID does have very sharp cutoff. The halogen on one side does appear to help provide more light in the areas where the HID may not.

On high beam there is lots of light and the pattern is very good.


Overall, I think this came out great and would highly recommend this to anyone who rides at night. Even in the daylight, if you commute with your high beam on this upgrade should improve your visibility to other drivers.


Edit: 12/15/11, 20:06, I just got back from an appointment and had the chance for some more in town riding. Now that the lights are adjusted a little higher they totally kick *** on low beam. High beam about the same as before -very good.

 

That's the idea of a true retrofit.

The issue is that the corvette headlights are a little bit more of a pain to work on for clearance reasons and that whole fluted lens crap we have. These factors put severe limitations on what you can do without building a bunch of new components....

thankfully, the Radioflyer "Light cannon" and "Stealth light cannon" headlight packages do this work for you.