Clear lens headlights

[98_Gold_Uranus]

Are there any companies that sell basic style headlights that have clear lenses?

I make my own HID projector headlights, have for all of my past vehicles, and I would love to make some for my recently acquired 98 SL2, but I haven't been able to find many aftermarket options for headlights for them. The fluted style lenses are not very friendly to projector beam patterns unfortunately...

As a DIY'er, for the price, you simply CANNOT beat the light output of a true HID projector retrofit. Sure projector retrofits do look cool and all, but in the end that's not what I would be after with this car. It's a 98 Saturn, she's no show queen lol. I live out in the woods and travel back roads often, and I like to see down the road at night, so I love nothing more than to be able to throw 100+watts of bixenon HID 4300k light in front of me

Any help in the right direction for some clear lens lights would be greatly appreciated




Just for kicks and giggles, this is some of my handiwork.

2006 Toyota Tacoma







2001 Toyota Corolla







2010 Hyundai Elantra











2004 Chevy Blazer







2010 Chevy Silverado

[OldNuc]

The only place you will find any clear non prismatic headlights would be eBay and I don't think any exist.

[98_Gold_Uranus]

Yeah that was the first place I looked and I couldn't find any...

Usually you can find some on there for just about any vehicle, especially older compact 4 door cars, as that's what most highschoolers end up with as a first car, and they tend to "rice" them out with bolt on eBay parts like cheapo headlights and taillights I could care less what kind of LED or halo gimmicks they throw into the headlights, I just want the clear lens off them, even if I have to pay $60 for the darn things! lol

[fetchitfido]

If you can think of doing it now, 2-3 someones have already done it and at least one has posted either here or on Sixthsphere.com about it...

10-15min in the oven at 250f then some careful prying pops the lenses off the black reflector part (don't forget to remove the metal clips that hold them on until the factory glue sets). Once split it's relatively simple to sand the flutes off.

https://sixthsphere.com/showthread.p...-56k-go-away)?
and
https://sixthsphere.com/showthread.p...ack-headlights

[98_Gold_Uranus]

It's not the process of retrofitting, I've got that down as you can see. It's acquiring clear non fluted lenses (without the lines in them) for the retrofit that's the problem, as the lines throw off the beam pattern focus of the projector.

I've seen guys take old school glass headlight lenses and sand and buff the flutting out of them before, VERY labor intensive, but some have had pretty good success. I would imagine that same process could be done to plastic lenses and it would probably be a lot easier, but still time consuming. That may be the path I end up trying.

[OldNuc]

Sanding is the only option. As long as you resist the temptation to start with bolder paper it is not too bad of a job.

[fdryer]

I'm unfamiliar with '98 SL2 headlight assemblies but a simple google search returns many different headlights. I'm presuming you're searching for a new set whether oem or aftermarket to use as a base for gutting part of it to retrofit bi-xenon HID projector assemblies. Your examples converting other vehicles seem flawless with a factory look. Keep searching as perseverance tends to pay off.

I did my own research and found out less (parts) was best to convert from halogen to hid and retain DRLs with low beams. My L300 has projector lights (cutoff plate inside) and the DRL circuit works with one exception - DRL use is full power. I chose 35 watts as a starting point and they've been used for two years. If I get three years from these inexpensive HIDs and one fails, I'll consider going to 55 watts (same as halogens). One issue I'm anticipating is courtesy lighting when dome, parking and low beams cycle on for 30 seconds when getting into the car at night. This short cycles the ballasts when starting up as the headlights cycle off (parking brake engaged).

[98_Gold_Uranus]

The other option I was thinking was putting the projector in the area where the amble running/turn signal bulb is. It is clear with no fluting lines.

Would need to relocate the turn signal bulb, but in the grand scheme of things that is no huge obstacle.

[fdryer]

Oh, now I understand the difficulty - the lens itself is. No clear lens area for the projector to shine thru without distorting the light bream.

[trottida]

If you can find a set of these then you're golden. Good luck!

http://www.2040-parts.com/96-99-satu...ement-i182250/

[98_Gold_Uranus]

That is PRECISELY what I am looking for trottida!

Don't care too much for the blacked out look, would rather the chrome lol, but if I could salvage just the lens I'd be happy.

I found today that I can get OEM style aftermarket lights brand new for $22 each so I may try to butcher a set of those first before I fork over $100 for those. That's assuming those are even still in production any more...


Has anyone ever tried lining up the 2000 body style SL lights on the 98 body SL's and seeing if they would bolt on or look right? They look darn close looking at photos, and they have non fluted lenses. That would be the easy way out

[fdryer]

This looks like a project will be underway. Hopefully when and if you can fit projectors with snapshots of night views against a wall for reference and blacked out roadway, we can see how well the mod works when done right. This might encourage others to consider upgrading to projectors to use hids correctly for their intended use and not in stock reflector housings.

[98_Gold_Uranus]

Originally Posted by fdryer

This looks like a project will be underway. Hopefully when and if you can fit projectors with snapshots of night views against a wall for reference and blacked out roadway, we can see how well the mod works when done right. This might encourage others to consider upgrading to projectors to use hids correctly for their intended use and not in stock reflector housings.

Absolutely will do.

I've used cheap eBay $30 projectors and $120 Morimoto projectors and have had great success with both!













And yes, I really like to see at night. The retrofitted 2004 Blazer is my other daily and weekend trail warrior. Granted it is also equipped with some LED light bars, it can throw out a ton of light.

Low beams:




High beams (or what I like to call, turning the sun back on )

[fdryer]

98_Gold_Uranus, I can tell from your first post, snapshots and descriptions of mods to fit HID projectors into light housings for better lighting without blinding everyone. Thank you for showing how HID projectors have that distinctive cutoff pattern when shone on a flat wall. Your expertise and patience in fitting projectors for safe upgrading to better lighting shows.

[trottida]

Originally Posted by 98_Gold_Uranus

That is PRECISELY what I am looking for trottida!

Don't care too much for the blacked out look, would rather the chrome lol, but if I could salvage just the lens I'd be happy.

Apparently they sell them with a chrome crystal option as well.

http://incarparts.com/headlight-head...adlight-p-2694



And a euro style halo projector version

http://incarparts.com/headlight-proj...adlight-p-2059



And the same with black

http://incarparts.com/headlight-proj...adlight-p-2058

[HFHEARD]

They can be had through Amazon as well: https://www.amazon.com/Saturn-Replac.../dp/B004BCDNH0

[trottida]

Originally Posted by HFHEARD

They can be had through Amazon as well: https://www.amazon.com/Saturn-Replac.../dp/B004BCDNH0

That's a GEN3 headlight. He's looking for a GEN2 (96-99) with a clear lens which were not OEM.

[98_Gold_Uranus]

Yeah I brought home a gen 3 light today actually. Isn't a direct drop in without the metal bracketry behind it it would seem... I've read somewhere that they will actually fit all be it with some gaps around the edges because of the way the bumper was redesigned a little with the 3rd gen, I wanted to see just how much of a gap though. I may source a bracket and still try and mount it up just to see. If the gap is minimal and I can live with it, or maybe it's something I could fab up a shroud for and fill in the gap and make it not look so out of place, I may just go the route of a gen 3 light. Not a huge fan of the amber lens in the corner, but maybe that's something I can address while the lens is removed for the retrofit

Lots of maybes there lol

[OldNuc]

It can be installed but really looks "funny" --a real hack job.

[98_Gold_Uranus]

Originally Posted by OldNuc

It can be installed but really looks "funny" --a real hack job.

I actually mocked it up today with no bracket at all installed, literally just laying the light into place to see how it looked in the hole. Trying to use the 98 bracket or a bracket for a 2000 pushed the light out too far to the outside and made it interfere with the fender, so it's not a simple bolt on. But without the bracket in place, or even with the bracket bolted to the light but loose against the core support so it can be shifted around, it can be positioned a little better. And honestly in my opionion it doesn't look as out of place as I thought it would be. The lines are definitely not perfect and there's certainly gaps, but heck there's gaps with the original light lol. Plus it's a freaking 20 year old car, body lines and gaps were not perfect in 1998 lol. I personally would never notice such a thing on other vehicles unless someone were to point it out to me or I knew the vehicle really well.

I might just be able to get the 2000 brackets to work now that I have them just by drilling a few new holes in the core support and making one new small extension bracket in one spot, and still be able to go back to the old setup if in the end the new setup just doesn't work out well.