my own smiley.

[aSpecD_]

here's my little experiment.

i wanted to cut out my own smiley. i didn't want to start cutting directly on the reflectors i currently had on my ellipsoids so i practiced on my two extra reflectors from the junkyard. now i don't have a dremel, so i made it happen with the tools that i had.

here's what you need:
- 2 extra reflectors [just in case]
- a circle cutter
- an exacto knife
- nail nipper/cutter
- few extra blades
- band aids.

since i had my headlights apart, i decided on finally making the crosshairs happen. so the cheapest way i found was buying those thin metal signs that say /no parking/ keep out/ for sale/ etc. 2 or 3 bucks. easily cut with tin snips.. cleanly.

i plan on putting a city light on my high beams also. the US high beams have that hole for the breather tube so i'm gna improvise a bulb holder on that.

here are some pictures of what i have so far.








you can see that it's a very tedious job if you don't have the right tools.
i messed up on the two other reflectors. they're pretty easy to crack so be careful if you're going to try it.

i also painted the ellipsoid bucket aluminum silver, thought it would reflect more of the HID light out now that the smiley cut out is there.

i did have a cracked low beam lens so i'm going to put the clear/flat glass lenses for now because i can get it locally. they might look good, but if i don't like it i'll look for used oem glass lenses. [wtb] help me with that!

:)

[Edev]

Interesting. I want to see them with lights..or hids.

[aSpecD_]

Interesting. I want to see them with lights..or hids.

i'll post as soon i get photos of the finished product.

[jahnaboi]

Should come out pretty damn good. Lets do it to Nathans car. =)

[E30SPDFRK]

I made my own smileys too! This is the best pic I could find of them atm




It's harder to do than it looks!

[kamotors]

pretty cool

[hendrixvodu]

I made my own smileys too! This is the best pic I could find of them atm




It's harder to do than it looks!

they have been there for like a year hahaha!

[aSpecD_]

I made my own smileys too! This is the best pic I could find of them atm
It's harder to do than it looks!

it's really very tedious if you dont have the right tools..

ps. smileys in sealed beam lenses?

[aSpecD_]

Should come out pretty damn good. Lets do it to Nathans car. =)

yea but it should look better with nathan's ellipsoids if done with better tools

[fleece johnson]

Looks good. Here's my question. When I baked my low beams, a piece of plastic that attached to the inside of the bucket melted to shit and I was unable to reattach it. I see in your pic above you don't have that piece of plastic either. Any idea what it's for, or more importantly if not having it will have any adverse effects?

Here's a pic of the piece I'm talking about. Anybody have any ideas?


Thanks.

[mikeedler]

that piece is only on the smiley orig. rear piece. it reflects/directs the light for the smiley section in some way-- really not important as far as light output goes-- maybe a reduced light infront of the car that comes out of the smiley section

[aSpecD_]

Looks good. Here's my question. When I baked my low beams, a piece of plastic that attached to the inside of the bucket melted to shit and I was unable to reattach it. I see in your pic above you don't have that piece of plastic either. Any idea what it's for, or more importantly if not having it will have any adverse effects?

Thanks.

that's why i boiled my lenses face down with enough water to only dip the rim of the bucket and it soften the silicone/adhesive without melting anything else. mikeedler should be right. i never had euro smilies so i don't know how the bucket is like.

come to think of it, does that mean my smiley cutout wont project anymore light than stock US ellips? since there really isnt anything that directs light out to the cut out?
mikeedler?

[Quailane]

that's why i boiled my lenses face down with enough water to only dip the rim of the bucket and it soften the silicone/adhesive without melting anything else. mikeedler should be right. i never had euro smilies so i don't know how the bucket is like.

come to think of it, does that mean my smiley cutout wont project anymore light than stock US ellips? since there really isnt anything that directs light out to the cut out?
mikeedler?

Smileys don't do anything anyway so its not a big deal. They are meant to put out light on the road directly in front of the car. It's not like there is some unlit area you can see from your seat and besides, there is already too much light projected down right in front of the car.

[Fel]

Smileys don't do anything anyway so its not a big deal. They are meant to put out light on the road directly in front of the car. It's not like there is some unlit area you can see from your seat and besides, there is already too much light projected down right in front of the car.

I'm pretty sure the smiley is actually to prevent light from being projected upwards.

Euro smiley lights use H1 bulbs, which don't have a block on the tip to prevent blinding oncoming traffic. The light hitting to top of the reflective surface is projected downwards, and the light hitting the bottom of the reflective surface is projected upwards. The cut prevents the light from shining too high. Think back to grade 9 science class, and light patters on concave surfaces.

[aSpecD_]

got the brand new euro smoked hella lenses. fitted the US 9006 bulb holder on the euro bucket. so i ended up not using the custom smiley at all. if anyone wants them, buy em. here are some amber goodness..