Well, I'm true to my word. Met with two fine gentlemen from Morette this morning in Kaiserslautern. They were actually 30 minutes early! Luckily I had already gotten there at 1000.
Now, they brought 2 sets of prototype. One unpainted for the fitting so they can mark it all up and cut it and stuff to help with building the final one. The second set was painted in black. The second black set was for me to keep to test over the next few weeks to ensure reliability and such. Once they have a final completed, I'll be trading the prototypes back for a final set. REMEMBER THAT THESE ARE JUST THE TESTING PROTOTYPES AND ARE NOT YET THE FINAL PRODUCT! YES THERE ARE FITTING ISSUES WITH SMALL GAPS AND SUCH BUT THEY WILL BE FIXED IN THE FINAL PRODUCT, REST ASSURED!
There, now that the "disclaimer" is completely out of the way, on to contact information. After this post, do NOT PM me about anything related to this thread! If you feel like sending a PM to morette, go ahead unless they post otherwise in this thread. The best bet would be to just visit their website and contact them from there.
I'm NOT posting a link to their website due to the fact that they are not a vendor on these forums and I don't want to cross eKool, because this is his business. If eKool posts here that it is ok, then I'll edit this post with a link to their website. Now, Morette IS opening up shop in the U.S. I talked with them about it and they did say they are almost ready. At that time they can either choose to be a "supporting vendor" in here ('bout time someone sponsored the Overseas section!) or just stay on the factory distributor side of things and sell them through selected vendors on this site.
Now, this is not a "I hate/love them" thread.
That particular thread is here: http://www.srtforums.com/forums/show....php?p=2093853
What I hope to accomplish in this thread is the following:
1) Yes, someone out there is making a true "plug-n-play" replacement REFLECTOR headlight system for the SRT-4.
2) And gather HELPFUL suggestions on the overall design.
Now, to help put the "Why aren't HIDs/Projectors on these" issue to rest. I talked with the Morette designers today about that. They brought along a Hella HID projector lamp. Do you have any idea how large those things are? Not that it WOULDN'T fit in a special headlamp housing, rather the space behind the headlights themselves due to the stock airbox on the driver's side and the space on the passenger side make it near impossible to pull off without cutting metal off the car itself. Also, Morette actually made a few calls to inquire about a projector HID system and price was about 8,000 euro EACH. Also, these Morette lights are true plug-n-play and install in about 15 minutes. That means they use the stock wiring. We all know how a lot of the wiring in our SRT-4s is cheap <cough>TPS<cough>, and Morette does not want to take a chance that any type of HID system would burn out wiring. They are very safety conscious over there.
If any of you will be at SEMA in Vegas, they will be there showing some stuff off and I'm sure you can talk to them about these lights.
Enough of this chit-chat, on to the pics! Remember, I drove hundreds of kilometers and haven't washed the car yet...
Before:
After:
Closeups
__________________
That's right. I hit him so hard he fell off the internet.
Quote: Originally Posted by noTe
Yo man. I put some 36 inch wheels on mine a month ago for the new 50 cent video. It was fsckin' baller.
Can't wait for the nightshots! 4pm there..what time does it get dark?
Thanks for doing this!
*Can you get some 3/4 shots from the front corners? Nice angle shot of the front end.
__________________
"So I said to him: 'Look, buddy, your car was upside down when we got here. And as for your grandma, she shouldn't have mouthed off like that'"
-Homer Simpson
Can't wait for the nightshots! 4pm there..what time does it get dark?
Thanks for doing this!
*Can you get some 3/4 shots from the front corners? Nice angle shot of the front end.
It doesn't get dark here until after 10pm. It's 410pm now. 6 hours to wait for night shots. And I still haven't adjusted the beams, that will probably be either tomorrow or Friday when I can get over to the inspection station on-post and "borrow" their lighting wall. By the way, BOTH sets of lights come on when you go full beam.
Also, no I'm not posting pics of how they are wired. Two reasons:
1) Morette hasn't said I could
2) Even if they said I could, I'm not until the Overseas crew has had a chance to see it all first at the Luxembourg show this weekend. Why? Because us overseas Germany people never get the chance to be first at any type of new SRT-4 product testing. Then I would post the wiring pics on Monday with an OK from Morette. No ok, no wiring pics period.
But let me tell you, the wiring is plug-n-play. And these suckers are pretty bright in the day. Morette said I could probably throw my silverstars in the low beam but since I'm testing the prototype, I want to test how the consumer will get them with the original prototype bulbs.
And yes, they survived a 15 minute 140mph autobahn run on the way back from k-town.
Another note: The low beams (the big lamp) are Hella. The high beam (the small one) are Valeo.
Looks nice. Just a little more to fill in the gap at at the bottom of the houseing. They should look very nice when painted.
These are the painted ones. They just quickly threw on a couple coats of black yesterday. Which is why I can't wash it. I'll have to talk to them about making sure the housings are also clear coated.
Which brings up a good point. I'm not a paint expert. Since we want to get these to OEM paint specs, exactly HOW were our cars front fascia painted? How many layers of paint and clear coat and such?
Doesn't look bad at all, I actually like them. Would just like to see how good they look on a blue! Any protection against huge ass rocks flying off back of trucks? They might be strong enough to resist, but just as a added peace of mind, perhaps also to add aerodynamics to the unit like how stock was aerodynamic...
__________________
She tailgates bad and judges distances no better than Stevie Wonder. - 2K1ACR
Doesn't look bad at all, I actually like them. Would just like to see how good they look on a blue! Any protection against huge ass rocks flying off back of trucks? They might be strong enough to resist, but just as a added peace of mind, perhaps also to add aerodynamics to the unit like how stock was aerodynamic...
Did 140mph with them for 15 minutes on the way back. No problems there. Probably not as "aerodynamic" as the stock, but I don't care about that mess. This isn't F1. I would say more aerodynamic than the front lights on a 300C.
Protection? I asked the same question. All that glass is thick as hell. They've put thousands and thousands of the same style of headlights on tons of vehicles and no big issues yet with cracking/chipping/breaking.
I guess someone should ask the Subaru Impreza/WRX/STi crowd since they sold over 87,000 of their lights just for those models alone.
These are the painted ones. They just quickly threw on a couple coats of black yesterday. Which is why I can't wash it. I'll have to talk to them about making sure the housings are also clear coated.
Which brings up a good point. I'm not a paint expert. Since we want to get these to OEM paint specs, exactly HOW were our cars front fascia painted? How many layers of paint and clear coat and such?
If I am not mistaken its a 3 stage paint meaning 3 coats. Not sure about how many coats of clear. I would just prefer to get them painted myself.
If I am not mistaken its a 3 stage paint meaning 3 coats. Not sure about how many coats of clear. I would just prefer to get them painted myself.
Well, I was told they would offer them paint-matched to customers. I'm sure they can also offer an "unpainted" version for those who want to do it themselves, or have repainted the car in some bizarre color(s). I'll have to talk with them about it at the next fitting. That is NOT the final paint job on it, just a quick one to get it to me before the show this weekend.
would you happen to know if the flashers are stock size bulbs for peeps who would like to add in a pair of those nice sylvania blinkers!
AHAHAHA! I asked them the same question because I said:
"You know, the forums are going to want to know EXACTLY what the bulb sizes are. Especially the blinkers."
But I'll wait and let Morette post exactly what the bulb sizes are. Don't expect to hear from them until tomorrow because it's a long drive for them in their nice RHD BMW. Also, they told me they were swinging through Belgium on the way back for a business thing.
But the blinkers look stock to me. I feel the same way since I want to slap in my nice LEDs in the blinkers and get my "fast blinker mode" back.
AutoForums.com is the premier network of enthusiast-owned
enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
We operate more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share
experiences and opinions as a community.
Morette Prototypes
Linear Mode
