Hey guys, finally did the deed.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...038122264&rd=1
Followed a couple others and for $300 shipped got them to my door. They came with everything but the poly spacers which fixed the gap and aiming issues simultaneously. After 3.5 hours of installing (including some epoxying of a broken housing!) they look great and are solidly mounted.
The ridges and LEDs do not stand out during the day and are completely unnoticeable with the lights on/at night. The CCFL halos are damn bright and when they are all on (wired them into my fogs), the visibility is tremendous. For those wanting a stealth approach, leave the halos+LEDs off and it has the front look of any other new car at night. The clear corners are nice enough though you will likely want to change your park/signal sockets when you do it. They tend to burn.
The QC on these is OK, not great. The ballasts are noisy, and the lights flicker after long periods of sitting (getting hot with no airflow). One side is also brighter than the other. This could be because the polarity was switched on both ballasts on one of the plugs from the manufacturer. Usually there is an fool-proof pin to prevent that, but I suspect the multi-use manufacturing of these got rid of that. So it was switched on a few times with reversed polarity before we noticed it and fixed it. That could be the culprit. The housing plastic is cheap and broke when I was adding one of the spacers. Doh! Not a show stopper and gave time for a beer break.
The light pattern on the projectors is nice, the cutoff is distinct as VIP1 said it should be. I was surprised how good it is, actually. The lights (6500k)aren't quite as bright as the BMW/Acura units, but they are very very close for a fraction of the price. The bluish tint is VERY slight, when they go out, I'll likely grab ledgauges' 4300 kit. These are comparable whiteness to the Silverstar bulbs I had with a noticeable bump in brightness, coverage, and precision.
Better lighting, no more polishing foggy lenses, and really updates cleanly the front of the car. I was afraid it would be ricey but it's not IMO. Overall, I wish I had done this sooner. Good mod and worth the expense.
PICS: