UPDATE ON SECOND PAGE, DUEL PROJECTORS.
WITH OUTPUT PICTURES! WHOOO
Story mode!
So my girlfriend got in a car wreck, her 2006 audi TT vs 2009 Altima, cops deemed it the altimas fault because he swerved into her lane then slammed on his brakes because the semi in front of him started slowing down. although Altimas can sure take a hit because when she ran into him only his bumper fell off, but her front end was crumpled causing 12k in damage to her car( life of the rich and famous i guess, 6x the cost of my car...), sad thing is she was only going 45. all this was viewed by and undercover cop. in the end... i got her shattered headlights! after 30 minutes with a pair of pliers and some torx screwdrivers...i Removed the following, 2 Ballast, 2 xenon headlights and 2 H3 foglights, the parts they were attached to aim them, entire wiring harness and the housing that shrouded them.




Ive been lurking the HID forums for a week or so, and ive learned quite a bit! i look forward to doing a full writeup of my installation. but i still need some help, mods can move if they think this is in the wrong forum.

Question, Should i throw away the aiming brackets because i think i am fabbing my own up correct?

i plan on cutting out the housing that surrounded the lights and reversing them to form the shouds. is this a good method? or should i fab up some shouds myself?

i wont be able to get started untill i source a set of r34s for cheap. because i have my r34s on the car already because a deer love tapped my stockers. so i have no spares. but Thats all for now, yahoo just went down so i cant upload any more pics, ill be sourcing a HD camera for the writeup and future pics.

btw, she rented a g8 with the insurance discount, 1$ a day.




I WILL TRADE THE FOGLIGHTS FOR A PAIR OF r34s OR OBO, im easy to work with.

 

The wreckage.

 

You have the parts to do a nice dual projector set-up there.

As far as the shrouds go, you can find those on ebay for cheap.

 

Does one of the smaller projectors have a cracked lens?

 

Always a good excuse to upgrade to clear lens (if it isn't already).

 

sweet! definitely post pics of your progress when you get the chance.

Oh, and welcome to the retrofit club

 

Can't wait to see the pics. I'm also trying to get on retrofits in by the end of the year...so this should def help. Hope your girlfriend is ok though...those TTs don't stand a chance against an Altima.

 

I wouldn't throw anything out until you get your r34's and bake them open.. Then you'll have a better idea of what you can use and what to trash..

 

For sure, but just what size are the lenses on those projectors? Are they 2.5's?

 

If the foglights were xenon you would need those ballasts too. For the retrofit you most likely won't use the shrouds if you are doing r34s, you will have to make customs ones which are fairly simple to source. Those projectors look like e46 or e39 single xenon.

 

it was the light, all parts are in mint condition.
they are 2.25 says hidplanet.Max height = 3.0" Max width = 4.0" Max depth = 5.0" i hope i can get these things in!

the foglights do not need a separate ballast because the Stock ballast also powers the fogs.

also e46 = audi TT for future reference so you are correct.

As for the clear lenses remark, i was actually thinking about that, the audi len's have stock purpleish ting and was wondering if i wanted to change that or leave it. any opinions?

thank you haha.

for a duel setup to be a possibilty would i not have to use the fogs as my lows and the regs as my highs? or would i be sourcing another set of projectors for this to be a possibility?

ill go to ebay and see what shrouds i can find.

in a crash test no haha.but her car has so many crumple points her door weren't even touched and thus not her thank god. im not going to lie though, if her car was totaled i was gonna jump on that part out so fast i was gonna see if i could fab the engine up into my sentra.:

 

Wow those are cheap and worth the time vs money. Somebody buy my sideskirts so i can get these. or donate!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GATLI...Q5fAccessories

 

I just bought 4 shrouds (2 sets) off a guy. A set of audi ones and a set of acura shrouds. Total was 75 shipped.
pm me if you want his contact info.
Oh, I am in canada so shipping to lower 48 would be less I am sure.

Good luck with your retro.... I am still gathering parts for mine.

 

PM'ed
if you want some fogs im selling mine, helping teh gf pay off the
DEDUCTIBLE!!!

 

Price on those fogs? are they in okay shape? Are they H3? lol

 

The foglights aren't xenon. They use a halogen bulb, but they're powered off the same wiring harness as the headlights. The ballast does not power the foglights. They're not suitable for a quad setup, since they aren't high beams.

They look like Bosch minis, in which case they'd be like 1.5-2" in diameter, and take a H3 bulb.

 

the lights are mint, the lights fold inward during the accident at a crumple point, so only the brackets were busted.
they are more than decent, there 6 months old because her lights had a defect and were replaced in spring.
offer, the money goes right to her because its technically her belongings.

yes they are H3,

 

thank you, i confused my terminology.
so yes they H3's,
no there no xenon, but mohf obviously knew that so my ignorance has caused no harm i hope!

 

Yea I am not too sure what you have, but Matt over at TRS sells clear lenses for 2.5. All clear lenses do is let you have a very clear cut off line and very beautiful color bend. Imo think it's worth the upgrade after viewing tons of pictures it's highly recommended!


Btw, I just picked up a FX-R set which I will retro in stock oem headlights or r34 style. Still up for debate. My current setup I have is Cefiro w/ LR3 projectors and oem lens (not as sharp and clear as clear lenses, but still nice).

 

Hard to tell by his pics, but my Bosch minis look a bit smaller then his and mine are the 1.5.


Those must be 2.0 H3 fogs, which would make nice driving lights.
I would swap out the crappy E46 with a BiXenon projector and pair it with that 2" projector in a R34 housing.
One would be a drivng/fog and the other will functuion as the Low and Hi beams.

 

The purple is a"TT thang" but im unable to find any pics!?

doesn't he live in Columbus? or am i thinking of a diff supplier?

i don't know though, im still looking into parts and pieces, maybe a clear lens and then do the color mod? because i love the sharp lines going down the highway. Her mother's TL, whew THAT has good cutoff lines.

 

yes mine are nothing like that and are 2". so you are correct.Please dont mistake me for a money maker i deliver food for a living and am working 40 hour weeks to pay off my 18 credit hour semesters. i was just looking for something to get rid of my disgusting glare(theres a guy at work with a focus HID kit if you thought r34 kits had glare...)

so im on a VERY small budget, if i dont have it, then i probably cant afford it. but you were saying to upgrade my e46 to a bixenon and keep the foglight as a lowbeam/fog light? but doesnt the bixenon do that also? so i would have 2 lights always on? if so, i like the idea and it sounds very attractive.
please correct me because i am slightly confused.
off to search a bit more..




Man political science class is great for .org browsing. just aced the last test so im not missing much, blah blah terrorism..

 

Yes he does live in Columbus, not too far from you.

If you love her TL's cut off line, then an upgraded clear lens would be perfect since it'll just sharpen it and add more color!

 

ok, im almost done with my writeup(this one is for me), its time for some stupid questions,
A. Audi TT and e36 projectors are listed at having a 2 1/4 lens, but nowhere can i find a clear lens, or ANY lens that size. am i wrong about that measurement and thusly most of the internet? or am i interpreting the measurement wrong?

B gimme a few times for your retros, i saw one that took 6 hours a couple took 10ish and ive seen alot of days and weeks, if i sat down and just, worked, how fast do you think i could be done?
previous modding times, 01vi 13hours, DTM mod 1.5 hours, installing stero and system 2 hours. to give you an idea how fast(or slow) i work.
if i could do it reasonably in less than a day, i would start my retro on Tuesday.

C. aiming the lights, ill just be mounting them temporarily in the housing and then aim afterwards with the lens temp taped on to make sure of the aim and a clean cutoff?

D, my Ebay ballast are 55w and the oem audi ballast are 35, should i go oem or ebay? if i went with ebay i would get 55w d2s bulbs. i know that ebay is crap most of the time but no question is stupid when trying to gain information i guess.

 

you can sue the OEM ballasts or the ebay ballasts, not a huge difference. Just remember - the OEM ones are NOT waterproof. You must buy RTV silicone and give them a watertight seal, or you'll kill them.

Do not use generic ebay bulbs. Only use OEM 35w bulbs, such as the Philips 85122 or Osram Xenarc. They have done some testing with the 35w 85122s, and they are pretty safe to over-drive to 55w. You will have slightly reduced lifespan, but the bulbs will still last for years. Don't use ebay bulbs (35w or 55w), they're not nearly as high quality, and will run hotter, be dimmer, have less consistent color, and be less reliable in general.

A lot of retrofitting is making small adjustments and putting finishing touches on it. The actual retrofitting part is very quick. Bake open the housing, dremel out the back where you want the projector to mount, then drill holes in it to attach your mounting brackets. It's easy enough to do in 1 afternoon.
What is time-consuming is making proper adjustments, mounting your shroud so that it looks nice, and waterproofing the housing.

It's definitely possible to at least get a functional retrofit in one day. It's easy enough to just hack something together, then go back a day or two later and install the shroud, perfect the aiming, and seal the housing. If you want a pretty one like mine or Maxgtr2000 or Flava_24/7, it will take some time messing with the shrouds, aim, and mounting to get it to look the way it does. If you just want it functional, all you need to do is put aluminum tape over the open sides of the projector, and construct it so that your brackets are visible from the front. coolsaber57 can show you how.

 

Totally understand about th money thing, retrofits can get expensive.
The great thing is you have mostly everything you need. The E46 uses a 2.25" lens I believe and Ive only seen clear lenses being sold in 3" or 2.5"
So, you could just use them as they are or like I said go with a different projector as your main projector and make that one a BiXenon projector.
The main projector would be for the Hi and Low beams. That smaller one you have you could use as a driving light/foglight and can either run it off a seperate switch or have it tied in to the parking lights. If you do it that way, then yes you would have two lights always on when you turn on the low beams.

As far as time goes, like nalc you can do them in an evening if you wished but to have a really nice set, one that almost looks OEM will require more time and patience.
Aiming them is another time consuming process.

 

I will be doing mine shortly as I don't have all my parts in, but how do you guys have your aiming level / bracket setup? Just curious. Thanks!

 

Well I'm ordering my "gattling gun" shrouds on Monday. I hate doing a messy job so everything will be epoxied or shielded and water proofed using headlight sealant and filling the ballast with nonconductive sealant.

i love the looks i get from these headlights though, even with the lights off. so it will be a perfection project, ill be calling off a day from work to do this so if i cant make it pretty, as you said. i can always go back and fix it.

haha im no master at craftmanship to get a quad setup like those!

Ive seen a few methods of aiming, a few jerryrigged, i saw some that had 2 bolts attached to brackets with locking nuts like how we losen our TB cables at the mount.
im going to be using washers at the points where my projectors attach to the housing in the back to get aim down and then aim the headlights accordingly if needed.
ill be Jb welding the top of the head of the screw to my projectors so they dont spin and i add more washers or take off to aim, does this sound like a good plan?
silicone will follow.
does anyone reuse the rubber peice on the back of the r34s? like cut a hole in it to waterproof the housing and projector a bit more?

 

I sent you the contact info for my guy. Did you hit him up?

 

im emailing him right now.
i dropped your name is that ok?

 

well, register at HIDplanet, and use the "JVX" mounting method, which involves several L-brackets. Don't half-*** your mounting method. You can bolt them in their pretty easily, but if you don't do it right, aiming will be slow and frustrating, and you'll have to take them apart multiple times. We're all speaking from retrofitting experience.

You need a high beam and a lowbeam. That's a given. Easiest way us to use your e46 single as a lowbeam, and keep the R34 reflector highbeam. Look at coolsaber57s thread, that's what he has.

What flava suggests is getting a fx bixenon, to have low beam and high beam functionality in the same projector. Then, he suggests mounting the projector foglight inboard, to use as a foglight or a running light.
If you look at his retrofit, IIRC he has bi-xenons and a yellow foglight inboard of them. So even though he has quad projectors, instead of being 2 lows and 2 highs, his is 2 hi/lo bixenons, and 2 foglights (not driving lights, big difference).

Or, a third option (what I have done) is used a single xenon lowbeam, and a projector highbeam. The difference is with the projector - my inboard projector is a white, very bright projector with no cutoff shield for a long distance beam. Flava has a small yellow projector with a foglight cutoff for a short wide beam

 

You mean "JnC" not "JVX"

 

im registered, ill go search that method.

thats what im using, r34 highs untill i can source a cheap bixenon after i gain more experiance with this whole thing, im just scared that this might be over my head.

yes thats what i gathered from his advice but again, im on a tight budget and my needs are not that extream as of yet because im still in the learning stage. but foglights will be in the future before spring. im always looking at ebay for some good deals.
before feb id like to swap my e46 over to a fog/running light and grab a bixenon and just swap them over.

thank you for your help.

 

bump!!!

 

Yes I do. Although JVX has some really good threads too - he is the authority on projector comparisons, because he does very detailed and thorough (and, most importantly - consistent!) testing of different projectors and projector mods. Almost every projector worth buying has had a JVX comparison done to it.

 

You can have a nice quad set up, it just takes time. I would just do the e46 lo with the r34 hi for now. You can always redo the retrofit when you get tired of it or want to try something new. If you use high beams alot then you can upgrade to a bixenon later. If you aim the projectors and mount them aimed there shouldn't really be a need for much adjustment, just take your time. The mounting method you stated sounds fine, if you are confident in that, do it that way. Use nuts and washers on the screws, it will make adjusting it easier, once it is aimed silicone it if possible because jb weld is unforgiving. Especially if you want to upgrade projectors later. My current retrofit is r34 headlights with tsx projectors and stock r34 hi beams if it makes you feel better.

 

And when I finally get all my crap together I will have:
Tsx hids' for the low beam projectors
Acura Halogen MDX frojectors for the high beams/daytime running lights.

Just trying to raise funds for the r34 headlights and the hid ballasts/bulbs. ugh.

 

Test them out first. The MDXs are excellent projectors, and they might be just as good as TSX for the lowbeam, especially with an e30 lens. MDX is a halogen version of the RX330, which is one of the best single xenon projectors out there.

 

i highlighted the problem in bold haha.
thank you for the pics, looks nice and how i want to present the look. slightly stock but not too much.

 

I picked them up for $35 shipped. For that price, I don't really care how they preform. But it is nice to know that they are solid.
Thanks