Installing my IceShark kit!

bryanthompson · bryanthompson's Garage

Hey all, I'm going to use this thread to post my progress (read: pictures!) with my IceShark light install.

I'll take lots of pics and whatnot. This should be exciting

TurboFoFo · 02-24-2005, 03:53 PM

i expect you'll have great results. i really want a kit too but at the moment i'd rather spend that much money on other things.

which version of his kit did you get? i think i heard he was working on a newer version or something.

Techno Duck · Techno Duck's Garage

You will be very happy with the results, frankly i cant see how i was driving with the stock system at night. Every time i take any other car, im usually complaining at night "these headlights suck" (with the exception of anything with Xenons).

Ninefourfour83 · Ninefourfour83's Garage

I really want a kit but I have to fix my car before I can drive it. AHH!

Bryan I'm interested in the photos and descriptions so if I do buy one I can refer to this page. Thanks!

ernestedward · 02-24-2005, 07:43 PM

I'll chime in as well..Mine's waiting for me at home when I have a free weekend...

ike229 · 02-24-2005, 07:49 PM

Not to get off topic, but has anyone installed HID's into their 9xx ?

Verruckt · 02-25-2005, 08:52 AM

Bring on the pics!

bryanthompson · bryanthompson's Garage

I'm getting there! my camera's charging now. I didn't take pictures during the install because most of the areas were so tight that my camera wouldn't focus and the pics looked like crap.

Actually, once I got it visualized in my head how everything was going to work out, it was ridiculously simple to get installed. I think the hardest part was getting the voltage regulator off and the new one on. It's such a tight space. Getting the air box off was a real kick in the head. I think I installed all of the grounds by feeling, becuase my hand would barely fit into the spaces, i couldn't see.

I got finished at about 12:40 last night, so it took just over 6 hours. Went for a drive around the lake and, wow... it was amazing. I can't believe how many furry critters are hiding in the ditch that I'd never been able to see before. Literally dozens of rabbits, opossums, skunks...

I'll try to take a pic tonight of them in action.

ae1969 · 02-25-2005, 09:18 AM

I love my iceshark lights.

Its crazy how much brighter it is.

If he would only make a complete harness

(yah yah its too expensive....... but I WOULD PAY. I know you are reading this Dan)

bryanthompson · bryanthompson's Garage

Do you have those on the '51 or the '44? Did you hook up the fog lights also, or is it different for a 951?

Also... It seemed last night that my gauges were a LOT brighter too... would the fresh grounds have done that?

ae1969 · 02-25-2005, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bryanthompson
Do you have those on the '51 or the '44? Did you hook up the fog lights also, or is it different for a 951?

Also... It seemed last night that my gauges were a LOT brighter too... would the fresh grounds have done that?

I finally installed it in both cars. Whats interesting I did the 944 first and you are right the guages on the car went brighter.

In comparison to the turbo (which didnt have the update) the dash lights were much brighter it was like night and day...... It was a nice way to compare a car with them and without them.

ernestedward · 02-25-2005, 04:31 PM

I know, I know, I'm not adding anything to the thread, but I just opened the box tonight and marveled at my new goodies, since I won't be able to install them for another week... Who else gets upset when they CAN'T waste time messing with their car?

IceShark · 02-26-2005, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ike229
Not to get off topic, but has anyone installed HID's into their 9xx ?

Ike, that is the project that never comes to pass - many have tried and everyone gave up. Even Sylvania came out with a 7" round HID called the Xenarc. Only problem is they screwed up design and manufacture so the result wasn't much better than a standard sealed beam. They pulled them off the market and walked away. Likely for good.

You could use Hellla 90mm HIDs but you would have a lot of frabrication work to do and by the time you are done you will have spent way over $1000. When you can get similar results with Halogen light upgrades for under $400, HID arc just won't fly. Unless you steal the lights off other cars, but then you are a criminal.

Bryan,

Yeah, the brighter dash gauges and better sensor readings are due to the harness' additional grounding. That result is to be expected as the forward frame rail ground *really* improves the whole car's body ground.

Regarding the critters, you are going to start seeing a lot of things you never saw before. Wait until you get on an interstate out in the sticks and hit high beam.

Now let's see your pics!

bluebullet · 02-26-2005, 06:19 PM

i was thinking about getting ice sharks kit, but instead of putting the regular bulbs in and rewiring, does anyone thing the HID bulbs would be supported with the stock wiring? I dont care wether I blind people or not LOL.

ernestedward · 02-26-2005, 06:39 PM

Dan's kit offers near HID performance, does it not? Also for a fraction of the price. They aren't "regular bulbs" you're putting in, either.

But that being said, is cost a factor for you?

IceShark · 02-26-2005, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bluebullet
i was thinking about getting ice sharks kit, but instead of putting the regular bulbs in and rewiring, does anyone thing the HID bulbs would be supported with the stock wiring? I dont care wether I blind people or not LOL.

No, you are going to have to rewire for HID and probably not use stock wiring for the start up phase to strike an arc. Why do you think the HID kits include wiring to the battery?

And you are going to get poor results if you use the HID bulb inserts in the halogen designed lenses. Your comment about not caring about blinding people makes me pretty disgusted. You want to drive someone off the road and maybe kill people, even if you can't see as well as you could doing it properly? That is a real a$$clown attitude. And if I see you coming down the road, you will get hit with over 600 watts being driven at 14.3 volts.

Look, you can get the performance out of a package like mine, or you can try and make one yourself, without spending a fortune or hurting other drivers. And everyone that lines them up against factory HID from MB, BMW, Audi, etc., says they are about as good or better. The minor varing results versus high end factory HID is due to factory lenses and the HID bulbs being used.

The bottom line is you can get HID performance out of halogen without the expense. What you have to give up is bulb life and current draw. Once you fire up and light an HID you will only draw about 30% of the current of an halogen. And the HID bulbs will last many times longer. At least in factory tests. How long they last in practice is sort of like claimed LED bulb life. Some manufacturers are claiming estimated bulb life that is several times longer than the particular LEDs were first invented.

Ok, you invented this in the lab 10 years ago and you say it will last 30 years? Now explain how that works.

bluebullet · 02-27-2005, 12:53 AM

well i wasnt trying to be a jerk, its just that my car is always on the road really late at night (3am or later) coming home from work. I see usually 1-2 cars the entire way home. Ive never seen your kit in a picture, and I tried to go to your website but whoever put up the link it wasnt working. I also meant the actual HID kits, not those cheap imitation blue bulbs that everyone has. We have those kits at my job, and I was going to put a set of those in (only 4000k, about the same K as regular factory cars. I dont want those 8500K cuse they are too blue and too bright for me). Yeah I forgot they they include the wiring to hook up to the battery (I havent installed a kit in like 2 years lol)

I dont mind regular halogens, its just that I want to give my car a more modern look. If I adjusted my lights a few more degrees down, I guess I should be fine right?

money isnt a problem for me (well at least starting next week it wont be)....how much do your kits run?

DannoXYZ · 02-27-2005, 02:16 AM

"Ive never seen your kit in a picture, and I tried to go to your website but whoever put up the link it wasnt working."

Check out the "Lighting Upgrades" here: www.gururacing.net

"I also meant the actual HID kits, not those cheap imitation blue bulbs that everyone has. We have those kits at my job, and I was going to put a set of those in (only 4000k, about the same K as regular factory cars. "

The thing is you can't just put a HID bulb into an H4 housing and expect it to work. The longitudinal arc sprays out in a diffused manner because the reflector was design for a lateral filament. One of the main goals of HID was more light-output (lumens) with less power input. While you can't reduce power-consumption with high-quality halogens, you can get just as good performance as HID with IceShark's kit. Check out the photos, find someone in your area with the kit and you'd be amazed!

IceShark · 02-27-2005, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bluebullet
well i wasnt trying to be a jerk, its just that my car is always on the road really late at night (3am or later) coming home from work. I see usually 1-2 cars the entire way home. Ive never seen your kit in a picture, and I tried to go to your website but whoever put up the link it wasnt working. I also meant the actual HID kits, not those cheap imitation blue bulbs that everyone has.

Ok, just make sure you do this right, what ever you do. You missed my point on the HID retrofit bulbs, as Danno noted. I am not talking about the "blue bulb" PIAA like craze that uses halogen bulbs in various colors to fool you but don't actually let you see better (Usually you see less).

I believe you are still talking about the kits that take a kludged but real HID arc bulb that has the base modified to fit in a halogen designed lens. And include the other bits like the ballast boxes, wiring, etc. The problem is that HID is an arc light source, not a point light source like a filament halogen. That is without even getting into filament orientation that Danno mentioned.

The halogen lenses were designed to work with an industry wide specification on the light source and if you move off that the optics and performance go all to hell in a hand basket. If you are going to go HID you need the whole package that includes the lens and reflector designed for HID. Then you are well over $1000 for our cars. And some fitment/body work to boot. Nothing in proper HID on the market will just screw into our cars.

The "FullBoat" halogen lighting packages I sell are $384.50 with an extra set of bulbs and shipping in the lower 48 USA. Here is a Rennlist thread that shows what happens and where Danno got some of the pictures for his GuruRacing web page that he put up on my lights:

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/showthread.php?t=134230&highlight=IceShark

I didn't have anything to do with the pictures or thread so they are the real deal not some fabricated marketing scheme with doctored photos.

That is the way you want to go on your 924/944 if you want great lighting.

bluebullet · 02-27-2005, 08:06 PM

thats pretty nice. The only prob is that my fogs never worked (i wanted to get the Performance products 951 nose to clean up my beaten one a lot) and I checked the bulbs and connections on them and they all are good. Maybe with the whole grounding layout they'll actually work again. Do you have any pics of the whole wiring layout? Im pretty good with all that stuff, and I want to see how its layed out so I can estimate what kind of downtime this will be.