LI in Headlights

**chawski** · 06-14-2011, 10:11 AM

In the next few weeks, I will be doing a HID retrofit on a friends car, who has LI's mounted in the grille. Im looking for some info on whether it would work to move the LI heads inside the headlights. All the chrome inside the headlight will be sanded and painted matte black, so the only obstruction I can see there being is the clear plastic headlight cover. Has anyone done this? Will the plastic drastically cut performance? My thought here is that if they are aiming the laser at the headlights, it doesnt get much better than having the actual heads inside them. Also to add, he lives in a state that does not require a front license plate, so the headlights are the only reflective item on the front of the car. The plan is to mount the heads between the bottom of the reflector and the bottom of the headlight housing, leaving them 99% invisible unless you are actively looking for them. The bottom edge of the reflector (where they would be mounted to) is parallel to the ground (already check this with a level)

I know the typical answer is just do it and test it, but given his headlights, its going to require some cutting, so if it doesnt work well, cosmetically speaking its gonna be a solid weekends work to fill in what was cut to fit the heads

Cheers!

**Varactor** · 06-14-2011, 10:50 AM

The receiver/sensor in my Redline works OK through several layers of glass/plastic (the laminated windshield) but the LI's jamming transmissions might be affected?

Also, you are assuming that the LEO will target your headlights with great precision and hit nowhere else for this to be a big advantage. But I think that is unlikely if he is at all shaky in his aim - much more likely (if he is at all human) he will be hitting many areas around where everyone is saying the sensors should go - I mean center middle and next to the headlights.

Nearly all the LIDAR videos that I have seen on YouTube show the gun moving around the headlights area. Nobody has perfect aim at a moving object and the IR beam spreads out anyway like a shotgun.

Also, any jamming transmission through the plastic lens cover will be slightly weaker.

You really should contact Cliff for a much more informed response - but I'd say why take the chance? You might mess up your new HD headlights and your LI performance.

**Jstglockem** · 06-14-2011, 11:14 AM

I have thought of doing the same thing. I was worried more about the heat that is generated by the bulb would be more of an issue.

After all there is no way to cool the housing down.

**not so swift** · 06-14-2011, 01:06 PM

I would assume the plastic on the headlights would be the same as the plastic on my tail lights. If so, i have mounted my rear heads in the tail lights and tested them and they work perfectly. If you do a search, there was a guy on here fitting the heads into the headlights of his BMW and they were working fine too. As for heat, A guy i know who sells HID kits pointed out that the HID globes run a lot cooler than the standard filament globe, so you should be ok there too.

**chawski** · 06-14-2011, 02:42 PM

As far as heat, I dont think that will be an issue. The heads will be approx 8 inches from the actual bulb, and protected by the shroud and the stock reflector. There are also vents in the rear of the housing. OEM bulbs (phillips) driven at stock 35 watts really dont get that hot. Id be a bit worried on the aftermarket kits, but everything for the build is coming from a s2000 that was totaled from a rear end collison, so its all OEM stuff

Ill take a peek at the BMW thread, thanks for the heads up.

I imagine the plastic is the same/similar to tail lights, so thats reassuring to hear.

I think once I get the thumbs up to do the project, ill send cliff a message and get his opinions