Guys,
I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on some sort of HID headlight so, of course, I'm looking at options. And I'm down to deciding between projectors and retro's.

Now, I have always liked the projectors. I like the dual halo's and the three LED's they have. And thought at first that a gen 2 or gen 3 projectors would be what I would go with. But recently I have been talking to Mike from Buyhids.com, and he has spread some light on a couple things... (no pun intended!!!!)

He has told me that the projectors are really crap. He says their light output is really poor, even with HID's, and that they are quite unreliable and have problems with things not working for any length of time. Retro's he said are the way to go. Now, Mike knows his stuff, I know he does. So I am taking a lot of his advice very seriously. But, I have liked and thought that the projectors was the way I was gonna go for such a long time, it's hard to think of going a different way. But I don't want $350-$400 to go out the window if I don't like what I get. So along with Mike, I'm looking for people with advice and experience...

Looking for people with personal experience with the retro's and the projectors, and especially both if anyone out there has done both. I've read all the threads I can about both of these lights and have seen good about both of them. Just want to know the personal opinions of people, especially the projectors. I have heard really no negative on the retro's, but some possible faults on the projectors as mentioned by Mike as stated above. But again, I really like the look of the projectors so I'm a bit stuck as I really like the retro's too...

So y'all, give me any opinions on both and let me know what you think... Especially those with experience...

 

dude, retro's rule. Im getting mine built next week i cant friggen wait.

And he is definitely right about the unreliability in those projector headlights, I cant tell you how many i see on civics with a halo out or an led out.

 

Yeap, I have an LED out in each one of mine atm.

 

The only aftermarket headlights that are worth it is the gen 4s i think. If you can afford retros: get em, if not: gen4.

 

When I had my gen twos the halos and LEDs would constantly turn on/off as they pleased, not to mention mine leaked pretty bad from the very beginning. Mike was correct in saying that even with HID's the light output is terrible. I now have the Gen 4's and it's 100% better than the previous models. Pretty soon I will be upgrading for a set of Retros. Nothing wrong with the Gen4's I just want to get a custom set of lights.

 

Everyone hates my lights, I likee em

 

I've had gen 3s, and I've seen the output of all the other projectors in person. I've had retros as well. NONE of the projectors can compare with retros. The aftermarket projectors are not designed to properly work with hids. The output is poor with their stock halogen bulbs, and really isn't much better with hids. The quality is pretty poor on them, I've never seen one with a set of halos or leds last for very long. The lenses are junk. Retros are the only real way to go. If all you wanna do is have a cool looking set of lights then go ahead and go with the projectors, but if you actually wanna see, stick with retros. Make absolutely sure that you get the Morimoto bulbs and ballasts along with your retros, as they are a much higher quality than the standard kit. And stick with 4300-5000k for the best brightness.

 

Thanx Tommy... You're someone whom I was hoping to hear from. Someone who has had experience with both. Sounds like the projectors (even the Gen 4's) can't hold a candle to the retro's. Sounds like reliability, light output, leaking and not scorching the lense is all better.. Sounds like retro's, here I come...

 

My gen 4's have been reliable and light output is massively better than stock! But retros are better period.

 

I have gen 3's, they blow, light output sucks, cutoff sharpness sucks, most of the LED's have died.

Get gen 4's or retrofits, retrofits are better. but gen 4's are cheaper.

 

I will agree that gen 4s are certainly the best of all the aftermarket projectors out there. There a bit brighter than stock with hids, but they still lack that width and intensity that real retrofits do, not to mention all the customizability of retrofits.

 

I have on order a set of retros from buy hids. Will post pics when I get them.

 

Stock housings with bolt in 6ks.

To prevent from blinding others, just shim the housing in and down a bit.

 

got to disagree there. If theres no one else on the road I typically see almost 3 lanes total width of the lights and they completely fill the area they are lighting up. They are a lot better than stockers with HID's. But I will upgrade mine at some point for retros from Maven.

 

Silverstar ultra's

 

I didn't say that they weren't as wide as stock, I said that they weren't as wide as retrofits. 3 lanes isn't much, my retros would reach 5-6 lanes wide. I'm also much more critical on lighting than most.

 

I had Gen1s for over a year, the leds were crap, the halos werent even looking at all. and the light out put was HORRIBLE, theres was this huge dark spot in both beams. Retrofits are definitely the way to go. MH1s are better than all the projector lights, but arent as good as an OEM style projector. Getting retrofits made isnt cheap though, $400 up to as much as you wanna spend.

 

I personally hate the look of retros. So I spent the money on my Gen3s and installed CCFL halos and factory lenses. Going to do a projector swap soon also. But a stock set of gen headlights suck yes.

 

Also a good option if you're willing to put the work in.

 

Retros are always going to be the best option if you've got the dough. Having said that, I have Gen 4 projectors...which have great output and one of the best cutoffs you're going to get without going retrofit. Not to mention, they don't have LEDs or Halos, so they look uncannily OEM.

 

Yeah but its not bad. But if there was more adjustment Id probably get 4 lanes out of it. But definitely massively better than oem with or without hid's.

Gen 4's are an affordable option for a good improvement in light but can touch retro's. But I dont regret having bought my gen4's.