can anyone tell me what options there are for sidelights as mine are a but dull and a newer set would be good
You can try different bulbs to give a brighter and whiter (rather than that dull yella) glow of light rather than change the whole unit :)
Before I got some aftermarket versions, I took mine apart and de-fried-eggified them (the insert for the indicator bulbs is an orange plate inside the light housing, so it looks like a fried egg from some angles). If you carefully pry the two halves of the housing apart, using loads of heat from a hot air gun or hot water, you can just unscrew the orange lens and then silicone seal the unit back together. You then replace the bulbs with either chrome "invisible" bulbs or led ones (though you\'ll need load resistors to stop leds flashing too fast). Whilst the unit was apart, I polished the inside and out of the lens with Meguiars\' plastic polish, which really does work miracles on even yellow and aged plastic lenses. One of mine was nearly green and opaque, brough back to life by the Meguiars stuff! I also sprayed the back (reflector) part of the inside of the unit with highly reflective chrome paint, which made the lights a lot brighter. The stuff Mazda used was more like a matt grey colour.
Before:
[ATTACH]38176[/ATTACH]
And after:
[ATTACH]38177[/ATTACH]
Notice how the cat didn\'t move, despite the photos being taken at different times! Spooky!
If that all seems a bit too Blue Peter for you, you can get aftermarket ones from Newera and such like. I\'ve got some of them now, and they do modernise the car a bit. You can get black or chrome backing, both with crystal lenses. I pepped mine up a bit with unbelievably bright twelve-led sidelight bulbs from ebay, though you need to buy from a seller with good feedback; a lot of these led bulbs are made by child labour in a Chinese sweat shop and will work for just minutes, if that, before flickering, cutting out intermittently and stopping working altogether. Stick with a reputable brand like Varad and they\'ll be fine.
[ATTACH]38178[/ATTACH]
Depending how "bluepeter" your wanting to go you could even gut the orignal lenses like Nik did but rather than re using the existing light options fit a row of LEDS similar to the new Audi\'s or some other funky design! :chat
1W orange LEDs brighten them up a bit :-)
Quote from: Nik da GreekBefore:
[ATTACH]38176[/ATTACH]
And after:
[ATTACH]38177[/ATTACH]
Notice how the cat didn\'t move, despite the photos being taken at different times! Spooky!
That looks loads better :cool
Whats with that cat though?!?!?! :2Confused
Put a pair of PIAA LED with Blue tint bulb in...it will bright and fresh them up.... I got a pair for sale too if you want.:Laugh
That car used to belong to a mate of mine, always admired it !!
i like what Nik did to the lights.
Quote from: Ricco_04That looks loads better :cool
Whats with that cat though?!?!?! :2Confused
Ta for the sidelight compliments, guys, the Meguiars stuff is amazing, made as much difference as taking out the orange bits, I reckon. Not cheap at a tenner a bottle, but it\'ll last me forever! It worked on my rear lights and stuff as well
The cat was a bit of an internet celebrity. She used to sleep on that bed that my wife uses for her Reiki and reflexology clients, and I used to take photos of stuff I was ebaying on it too, because it was a good neutral background. The number of emails I used to get from buyers about the "cat in the background" was bizarre, you\'d think no-one actually looked at the item I was selling, they were just checking out my sun-room in the background!
So the cats not for sale? :3Confused :spank
Sad to say the cat\'s no more. She went mental and incontinent and had to be put down. She was incinerated, sadly (though put down first, obviously, lol) but I think I\'ve got a couple of others still around the place, if you need one? I think they\'re ours, they seem to sleep in the house a lot anyway, so the next best thing. I don\'t think the missus\'d mind so much now we\'ve got a son, he\'s far more entertaining than cats.
Is it me, or has this thread just gone a bit odd and off-topic?
I think I\'ve still got the de-fried-egg sidelights in the garage, if they\'d be more use than a dead cat!?