E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

well after 4 months of planning and working, i think the results speak for themselves. the only problem is it shakes over bumps but thats not a huge deal for me.

The setup:

BMW E46 (bosch) single xenon projectors with custom dot shields, color modded for yellow cutoff.

50w sealed ballasts with philips DL50 bulbs

Ebay clear headlamp housings

Retrofit_source.com shrouds

Ace "do-it-best" hardware bezels

lots of metal weld, ultra black silicone, and love haha. they do not fog up at all! everything came together nicely. The harness was a cheap kit from farm and fleet with a single relay, 15amp fuse, and some 14 gauge wires. seems to be holding up just fine. the lights do not dim at all, altho it takes a couple minutes for full warmup. yes i can see road signs just fine with the lil glare coming off the chrome housing, and i think the aim is very good also. it looks to me almost exactly the same as stock headlights, except 2x brighter. and yes, it outshines those white hid streetlamps :) i only get flashed if im going over bumps or hills obviously lol. If it were any less bright, i think i wouldve been disappointed. The fog lights are bmw aftermarket projectors with PIAA plasma ion crystal bulbs. Still working on finding a way to boost them using the old catz zeta kit. I cant seem to find a good place to put the chunky ballasts tho.

heres a quick history...

custom shields installed

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...etrogb08-1.jpg

RS bezel trimmed to fit

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...etrogb08-5.jpg

and everything coming together with ace shower drain lol

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...retrotf-01.jpg

back of the bowl all sealed with metal weld. no need for any rubber boots

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...de46rearto.jpg

and finally installed on the car...

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...finalff-17.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...roe46np-03.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...roe46np-02.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...roe46np-01.jpg

now onto the output pics!

hids only

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...finalff-07.jpg

now a couple pics of foglights only

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...finalff-09.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...finalff-12.jpg

is that a stop sign up ahead?

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...finalff-08.jpg

look at that awesome yellow and blurry cutoff lol

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...finalff-02.jpg

next to the train yard

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...finalff-11.jpg

hids and foglights together

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...finalff-01.jpg

now lets give just the fogs a chance

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...finalff-03.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...finalff-05.jpg

some wall shots to show the cutoff line

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...finalff-16.jpg

the glare looks brighter than it really is due to parking lights and streetlamps

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...finalff-04.jpg

some more cutoff shots to show how it curves down to the sides

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...finalff-15.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...finalff-14.jpg

ricer angle with sidemarker lol

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...finalff-10.jpg

and one more ground shot

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...finalff-13.jpg

thanks for looking! ;)

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

nice lights!looks good!

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

that had to be the cleanest retrofit with the metal weld. no rubber boot to mess wit and the chance of it gettin fogged up. i swear some of the member here said the e46 are not worth getting, but you made it worth it!

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

great job on the retofit. im jealous!!!! im in the middle of doing my retrofit.. i had the projectors like forever, just got started on it again... any advice?

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

ur cutoff is kinda crooked... i think its the left one...

but nice none the less...

btw, wth did u do with ur TL projectors??? (or was it only 1 TL projector)

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

yea, take ur time. have an extra set of headlights... and hav a blueprint of what you're gonna do and all that cuts ur gonna make.

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

im liking it.... very well done. it looks so much better that way than having the headlights blacked out. to me retros looks funny with BOH. im liking the fogs also... make me want to do that. the glass on both of mine cracked. i just need to find that diy you did on them.

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

looks great...after all this time, it sure was worth it.

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

eh.






jk

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

looks good man. Nice output.

How much did it run you in total + time?

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

And the hard work pays off!:tup::tup:

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

looks great!! very OEm....i would pay u to make me one lol...

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

looks pretty good but the cutoff isn't so sharp

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

its beacuse its a custom made shield

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

and projector isnt very good lol. with stock shield it was even worse. i dont care about it to be honest, the blurry cutoff blends in better at far distance instead of having sharp contrast. and it still looks surprisingly bluish white at a distance which is weird lol. the fogs im not too happy with, they look whitish from above the cutoff and yellow below but with the hids on, you can barely see anything. i guess i could either boost them or get another h3 hid kit and use it as driving lights cause the cutoff will be all messed up then. but the fogs were pretty easy to do, all i did was buy oem fogs, then those ebay bmw ones, and use the stock mounting screws to hold it in there from the sides, and then metal wire ties for the rest. horn needs relocation tho too above by the washer fluid. but its fairly simple.

i also kinda want to install a bendable cover over the back to shield the plug from water in case some splashes on it.

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

yeah, the hardest part is deciding how it will fit together. you are limited with shroud and bezel options. decide that before going any further. then you can get some ebay lights and practice with cutting and stuff. also be sure you measure the aim and setup a station inside the house with a battery to test them and make sure they are mounted correctly. the projector will need to be rotated slightly to be off center with the stock reflector. then be sure the height is okay. once its put together, you can still move the whole light up and down a few inches and tighten bolts accordingly.

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

why didnt you use your e55 shrouds?

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

didnt fit at all, they were way too big and there was extra space around the projector. these shower drain were exact match for the lens shape.

here are some more installed pics. you think water will be an issue getting on this connector?

pass side

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...obal01m-01.jpg

driver, wow what a tight fit lol

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...obal01m-02.jpg

and ballast, needs more stick tape to hold it in place.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...obal01m-05.jpg

weather strips relocated onto headlamp to cover the silicone. looks cleaner this way.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...obal01m-04.jpg

and the result of an all day attempt to secure my positive connections. there is hid harness, hvs, stock harness wires, hood light, alarm, amp, etc lol. its alot, but its now rock solid. you dont wanna know how many grounds i have on that radiator frame lol

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...obal01m-06.jpg

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

nice gear! i think you now should be the proud owner of a
Honda 330i EX

or a

BMW Civic

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

Nice job...actually very nice..u really do know how to swich gear good.
im about to do mine retro too.. hopefully i can get some help/suggestion from u when im bump into some problem durin retro
again .. NICE

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

Amazing job d00d

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

Damn.....it looks nice.
Now do mine~~

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

So if you were to forget all the money that you used before you got to this point and just bought the parts that you ended up with.

How much was it for everything excluding the fogs?

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

lol.....in that case, im the proud owner of civic type-tsx

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

hmm you should cut up that stock rubber boot and fit it so the connectors dont get wet, thats what I did.

Also your projectors seem to mounted way to back, does any light hit the reflector?

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

Peekaboo, I see you in the reflection..

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...etrogb08-5.jpg

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

Looks really nice man. Great job

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

wow gear. looks very nice. what did all that cost you? i really want to do a retro but i have some other priorities.

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

there is some glare off the chrome housing, but it shoots way up into the air where nobody will see unless youre sitting on top of a big rig. i think there is also a lil bit which is what lights up the road signs. not as bright as halogen glare, but still there and bright enough to read the sign.

heres what it would cost if you dont mess up lol.

bosch e46 single projectors $100
ebay clear headlamps $100
china 50w ballasts $120
philips DL50 bulbs $110
wire harness with relay $15
supplies and extra things $50

so figure right around $500 for a retro that will be one of the brightest on the road.

it rained and the connectors did not seem to be wet at all. also so far there is zero fog in the lights. i think the ebay design is great. when i had my oem lights sealed up completely, they would fog in the corners a little. well the ebay design has a single vent in that spot, so it prevents the fog from forming. yay. also i need to get a ziptie for that ballast so it doesnt fall on the alternator belt.

thanks for all the comments. i actually just got done installing catz zeta kit to the halogen foglights! hehe. i mounted the ballasts underneath the headlamps and ran all the wiring with the bumper off. so yeah, get ready for even more light, about as bright as h3c hid kit with 2000+ lumens. im prolly gonna switch back to clear bulbs once the piaas burn out for even more light. pics coming tonight, but heres a sneak preview :)

heres where i mounted it, kinda hoping it doesnt fall, there is not much shelf holding it up. but i wrapped the wires around stuff so it wont actually fall to the ground.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...untins-001.jpg

stock (12.5v) vs boosted (15.4v) can you tell the difference??

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...untins-002.jpg

and a quick pic of the hid relay mounted for easy access. all i have to do is unplug the green trigger wire when i take it to shops lol. that red stuff is just terminal protector spray.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...layhidpcpr.jpg

Re: E46 HID retrofit installed! (tons of pics inside)
 

why would you need to disconnect it when you goto shops? n yea gear, this is kind of inspiring lol


n where did you get that split loom tubing? i need some.