Rep Power: 343

I've been staring at tons and tons of luxury cars that I drive past on the roads these days and I am beginning to wonder if Acura TL projectors are really the best ones in terms of beam width, light output, and cutoff. I mean... are they really the best all around projectors? I'm beginning to think some of the new BMWs and even the higher end Lexuses have better HID systems than the TL.

I mean, just compare HID systems if each car were brand new and the bulbs and ballasts were brand new too.

Discuss.

I hope this won't turn into a "my setup is better than any setup in the world due to my subjective butt dyno" discussion. But at the same time... it's hard to avoid. I'm not talking about mixing and matching projectors and lenses.... I'm talking about comparing stock vs stock.

 
Rep Power: 303

Hmm, I think S2000's are the best.

 
Rep Power: 303

http://www.customlightz.com/?p=p_26&sName=projectors
The website has lots of pictures.

 
Rep Power: 812

if only bone stock, acura TL (2005+) is one of the best in terms of intensity AND it has a great hi beam. s2k is more intense, but only lo beam. e46 is almost as intense, but no width at all. lexus ls430 is not as intense, but it is MUCH wider than any projector, due to a reflector around to disperse light to the sides. e55 is prolly the best projector for hi beams, but its lo beam is not the greatest. so as you can see, there are many different scenarios that will meet different peoples needs. i needed a small projector with very intense beam on the road only, i hate wide projection, so the e46 was perfect. alot of people would rather see into the corn fields off to the side, so they chose ls430. still others needed very bright hi beams for driving mostly in the county, so they went with tl or e55. it is hard to compare lights on the road since side by side is not a good comparison when beams overlap, you have to wait until the car passes in front of your headlight beam. alot of cars are just old, or lots of hours on the bulb. even 2 yrs of normal hid use will greatly reduce output. ive driven past many s2k and tl that looked dimmer than an old halogen setup. also older bulbs have colorshifted and appear much whiter. it can fool your eyes into thinking they are brighter, when in fact they are not.

 
Rep Power: 343

I want it all. I want far projection and I want to see cornfields/deer to the side. I don't think I would ever drop that kind of money on s2000 projectors.

What is the best recipe for me, given that I already have TL projectors? Keep em, or start chasing ls430s?

 
Rep Power: 343

I mean TLs are amazing and I can pick their beam pattern out of traffic any day, but some of the lexuses out there.... DAMN.

Maybe I should get two sets and point one outwards a little. haha.

 
Rep Power: 291

If your looking to sell your TL projectors hit me up! I've been half-heartedly looking around for fx35 or e55 projectors but I cringe at the thought of putting nissan or bimmer parts on my car. If I can't find a pair of TLs I think im going to pick up gearboxs e55s.

 
Rep Power: 389

What about the audi a6 projectors?!

 
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TSX or S2000 are probably the best and most widely used projectors on the market.

 
Rep Power: 291

They might be the best but they have no hi-beam which means us 01-03 guys are **** out of luck unless we loose hi-beam functionality.

 
Rep Power: 812

tsx is nowhere near s2k, not even close. its mid grade projector thats it. i wouldnt use it. in fact, the stupid e46 i have now is brighter than tsx here look.

e46 on top, tsx bottom



armieo, if you have tls i suggest keeping them. they are very good projectors you will be hard pressed to find something better that still has such amazing hi beam. and lo beam is good too. they are wide enough. if you want more, get a 50w ballast for them

lordhelmet, if it makes you feel better, e55 are made by hella, has nothing to do with bmw except the car uses them. also fyi, i never found the need for hi beams. the lo hid is plenty of light. i dont miss my hi beam at all. in fact i never used it when i had stock headlight either.

here is what 50w does to the tl. i was gonna use em at first but they were so big i couldnt make the shrouding look good without everything being ugly. but im very picky and gave up fast. im sure you can find a way as others have in these headlamps.





heres my terrible attempt at tl retro. do not do what i did mounting it from the back, it wont work. must be mounted from the front.

 
Rep Power: 291

Haha... Thanks for the info. I cringe but I would have done it any ways. I was almost set on getting fx projectors until I found out you were selling your e55 projectors.

 
Rep Power: 291

i've got the TSX in TYC. that's how i have high beams as well

 
Rep Power: 291

I know you do. You ssm'ed the lights too. I always thought that was very good looking. I just can't get my mind made up about what I want to do. I'd like to keep the stock headlights but mine are junk. I've wetsanded them a couple of times already and I wouldn't want to deal with that if I retro. So that means new headlights. TYCs could be nice but I just don't know if I want after market housings. If I get TYCs though I would save money from not having to buy the bixenon projectors which could therefore be spent on 50 watt ballasts and bulbs.

 
Rep Power: 0

The E46 may be brighter, but the TSX is a lot more uniform IMO. I still hold by my opinion that the TSX projectors are one of the better available.

 
Rep Power: 812

clear oem style headlights are only $100 shipped for brand new!

 
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what brand are the Land Rover projectors? those are always super purple...

 
Rep Power: 291

yep yep yep. lots of choices. i'm happy with my retro. it was a PITA to do though. took about 2 months. either way (OEM or aftermarket) buy a second set of headlamps to do the retro on so you can still drive your car. don't try to be a hero and do it in a weekend. you'll be without a car! that was some of the best advice i picked up on hidplanet.com and thanks for the compliment on mine.

i saw a car tonight (in relation to gear's colorshift post) that had 1 headlight pretty blue and dim and one that was straight up PINK!!!! time to change your OEM bulbs dude! i think it was a lexus SUV of some type. it had projectors. i was on the interstate though and he was coming the other way, so i couldn't tell the make exactly.

 
Rep Power: 291

and decent price too.

 
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I hear you on not rushing. I kind of wanted to take my time with these and do them right the first time. I've been poking around on HIDplanet for a couple of weeks now and am learning a bit.

 
Rep Power: 252

Best overall in my opinion is the AP1 S2K projectors. I have tested many projectors and hands down the S2K is the best overall in intensity, width, sharpness, and color when modded correctly. Not to mention they are one of the smallest projectors out there. I tested my set of AP1 projectors with 55w and god damn they are amazingly bright with a uniform beam. I'm glad I never got rid of them. My current 55W TFX setup doesn't even compare. The TFX has hot spots and a mountain in the middle. The more you get into HIDs, the more critical you'll become about beam uniformity. You'll start picking out details.

I recommend that you take your time and read up on all projectors. There are pros a cons with each projector. Many variables come into consideration when choosing the right projector for your car.

 
Rep Power: 812

your fx mustve been the "recall" version. new G37/fx bowl does not have mountain, just smooth beam down to the foreground. but agreed s2k is prolly the best projector you will ever see. several people run them with 50w and yeah its bright.

 
Rep Power: 252

That's what I was thinking. Mine must have been a recall or something I though it was just a result of the tsx lense spacing changing the focal point. The mountain is hardly noticeable when on the road anyways. Someone told me to use g35 bowls to eliminate the mountain, but that's hardly worth all the trouble. I've learned to live with it.

 
Rep Power: 812

g37 bowls dont have mountain, g35 does. you should go back to s2k lol

http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35973

 
Rep Power: 252

sorry I meant to say g37 bowls, cuz g35 are pretty much the same as fx projectors. Thanks for the link to the pictures. It looks definitely a lot better without the mountain. The s2ks are waiting until I decide on the perfect shroud combo and headlight set up. I was thinking about doing a quad setup, but that's just a waste in my opinion. I can't just throw them in any setup. The only thing that bothers me about the s2ks is that sharp cutoff. I can't see **** above the cutoff sometimes.

 
Rep Power: 812

thats why you should do like me in all chrome oem lights. some light reflects off the chrome trim and up at road signs (but doesnt blind traffic unless maybe youre driving a semi, even then its not that bad). but i can see roadsigns no problem. the glare is only a small line at a 45 degree angle.

oh look a stop sign

 
Rep Power: 321

dont you have the dot e46's gearbox? i remember the dot line on my bixenon e46 was more then enough to light up signs from a far distance.

 
Rep Power: 812

i have ece but made my own dot spec cutoff shields with foreground limit (i was trying to jump over the chrome trim but i guess i didnt make the limiter long enough so it still hits it a bit). and modded for yellow cutoff. and its blurry enough that it doesnt get annoying at night. i hate sharp cutoff.



the foreground limit with open air projector. it disappears in the headlamp housing.



heres a cutoff shot. i couldnt get rid of the downward slope on each side even with bending the shield.



i guess the aluminum or the hi temp clearcoat and the metal weld couldnt handle the 50w hids lol

 
Rep Power: 291

gear.......

wow

did you document all this? i remember going back and forth with you while you were trying to decide....... but i must have missed a thread somewhere....... very nice!