Rep Power: 291

I just got a used set of TYC's that have HID projectors mounted. it looks like the previous owner took them apart and then rather than getting the original sealant to soften and seal up, they sealed up the gap with RTV. so my question is to anyone who's had these apart or other housings and know's what i'm talking about here. should i leave the stock gray sealant in there and heat it to get it to soften back up? or should i remove as much of it as i can and use RTV? right now, with the stock sealant in there, the housings won't go all the way back together and there's a gap. what have other people done to theirs?

 
Rep Power: 291

i found some butyl at Advance Auto today. i think i'm going to strip everything off and use that. is pressure enough to get it back together, or do i need to heat it? i've never used the stuff.

on another note, i painted the shrouds a silver color to match the car. i think it will look good.

 
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Pics man! I've been thinking about doing that to my TYCs as well so I would love to see how it looks.

 
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if i were to take apart my headlights and if it had rtv and the oem glue I would try to take as much of the oem glue and the rtv out. I bet the previous owner did not know he could buy oem sealant from nissan or autoparts back when he did that retro . GL. Are you fitting the tsx in there?

oh and i would stick it in the oven and heat it for a couple min to press it together. well thats wat i did for my newest retro.

 
Rep Power: 291

right now, there's not much to see execpt the parts scattered all over my garage. i haven't had much time to do much with this each day, so it's going slow. i'll be taking pics though, don't worry.

 
Rep Power: 374

hm i just used aquarium sealant to seal my headlights up.

 
Rep Power: 291

well, i've passed the point of no return. TSX it is!

the cost of trial and error:



after learning from the first one, this is all that needed to be cut:



i might try and buy a shroud off somebody rather than trying to repair the first one with bondo or something.

 
Rep Power: 336

good luck on the retro....

 
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Damn dude. That sux.

Potentially dumb question, but the TSX headlights (complete not just the HID assemblies) are one for one swap on the 7th gens with a bit of wiring work?

 
Rep Power: 812

hmm hope you dont have to cut much to mount the tsx. for my sonars, i kept the original goo which must be heated in the oven to become soft. then when hot you press the two sides together. after that i put silicone all around the outside edges because there were some gaps in the stock sealant. the only drawback is if i ever want them apart again, i have to cut through the silicone cause it does not change when exposed to heat. so put silicone when you know they are done completely.

 
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Nevermind. I just discovered the HiDPlanet forums and now have more information than I ever wanted...Head....hurts....but...HiD.....rocks...

 
Rep Power: 291

i've never heard that. they're not the same shape as the 01-03 i don't think.

 
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Yeah, I saw that post by you and I thought it might be possible to just swap the whole headlight, but obviously not. But, if that were true there probably would have been a lot more valid Google results. Anything can be made to fit if you have a big enough hammer, but it probably wouldn't have the proper amount of bling when it was all said and done.

 
Rep Power: 291

thanks gear. i'm hoping to get a good enough seal with the butyl that i don't need RTV.

 
Rep Power: 291

oh, and that IS how much i already cut. those are my shrouds in the pic. i've already started repairs though. i glued most of the "chunks" back together and I'm going to repair everything with bondo since i'll be repainting anyway. my harness connectors arrived today from Parts Express. getting my wire (several 500ft rolls for free) this weekend from my brother in law. hopefully i'll have these mounted up in a couple weeks. i've got some new 85122+'s on the way too. CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!

 
Rep Power: 812

oh, you know the + dont colorshift right? so youre gonna have yellowish light for the life of the bulb. all for 200 lumen extra output at only 4200K color temp.

 
Rep Power: 291

i got them for $55 new shipped for a pair, so i can deal with that. what reference do you have that they don't color shift though? i've never heard of an HID that doesn't color shift with time. xenon, metal halide, HPS and MV will all color shift to some extent.

 
Rep Power: 291

here's a good reason to wear safety glasses whenever you're cutting anything:



check out the burn i just got while i was cutting the shroud with a dremmel. i ran out in the garage to make just a quick cut. i normally wear safety glasses, but this was going to be just a small, quick cut. well, a piece of melted plastic flew up and hit my face where you see. i flicked it off immediately, but it had already done some damage. if it had been ~2" higher, it would have hit my eye and i would have been in a world of pain! moral of the story, wear safety glasses!!!!!! they wouldn't have prevented this burn, but any higher and they would have.

well, i've been cutting.....and cutting.....and cutting. i finally have enough material removed that the TSX fits where it should and the shroud is on properly. problem is, there's no material in back to support the TSX. i'm going to get some ABS material and rebuild the back of the housings. i only hope that the black plastic of the TYC is ABS also, so my solvent cement will bond it to the sheet material. i have accepted the fact that i may not get these to fit in here and have to resort to buying another set of projector housings and just settle for the Valeo's. until then, i'm going to keep trying.

Anybody know if the black part is ABS or not for sure?

 
Rep Power: 812

+ bulb was specifically made to resist colorshift, someone who used them 4 yrs said they were still yellow when he put new ones in. the tyc housing im not sure, but it seems like abs just cause its a bit flexible.

 
Rep Power: 291

i know the thread you're talking about at HID Planet. that's part of the reason i got the +'s. yeah, they may not color shift as much, but that also means less lost lumens. and as far as being "yellow", i'd hardly say that. i just fired up my new 85122+'s and they're anything but yellow. from just running them, they're a bright white. that's what i want. some bright *** damn light on the road

here's both valeo's


and here's both TSX's


here's TSX top and valeo bottom


valeo top and tsx bottom


here's the cutoff of the tsx's (not washer modded)


check out the color on the valeo's without any modification (there was a lot more purple in it in person


and last is a pic of the tsx and the Cool Blue halogen


i took one of the valeo and halogen but i can't get it to look right so i'm not even going to post it. the valeo doesn't look anything like real life. even the halogen is a completely different color than the halogen in the TSX pic.

i think if i would have had these bulbs to start, i probably would have just stuck with the valeo's instead of doing the massive amounts of cutting i already have on my TYC projector housings. too late now though. i'll be sticking with the TSX and probably selling the valeo's. the difference between them isn't that big.

 
Rep Power: 812

ya im still deciding on bulb. the + seems like the best performer cause you keep the same lumens, but then it never becomes super white. i think my osrams might be the problem why my light looks so dim. i have a new single osram i bought from someone im gonna test fire, and then compare to a bmw 85123. if the osram is dimmer, then its def a bulb problem and ill prolly be getting the philips + for me.

 
Rep Power: 291

the problem with color temps is it's open to everyone's personal interpretation, unless you're actually measuring it with equipment. to you, these +'s may seem a little yellowish, but you're used to HID light already. to me, i'm used to that **** stain yellow light of halogens, so these +'s do look super white to me. in then end though, it only matters how things look to you since you're the one driving the car.

i read about those 85123's you got. didn't they come with your e46's? post some pics when you get them fired up. either post them here, or let me know the thread if you start a new one. i'm interested to see some comparison shots.

i've got some ABS sheet material on the way. hopefully i can get the back of these housings built back up this weekend.

 
Rep Power: 812

ya i will be comparing them. my osram are not burned in at all, they are still yellowish and very dim looking compared to others. i could tell a huge difference when i was next to a 3 series how much whiter and brighter his light was, and technically mine should be brighter. so idk, well see. i may have to rip off the old bulb on mine which are silicone in and try the bmw lights to compare. cause i really think they should be brighter than they are.

 
Rep Power: 291

finally got around to doing my "Big 3" upgrade. got the wire to start on the harness this weekend too. might start on it tonight.

oh, and the TYC housings are not ABS. at least, ABS Cement won't bond to them. i'm going to try some "Transition Cement" that's for bonding ABS, CPVC and PVC and see if that will work. i know that Weld-On 40 would do it, but that stuff's expensive! might just have to stick with ole' JB Weld.

 
Rep Power: 320

*
nm i just saw the hidplanet thread about those bulbs. They are apparently 4200k. There still pretty white though.

 
Rep Power: 291

yeah, HIDPlanet's sales page has the specs wrong. they know it, but for some reason they won't change it. the 85122+'s are clearly not a 5000k bulb. they're not yellowish at all either.

 
Rep Power: 812

Philips
85122 (3200lm, 4100K colorshifts)
85122+ (3400lm, 4200K, resists colorshift)
85122CM (3100lm, 4800K)
85123 (3100lm? 4900K)

 
Rep Power: 291

did you fire up your 85123's yet? post some pics if you have. i'm curious how they look.

 
Rep Power: 812

not yet, i have no way to test without harness connectors. i need to find some so i can use my ballasts. i already have an extra osram bulb and the 85123 and a test battery. so hopefully soon.