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I recently bought a 2000 FRC Corvette with some bolt ons and am loving it (despite the HUD, column lock, and leaking problems). I am looking to make my own custom headlights, similar to the 'sleepy' look, as many of the kits out there call it. Unfortunately, I am very picky and do not like any of the kits. The LED light bars look cheesy, the projectors and four squares look out of place. I measured the bezels at ~9" long, and would like to have the headlights come up ~2-3". The closest headlight I found was for a '94 Camaro (Part #: H4351), but they are too wide to fit both the high and low beams. I was looking at some blazer style lights as well, with no luck. Does anyone know of headlights (Preferably LED but can be halogen as well) that run ~2-3 tall, and either ~4" wide (for low and high beam), or ~8" for combined high/low beams? I am trying to keep a fairly stock (maybe a little more modern) look, but with the 'sleepy' style pop-up. Additionally, if anyone has a kit, please share how they stop the headlight at certain heights! I'd like to make my own instead of buying a whole kit just to not use to the lights themselves. Thank you in advance! -WW
I always liked Sun Guns but I believe they are no longer made. This links to the best on the market currently, light output is amazing, the owner stands behind his product, and they are actually affordable.
To have a proper headlight that's only 2-3" tall, you need an HID projector or LEDs. If you're able to find a halogen housing that small, it's going to be useless as a headlight just like the stock headlights. 4eyeC5 is the most recent iteration of a sleepy eye that uses projectors (for LED or HID bulbs), and the two LED options you mentioned are solid LED examples of space constraints. To go back on "solid" just a little, the light bar version (Corvette Innovationz) is total crap in the first place, but he's also a known thief in the FB community. Don't order from his site or send him any money unless you never want to see it again. On the other hand, KnightDriveTV is solid.
Maybe you'll like KnightDriveTV's round LED over the square LED setup or the 4eyeC5 projector setup?
You can't see crap with the stock headlights as it is, so if you just want to make sleepy eyes out of your stock headlights, that's do-able as well. I'm sure there's a youtube video out there on how to make stops for your headlights.
I always liked Sun Guns but I believe they are no longer made. This links to the best on the market currently, light output is amazing, the owner stands behind his product, and they are actually affordable.
4eteC5 is the same setup as those were. They're probably even the same projectors. Only difference is you buy the bracket from 4eye and then buy the projectors and bulbs yourself, for a total of around ~$400 whereas the Sun Guns were selling for twice that. I don't think the 4eye guy is still producing them either unfortunately, but I see them pop up in the classifieds from time to time. I put HIDs in mine and they do a killer job.
To have a proper headlight that's only 2-3" tall, you need an HID projector or LEDs. If you're able to find a halogen housing that small, it's going to be useless as a headlight just like the stock headlights. 4eyeC5 is the most recent iteration of a sleepy eye that uses projectors (for LED or HID bulbs), and the two LED options you mentioned are solid LED examples of space constraints. To go back on "solid" just a little, the light bar version (Corvette Innovationz) is total crap in the first place, but he's also a known thief in the FB community. Don't order from his site or send him any money unless you never want to see it again. On the other hand, KnightDriveTV is solid.
Maybe you'll like KnightDriveTV's round LED over the square LED setup or the 4eyeC5 projector setup?
You can't see crap with the stock headlights as it is, so if you just want to make sleepy eyes out of your stock headlights, that's do-able as well. I'm sure there's a youtube video out there on how to make stops for your headlights.
This is the first time I have seen KnightDriveTV's round iteration of the set-up, I do like that better than the square lights!
If I am unable to find rectangular LED lights that look good/natural (not a light bar, I've seen those cheesy kits as well!) I will probably go with this set-up.
I was considering leaving the headlights and just adjusting the brackets to make 'sleepy' lights, but like you said they likely wont be very usefull. Unfortunately, I do need to use them on my drive back from school. Next time it's dark out and I have the car out, I'll manually stop the headlights lower and see how the visibility is. The previous owner put some type of LED/brighter bulbs in, so they actually function fairly well as they sit. Pictures to come!
I don’t have a lot of street miles on my Knight Drive setup but what I’ve had at night has been nothing short of amazing vs the stock headlights.
I have the round kit that came out not long ago. The install is easy
I don’t have a lot of street miles on my Knight Drive setup but what I’ve had at night has been nothing short of amazing vs the stock headlights.
I have the round kit that came out not long ago. The install is easy
Can you share some pictures if you have them? I'd like to see what they look like without the fancy camera work and editing that the sellers use. Do you have to aim/adjust after installing? I would imagine these don't direct the light towards the ground very well.
Not sure I get the rational behind this. I switched my useless C5 stock lights over to Radio Flyer Bi Xeon (spelling?) for one simple reason I wanted to be able to see at night. Sitting in the car I cannot see the stock or radio flyer lights but I can see the road. I guess if you want to impress someone on the sidewalk knock your socks off. For certain there are better uses for your hard earned $ on a C5.
Not sure I get the rational behind this. I switched my useless C5 stock lights over to Radio Flyer Bi Xeon (spelling?) for one simple reason I wanted to be able to see at night. Sitting in the car I cannot see the stock or radio flyer lights but I can see the road. I guess if you want to impress someone on the sidewalk knock your socks off. For certain there are better uses for your hard earned $ on a C5.
She's already got some money thrown into her. She made just over 450WHP on the dyno. I wish I could say it was for more visibility/practical reasons (easier to see over lower lights?), but I just like the way it looks! It's a little more modern but still looks like it fits the car.
I'd rather save money and make my own brackets (whether 3D printed or with scrap metal) with cheap headlights from another vehicle, but I have had no luck finding a suitable size, which is why I made this thread.
Can you share some pictures if you have them? I'd like to see what they look like without the fancy camera work and editing that the sellers use. Do you have to aim/adjust after installing? I would imagine these don't direct the light towards the ground very well.
The guy who runs KnightDriveTV is a forum member. He has pretty much shared the whole development process. He also has a YouTube channel that shows the development process of the lights. There are no fancy camera tricks. What they look like in the pics is what they look like in real life.
Do you have to aim/adjust after installing? I would imagine these don't direct the light towards the ground very well.
You will need to adjust to make sure your beams are not too high. Anytime you swap out the headlight buckets, you should at least check your beams to make sure you are not too high or blinding oncoming traffic. Pretty easy to do. Go to KnightDrive TV channel on Youtube, has all the info you are asking about. Tons and tons of video's on how to adjust the headlights-
When I installed my ACA Bi-Zenon's I got lucky and the beam adjustment was spot on when I checked it against the garage door.
Not sure I get the rational behind this. I switched my useless C5 stock lights over to Radio Flyer Bi Xeon (spelling?) for one simple reason I wanted to be able to see at night. Sitting in the car I cannot see the stock or radio flyer lights but I can see the road. I guess if you want to impress someone on the sidewalk knock your socks off. For certain there are better uses for your hard earned $ on a C5.
Can't say I've ever met a car enthusiast that's never done a mod just because they like the way it looks. If it provides rationale for you, the headlight lids sitting noticeably lower provides better aerodynamics and increased visibility
Here is the 4eyec5 kit. They are round not squares. These paired with a hi-4 harness they are amazing.
Low beam High beam before hi-4 harness installed All 4 on with hi-4 harness installed.
I like the height and the brightness!
I know I'm being way too picky, but I am not a fan of how these look when looking at the car from the outside, I think the spheres look out of place on the C5. I'm thinking maybe I could add some type of lightly tinted lens to give the illusion of one, thin rectangular light?
I know I'll probably have to compromise at some point, but I'm also very stubborn!
Next time it's dark out and I have the car out, I'll manually stop the headlights lower and see how the visibility is. The previous owner put some type of LED/brighter bulbs in, so they actually function fairly well as they sit. Pictures to come!
Thank you for the suggestions!
I took some pictures this morning, all on low beams:
Headlights all the way up from the outside
Headlights all the way up from the inside
Headlights ~3" up from the outside (better picture comparing them both from the outside in original post)
Head lights ~3" up from the inside
The visibility is pretty bad with the stock healights not being fully extented, most of the light in the picture is coming from the flood light on the building.
I drive my '96 fairly often at night with only the DRLs and fog lamps, and that works out okay, as long as there are street lights. Not sure if I would want to do this on the highway.
I'll drive the 2000 around town with them manually open ~3", with the fog lamps (which are aftermarket and fairly bright) and see if I think it's do-able consistently and on the highway.
The stock headlights need to be all the way up. They're outright unsafe if you don't have them all the way up. If you want the sleepy eye look, you need to install an aftermarket option. For what the OP is looking for, I really think that the KnightDriveTV round lights are going to be the best option.
They're outright unsafe from the factory, I don't know if it will make a difference LOL
I'm a HUGE fan of being able to see...headlight upgrade is the first thing I do on pretty much any car I buy. So obviously I'd highly recommend a real upgrade. But there are tons on people out there that seem to have no problem driving around with tinted windshields and smoked headlights....blows my mind.
The stock headlights need to be all the way up. They're outright unsafe if you don't have them all the way up. If you want the sleepy eye look, you need to install an aftermarket option. For what the OP is looking for, I really think that the KnightDriveTV round lights are going to be the best option.
The aftermarket headlights that are on it now are ridiculously bright (even the sidemarkers and fog lamps too). I'm worried I might be blinding other drivers as they sit too!
I used to drive a '96 Honda Civic (before it threw a rod), and that had abysmal headlights. Even with the high beams on, it was difficult to see any significant distance in front of the vehicle with other drivers, especially if it was raining. Any newer vehicles (especially trucks) coming the other direction, or even behind me, were blinding. To me, it's just as important to not blind other drivers as it is being able to see.
Having the brightest headlights available may be safe for the person driving the vehicle, but not others on the road. Even if aimed properly, no headlight is perfect at creating a directional beam, and slight inclines in roads push the beam into sightlines. There's a middle ground that I think even stock headlights on newer vehicles don't fall into.
Anyway, that's my little rant about newer headlights as someone who has mostly driven older vehicles without LED, HID, or projectors. As long as the driver feels comfortable with their visibility, and they aren't blinding others, I'd say those are safe headlights! Lowering them will only make them further from blinding others.
04-17-2023, 06:57 PM
2000 FRC Custom Headlights ('Sleepy' Look)
