First off.. I never jump into anything without doing my fair share of research. I have HID's installed in my stock headlight housings because let's face it.. they are way brighter and produce far more visibility. I kno, I'm a selfish f*ck because I prefer having way better visibility and could care less about the glare in oncoming traffics eye (BTW I have the main beam adjusted side by side with the stock beam.. the beam and glare are equivalent to halogens just more intense). But it's not like I'm the only one driving around doing it let's be honest.

So I have been planning on putting retrofit projectors in my headlight housings for some time. But just recently I have came across the money and time to actually do it. And my impulse is twitching to do it too so I will be moving very fast. But before I order anything I wanted to get a second and maybe third opinion on things.

Since my current housings are stock, you could imagine the scratch marks I have on them already. I have been looking at the sand paper method of fixing this but I was thinking if I'm gonna go retro I might as well get all new housings. So for that fact I've had the aftermarket angel eye projector housings on my eBay watch list for some time waiting for them to come down in price.



But then I've read about how the cut-off wasn't good at all being as tho these housings were intended for halogen bulbs. So then I started thinking about getting these housings and just retrofitting them until I heard about these products having gaps for certain types of models of cars. That's when I started thinking about getting stock replacements and just retrofitting them.

Question 1: Has anyone used the sand paper method and how does it compare to just getting new housings?

Whether I use the sand paper method, buy new stock housings or buy the aftermarket halo housings.. I will have to perform a retrofit job. After a good amount of research.. I'm left with a few options that I'm not quite sure on. My options are all based from | http://www.theretrofitsource.com/ | ..I'm left with the options of the Acura TL Lenses (which by the price seem like they outperform the rest by far).. The FX-R type lenses and the Morimoto Mini's.

Question 2: From experience.. which out of the Acura TL, FX-R and Morimoto lenses perform the best.



As it stands right now.. I am contemplating New Stock Housings with the Morimoto Mini lenses.

 

Just found these and will most likely be going with them..

(EDIT: Ordered 3/4/2011)



Still need an opinion or two on the type of projector lenses..

 

Try these. I don't know if they are just the bulbs or include the housings as well.

http://8007610235.ecrater.com/p/4721...-kit-headlight

Brian

 

It looks as if it is just a 35w HID conversion kit for $270.. which is a total Rip. I currently have a 55w Bi-Xenon HID conversion kit installed that I purchased off eBay about a year ago for $80. Even with the price increase in just the last year the same ones are about $130 now which makes me think that the admin of that site buys them from eBay and just doubles the price when he sells them on his page.

 

I have those housings in my sedan. They fit very well. The projector set up for the low beams can run HIDs as I have in mine (6000k). The High beams however cannot. However the halogen high beams are far superior to the factory housings with Bi-Xenon HIDs. Check my pics and you can see the fitment. Lighting Output is excellent.

I got mine for $180 on EBAY. I got the Xentec HIDs later for $40. Last I saw the Package deal for $220. I think they are well worth the investment.

 

I think I found my new best friend here.. A fellow SXT Sedan Modifier. lol

smokesxt,

I see you have the housings that I was gonna go with originally. I went ahead and ordered the housings in post #2 for $130 shipped. I didn't quite understand what I would do with the second light bay in the housing that is in post #1. I couldn't imagine just leaving it empty and halogen lights are a thing of the past for me.. I've upgraded headlights to 55w HID's and all blinkers and dome light to LED's and I am not looking back.

Your halogen high beams are gonna be superior to the bi-xenon highs simply because the projectors you have in your housings were not designed for HID bulbs. It probly even said not to use HID's right on the housings. But I guarantee your results would be the opposite by far if you have installed the correct lenses in your housings.


FX-R Projector Close



FX-R Projector Far



FX-R Projector High Beam

Pictures appear courtesy of JVX from HIDPlanet

These are what my headlights will look like when I am finished with them.. Point your headlights against the garage door and compare the cutoff lines to these pics and you will see what I mean. I've never seen the actual cutoff on your lenses either so if you could post a pic or link me to one, that would be great.

 

Actually the projectors are designed for HIDs and they look almost identical to the pattern you posted. The High beam is not designed for HID so therefore just runs halogen. The high beams however with regular bulbs give me excellent lighting and awesome distance (I would guess 1 mile roughly).

 

When you say sandpaper method are you refering to cleaning the headlight lenses? If so, yes the "sandpaper" method works just fine. work with grits as low as 800 go to 600 if they are really pitted, then work your way up to 2500 then polish those babies up. Remember you're going to have to find a way to put a sealant back over the headlight covers because you just sanded all the protection off and will yellow up fairly quick. Some people clear coat the lenses. Check out auto geek detailers forum and they have a method of applying a new protectant on the lenses.

As far as HID goes. You could always source a low beam only projector so you could still utilize the halogen highbeam in your headlight, otherwise you could buy a DRL unit and use a Bi-xenon projector and use the empty space as a DRL. In my opinion that's the route I would go, single xenon projector and halogen highs, or even do a quad set-up. For low beam projectors I would look into TSX projectors with the clear lense or even the RX/AFS projectors. Matt from TRS (The Retrofit Source) is in the works in making the best low beam projector on the market, the S2K-r projector. For Bi-xenons I would recommend the FX-r very nice projector, but if you have enough room do a TL/ZKW projector, that's what I had in my coupe. I wouldn't run 55watts in any of these projectors, some are very prone to melting or burning of the chrome in the reflector bowl. The philips 85122+ D2S HID bulb will look very good, I have the Osram 66240 CBI's in my TL at the moment and out perform the 22+ in everyway but they are $200 a pair. Remember to get a wire harness and if possible OEM ballasts, they out perform aftermarket every time.

Have any questions, feel free to email me cause I check this forum only once every 6 months if that.
nate_0022@yahoo.com

 

I'm definitely going with a Bi-Xenon projector. Like I said in a previous post, Halogens are a thing of the past for me. I really don't need an extra set of DRL's.. I already have a set of 60-60 SMT switchbacks installed that I use as DRL's. So now I'm down to a One Headlight housing.. Since the ones I ordered in the earlier post never made it here (thanks to the seller) I will be modifying my OEM housings.

Most likely I will be going with a complete Morimoto kit. (Ballasts, Bulbs, Projectors (but they use FX-R clear lenses). They should fit nicely in my 9007 housings. Which I'm probly gonna sand down and tint using Niteshades, then spray a satin or gloss coat over that. I ultimately wanted to take the yellow reflector out completely is why I was trying to purchase the one with silver reflectors. Since that deal isn't going through, I will probly just try to disassemble them and spray them myself (Satin Silver).

 

ORDERED!!

Finally decided to go with a Full Morimoto Mini H1 Kit. Includes Morimoto Ballasts, Bulbs, Projectors (with upgraded clear lenses), Gatling Gun Shrouds, and Angel Eyes. I've yet to get myself new housings, thinking on going to the salvage yard and getting a new OEM pair. Last time I was there a saw a practically new pair on a sebring. I'll just spray and modify these when I have them open..

Projectors should be here by the end of the week. My project will begin next week.. Stay Tuned !!