#1
OK so ive done a lot of searching and ive found that putting a hid drop in kit into a stock housing sux ass and that buying an aftermarket housing and using a kit sux.so since i dont have the $$$ for some oem hid's and i prefer smoked housings ive decided id like to do the retrofitting.
so here my ques.... how do you do it? lol are you guys using stock headlights and getting the entire projector setups from donor cars?
i saw this pic posted by bongoRA3 and this is exactly what i want! the only thing i would need changing is the blinker in the bottom hole and with a clear lens.
the beam cutoff is awesome, id like somethin a little more blue but other than that theyre great.
so how do i go about doing this type of conversion and help would be great. or even if someone is selling a set like these is an option.
thanx for any info
Modified by phat03gti at 3:37 AM 12-9-2005
#2
Quote, originally posted by phat03gti »
are you guys using stock headlights and getting the entire projector setups from donor cars?in general, yes. depending on which projectors you get and how big they are will drive what else you need to do (ie. pull the lamp apart, make custom bracketry or bezels, etc.)
#3
glad to see another person is interested in retrofitting. I myself did not have money for OEM hids and I really didnt like them as much. I wanted something unique which stood out from the crowd.Most people that do retrofits buy new sets of lights so that when your done with your retro you pretty much have brand new headlights. Another reason for this is that this is the only car we have so we can not afford to park the dub in the driveway for a while until the headlights were done. I honestly have to say that it doesnt matter what brand headlight you buy. I bought a really cheap and poorly cromed, but NEW, pair of lights for my retrofit off of ebay so start there. You may get lucky.
Some people have retrofitted ecodes cause they wanted the city lights and leveling motors. I wouldnt cause they are plain simply not necessary for your application. If you can use a dremel tool and know basic wiring then your retrofit will be very easy. Heres some pics for clicks:
Now I am not saying that this is a great job or anything. Personally it really doesnt matter if people like it or not, but its at least some close-up shots of what you can do. This "hopefully" gives you some insight on how you can start your project and mount your projectors. Hardest part of the retro is cutting perfect holes and choosing which projectors will serve you best. Goodluck and if you have any specific questions I would be happy to help.
#4
ok so 3 more questions:one is where did u get the cylinder piece where ur mounting the projector and the bezel that goes around the projector?
secondly how did u get the original reflector section of the light so smooth?
and lastly is the any projector beams that you guys suggest most. are you buying kits online or finding the ballast etc from donor cars at the junk yard?
i wanna get something bright with a slight blueish tint to it. so what should i get? somethin with high/lows? do i need anything to protect my wiring? any info that you guys can provide will be of great helkp!!!!
Modified by phat03gti at 10:28 PM 12-9-2005
#6
First thing,
The bezel is something I bought off ebay, I am using 3inch hella bi-xenon(high/low beam) projectors and I found a seller on ebay that was selling this 3inch plastic bezels. I did some cutting and painting and wallah!Second,
All I did with the reflector part of the light was I put 3 coats of flat black HIGH Heat Resistant paint. Some people snad down the reflector part but I dont think it is necessary.Lastly,
There are all kinds of projectors out there. I am using projectors made by hella that are used in the '05 maxima. These projectors are easy to retrofit but do not have the best output compared to some of the others.There are 4 companies that make projectors. Hella, bosch, valeo, stanley.
Stanley has by far the best projectors on the market. They are used in the honda s2000, Acura TL, TSX, RL, lexus RX330, ls430 and maybe some others.
Valeo are used in acura's, and most of the cadillacs and other gm cars with expensive lighting systems.Cant tell you which is the best but I can say that usually the more expensive projectors usually tend to be the better ones on the market. Right now the bosch's and hella's are not as expensive but the valeo's are expensive, and the stanley are very expensive.
For more info on projectors I heighly recomend looking into HIDplanet. Check out the forumn as they have a tremendous amount of info on HID and also they sell a lot of HID projects.Lastly if you are looking into piecing a HID setup togther from ebay, you would need projectors, D2S bulbs, and ballasts. Must make sure they will fit each other. Sorry about the length but this is the only way I could get all this infrmation across to you. If you have any more questions let me know and I will do my best to help.
email: bruno1100@cox.net
#7
thanx for all the info man i appreciate it. so is there anything i have to wire into the headlight to protect my wiring or anything of that nature?is there a certain wattage level i would need to find?
and lastly what temp bulb burns at the slight bluish color?
Modified by phat03gti at 12:41 AM 12-11-2005
#8
so how great would these be to use???the bosch ones on top...
http://www.hidplanet.com/package.htmlThe package includes:
(2) Bosch Projectors
(2) Hella/Philips LVQ-212 G3 Ballasts
(2) D2S HID Bulbs
(2) Ballast Covers/mounts
(2) Ballast connectorsPrice $369.99 + shipping
#9
yeah HIDplanet has got some great kits, the bosch projectors are nice cause they are easy to retrofit. If the kit comes with bulbs then it is most likely that the bulbs will be OEm color temp (4300K or 4100K). These bulbs give the best amount of visable light on the road. The cool thing is that by messing with the projector sheilds you can get some nice flicker color and also nice blue color in your cutoff. The higher the temp bulb the less light you will have at your disposal.As far as wiring, check and see if HIDplanet sells a nice relay wiring harness. This allows you to keep your eletrical system in check by only allowing a certain amount of voltage to go from your battery to your HIDS. Without a relay harness with inlin fuses it is possible to damage or destroy your factory wiring harnesses. Be safe and go with seom relay harness. You dont want to bet your car on it.
As far as wiring goes I made my own relay harness and at that I made one for each headlight which to some may be overboard but I like double redundancy. If you know how to wire stuff then use your imagination.I will show you what I did for my lights with a pic....
#10
This pic is one of the easiest diagram to follow when trying to understand how a relay wiring harness is put together(disregard the diode thingy)
This picture shows the back of my headlight. You can see where the projector sticks out of the headlight a little to the left. Also the blue connector you see in the center of the light is actually the pre-existing 9007 connector for my headlights. I actually found a couple of used 9007 bulbs and hacked off the filiment, then used the base of the bulb in my relay wiring harness so that when my lights are on my car all I have to do is plug the blue conector into the connector I fabed up which is actually the power which turns the HIDS on through the realy.
This last shot is the back all sealed up with my covers on. Notice how I mounted the ballast on one of the headlights covers.
If this stuff seems long to read I appologize. I am just trying to explain as much as I can so you understand. If this isnt clear enough let me know and I will reword this stuff.. reall tired right now..
By the way....do you have a GTI, or a jetta?
#11
i dont mind it being long. the more you can tell the more i will learn. and currentyl i have a gti but i am doing a front end swap on jan 7th. the jetta hood is a boser hood so ill only have the HID as my lighting so i want something bright so i wont need a HI-beam. ill also have to relocate the blinker to the fog light postion when i do this swap.
#12
welcome to my side of the vwvortex world john!john let me know when you want to do this i'll help!
this is the only forum worth going to in my opinion! lol
#13
xenondepot.com wiring harness works wonders and saves you time and frustration! Worth every penny in my opinion.
#14
i would like to do the same thing but however i dont have the time or the skills to be able to do thatdo u guys know of anyone that makes retrofit hids on the tex???
#15
Quote, originally posted by 20valveturbo » i would like to do the same thing but however i dont have the time or the skills to be able to do that It's actually really easy and dosent take all that long with good instructions and materials. Give it a try!
#16
If you want a real nice retrofit done then I would suggest you look into some of the guys on hidplanet. Some of those guys do some of the cleanest installs around. This is only if you want to flip the bill for someone to do a retrofit for you and if you dont mind sending all your lights off to them even if they are located on the other side of the country.I would also suggest doing your own cause you can add your own little"flair" to it which in the end makes your stand out from the rest of the retrofits on the road. It only takes as much time as you are willing to put into it. The more time the better the retro I say. So think about it and if you need any help or suggestions then we will always be here to lend a hand, or a word of advise at least. Goodluck
#17
ok question. can i buy the ballast projectors and bulbs all seperate?like if i buy a ballast that is from an acura but it has no bulbs and no projectors would i have to find a certain type of projector and or bulb to match it.
along with this can you use any temp bulb with any ballast or must they match as well.also what is the dif between d2s and d2r?
Modified by phat03gti at 3:33 AM 12-13-2005
#18
Quote, originally posted by phat03gti » ok question. can i buy the ballast projectors and bulbs all seperate? like if i buy a ballast that is from an acura but it has no bulbs and no projectors would i have to find a certain type of projector and or bulb to match it.
along with this can you use any temp bulb with any ballast or must they match as well.also what is the dif between d2s and d2r?
Modified by phat03gti at 3:33 AM 12-13-2005yes, you can buy everything separate john... check on ebay.
and yes, you must make sure that you are using a d2s HID system or a d2r HID system.
any temp bulb can be used with any ballast as long as the HID system is a d2s bulb system or a d2r bulb system.
the difference between d2r and d2s bulbs... d2s bulbs are for HID projector headlights. d2r bulbs are for HID reflector headlights.
Modified by sleepygti28 at 12:59 AM 12-13-2005
#19
You can buy a complete setup new from hidplanet, or you can go and piece one together from ebay. If you take the ebay route you can get everything for a smoking deal, problem is you have to be patient and know what you should pay for each component. I went the ebay route and stold my HID setup from someone who obviously didnt know what he should have got for the setup.
If time isnt an issue I say ebay it up!
#20
ok i think is the last question and ill b on my way. when lookin at the stuff on ebay how can you tell the dif between a HID projector and a Halogen projector. cuz you know people say they have one thing when they dont... and what is this stuff about flippable shields?
#21
you just have to take the word for it i guess. some projectors, ive seen say "xenon" on it.are you talking about the shields for H4 HID Bulbs?
#22
Thats alright the more questions the better prepared you will be. Flippable shields are shields that give you the ability to either turn your cutoff to Right hand drive or left hand drive. Some other version of flipable shields give you the ability to change the shape of the sheild so that you can get more flare on your cutoff. Most common projectors to have flipable sheilds are valeo's.As far as being able to tell which preojectors are xenon and which projectors are halogen. Halogen projectors will always have very simple looking bulb holders. Some will actually look like the common bulb sockets on normal headlights. The xenon projectors usually have either a big black plastic bulb holder that actually sticks out like a sore thumb. This is common on most bosch projectors and hella RS6 projectors. The E55's are almost identical to the hella RS6 projectors except that they have four tabs on the back almost on the shape of a fan. All other projectors that are xenon usually have wire clips on the backs to secure the bulb.
Best thing to do before you buy a projector that you are unsure about is post about it here, or post about info on hidplanet. I am sure that all of your questions will be answered there with no problems at all. If you post it here 7 times out of 10 someone will know what kind of projector it is.
Hope that helps any and goodluck with your project.
#23
i think the main thing im tryin to find out is what is the most important part. if i get just any ballast will that make a difference. what i seem to notice is that the projector is most important followed by the bulbs.are there any certain bulbs that someone would suggest for a HID projector setup?
#24
is is better to have a projector like this where the lens is farther away from the bulb?
or like this where the bulb is enclosed?
its seems like the first one would lose light..?
and are all of these projectors around the same size? im lookin online for the bezels and they are pretty much all the same size like this...the kind i would like to get
or do i wait until after ive got my projectors?
Modified by phat03gti at 12:31 AM 12-14-2005
#26
hehehe I dont mind answering questions.The first projectors you have pictured are bosch single beam projectors. These projectors are good but your right light does leak out of the sides. This isnt absolutly necessary to seal up but it does help especially if you do not want light to leak out behind your headlight bezel . The nice thing about these projectors is that they are not very expensive and easy to mount to a headlight. And lastly these projectors need those big black bulb holders that attach at the back of the projector. (they are not pictured there) prices for these are anywhere from 85 to 125 a pair.
The second projector pictured is a stanely projector used exclusively on mitsubishi evo's . These projectors are much bigger in diameter even to my hella rojectors. These projectors have crystal clear lenses and are completly sealed. This gives more intense light and also the ability to modify the projector for more color. This projector as you can see towards the back uses wire clips to secure the bulb. This method works well and also allows for pretty much any kind of ballast hook up so long as it is made for D2S. Final bad thing about these projectors.....they are WAY OVER PRICED! Last set I saw was for around $400! This is to much for projectors. but if you can find these for under $200 then I would say that you got a good deal.
The bezels you pictured there are exactly what I bought for my setup. They are from the retrofit-source. Good guy and they have good prices on some stuff. if he doesnt have something that you are looking for listed then email him and he mind be able to find i for ya, if he has it that is. These bezels were perfect for my application because pictured with the bezels are actual hella projectors. So the fit was perfect(minor cutting but pretty damn good) These would not work for the bosch projectors but, they might work for the evo projectors, if you actually bought a pair.
Best bet for bezels is buy the projectors you like first, then find some bezels. For ballasts most work with each other but you can always ask us or hidplanet if they will wrok with the projectors you have. Lastly only get D2S bulbs because D2R bulbs are only for HID reflectors and some OEM projectors.
Hope that answers those questions.
#28
Schweet i think i have all the info i need now to get this project really rolling. i wanna get a set of these together soon.
#29
If you dont mind me asking, which projectors are you thinking of going with??
#30
good question.i don't wana influence him in a certain by saying my answer.
#31
Quote, originally posted by phat03gti »
Modified by phat03gti at 12:31 AM 12-14-2005these are what i am going to try using. where did you find these??
#32
thats a picture of some bezels being sold on ebay.....the seller's name on ebay is (retrofit-source) I have bought things in the past from him and he is a great seller. Located somwhere in ohio.By the way these bezels work best with and hella 3 inch projector.
#33
ive been lookin at the acura tsx projectors. but i wanna make sure i get something good at a nice price. basically ill be willing to put out 300 for the full setup (projectors, ballasts, bulbs) if there are any good suggestions in that range im open.
#34
btw this is the car i will be puttiin em into....
#35
sweet car!.....the TSX projectors are awesome they have excelent clarity and a pretty wide beam. They are however single xenon projectors. This means that you will only have a low beam and no high beam for flashing. You could retro a high beam into the headlight on the side of the projector if you wanted. Check out the 2006 passat. Those projectors the passat has are bi-xenon but they have a halogen high beam just to the side of the projectors.
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