when is a vendor going to produce something like this?
well..i mean a projector design that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?
I guess when they save up thousands upon thousands of dollars for tooling, R&D, machines, raw materials and of course DOT testing.
Unless they have a swiss bank account or are part of a multi-conglomerate coproration that can back such funding, then I highly doubt anyone will have the means to do so...
Last edited by haknslash : 01-02-2007 at 12:06 AM.
when is a vendor going to produce something like this?
well..i mean a projector design that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?
I guess when they save up thousands upon thousands of dollars for tooling, R&D, machines, raw materials and of course DOT testing.
Unless they have a swiss bank account or are part of a multi-conglomerate coproration that can back such funding, then I highly doubt anyone will have the means to do so...
1) I was referring to a company type vendor, not a single person
2) why would a swiss bank account be necessary? Does the money required for such funding have to be anonymously owned (that is, of course, unless the company were a gun smuggler or drug trafficker, because at that point the Swiss banks can overturn their strict policy of confidentiality), surely the amounts aren't of such high quantity. Furthermore, the money would be legally obtained, so a Swiss account wouldn't really be needed. FirstMerit should do the trick, or Sky, or probably your average credit union for that matter.
3) a multi-conglomerate corporation?-- again, not needed. Just about any decent sized business should do the trick.
Oh, and before you mention it, there won't need to be any "okays" given by the treasury department or the UN. Also, sending the money to the Caymans also is not a necessary precaution. And on a side note, IGO or multi-national funding won't be needed either.
1) I was referring to a company type vendor, not a single person
so was I....
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2) why would a swiss bank account be necessary? Does the money required for such funding have to be anonymously owned (that is, of course, unless the company were a gun smuggler or drug trafficker, because at that point the Swiss banks can overturn their strict policy of confidentiality), surely the amounts aren't of such high quantity. Furthermore, the money would be legally obtained, so a Swiss account wouldn't really be needed. FirstMerit should do the trick, or Sky, or probably your average credit union for that matter.
It was a joke. Meaning someone who has at least alot of money....
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3) a multi-conglomerate corporation?-- again, not needed. Just about any decent sized business should do the trick.
You have no idea how much it costs to develop headlights ike your talking about. Something that is mass produced and readily available cheaply such as companies like TYC, APC, DEPO, Eagle Eye, etc etc ALL are BIG companies with the tooling, engineers and more importantly, the funding available to manufacture such lighting equipment.
It costs way more than you possibly think. FYI, the plastics machines often costs 100s of thousands of dollars, just to give you an idea. Now to companies such as DEPO or the like, this huge investment is worth while because they sell MANY different headlights all around the globe so the price is justified.
PSS, I wasn't trying to be a smart ass in my reply you quoted me on. I was being serious. The swiss bank account was kinda a joke or hint of humor. It costs alot of money to have the means to manufacture lighting components and have them approved. If you think its so easy, I'd love to see you buy the machines, employees, pay for the engineers, testing and everything else associated with running a multi-million dollar manufacturing outfit
..could you point me in the direction of where I said it was an easy job?
furthermore, I was referring to a company that produces headlights already manufacturing them, not a new and upcoming group.
you were making these lights for about what? 1300 bucks? I don't remember the quote you gave me. As I pieced the parts used together, a lot of that money is strictly for your time..which can be appreciated because the work was great. However, a company with many employees professionally trained in such operations could do it in less time, and produce more because of more people working on them (and that's only if you continued to use the aftermarket housings instead of creating their own).
It just seems like there's enough interest in this type of product. Basically every car owner imaginable would be into getting a set of projectors for 250 bucks. Not just for neons, but I know i would have liked a set with my saleen..
I think it would be a worthy investment for some of the newer companies with money to throw around. Also, it would be a good idea for established companies with already profitable projector businesses to jump on this as well. But in the end, no amount of threads or replies are going to get the ball rolling on this one. If we want projectors, we'll have to pay upwards of 600 dollars..which I suppose really isn't that bad.
furthermore, I was referring to a company that produces headlights already manufacturing them, not a new and upcoming group.
actually you were referring to a vendor here....
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you were making these lights for about what? 1300 bucks? I don't remember the quote you gave me. As I pieced the parts used together, a lot of that money is strictly for your time..which can be appreciated because the work was great.
BS. Here is a run down of my retros:
-2 projectors = prices range anywhere from $200-350
-2 new oem ballasts = $269
-2 new oem bulbs = $79
-2 new ballasts covers = $40
-2 new DEPO headlights = $210
-labor = $300
-shipping = generally $45
So as you can see, the pricing comes from the parts, not my labor on my end.....
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However, a company with many employees professionally trained in such operations could do it in less time, and produce more because of more people working on them (and that's only if you continued to use the aftermarket housings instead of creating their own).
This is common sense.
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It just seems like there's enough interest in this type of product. Basically every car owner imaginable would be into getting a set of projectors for 250 bucks. Not just for neons, but I know i would have liked a set with my saleen..
Rally lights fiasco comes to mind. Alot of people got the shaft on that deal here.
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I think it would be a worthy investment for some of the newer companies with money to throw around. Also, it would be a good idea for established companies with already profitable projector businesses to jump on this as well. But in the end, no amount of threads or replies are going to get the ball rolling on this one. If we want projectors, we'll have to pay upwards of 600 dollars..which I suppose really isn't that bad.
You mean like Morrette who has already tried to do that for you guys? They weren't using projectors but I'll use them as a reference to show you it costs money. Their units cost $500 for halogen. Also they are not projectors, which is what all the fuss is about.
Back to other companies like DEPO, TYC, APC and the like:
Just keep in mind that companies that sell projector headlights like above typically sell them for cheap and that is for a reason. One is of course they have the means to manufacture the product in-house sop that of course saves tons of money but another reason its cheap is because those materials they buy are cheap as well. Like I said in the beginning of this thread, those units have horrible performance. They are sold cheap. You get what you pay for. If you want projectors just to have projectors I guess it doesn't matter to some people but if you want projectors for performance, well you can hang up on the idea of them being cheap to you because high end components simply aren't cheap and rest assured it would show in the final price.
Last edited by haknslash : 01-02-2007 at 01:03 PM.
I too wish that a reputable company would make a REAL projector headlamp assembly for the Neon but unfortunately the sad reality is that the Neon market isn't popular enough for these companies to invest in such a product.
DEPO and TYC have been really paving the way the past few years with quality lighting products that don't hurt the wallet however a lot of their designs are catered for more "show" and steer more towards something that does not look OEM which is a turnoff to me (rice).
I wish we can persuade DEPO to come out with projector units. They already have the tooling to produce direct OEM replacements so what's a little engineering tweaking in the housing area for a off the shelf projector to mount into?
Anyways, I really like that they are starting to come out with projector lamps with integrated HID systems like the one below from TYC. Damn it would be nice to get something like this for the Neon.
evo your completely correct on why they didn't make any for this car.
But lets examine that pic. This is a typical example of when a company uses cheap components. TYC has always been known as the "Kmart" of the aftermarket lighting market. They use very cheap projectors just to give you that projector "look". Their performance is less than acceptable IMHO. Look at horrible that beam is. All you would have useful on a road would be too tiny little splotches of light where those hot spots are on the wall. The rest of the beam would be barely visible and would be very dim. Also looks as if they are using mcullough ballasts and their HID kit which is junk to begin with. So just because it looks nice doesn't mean its something to strive for. Those things may be nice to look at on the outside but as soon as you turn them on they look like a $20-made unit. Just junk to me. Companeis like that could care less about your safety or your performance so long as they make a buck.
Yes it would be nice for DEPO or some real company to product lighting for the neon but the neon isn't made anymore and when it was produced, no company stepped up to the plate, so chances of a unit coming are look slim to none. Sorry to disappoint but thats the reality of this business.
Actually that website is listing this kit with a Philips HID system which I would imagine is just the ballasts. Perhaps their own brand HID bulbs or outsourced asian x brand.
I did notice those hot spots in that picture however the cutoff appears to be quite good. This is definitely a step up from the norm you'd see in a cheap projector. And although the light output is not as good as a quality retro or OEM system, its 2 steps up from a halogen setup and 1 step up from a HID conversion kit.
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