Autopal E-Code H4 Conversion for 1st Gen Review!

Hello!

I've always owned 1st Gens because I happen to like the pop-up headlight look. When they are down, it makes the car look very aggressive!

However, they don't seem to reign supreme in light output. Therefore, I have been on the quest to find a viable solution to this problem.

My first attempt was on my '91 SL back in 2004 in which I purchased the Projector H4 conversion. It looks cool and matched the style of the stock fogs. However... it created horrible glare. I could barely see anything with those.

Now I own a '92 VR4 and after doing some research, I decided on getting some e-Code headlights. These are European spec and have the sharp cutoff that projector headlights usually have. I compared numerous threads on other forums regarding which conversion kit to get. Most agreed that Hella and PIAA are the best ones out there, but they usually run quite high.

Eventually, I found e-Code headlights from a company called Autopal. I purchased these for $45 shipped. Roughly the same price as the 2 Sylvania Silverstars that I recently put in.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5182/5...0d7b18cf_b.jpg

They come in 2 flavors, with and without city lights. I wanted to purchase the ones without city lights, but they sold out of those when I went to purchase them. I asked the seller on ebay regarding the light output and cut-off in the version that includes the city lights in comparison to without. He responded quickly and let me know that the extra city light spot will not affect light output or the cutoff.

You can see the city light in the bottom right corner of the headlight assembly. It easily comes out for replacement with another bulb. I decided not to wire the city light, but I imagine they can be wired to come on with parking lights.

If you look at the glass itself, you will notice that it is designed to have a cutoff and an upward spike towards the top right. We will discuss this later.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5299/5...296d37ca_b.jpg

Here is a closeup of the glass and various labels.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5028/5...ef50fe4c_b.jpg

The default kit comes with an H4 bulb. I plan on getting HIDs put into these so I opted not to get any upgraded bulbs. This is the one that came with the default kit.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5310/5...1fb27674_b.jpg

The bulbs fit in the back of the housing so it makes replacing bulbs a bit easier than the stock sealed beams.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5064/5...7aea0b03_b.jpg

When I did the conversion on the '91 SL, I had to splice wires, crimp them, etc, etc. Eventually I ended up just stuffing the wires through a molex connector and electrical taping it secure. A few years down the line, something malfunctioned. Therefore, I wanted a wiring harness this time around. I found this! It has our stock plug on one end and the H4 on the other. It really makes H4 conversions plug and play.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5131/5...9355d7d3_b.jpg

Now, without further ado, the comparison test. I will be comparing the Sylvania Silverstars that I had installed on the car with the Autopal H4 conversion.

These are the Silverstars.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5060/5...6917576e_b.jpg

Please pardon how low they look on the garage door, my driveway slants downwards towards the garage. The Silverstars are quite bright and aim light kind of in a straight beam forward.

Now we have the Autopal on the left and Silverstars on the right.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5137/5...6e2c7779_b.jpg

The Autopal definitely have a sharper cutoff at the top with a spike on the top right to illuminate traffic signs. They also shine light more evenly on the ground.

Here we have both Autopal headlights installed.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5302/5...064e783c_b.jpg

In case people want an even more defined cutoff, you could fabricate some kind of glare shield to give this kind of an effect.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5189/5...aeff36da_b.jpg

Here they are side by side, Sylvania sealed beam vs Autopal H4.

Silverstars:

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5303/5...da7d4219_b.jpg

Autopal:

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5018/5...8e6bbe52_b.jpg

Video Comparison:

Silverstar:

Silverstars | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Autopal:

Autopal | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

For some reason, my phone isn't very good at sensing light after getting in the car. It also takes it a second to adjust to the light, which is why the light seems to fade to white.

I'll embed the videos later =).

I am used to driving with HIDs, so driving the VR4 at night made me feel like a bat. I had to use echolocation utilizing my exhaust noise! I will purchase some HIDs soon and see how well they work with this kit. I tried HIDs before in other H4 conversions, but once again, they glared like crazy and blinded oncoming drivers. I hope this kit with the cutoff will allow the HIDs to reach their full potential!

For the comparison between the Silverstars and the default H4s supplied with this kit, the Autopal lights hands down have much better output. It is a bit hard to tell in these pictures though. Also, if you were to put in better H4 bulbs or go the HID route, they would blow the sealed beams out of the water!

Thank you for taking the time to read my review. Please let me know what you think! I hope I have helped a few people who are considering doing H4 conversions or just trying to get by without wrecking their car at night while they save up money to afford a fixed headlight conversion such as Lat42, 2nd gen, or 99 headlights!

Links to the products:

Autopal H4 with City lights.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/165mm...Q5fAccessories

Autopal H4 without City Lights. Last time I checked, these were still sold out.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...K%3AMEWAX%3AIT

H4 Wiring Harness:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...K%3AMEWAX%3AIT

I have a pair of H4 HIDs in my garage you can have them for $30 shipped or picked up at my BBQ on the 2nd for $25. I can get you some pictures I bought them when I had a 92 TT and never got around to installing them.

I also have had the autopal's for several years now. Best beam pattern out there for a H4 conversion for 1st gens IMO.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ntcmpjg

I have a pair of H4 HIDs in my garage you can have them for $30 shipped or picked up at my BBQ on the 2nd for $25. I can get you some pictures I bought them when I had a 92 TT and never got around to installing them.

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Sounds good! I won't be able to make anything on Saturdays, so I may have to get them shipped, or have someone pick them up for me =). What brand are they?

Hey Yoshi, if you still check this thread ever I tried looking up those wiring harnesses and can't find them. What search terms were you using? Also, have you tossed some HID's in there yet? How's the glare?

Saw this a while ago, forgot to subscribe. I've been looking for it ever since, nice work Yoshi.

I already had H4 as I'm JDM but the origional units were old and dull and the reflector material was blackened. I purchased some Narva units and then fitted HIDs. They seem to have a very good output. Mine had the parklight/street light but I looked at fitting it and I think it wouldn't fit as the back of it would hit the frame.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...0046Medium.jpg

Nice shot, Joe. Those look great. Do you know if the narva housings are the same as the autopals?

Judging by the pics they look almost identical. The only issue I had was they are slightly deeper than the origionals so the rubber seal/cap at the back would not fit. I drove around for 12 months without the seal with no issues then fitted the HIDs and have had them in for 2 years with no issues. So 3 years on no problems.

The kit I used was Narva Part #: 72070