Max91

I seriously gotta replace headlights on my 02 EX. I shopped around and really like the black housing halo type. What I don't like is blue lights.

Can any of you experts point me in the right direction?

Here is the pair I'm interested in.

http://www.carid.com/2002-honda-civi...ts-315203.html

Thanx in advance!

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

they are fine so long as you open it up and replace the projector inside with a real one (halogen or hid whichever you prefer). if you plan to just use em as is, dont bother. they suck.

Max91

Ok thats good. Now can you tell me the difference between halogen and hid?

And like uh.. what are in the factory headlights?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

halogen uses a coiled metal filament that gets glowing hot and makes light. these are the yellowish white lights most older cars have including civics (except the japanese 2003 hybrid). hid is an arc discharge tube with a pressurized chamber that creates light from plasma. due to the drastic differences in the way each source emits light, you need a housing that was built for each type. so even tho there are cheap aftermarket hid kits that will physically fit a halogen housing, they never work right due to the technology not being compatible. most newer hid optics use projectors, altho some older cars had reflector hids as well. halogen also has reflector and projector optics and you must use the right kind. the easiest swap is to find hid projector from an oem car like audi/bmw and mount them inside the halogen light to replace the old optic system.

Max91

Thanx for the information Gearbox!

I think Im going to keep looking and go with just halogens. When you say using as is without replacing the projector "suck" do you mean appearance or effectiveness?

I'd like to find a set thats looks good and I can install and go.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

all of those aftermarket lights do not have the proper beam pattern to drive with. instead of being smooth with a brighter light at the top, many of them are too focused or have dark spots in the beam. for example here is the 01 civic reflector with halogen, compared to a tyc projector with halogen.

tyc projector with h1 halogen bulb



oem civic reflector with h4 halogen

Max91

Yes I see what your talking about. That is a big difference!

I found these on ebay. This might work for me.

[EBAY]http://www.ebay.com/itm/01-02-03-HONDA-CIVIC-2-4DR-CRYSTAL-HEADLIGHT-JDM-BLACK-DX-EX-GX-HX-LX-FRONT-LAMP-/380446436824?_trksid=p3284.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DS I%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BUA%252BFICS%26otn%3D21 %26pmod%3D280750575568%26ps%3D54#ht_5227wt_1413/[EBAY]

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

well, no. aftermarket oem style reflector lights are just as bad. if you want that style, better to open the factory honda light and paint the trim piece black yourself while keeping the better reflector. for example here is what the oem honda reflector looks like. notice they are very bright and have excellent spread and beam distribution (wide hotspot).



now look at the aftermarket 01-03 oem style lights (left side) with a tiny center hotspot and terrible beam pattern with too much foreground and very little width. right side is oem honda 92 accord headlights.

Max91

Those illustrations helps a lot gearbox.

I think i'll take it to a body shop friend and see if he can buff them out to "like new" and maybe paint the inner housing.

Thanx again, you were a great help!

emeka_civic_EX

Hi Gear Box please where can I get the oem civic reflector with h4 halogen which shows the good beam pattern in your illustration. I'm considering that or a retrofitted oem housing from TRS, eventhough I'm working on a slim budget