usdmJON

haha thanks man


You've caught my interest. If I remember correctly I have fog, drl, reverse, and plate LED lights. Would also like to replace the interior and brake lights.

As for the kind, they are just ebay LEDs. Most shipped from China; I'm sure they're all made there.


Yes sir. I did not know the exact measurements however. Thank you.

I think I am going to go with a step lip conversion which will require both barrels and lips so I believe I will almost be able to choose the offset from whatever the selection of barrels/lips they have. I will be going to VRwheels whom machine their own custom forged barrels/lips.

If the specs go exactly -6.35x3 then I will be happy around +20 offset. If I get a choice I would probably be shooting for that offset anyway... maybe +15ish.

Thmanx

Hmm... Lets see what I can work out there.


As for Fogs, there is absolutely no question; you want Philips.
They have a fantastic PnP LED system that runs at a constant 9W with no fan (it'll make any "80W Cree" bulb look like garbage by comparison, since those bulbs with all there LED's only run at 7-5W depending on heat/quality... and their optics are completely off for usability)

This amazon site has them for a serious steal

This amazon site has them for a serious steal

($135 vs $199 retail)


And their output is perfect





======






For DRL's

Again as much as the "80W style" claims to be the brightest, this is a false claim.
they get their numbers by multiplying the theoretical maximum wattage of each LED, times the number of LEDs on the unit. aka 5W Cree XB-D's X 16 (That and 99% of these bulbs do NOT use full Cree construction, often replacing them with equivalents from cheeper manufactures)

IF you want something that'll truly be useful as a DRL, you'll want my 9005 20W Homogeneous-LED. These like the Philips, are designed to work properly with your existing reflector.

Test on a 2008 Civic




As a test, I went out and bought the highest quality "80W Cree" bulb i could find, Diode-Dynamics, which use the latest 2.45mm XB-D's all the way around. And while it was the best 80W design I've seen, their output was a sham compared to my 20W design (since the light is actually being focused correctly)

See example below (IL4Spec was a name I as going to use from my previous employer before I went independent)


<-- video in action



========
Reverse Lights


The tricky thing is the small T10 size 921 bulbs used now as reverse lights simply don't have the punch the previous 1156's and 7440's had.

I've tried a "50W Cree" style 921 (2x front projector 8x on the sides) and all it does is flood the housing, not very useful.

The best ones i've seen are by Philips again.

Don't be confused by the single packaged Xtreme Visions as those are the international name, and sell for $25 each.

You want the 921 US variant

You want the 921 US variant

(exact same wattage and color), as they sell for a pair @ the same price. 12 year life span and 3 year warranty; these are gold






=========






License plates
Since our twin plate lights stick out and have a the license plate 90° from the bulb, You'll want a design that features flat COB boards to fire directly downward.

Morimoto have a design thats just that.




I've looked into bringing in a similar COB design myself, but the current designs i've seen are too long to fit. The Morimotos are the shortest COB board currently on the market & are a perfect fit in tight spaces.


=========

Brake/Signal bulbs
Really depends on how much power you want.

If you want something that will light up your brake lights w/o blinding anyone to much.
the 744X based versions of my 20W design will get you there.

Ive tested them against the Philips Vision LED bulbs and their output is over 2X as bright (Philips intentionally did this, since they wanted their bulbs to be = to the original brightness. Though I've seen in some housings this results in about a 33% reduction in output vs a halogen.) My bulbs run at over double the wattage to compensate for any differences in housing shape or if you had smoked tails.



If you wanted something that would really set the world on fire. Look no further then my 30W Projector/Reflector Hybrids

Ive been testing these out on the HIDp forum for the last few months now, and the results are just electric. These stomp on everything i've seen to date as far as brightness and housing illumination as they incorporate both the highest quality 2.45mm Cree XB-D LEDs, as well as a proper design to utilize all that power correctly.

They are truly Mega










All these videos were done when the bulbs were still in their prototype stage, since my previous employer didn't believe in me when I told them they were some serious shit, I decided to bring my design and bulbs with me and go independent.

I'll be re-editing and changing the videos in the future to be posted on my own site... but in the mean time I think you get the picture lol.






Lol, did that help clear things up?

usdmJON

Thank you sir.

Very interested in your brake lights and the reverse/plate lights you suggested.

However it seems for the DRLs the 9005 are white only and Id prefer amber right now.
Same for the fogs. While $135 is a great deal I would prefer my amber fogs. Especially since mine were like 40bucks and it isnt foggy where I live. lol Fogs arent a huge importance so light output isnt a big deal really.

usdmJON

mvidal6

From front license plate to no front license plate

usdmJON

Oem to waste of money. Lmao

nats007

Awesome progress on your ILX, Sir

Your build is legit

mvidal6

Lmfao truuuuuuuuuuuuu

usdmJON

Top left Day 1 with nothing but factory tint and 26miles.
Top right after a month with little more than springs, front lip, and fog light overlays.
Bottom left about a year of ownership with small performance mods and OEM lip kit added.
Bottom right now 2.5ish years of ownership and how it currently sits with coilocers, new wheels, and more.

turtlecivic

iTrader: (2)

Went from Japan beginner driver sticker to VIP Tsuna

usdmJON

Thats pretty much it. lol


Thmanx. Thanks for the suggestions. Made my first purchase from your list. The 30w brake lighta you mentioned.

Next ill be looking at the reverse lights then maybe plate and interior. Going to leave my drl and fogs until i find good amber ones.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

hahaha looks like you made some good progress

usdmJON

Thank you sir. I am happy with the progress. Having just crossed the 2 year ownership mark; I am content. Id really like to make this thing a sweet daily driver then pick up a 2nd gen s2k for heavy tuning and track use.

ILXDyna

Great looking car, I am new to the forums as of my new ILX Dynamic purchase this week. How have you found the tunability and reliability of this car so far? I am coming from an 03 RSX.

usdmJON

Both the k24 and r20 ilx have a very large modding potential. The k24 obviously having more potential with a couple superchargers on the market already.

Most anything you can do to a civic si you can do to your dynamic.

Cant wait to see the direction you take with your new ilx!

usdmJON

usdmJON

Thank you Thmanx for the lighting advice. You definitely know your shit.

Finally plugged the philips reverse LEDs you suggested and WOW.

Let me first say these cheap LEDs I was using were literally broken as I pulled them out. The plug was separating from the LED itself. Both were still working though.

I installed the Philips on one side to get a comparison. I thought I might barely be able to see the difference in my garage during the day but I was wrong. The difference will slap you in the face.




The lighting on the left is from the new philips while the old LEDs you cant even see. I can only imagine the difference at night.

Again thanks Thmanx. Next up I'll be looking into your AF spec brake lights.

usdmJON

Spacers sold.

CoquiTSX

Did you compare them to the old halogens?

Thmanx

Glad you took my advice usdmJON, lighting is a passion of mine ever since i started ordering random sets from websites back in ohh... 2008ish? And yeah i've got a lot of bad sets in the past, took some growing pains but eventually I've been able to sort out the goods and the bad.

Theres so much marketing BS about lm's and wattage with aftermarket sets that it was hard to rate this-from-that w/o actually getting them all in my hands and actually testing them personally.

===

Glad you enjoyed the Philips Units, they are really good. Cant wait for the photos of the AFspec lights in your rear brake housings. They should be a serious improvement and I can't wait for your to tell me how long your jaw hung open before you realized it lol.


===


As for the halogens, the sad thing about our ILX's tiny reflectors is that they really arnt designed to shot out usable light as a means of seeing where your going (unlike larger reflectors that use 1156, or 7440 based bulbs) they are more designed for others to see YOU backing up and know not to get in your way.


That said, the Philips 921' are by far the best of the breed in this size of bulb, there have been a few after-market alternatives that have tried to replicate the reflector design + a projector on top, but they don't really work given the nature of the reflector bowl they tend to be based in. Where as the Philips units fully utilize the OEM reflector and Optics, its as good as your going to get.

usdmJON

I did not but if you are interested in seeing pics I do have the old halogens still.

I am pretty sure Thmanx already has those. He may have posted it above in his lengthy post with great LED advice.


Your advice definite hit the nail on the head. Thank you.

I actually havent purchased your brake lights yet. This will be my next car buy before I look at exhaust. Once I do I will take photos so people can see them on the 2013 ILX and your refreshed 2016 ILX. Different brake lights so it may be worth while to show both final products.

Thmanx

I couldn't find any before photos because if memory serves I was so blown away by installing the fist bulb, i couldn't wait to see both of em in action. But here is what I do have of em. (the Philips Reverse Lights)







All light is utilized by the reflector




No glare outside of the OEM projection path








And as far as the brake lights, I can't wait to see them in both the 13-15 ILX's and 9th gen Civics. When I tried out both of my designs in my 00 civic, the difference wasn't Just Night and Day, more like Night and a Nuclear Explosion.





Granted the '00 Civics brake housing featured large dishes that helped shine the light well, I got well over 220° of output.

usdmJON

Ill take some before and after shots soon. Just need to pull the old halogen bulbs down from the rafters.

usdmJON

usdmJON

Dont usually edit rear shots.

Finished two I had.

Oh Sickest TL

iTrader: (3)

nice ass shots yo! is a 2016 ilx jewel eye headlight conversion possible on the 2013? man up jon man up LOL

usdmJON

Honestly I havent been liking the 3G jewel eye conversion. They look off to me.

I am in contact with a guy that does some great custom headlight work on any car.

I mean GREAT work. He did one of my colleagues headlights and I was pretty impressed.

Check out some of his work...









Not going to do anything crazy like these. But thinking about chroming out the "brushed" sections with some paint matched areas , partially cleared turn signals, and demon eyes probably in gold/amber.

Contemplating some kind of retrofit for the DRL/high beams but Id only either go projector or multiprojector from the Q45. Not sure if the multiprojectors would fit anymore. If they dont fit in the DRLs I may try for the fogs then just go dual projector for the headlights.

Oh Sickest TL

iTrader: (3)

^^ whoa man , that shit is crazy. I was going to get demon eye when Bruce did my headlights but its just highly illegal and I don't need that kind of hassle if you catch what I'm saying lol

usdmJON

High School


Now


Relatively certain the sky in the firs pic is photoshopped. It was so long ago though. Six Flags has changed so much. Can't believe how little I go even though I live so close.

Oh Sickest TL

iTrader: (3)

I'm going going back back to cali cali lol

usdmJON

Oddly enough thats exactly what was going through my head while I posted it. hahaha

usdmJON

In front of the office.

Oh Sickest TL

iTrader: (3)

ULTRA crisp photos. damn

usdmJON

Thanks. Taken on a galaxy note 4 phone. I edited them by blurring the background, slight contrast increase, and added the warn light on the left side where there was already some natural light.

Oh Sickest TL

iTrader: (3)

wow I didnt know a phone could take good pics like that lol. Ill have to try my girls phone out. I still have the s2 its terrible for photos lol

usdmJON

I have a lame Coolpix camera as well from like 5 years ago. Not sure if that would take better pics than my phone. Im sure it would.

I used to sharpen the pic I took and it made them look really bad on a computer where as they looked good on the phone screen.

Now I dont sharpen anything and instead slightly blur the background. Seems to work better. Actually... just about every shot since I got my new wheels has been with my cell phone. Some look horrible while others you cant tell it was a phone... well Im sure many here still can. We've got some great photographers in our ranks here.

Oh Sickest TL

iTrader: (3)

yea I just have a poopy underwater camera that I bought for scuba pics when we went on a vacation . I take pics with that and upload them to my mac and tweak them a bit cuz my phone is shit. Ill try the go's phone next time she's got a new samsung something or other lol

No way will I buy some right expensive camera though so Ill just have to live with what I got

usdmJON

I uploaded a before of the pic I just edited. Taken on my smart phone Galaxy Note 4. I have to say the location was very nice with the mirrored building adding some light to the pic. It was also a relatively cloudy day which adds for better lighting as well.

I distorted the pic to get the lines going where I wanted them so you'll notice the front of the car looks closer in my edit. Then used the tutorial I'll post a link to for editing the lighting.


I use Photoshop CS6.

Original


Edited


Not much of a difference but I like it.

Rdub81

Great build with some great pics!!

iRaw

What did you do about the OEM License plate holes on the front bumper?

I removed my front plate as well but the bumper holes look terrible.