DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit

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Apr 6, 2008
  #121  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
yeah. it looks nice indoors lol. its gonna be unique for sure, dot cutoff and yellow colors lol. and with the 50w kit, looks pretty evenly spread. id say at least as good as TL if not better.
Apr 12, 2008
  #122  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
hey gearbox,

i decided to screw buying rims since i got expensive dunlops on my stock rims.

I decided to start on my tsx retro. Can you tell me where you got your 50w philips bulbs?
Apr 12, 2008
  #123  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
Try this place. I've never bought bulbs here though. Plan on buying some soon, but I think they might be a little too bright.

http://www.bulbman.com/index.php?mai...ducts_id=16015
Apr 12, 2008
  #124  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
Quote: Try this place. I've never bought bulbs here though. Plan on buying some soon, but I think they might be a little too bright.

http://www.bulbman.com/index.php?mai...ducts_id=16015
yeah it check them but the kelvin is 3900. I wanted at least 4300k.
Apr 12, 2008
  #125  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
damn you spent alot on this retro lol
Apr 12, 2008
  #126  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
Quote: yeah it check them but the kelvin is 3900. I wanted at least 4300k.
The philips DL-50 are going to be 3900K if you run them at 50w. The higher the wattage you run them at, the lower the kelvin will be. Even running the philips 85122+ at 50w will bring them from 4100K to around 3900K.
Apr 12, 2008
  #127  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
yeah, it wont be as white but thats a good thing! check hidplanet fs forum the thread made by EGprelude.
Apr 12, 2008
  #128  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
function over form!!! once I have mine tweaked right I am probably going to up it to 50 myself.
Apr 12, 2008
  #129  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
You'll definitely notice the difference between 35w and 50w.
Apr 14, 2008
  #130  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
thanks guys. I checked egpreludes thread. Looks like he's out.
Apr 14, 2008
  #131  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
sucks, but even boosted 35w bulbs are a big difference. dl50 is just slightly brighter for lo beam output.

i just finished sealing the lights yesterday with ultra black silicone around the outside, so they are ready to mount anytime. i also picked up some metal washers and rubber fuel injector o-rings lol. still waiting for the harnesses. hopefully i can get em on before the car show may 3. all i have left is the wiring. and hoping that they are aimed correctly
Apr 14, 2008
  #132  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
Quote: sucks, but even boosted 35w bulbs are a big difference. dl50 is just slightly brighter for lo beam output.

i just finished sealing the lights yesterday with ultra black silicone around the outside, so they are ready to mount anytime. i also picked up some metal washers and rubber fuel injector o-rings lol. still waiting for the harnesses. hopefully i can get em on before the car show may 3. all i have left is the wiring. and hoping that they are aimed correctly
yeah i feel you on the waiting part. I can get a hid kit shipped from china to california in 4days, but it takes 7days for my tsx projectors to come from ohio to california.
Apr 15, 2008
  #133  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
yo gear if u want some help with aiming just hit me up im free most of the time and we can some wat base it off my lights.
Apr 15, 2008
  #134  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
thanks man yeah we should def do a photoshoot or something too lol. krannert underground garage is where i was planning to go since its level floor with good walls. just wish my harness would get here, been over two weeks already. im tempted to make a ghetto one with advance auto relays and some spare wire i have haha. its what i shouldve done if i knew it would take this long/ but yeah i wanna compare it to your aim also.
Apr 15, 2008
  #135  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
Quote: yeah it check them but the kelvin is 3900. I wanted at least 4300k.
even with a 35w bulb on a 50w ballast, it will be a lil yellower than stock 35w bulbs on 35w ballast

Quote: thanks man yeah we should def do a photoshoot or something too lol.
photoshoot? ooooooh....i like photoshoots =]
Apr 16, 2008
  #136  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
yea im down with a photoshoot and if krannert has some good aiming area, im down with doin it there. i need to readjust my driver side since it seems a bit lower than my passenger side. idk when im gonna b available this week but just give me a call to see when we can set one up.

if u want to do a photoshoot sometime this week im available after 6pm todai and 5pm tommorrow. but im not sure if u wanted to have your retro in first then do the photoshoot. just let me know and if u wanna try to set it up over the phone just give me a call after 3pm todai
Apr 16, 2008
  #137  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
yeah cool im gonna say screw waiting anymore on the suvlights harness. i actually just bought a "nightwatcher" kit harness for $12 at farm and fleet lol with quick disconnects. the wires are kinda small, but its better than stock. and i found an old bosch relay in the toolbox. so now i just need some of those disconnect cables to hook the ballasts up. im gonna start working on it in the next hour prolly so tonight is a very good chance i will be done!
Apr 16, 2008
  #138  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
if y'all wanna come to NC, i'll shoot with you with my TSX projectors
Apr 16, 2008
  #139  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
hahah funny man.....funny man.....

but nice stuff gear! hopefully the ghetto wiring will b a suitable harness for the retro. i dont like farm and fleet much but hey if it works it works. but yea if it runs hit me up on my cell(if your not working) around 4pm. ill meet up at your house or watever and do some photoshooting/aiming mine and your headlights.
Apr 16, 2008
  #140  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
yeah check the driver side. it looks like its aimed a little low.
Apr 16, 2008
  #141  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
ugh what a terrible day lol. i spent a few hours in the morning hooking up all the wiring and installing lights, then spend almost 8 hrs trying to fix that POS + terminal which was loose and wouldnt tighten. i bought another one, snapped it in two trying to tighten my 6 different wires to it. then bought a big tsunami one, it sucked and broke, finally i ended up at advance getting a fleet terminal and hooking up stuff all around the side bolts. its good now but man i was really pissed. everything is done now and i can relax for a bit. now here are some things to start with. i will get more pics of everything later.

PROS:

retrofit looks really nice, great fit, clean rear with lots of space and everything tucked away. relay mounted between the coolant overflow cap and the battery tray for easy access.

its bright, very bright lol

seems to be aimed right, i think 3 inch drop at 25ft or something.

never got flashed once after an hour of driving.

very smooth and evenly spread beam on the ground. tons of foreground.

very nice neutral white color, no blues or purples.

china 50w ballasts do not dim the light at all when rolling up window like old valeo ballasts did.

CONS

shakes alot over every single bump! why? they are so tight idk what to do about that. really need to fix this. maybe rubber o-ring around the mounts?

not much distance light at all. i really need hi beams for dark roads now lol or at least driving light. im thinking about putting on my spare projector fogs (with cutoff shield) and boosting them with the catz zeta.

not much glare at all. looks very dim to oncoming traffic which might make me less visible. hmm.



overall i think i will keep them for now and see what happens. i wish i could fix the shaking. here are some preview pics... oh and i took off the vtec emblems

crazyasian and I were aiming our lights, and then a whole bunch of ricers across the garage were having a minimeet lol. so we joined in the fun.





cutoffs have some major down-sloping action going on even with custom shields i couldnt change it.



ground shot, pretty close to actual, maybe a tad overexposed by gives a good idea of the beam.

Apr 16, 2008
  #142  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
dude his light totally destroys mine! X D

its rediculous how much more light he puts out than mine does. makes me crave the 50w bulbs and ballast soo much now! i guess they will have to wait till the summer or when i get a job.

your light pattern on the ground looks really good but i think its a bit sloppy in person, not 100% sure. i was like passing out as we were driving hahah....*sigh*...damn school. ill post up the pics i took, which arent too great, but meh w.e
Apr 17, 2008
  #143  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
lol idk, to me yours looked nearly the same brightness. i need to try and aim mine a tad bit higher cause its too low. i compared to my friends oem bmw and his is over an inch higher. but my car is also dropped so idk... oh and also something bad happened already, the silicone inside that i held the brackets down with i guess wasnt cured after 7 days and it released some sort of residue when it heated up that is now all over the lens. looks like grease or something which sucks. some good news is they dont fog up. and the harness seems to be holding up fine. we were talking, and my friend said his oem bmw shakes over bumps too?
Apr 17, 2008
  #144  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
did you fix your light crazy?
Apr 17, 2008
  #145  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
oh yeah retrofit source sux. It took them over a week to ship out my tsx projectors. So gay, gonna delay my retro even more. now i have to wait another week.
Apr 17, 2008
  #146  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
Just checked the retrofit source and they now carry replica e46 shrouds. Looks pretty good.
Apr 17, 2008
  #147  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
what kind of shaking are we talking about??? I don't have any of these that you mentioned...I also want to suggest no drop at 25 ft when aiming lights...mine is not dropped and it's still low compared to other cars.
Apr 17, 2008
  #148  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
Quote: I also want to suggest no drop at 25 ft when aiming lights...mine is not dropped and it's still low compared to other cars.
ditto. mine's level as well.
Apr 17, 2008
  #149  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
i got flashed all the time when mine were level tho from before, even from cars on the side lol. and every time you go over a bump, the light shoots at peoples eyes or mirrors. if its sloping down like it should, then it wont get high enough to blind anyone. i raised my driver side just a tad to even out the light. here are some day pics, lot more coming tonight....





Apr 17, 2008
  #150  
Re: DIY: Gearbox's Projector Retrofit
Looks Great!!!!!!!