gearbox

iTrader: (95)

Okay after alot of testing and planning, I decided to start off this project. I will update the thread whenever I make progress. It may take a while, since I will be working only on my days off and also need darkness for testing. But gotta start sometime lol. Hopefully this will serve as a detailed guide to anyone wanting to try this someday.

Here are the parts purchased with must-have items in bold:

$250 Acura TL 2003 bi-xenon D2S projectors

$65 Mercedes E55 chrome shrouds

$80 clear lenses (retrofitsource.com)

$120 50w ballasts (ebay seller yourhid)

$100 chrome aftermarket headlamps (ebay)

$75 Spare projector parts

$70 Test ballast 35w

$15 Test D2S bulb 35w

$100 Philips DL50 hid bulbs

$30 Lawn and garden battery

wire harness (dont know yet)

Now I decided to use a TL projector this time and also a true 50w ballast/bulb combo, since I want to have the brightest light on the road. I also replaced the stock fresnel lens with a clear one from retrofit-source to get a crisp cutoff line.

this is why i went with the 50w setup. lo beam with clear lens.



now hi beam. this is gonna be bright.



here is a comparison of stock lens vs clear lens



i also did a temperature test and found that the 50w bulbs only get 5 degrees hotter than stock 35w setup.



these are the magic bulbs, very rare.





in order for the bulbs to fit the projector, i shaved down the guide pin. this does not affect how the bulb is held in place.



the projector itself will stay stock. i have tried many different mods to the shields and found the stock setup to be brightest with the foreground limiter intact.

the lawn and garden battery is a great cheap way to test the hid setup. i have used it for hours and it still fires up the bulb just fine. you will need it when testing the aim once you have the projectors mounted. try to get the one with 300 cold cranking amps or better.

Now to start off this project, i opened up one of the ebay clear headlights. this was very difficult, due to the strong black sealant used. preheat the oven to 200F, turn oven off, and put the light inside for 10 minutes. DO NOT let the lens touch anywhere in the oven. take the light out, and start prying it open from the side opposite the turn signal bulb. this will require all your strength to gradually pull it apart. i think i may have blisters on all my fingers lol. once they are apart, what i did was take out the chrome insert held on by a star screw and remove the reflector piece. these ebay lights come with a clear plastic insert instead of orange. so you need to pop that off carefully before removing the reflector. then carefully put the clear plastic piece back on if you want. i decided to keep the clear piece but remove the reflector. screw back the chrome insert to the plastic lens and go put that away. i covered mine in a pillowcase and put it in the closet. you wont need it for a long time. thats all for today. now i need to setup a test station, buy an H4 bulb, and see how the stock beam pattern looks at 20-25ft from a wall. this is so that i can compare the cutoff to the TL projector once mounted.



well i worked on this all day long, and my apartment is covered in dust. im pretty disappointed with how hard this is gonna be, right now i barely got one side mounted, but the left/right aim is off and i dont know how to fix it. there is zero room to work in, everything is packed, and now another problem is i have no shroud to make it look good. so idk, here are the pics as it stands. i got the rotation correct i hope and the projector is mounted on a tilt cause the stock reflector is not flat. it is mounted really strong without any glue. i also had to trim the reflector side cause the outer cover wouldnt fit on. and the inside piece is warped from pulling the lights apart (stupid cheap plastic). so this is gonna be a fun and drawn out adventure.

at least the adjusters are holding for now. here is the reflector taken off, and the ball joint pried out with a small pick. the ball would not go back in cause projector was too fat. so thats why it stuck out i guess.



i cut a huge hole and mounted it from the back so it doesnt stick out in the housing too much. the TL is foreground limited, so glare off the chrome is not a concern.



here is the back, looks clean i guess.





and setup on the floor, at least the rotation is right.



heres how it looks now, i need to find a way to turn the housing to the right and put a shroud over it.

phuviano

iTrader: (5)

going back to hids eh?

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

hurrrrrry!

hahahha hows ur mounting system?

mine can go up/down.......left/right.....

.....and it can rotate +/- 30degrees =]

perfect cutoff....everytime =]

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i dont need rotation, can get that right the first time. the stock headlight has adjusters for all 4 directions tho.

TRIZ

iTrader: (14)

Very detailed. It looks like your doing soem great research here that will benefit a lot of people looking to go this route, and even ppl just wanting to go with hids. Great work gear.

2k1civic01

which other shrouds will be able to fit the TL projectors? Have you completed the wiring harness for the bixenon yet?

exturbo6

iTrader: (7)

very nice steve...man i honestly do not understand why you dont start a lil side job with stuff like this...i mean i would def send you money and headlights if you would do it for me...like i asked a while ago for you to black out the headlights for me, and do hids..lol but this is even better..

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

thanks, but the problem is i barely have time to mess with stuff on the side for my own car. and stuff goes wrong as you will see below.. but okay theres a problem. turns out the tl was way too big and while i was test aiming, i ended up stripping the adjustment screws (there was no room even to move the projector), and cracking the chrome. so i pretty much decided to scrap this project and start over. the headlight is trashed now and i cant really save it after the mount holes broke off. so im def gonna have to look for a smaller projector. but i will still be using the 50w setups that i tested so its not a total waste of time. and i may just go with some chrome aftermarket projectors so i wont have to worry about making it look right. its too hard to make a nice looking oem retro. even with that shroud, you could still see all the back of the projector and screws showing from the sides. so idk, stay tuned i guess for a whole new project lol. if anyone has smaller projector ideas, please offer. i really want this to be adjustable for the long term, as far as aiming goes, and there was no way it was happening with the tls.

TemjinX2

iTrader: (11)

yeah putting projectors into the 7g lights diffcult due to the limited spacing you have to work with. I know i was barely able to fit my bixenon e46 projectors in the 04-05 lights which has less spacing then the 01-03 lights.


the problem your probably going to run into is the bixenon soleniods eating up so much space. A lot of the soleniods are mounted on the bottom of the project too, which would keep the project from sitting flush on the reflector.

You might also just consider using a single xenon projector. If you aim them correctly you will rarely ever need your highs. When i had my bixenon e46 i probably only used it 4 times the entire time i had them and almost made one old lady crash her corrolla.

When i had my tsx's i never used my highs because i never needed too. I still would recommend tha tsx's. They have a wider beam, but there not as intense as the TL's, but there going to have a lot more intensity then the valeos you had before.

The intensity on the valeos seem really weak for a hid projector even when compared to the e46.


Bixenon's

clean lens fx projector
e46 bixenon
e55 bixenon
rs6 bixenon

TemjinX2

iTrader: (11)

here's a pic of my e46 bixenon in my old 04-05.

as you can see, even though its one of the smaller bixenon's it eats a lot of space.

TemjinX2

iTrader: (11)

here's my original e46 retro, hope this give you some ideas.

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...-pics-pg1.html

Devani

iTrader: (2)

I was able to fit FX35 projectors in the housing....few things I wanted...

1. It had to be small to use OEM rubber boot....(done) besides there's not enough room for ignitors for the driver side....
2. wanted Bi-xenon for 01-03 civics....bad drivers everywhere in NJ....
3. wanted to keep the cost down....not really cost effective in the end because I still needed shroud and other parts....for the wife's car I will use aftermarket projector and retro that....it's Honda CR-V 08...

I was able to use OEM rubber boots to cover ignitor(Mat Gen 3)...providing more protection....by doing so I did minimal cutting on the reflector....

the hardest part was finding a shroud....that took me numerous trips to HomeDepot and Lowes...

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i have another idea up my sleeve but dont have any pic or anything yet. single xenon is def a possibility, since i dont care about hi beams. mine have been disconnected for a year almost and i never miss em. so whats a small size projector other than the valeos? you guys can post pics of your retro too i need ideas. i really am particular and want it to look as stock as possible. fx is def not an option as the chrome just peels off with a higher watt setup. valeos do look dim, but i wonder how much better it would be with 50w setup and a retrofitsource clear lens if the tsx one fits. its a pretty small projector and prolly would fit well.

ryox82

iTrader: (4)

I have my valeos in and was going to start my TYC retro this weekend, but the weather is so shitty outside. I wasnt aware they made a 2.5 inch clear lens

ryox82

iTrader: (4)

wow they did add lenses since I last looked, which one were you consdering?

1sykcivic

iTrader: (8)

looks like ur projector is sitting too far back, closeto the plastic cover as possible so it doesnt scatter when the light hits it

buckshizzo

iTrader: (2)

I say go with the TFX, they're small enough to fit and output is great. As far as the chrome flaking, I've haven't had a problem yet running them at 55w (lets hope that nothing happens). I have an extra set of fx projectors and have been experimenting with those and it looks like that the reflector bowls are electroplated.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i might just go with e46 and the new retrofitsource shrouds that cover the whole thing. i really dont want it sticking out too far, i want it back and hidden. idk, i need to think about it. someone wants to trade me sc430 with clear lens for my tls. but idk, the sc430 is still pretty big no?

buckshizzo

iTrader: (2)

Don't waste your money on the e46 projectors. I had the single xenon retrofitted in my old headlights and they suck ***. The bi-xenons are also no better when I compared the two. They were fairly decent with the 55w upgrade, but still were out-shined by the tsx projectors. The cutoff sucks, width sucks, and intensity sucks. Cutoff shield is flat and not rounded which gave a hot spot in the upper right hand corner of beam. Avoid this projector, there are way better projectors out there.

TemjinX2

iTrader: (11)

dont get the valeos, your going to be disappointed again even with the 55w ballasts.

I say get the clear lens tsx's. Length wise there ok, there just a little wide. Given you a 01-03 reflector, you should have enough space to be able to mount it.

Maybe s2000's?

The lancer evo hid projectors are pretty decent as well. There dont have as wide of beam as the tsx's but still give a good amount of color.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

right now i am considering the sc430s, supposedly they are almost identical to s2k in both size and output. tsx is too wide and i dont think it will clear the back plastic. there is alot less space back there than i thought. so idk, im still waiting for comparison pics. it wont have that bulky solenoid, and hopefully the back is not as fat. the tl just fills the whole space back there lol. i couldnt even get the ball joint back in.

Devani

iTrader: (2)

I had my FX sitting close to the front of the lens and there's some reflection from the bottom of the headlights still.....I will post pics when I get home....also the back to give you an idea of how it will look with Mat gen 3 ballast ignitors..

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

cool. well as it stands now i am getting some new projectors in the next week or so to play with. a single 350z wing projector (to test for fun), a pair of new e46 single xenons for $115, and a pair of sc430 with e30 clear lens swap (traded for the TLs). so hopefully i can fit the sc in there with the retrofitsource shrouds. i will have comparo pics of all these using 50w setup and also boosted 85122 (not+) and 85123! i still have one complete aftermarket headlamp to play with, but i need a new pair for the real retrofit again.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

here was a quick mockup pic i took with the tl and e55 shroud. it had potential to look nice, but it would not center on the projector and also you could see all the projector and screws reflecting from the back lol. and there was no good way to cover around the back. oh well...

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

still good stuff gear......

imma redo my TSX retrofit with TFX projectors soon...it'll be the first of its kinda with our 7thgens... wait n you'll see wt i mean =]

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

edit, just found a second 350z projector for $25 lol. so i have a complete pair for $80. pics of all three coming soon when i get em.

Devani

iTrader: (2)

honestly that looks much better than my retro...I had to finish it fast because of WAF(wife acceptance factor)....i will post pics tonight when I get home...
that TL fits very nicely tho...unless you make a custom shroud, i don't there's a shroud that will fit our headlights...

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

the problem now is the 350z projectors are trash. and the sc430 is too big, it will fit but i cant think of how to cover it up. an e55 shroud would cover the front, but not any of the bowl. what a mess lol. idk, ima wait for the e46 to come in and see if they are acceptable, if not i need to try and fit the sc430s.

comparison of 350z and sc430

TemjinX2

iTrader: (11)

i say go with the sc430's. i dont think your going to be happy with the e46's when your comparing them to the sc430's.

If your decent with fiberglass, you can just fiberglass a extension around the shrouds and just paint it back. Maybe a trip to lowes, see if there any custom shrouds you can make.

Devani

iTrader: (2)

okay here's pics of mine....they look ugly but i only care about functionality...
I also agree with temjin....once you see what TL and SC430 can do, you will not be happy with E46 projectors...

you can also see my 7443 LED bulbs....I will put the amber inserts back when the weather gets better....

outside looks like this














inside looks like this