Given the output of the 1 pc R34 headlights, it's definite that the OEM bulbs aren't the best choice. They're just asking for HIDS or projectors, and after looking at a few of the threads of people that have already done a retrofit, the projectors seem to be the way to go.

I noticed a lot of people are using or recommending Acura projectors, the TL models to be specific. Either because they fit or they're very good projectors, or both, not too sure yet, still reading up on them.

But, my question is, has anyone had experience with BMW projectors? Lets say, E36 or E46 projectors?

And if this belongs in the newbie thread, my apologies.

 

I think you should buy my murano projectors and use those. They'll fit in the housing and factory murano beams look fine to me!

 

BMW projectors are actually not the best projectors. Go with the japanese made stanley or kioto projectors found in many lexus, acura, and infiniti cars.

for the R34 housing the best would be either S2000 or TSX. S2000 is better than TSX but TSX is about half the price of s2000. these 2 are relatively small and easy to fit in the R34.

The TL are by far the best around but It is very difficult to fit in a stock maxima housing much less the R34. It is doable in the R34...i know cause i did it...but i wouldnt recommend it for first timers. and u wont need the highbeams of the TL since the R34 already has a dedicated high beam. just make sure to wire it correctly so that the low beam (projectors) stay on when u flash the high beams.

 

Thanks, you answered a lot of my other questions before I even posted em lol.

The S2000/TSX projectors are 2.5 inch in diameter?

Also lets say I just bought the projectors themselves, I could use any bulb/harness combination of my own choosing?

 

But I sure hope you will want them. The TL high beam is badass.

But yes they are very large and won't actually fit inside the housing height-wise, you'll have to hack some extra out if you want them to fit.

And yes you can use any bulb and ballast combination, as long as they're compatible with each other and the bulbs are meant for projectors (D2S or D1S). You should really stick with OEM bulbs and ballasts though.

For prebuilt harnesses (and answers to any other questions really) try HIDplanet.com.

 

yeh as morpheuszero mentioned...make sure to get OEM ballast/igniters and bulbs. Hella Gen 3 ballasts are considered the best because of they are easy to wire, water proof, and very durable. remember that water will destroy ballasts.

for the bulbs...make sure they are D2S not D2R. D2S are for projectors nad D2R are specifically for reflectors.

and yes the s2000 and tsx are 2.5" lens. make sure that if u go with the TSX to get the clear lens one...they have better output.

keep in mind that when u mount the projectors to make sure that...
1.) they are level.
2.) they are adjustable with ample room to do so
3.) they are upright (the shield inside will be on the bottom)

also try to get them aimed atleast decently before you seal up the headlights.

 

I have E46 bixenons and love them. They are admittedly not the best, but they're a hell of a lot better than most anything except the Stanley and Kyoto stuff.

 

They're also very small and easy to place (although finding a good mounting point is kind of a pain still) but these are the way to go.

 

Which ballasts did you go with?

 

I was thinking off doing a dual setup (one in low beam spot, one in high beam spot). Is it possible with the tsx projectors and oem ballasts and bulbs to fit a projector in each spot? Can it be wired that way or what? I don't know enough about projectors.

 

you can do that...but u will really want a high beam. also there really is no point in 4 projectors. and its illegal.

 

Well I didn't even know it was illegal. But I was figuring that it would still be 2 light at a time. Wasnt sure if there was a way to have the high beam projector actually brighter. Like use a bi-xenon projector and only use the high beam for that one and a regular for the low beams. Is the law that you can't have more than 2 projectors on at a time or something?

 

"Retros" (no idea why they call them that since there is nothing old school about it) are illegal period. The r34 headlights are illegal since htey arent DOT approved.

 

Retrofit: Adding new stuff to update old stuff. In the case of projectors, we're taking newer, better HID projectors and adding them to our dated "retro/old school " halogen headlights.

 

retrofits are illegal but not noticable...who keeps track of which cars have hid's or not? 4 main running lights are easy to spot.

if u want bright high beams then just get bi-xenon projectors. it is also a bad idea to run HID's for a short period of time...and u want a minimum of 5 minutes before turning them on again. they shorten the life of the ballasts dramatically.

 

you mean bixenons like hte ones I have for sale? (shameless plug)

 

good info to know. I think I'll just stick to HID's in stock housings. Good enough for me.

 

I want to go with HIDs, but I don't want to do retrofit. I would do it in the future but for now I just want the HIDs. Does anyone know of any good kits that are reasonably priced? I was looking on eBay and I saw a kit that was 149 bucks.

 

with kits u risk the chance that they wont last. and you will blind ppl. To see how it will look...go to ur car. Hit the high beams and imagine that much light with 3 times the intensity. thats how it looks.

 

Whatever is factory E46 I think Bosch, but I could be wrong. Not sure what ones specifically. I haven't looked in a while and don't particularly care, sooo

 

good post. don't just slap HIDs in your stock housings. You won't get better light, and if you don't want to blind people TOO much you'll have to aim your lights down more, meaning you will actually get WORSE light. Save up and do it right. Also if you get a 9004 kit you will have to get different bulbs (that aren't rebased) to stick in the projectors.

Stick with OEM and do it right the first time. OEM ballasts, OEM 4300K bulbs, OEM projectors (FX35 are great for the maxima, REALLY wide, great cutoff and bixenon). Don't half-ass it. Please.

 

Ah, alright. Hey, some of 'em you can modify for higher wattage, I was kind of thinking of trying to get some 50W ballasts or get another set for modification... but honestly now that I actually have 'em in I think they're bright enough and already feel bad any time I go over a crest.

 

ive heard that boosting ballasts and 50W bulbs all the time are bad for the projector. gets too hot and damages the bowl. a lot of ppl have the dial in the cabin and boost only when they feel they need more light. it would be nice to have even more light BUT since we have TLs ...i dont think we need it.

 

Haha yeah it's already pretty crazy bright... TLs FTW

And to the OP, would you rather have this:



or this? (shamelessly whored by myself):



Here's another comparison just to drive the point home:



Keep in mind our stock 9004 housings have even worse beam patterns than both of these guys.

 

Those pictures aren't even a fair comparison, either, because the TSX shot is taken from a much greater distance from the wall.

 

Oh man....you guys have been the greatest help so far. This thread should be stickied in regards to HIDS and projectors!

New to this game, still saving up to get the R34s and TSX projectors AND the full OEM Hella Gen 3 kit from HIDPlanet.com. Hopefully once everything gets here I'll start my project and post pics as it goes along.

Thanks a million again tho!

 

Awesome. You won't be disappointed.

 

Sorry to raise the dead lol, just got the R34s, the light output really isn't as bad as they say BUT it definitely needs an upgrade, HID or projectors, and yeah it brings up the fact that I need to update my 1156/1157s ambers to white bulbs lol.

But my question was....as I'm still shopping around for projectors and such, and given I have the R34s in already, could I....follow with me here.... purchase the HID D2S bulbs with ballasts and just drop them in as is until I get the projectors....... or should I get a different bulb if that's case? (Basically I'm considering the Hella/Phillips Gen-3 package off HIDplanet.com, and I ask because I see talk about D2Rs being for reflectors and D2S being for projectors.) Will D2S be bad for reflectors also?

Sorry if it's a n00b question, blast away, but hopefully someone catches my drift here.

 

don't the new r34s run 9006 and 9005?

 

D2S bulbs in the reflector will mean a horrible beam pattern, poor output, and tons of glare...same as any HID kit.

 

D2S will be worse than a regular HID kit.

 

How do you figure? HID kits simply use re-based D2S bulbs.

 

Pretty sure they use D2R?

 

I wouldnt recommend it, your first problem would be how you would secure the D2S bulb to a 9006 housing. second problem would be - how would you adjust the focal point of the bulb in the housing? And even if you get the top two right your beam would still look bad.

 

http://onfinite.com/libraries/1037389/a16.jpg
(not using image tags, too big)

Only two I see on there with anything even resembling the D2R coating are the two different versions of H4

Besides, think about it, those kits are cheap and the people buying them already have a complete disregard for the proper way of doing things. Cheap price and a lack of care from the buyers...would you use re-based D2R?

 

when you say bixenon does that actually mean that there is a high beam in the projector. if so then there would be no need for the r34 head lights which i believe have a seperate space for the high beam bulb. is this correct?

 

You'd be correct in assuming bixenon would make the NEED for R34 lights invalid, but, some people like just the looks. Also, depending on how you aim the projectors and the headlight housings themselves, you could take advantage of the high beam portion of the headlight in conjunction with the high beam of the bixenon

 

if the bixenon means they have a high beam in them ill save my money as opossed to buying the r34 (i pesonally think the max looks funny with a seperate light for high beam ie, third light) and try to moddify the CE glass headlight,which is what i have now. do you know if anyone has tried to mod the CE glass headlights?

 

Funny you say that, I think the maxima looks weird w/projectors in the regular housings,.

With stock style headlights the projector would have to be in the middle of the housing.

By design, factory fogs are to pushed to the sides, projector headlights look best when the same concept is applied. Think about it, projectors closer to the middle, with the fogs furthest form the middle. Vs. Projectors inline with the fogs.

But I’m only giving you my opinion since I had both.

 

gtr_rider did a retrofit into them. If you need advice about that, contact him.
Back in the day I thought projectors on a Max period looked goofy. Now I think Max's look weird without them