anyone considering buying the Specter Werks C5R "STYLE" (there was a big discussion on another thread about this) lights deserves to be fully aware of what they are buying and getting in to.
i am currently installing the set i bought (and yes i bought them new from SW not used) so i thought i'd share my findings.
these things are the biggest piece of crap i have ever bought, regardless of price possibly, and considering the price it's outrageous. the design was thrown together as quickly as possible to start making some serious bucks off C5 owners. they are FAR from "plug and play" if you want a perfect look. it will take some tweaking and modification if you want a perfect fit with even gaps all around and you want it to align with both the hood and the bumper and fender.
so far, here's what i've discovered:
-instructions are decent but have a couple of mistakes
-lexan covers scratched up, inside and out
-one of the holes on one cover (have only done one side so far) was not countersunk
-the surround that goes around the projectors is sloppily ground down and doesn't have a clean, even gap around them
-the bucket it all sits in is sloppily cut, is a little warped in places and the slip on nut-plates don't reach the holes, you have to shave off some of the plastic edge to make it work
-this is a good one! you can't change the bulbs out without unbolting the projectors! ROFL. i don't know but i think one of the criteria on the top of my list for a headlight design for a street car would be "make bulbs relatively easy to change". hmmmm....
-brackets to mount on are uncarefully bent, not at 90degrees, so when you try to bolt the bucket down everything gets tweeked out of the place you thought you had set it at
-scribe mark on the lenses for paint line done sloppily and don't match from one side to the other
-for the front bracket, they want you to drill and tap into a 0.060" piece of metal. if you don't know it already, that is a no-no, too thin and you'll likely strip or cross the threads on installation. i drilled an oversized hole and went to Kragen and bought a couple of slip-on u-nuts (factory style) for $2.19 to do it correctly.
to top it all off, SW never answers their phone. i've tried a couple calls to ask questions because i wanted to give them a chance before i wrote all this.
that's all i can think of for the moment. i seriously don't know how nobody that's previosly bought these hasn't commented further than "they're hard to align". oh yeah, that brings to mind another flaw, the adjustment plate only tips front to back but controls both lights together. they need to have independent adjustment on the projectors to adjust the heights.
i am going to continue working on mine with the goal of getting them to look like a factory fit, though i'm not certain that's even possible, but you wouldn't believe the times i've thought of giving up and throwing these in the trash. YES throwing $1000 in the trash!!!! can you believe that?? i can't. a $1000 aftermarket piece of this kind should bolt right in. man, look at the crap you can get for imports and how cheap they are. yes, i know they price is due to quantity, but it shows you can get decent quality stuff made for cheap.
well gonna quit here before i give myself a stroke

stepping off soapbox and putting on flame suit for those that have purchased these and will defend them to the grave

 

I have heard this about this setup before from another person who installed....hmmmmm

 

Thanks for the info.. Good luck to you in getting it right!

I plan on going with the GM Euro spec H4s. Right now I have some sylvania silverstars in there and it helps...
mike

 

Daaaaauumn - sounds worse than a Vararam install.

 

Are these guys sleaz bags selling crap or what? this isn't the first time I have seen someone on the forum complain about them. Man!! that would **** me off too and I definitely will not be using them for anything that I may need.
Thanks for letting us know.

 

Send them back and demand a refund.

 

I think everyone who has spoken on personal experience with these things has confirmed that the aforementioned items are and always have been a problem....too bad you found out from experience.

They can be made to fit relatively well, but you will never be able to service the light bulbs with any form of ease and you will always know deep down inside, that they are built like crap. Aside from that, enjoy the new look!

 

Breathless Performance makes a quality piece, in my opinion. I'm very happy with them and get lots of compliments.

 

Like with anything else there's always issues or people that are unhappy. If they are that bad, you should return them. I just ordered a set from the GP. Based on the pics I saw from people that have them, they look great. Install may be a bit of a pita but we'll see. If it's junk, it goes back. They do look great though.

 

Tell us what you really think.

Mark

 

Ahh come on now, don't just throw them away!!

 

Good flame and I'm sure they deserve it.

But, did you contact them and ask for some resolution? The mark of a GOOD vendor is their after sale support of their product.

 

Ouch. Expensive, poor quality, and they look like crap. Makes me wanna go right out and buy em!

Dope

 

I bought mine through the GP as well. I live in Michigan so I'll have Specter Werkes install them. So if they're messed up they will fix them.
But every other day I change my mind about them. One day I want to put them on and the next I don't. Oh well I guess I'll have a set when I finally decide.

 

old rotor head, yes i did give them a chance but they never answer their phones. my first call asking for install instructions was responded to the next day but as soon as it was about problems, they've gone unanswered....so i guess so far they have failed in craftsmanship AND customer support.

i would probably return them but it's too late. i bought them over 6 months ago so i can't return them. also, i've modified things to make them work and fit right so it's even less likely that they'd accept them back.
i continue trying to get in touch with them because i'm hoping they'll at least send me some replacement covers (unscribed and undrilled) so that i can match drill them in place and get things lined up correctly.
on a side note... i've put so much time into them improving things that i'm kind of excited now and can't wait for the end. i think they will end up looking awesome and actually user friendly.
here's what i've done so far:
-modified the buckets so that you can access and remove the bulbs without unbolting anything (this is actually still untested so i'm not 100% sure if it will be possible)
-made the hole the proper size so that the side to side adjustability of
the low beam lamp works
-slotted (curved slot) one of the holes on the high beam projector to give it a small amount of side to side pointing adjustability (SW did this only for the low beam lamp, but refer back to previous note)
-shaved down the lexan cover so that all gaps between lens and bumper/hood/fender are even
-shaped piece of plastic that surrounds the lamps (cosmetic closeout so you don't see the guts) to have an even gap around the projectors
-and instead of trying to line up the holes in the bucket to the nuts in the support brackets (impossible) i super-sized them and made small clamping plates to use so that i can slide the bucket around and position it much more precisely.
now i'm looking for some generic weather strip that might work for a gap filler. if i can find something appropriate, i'm going to use some weather strip all around the perimiter of the lens to fill up the gap between the body panels.
that's it for now, i'll keep you guys updated if anything new (good or bad) comes up or if SW steps up and does anything for me.

 

I've never had a hard time getting in touch with them. Everytime I've called them I've got through and I've called them probley about 10 times.

 

I understand your frustration cmeflyby. When I received mine, I wondered what I spent $1000 on. These units were definitely hand assembled and hand scribed and just don't look good at all when they first arrive.

I did my own install and I am happy with the way they came out. Had a local paint shop mask and paint the lights using the scribe AS A GUIDE, and the paint job came out pretty good. It did take me several hours to get them lined up perfectly but they will line up. A few forum members have seen the lights on my car and they can attest to the fact that these things can be installed and look good.

For what it's worth, my car gets compliments ALL the time because of those headlights. You have to remember to look at them using the 4 foot rule. If they look good from 4 feet away that's all most people will ever see.

Yes, the units are expensive for what you get. Yes, they are hand assembled and certainly NOT symmetrical. Yes, they give the car a unique look that most do not have and as a result, you will get a lot of looks and stares.

I hope your install finishes OK. Once you get them lined up and painted you might change your mind about the lights.

 

Yeah the quality isn't the best, but they looks soooooo damn I love mine.

 

I see, very interesting and definitively good to know. Glad I did my own sleepy-eyes instead of going with the CW non popup setup.

 

Too bad about the quality issues, but it probably won't keep me from buying a pair.