gearbox

iTrader: (95)

okay well heres some bad news. i cut off the two side supports of the front projector housing, turns out that these are needed otherwise the whole structure falls apart. and in the process of all this test fitting, i broke my brand new clear lenses i had just put in. yeah total fail. i have another set of projectors and lenses on the way, and im just gonna have to cut a chunk out of the tyc housing instead of the projector. so another week of delay and lost $$ as i figure out what to do. oh well, hope for the best next time around. im not giving up yet.

electric130

iTrader: (44)

I'm selling my whole car. Not sure if I'll leave the retro on the car and charge more or go back stock and sell the reto on here.

lordhelmet

iTrader: (3)

You'd have to give me time to sell my left kidney before you put that retro up for sale.

electric130

iTrader: (44)

You talking about mine or gear's?

lordhelmet

iTrader: (3)

Yours.

electric130

iTrader: (44)

if i sell it, it will be the whole package. housings w/projectors, bulbs, ballasts, relay Pharness, HID fogs, bulbs and ballasts (fogs are on the same harness). a truely complete PNP setup. probably throw in a big 3 kit too.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

whats your next car gonna be?

lordhelmet

iTrader: (3)

Hence the sale of the left kidney to afford it all.

electric130

iTrader: (44)

already bought it. 2002 330i w/ sport package and 5 spd stick:

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

oh im jealous. those older bmw are my favorite.

TemjinX2

iTrader: (11)

looks like its progressing well. looking forward to the projector pics.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

yet another problem, the tyc adjuster screws two of em were loose so had to take those out and now start over with new hardware lol. its always something

electric130

iTrader: (44)

i don't want to confuse you any more, but i just had my first experience with bi-xenons. my retro is the TSX and even with 100w high beam bulbs (hence the relay harness) the high beams on the TYC's just suck. i didn't realize my new BMW had bi-xenons till this morning. they have a "high beam" position that is halogen for DRL's. if you do "flash to pass" then the halogens go full bright. however at night, you push the turn signal forward and the halogens don't come on, but the bi-xenon shutter opens. long story short, it was my first time driving with xenon high beams, and i don't think i'd ever want to go back to non-bixenons.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

yeah those e46/bosch bixenons are very impressive. you should see how a TL hi beam looks if youre impressed with what you have and i agree on the tyc hi beam. its a fail completely. they just made a silly reflector for looks that doesnt have any optics. i thought about changing it or putting a hi beam projector, but nothing really fits in that small of an area. if this retro works out and i need more light, i guess h1 hid kit is a possibility.but i have a feeling i wont use them much anyway.

electric130

iTrader: (44)

just get a PNP H1 kit off ebay for $50-60. who cares if it's on and off a lot for that price. i've thought about doing that several times, but like you said, it's rare that i turn them on. the TSX projectors are enough by themselves. the high beams mostly just glare off road signs and they're annoying.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i tried to give these lights a more oem look, not sure how i like it. the tyc corner is a very light amber. the turn signal has a circle cut out from amber plastic in the taillight lens repair kits at the store and held behind the clear diffuser with silicone. i think it looks pretty good, its really hard to find matching plastic thats easy to cut. i thought about painting with orange metalcast, but i have a feeling it will make a mess and not match. those corners always break when i try and pop em off too. so i think its staying like this. they still have the led clusters behind there as signal only. brightness is even less with the amber lens but not too bad... any comments or ideas? reason i did not keep them clear is the led cluster has a yellowish old tint to the board. with the amber, its covered and looks more like a bulb. the top "clear" leds will be the amber park light by itself. they are not as red as the pics show, just dark orange.






"XENON" metal decals on the top of shroud i got free when buying ballasts from retrofitsource.com



hopefully i get the projectors in today and can start testing and mounting. i also have a small surprise coming in a week.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

hey electric130-um how did you fit the matsu gen3 ignitors onto the valeo d2s projectors? there is not enough clearance and the ignitor housing hits the bulb holder and cannot push down any further to fit over the bulb. ?? im shocked if you were able to get them on, im looking for new ballasts again with a longer head.

electric130

iTrader: (44)

don't remember exactly as it was almost 3 years ago. unless for some reason your setup is different than i had. these are what i have:

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

yeah those are the ballasts i have. i remember you said in the hidplanet thread you had that they were d2s valeos so im puzzled. maybe you had h7?

electric130

iTrader: (44)

no. they were definitely D2S. i used the same bulbs and ballasts in both the Valeo and the TSX demo shots i took. i'm digging around to find pics of the projectors. my sale thread over there is gone that had pics.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i even tried putting the connector upsidedown and it still would either hit the top of the bulb holder assembly or the front wire part of it. ive never heard of such a strange issue with universal d2s ballasts not fitting certain projectors lol. altho alot of brands seem to be having their own designs. im trying to see if i can return the matsus and just go with some kit ballasts with the hella gen3 replica connectors.

electric130

iTrader: (44)

that sucks. i'll check my computer at home tonight. i'm sure i've got pics on there.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

no biggie, i was able to return the other ones and trade for something that should work.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

omg, im about to go crazy here. new morimoto aftermarket ballast came today, very compact and nice with built in d2s connector, but there is just a minor issue with them. the sockets dont fit on the bulb! even outside the projector! wtf. i tried both ballast connectors and two kinds of bulb (philips/osram). the bulb will physically not push down far enough for the guide pins to lock in the groove. i forced them in and still could not get it to work. great. what a fail. im gonna have to just pay $200+ for a severely used hella gen3 oem pair. and now im set back yet another week. wow.

electric130

iTrader: (44)

sounds like the projectors are the problem. not the bulbs or ballasts. you shouldn't have to push the bulbs that hard.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

its definately the aftermarket connectors this time. the metal contacts are sticking up above the surrounding plastic and hitting the bulb. it wont fit on whether the bulb is on or off the projector. so those are going back. im trying to see if anyone knows whether hella gen3 ballast connectors will fit.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

finally got my hella gen3 ballasts and they are a perfect fit. wire harness in the car is 85% finished, and i tested the projectors just now. they have clear lens and no color mod. dont want all that blue as a distraction. the beams are a bit different, im hoping it wont matter on the road. its really hard to find two exact matching projectors due to manufacturing tolerance.

projector 1



projector 2

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

and one of the projectors with osram xenstar 5400k bulb

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

all i had to do was trim one side of each projector (the side facing the hi beam reflector) so it clears the housing. i also added the chrome tyc lens holder rings to the valeos for a cleaner look.

electric130

iTrader: (44)

i'd stick with philips. i had osrams and one of them went brown on me. i've had 3 different sets of philips and been happy with all of them.