the non type r jdm headlights were just straight clear with a different etching in the plastic lens. i think they also had the city/courtesy lights. also jdm headlights do not have the reflector/cover over the headlight bulb.

the ctrs have a smoked chrome finish on the housing.

imo the 96-98 front end looks better than the 99-00, if the 96-98 has ctr headlights, a black mesh upper grill and an oem front lip.

 

JDM lights should not be used in USA. They put more light on a shoulder which in Japan is on a left side of a vehicle. That means that your car with these lights will blind up coming drivers. JDM cars are being an issue in Russia because of wrong sided lights.
I know from personal experience that it sucks when JDM vehicle up coming to you at night time. They look good but a safety is….. up to you.
Just a thought.

 

And because they're not DOT/SAE approved you could get an illegal lighting/modification ticket for them.

Why don't you just pull out the plastic piece and paint them gunmetal or something?

 

If the side light is blinding people then is it its brightness or is it the way its angled? If it is the way its angled then you should be able to come up with something to alter that. It cant possibly be its brightness of the light since nothing is changing the the amount of wattage going to the side light.

If its the frontlight that is putting more light to the shoulder then the housing still should have an adjuster and if not then it would be cheap. I wouldnt think a $500 housing wouldnt allow adjusting the angle of the light. I cant see the chrome within the housing being the issue of it reflecting directly towards the shoulder since it is just as shaped as the US lights at least from what I've heard and seen.

Only 2 cases that I see at night with people blinding you as they come at you on the opposite side. 1. Their brights cause they don't know they are on or they are blind and must have them on. 2. After they changed their bulbs they either did a poor job adjusting the angle of light or they were too lazy to even do it at all. Both cases blind you and and I've yet to hear of anyone getting a ticket cause of these issues.

I'm already driving illegal as it is being the side light is white and not yellow. Its not blinding white but, a dim white untill I flash the blinker. Ive been driving this way for a good 2-3 years now and no ticket yet. Doesnt seem that its enforced where I am. When I start hearing around town that people are getting tickets about the side light being white and not yellow then Ill switch back to the yellow.

I also don't have my rear view mirror installed and my tint is below the legal percent. The rear view gets in my way which is why I took it off. I have been driving since I was 18 being 27 now without a rear view and I like the whole windshield to be empty as I drive. No ticket yet from any officer that has ever pulled me over from not having a rear view mirror. Also the legal height of a car in this state is 6-7 inches off the ground which I am also below. No ticket yet from that.

I dont want to paint the inside cause Ive already seen many painted housings for this year and it just looks cheap nomatter who did it. The value on a custom painted housing headlamp is not gonna get you much $$$ since its no longer stock. Using mineral spirits to take off the paint from the chrome is also not gonna make it look like stock again. It will still look like it's been tampered with.

For the asthetic appeal of the JDM Type-R lights.. they don't have the plain area on the bubble where the yellow reflector normally is on the US lights after you take it out. Bout the same look as TehJustin's CTR lights. This JDM light has black chrome which has a nice factory gloss look thats clean. Doesnt look homemade at all. Personaly I think its a much much cleaner setup than the stock US lights.

 

light output will be fine. but if you decide to use HID's, i suggest getting the bulb covers.

 

It is the angling, but the the adjustment range isn't enough to compensate for it.

 

its not brightness, its where the lights its being directed. In the US, the street signs we read are on the right. In japan, they read signs on the left. So if you put japanese lights into an american car, the beam will go to the left. Its the way the light reflector is designed.

actually, its putting more light out to the middle of the road.

there's no adjuster like that. I screwed with mine a bunch trying to fix the light. Moves up and down, but the problem is:

US lights
/_/_/

japanese lights
\_\_\

incorrect

with the JDM lights, you can blind people two ways:
1) driving behind them. since the lights angle to the left, twords the middle of the road, that means the beam's hot-spot is going right into the head of the driver in front of you. Normally, us beams hot spot shoots to the passenger side, or more ideally, at road signs. I've been in front of my car before (someone else was driving it) and sure enough, the light shot high, even though I had them aimed all the way down.

2) driving opposite, again, the beam hot-spot is shooting directly at oncoming traffic. I was flashed alot. Hell, I even had a cop ask me once if my highbeams were on.

its not a myth.

 

just a little update

I got lucky with ebay, and stumbled on this


the inner housings off 96-98 SiR headlamps. So now I can take appart the USDM's, paint the jdm housing, and replace it, so I won't have a bad beam pattern, and no amber reflector area

 

I liked my non-JDM headlights

 

I am new to the threads and starting to like Honda civics more and more. Reading what you guys have to say, I learn a lot. I am in Japan and have a 95 hb. It doesnt have anything special yet but thought Id put that in hear. Just letting you guys no if I can get you any parts from the yards let me no. I am actually in Okinawa and will be hear for 2 more years.