ballinthavx

I'm in the process of building an Integra, and I'm getting a ITR front end. I know i gonna run HID so i wanted to know how the stock JDM ITR HID's compared to todays HID's you would buy off the shelf. Are they equally bright, do the ITR HID's have high and low beams and so on and so forth.

Jon D

I believe your understanding of how HID headlights work may be confused. A JDM ITR front end if 98+ is equipped with single xenon HID projector headlights. The oem bulbs found in all HID equipped vehicles are 4300K.

You can buy 4300K HID kits "off the shelf" that will give you the same color output, but the dispersement of light is completely dependent of the projector used within the headlight itself. The JDM ITR headlights are all equipped with a high beam halogen based section.

Keep in mind that if you are going to swap noses, that the JDM headlights will be set up for vehicles meant to be driven on the left hand side of the road. What this means is that your projectors will be swapped opposite of what they need to be for driving safely without blinding others on roads in the US.

So to answer your question directly, you cannot compare OEM HIDs found in the JDM headlights with HID kits you would source online or "off the shelf" as you've referred to it. Let me reiterate, brightness is achived by whatever Kelvin value bulbs you choose. How far the light your bulbs generate is dispersed is competely dependent of the projector found in your headlights.

There is a lot to absorb there. Please read it thoroughly before asking additional questions.

ballinthavx

wow thanks for a great reply. and i'll just get some "off the shelf" hids and keep it simple

PaulMc

iTrader: (1)

Hey Jon how well does the stock USDM '98+ Integra headlight projector compare to the '98 Spec JDM ITR projector? Is there a way to change projectors for a longer, 'better' beam, as in an enhanced (longer) range? Or are USDM ITR headlights decent enough the way they are stock if I decided to install an HID kit?

SoTexDC2

Without going into detail, you will not achieve a proper beam pattern with your OEM headlights and a plug n play HID kit, unless you retrofit HID projectors into the OEM housings.

That being said, using 98 spec JDM headlights is not comparable to using a plug n play kit with your USDM headlights.

Do a proper retrofit, or stick with your OEM halogen headlights.

Hyoriu

Great information *thumbs up *

Tiger_Si

Great answers here, but I think the OP wants to know what is the better HID quality between.

JDM ITR HID lights vs HID in (Let's say TSX, S2000 Projectors) retrofited in JDM non-HID lights

which one will have better quality?

Jon D

Paul,

HID retrofitting is the only way to efficiently use High Intensity Discharge (HID) lighting. The projectors found in our stock headlamps were designed for a halogen based bulb, hence the reason that the output when using a rebased 9006 Plug and Play HID kit does not touch real OEM HID lighting.

While you can use our stock projectors with an aftermarket HID kit, i'd recommend using that money towards an HID retrofit. You can have read all the details and view pictures of other HID retrofits at www.customlightz.com . I've personally had my headlights retrofitted by them. They are the pioneers in the industry and you will not find better work for the price.

Bjorn from customlightz really helped me understand the difference between retrofitting and aftermarket HID kits when i had my headlights done back in 2006. It is by far one of my favorite modifications that i've done to my car. The great thing about our Integra headlights is that you don't have to sacrifice you highbeams either.

I strongly recommend looking into a retrofit, and as an EXPO 10 sponsor Bjorn might be running a special for participants. If any of you do contact him, tell him that i referred you. He is familiar with who i am.

- Jon

Jon D

In short.....

S2K > *** but comes with expensive price tag

TSX = best bang for buck

JDM projectors aren't set up for road use in the US, so i don't suggest utilizing the headlights unless you retrofit projectors that are legal. I would recommend finding JDM non-HID headlights and retrofitting them over using JDM ITR HID headlights.

Just my $.02 .

94rs-turbo

iTrader: (6)

whats the difference between using oem hid on US streets? headlight beams can be adjusted and make to sit evenly on both sides of the road. I have never noticed any type of uneven beams.

pogeeboy27

iTrader: (3)

The HID projectors in the JDM ITR front end are the same type of projectors found in S2K's. I say go with the JDM ITR HID, hands down.

Jon D

You can adjust them so they aren't blinding to oncoming traffic. However you're sacrificing your visibility bc you have to bring the beam down soooo far to compensate. The cutoff shield will be ramming half the beam of light being dispersed by the projector into the ground much sooner.

Let me see if i can dig up a diagram or picture to clearly explain the difference here.

Jon D

In the image below, you'll find a single projector from a S2K. Notice that the step in the projectors cutoff shield goes up and to the right. This is to ensure that the projector is aimed below the line of eye sight for oncoming traffic to the left, and higher on the right to yield a better dispersement of light on the drivers side of the road. In countries that drive on the left hand side of the road, the projector is designed just the opposite. To reiterate, you can adjust the projectors to compensate, but they will not be aimed at the road correctly defeating the purpose of an HID headlight system to begin with. You may think those few degrees do not make a big difference, but i can assure you that they do.

98ITR747

Jon that was an awesome explanation.

ballinthavx

would you recommend a hid retro fit over a non hid itr front end with an off the shelf hid kit installed into those lights?

Jon D

Absolutely. JDM non-HID with an off the shelf kit is the exact same thing as USDM Integra headlights with an off the shelf kit. Off the shelf HID kits don't hold a candle to OEM HID retrofitting. Honestly, until you are ready to shell out the money to do it right, don't waste your money. I would argue that you're gaining little to nothing by installing an off the shelf kit.

srt4mike

Agreed. Many SRT HID retros are made with these.

Chard

Swapping the shield from the left to the right will not do anything because the left and right projector have the same cutoff shield. If anything you would flip the cutoff shield around so that the beam cutoff would be the opposite of what it used to be. If the cutoff shield in the JDM headlight is anything like the shield in the USDM headlight, it cannot be flipped around.

Jon D

As Chard already stated, this will accomplish nothing. OP..please disregard this information as it is not useful to you. Pogoboy please don't post information that is going to confuse others reading this thread. There is a lot of useful information in here that others will be able to reference so we that we don't have to have this discussion all over again.

pogeeboy27

iTrader: (3)

oops you guys are right, i'm wrong. Disregard my last post.

PaulMc

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the info Jon, had no idea about some of this. Now you have me really looking in to doing this.

Jon D

Paul,

I promise you won't regret the decision should you choose to do it. I've retrofitted every single vehicle i've had unless the car has come equipped with HIDs already. I will be retrofitting my FA5 Si sometime this spring or summer.

Tight R

how positive are you on this jon???

i have taken apart both non hid and hid type r headlights.
they are exactly identical on both sides. matter of fact i even replaced items between two sides with the others to make a complete set (back in the day when these lights where hard to get and expensive).

the only difference is they are aimed the opposite compared to the LHD versions. if you where to re-aim them then they would work exactly the same. there is no difference in the adjustment wheel, or its positioning, or the lens, the projector, the cut of shield etc...
its 100 percent the same.

spoolinfool

iTrader: (1)

Paul is right the cut off shield can't be flipped because they are both shaped for rhd vehicles.The shields have to be cut out and new shields made form scratch(I would not recommend this unless you have experience in making shields).Non hid and hid headlights have nothing in common other than the turn signal and fog light bulbs every thing else is different. Jdm hid headlights have to be aimed super low to keep them from blinding drivers coming in the opposite direction.My advice would be to retrofit with tsx projectors.

Jon D

The shields are opposite of what they need to be for roads in the US. No matter how you "re-aim" the projectors, they will still be projecting light INCORRECTLY compared to projectors designed for cars that drive on the right hand side of the road. I'll argue that you are incorrect about the projectors being the same as well. If they were the exact same, you'd have everyone wanting the NON-HID headlights to paint black themselves and just buy an aftermarket kit. Also, one uses a 9006 bulb and the other D2S. One halogen, one HID.....there is no way that the same projector was utilized for both bulbs.