my own smiley.

[Cha Ching]

OK, I feel really lame...What exactly does the "smiley" portion do (besides look really fuckin' cool?)?

[accident]

best. caliper. ever.

[Quailane]

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.

That isn't accurate. Many E30/32/34 euro projector lights which use H1 bulbs do not have the smiley cutout. On US lights the cap on the end and the use of 9006 bulbs in the low beams of US projectors has to do with DOT requirements and not any engineering perspective as 9006 is intended to be used in a reflector, not a projector type headlamp. In my unscientific testing the only difference between the light patterns between a 9006 and 9005 bulb in the US E30 projector is a spot of greater brightness at the center on the cutoff line.

Also, that convex lens doesn't direct any light at the chrome surround. Any light that hits it that came from the bulb is reflected off the outer glass cover. At that point, light reflected from the chrome surround would be going everywhere and you would need to black out the entire thing to prevent light from going in any specific direction. But the diffusely reflected light from the outer lens is so weak that making the surround chrome for cosmetic purposes is no big deal.

[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..

[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.

[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.

[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?

[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

[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.

[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

[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?

[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!

[kamotors]

pretty cool

[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!

[jahnaboi]

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