My car is silver, what color should I paint the reflectors? I'm tryin to visualize it but other input would be greatly appreciated.

 

AE them!!

 

What housings are you using?

 

just e55s...I think I'm just going to paint flat black.

 

Wait what are you thinking about painting? The housings or the projectors?

If you're painting the inside of the projectors you just paint the cutoff shield, not the reflector bowls.

 

I'm talking about the headlight housings that came with the car, the reflective area that the stock oem bulbs reflect off...

 

Why paint that? Unless you have black bumper lights or black wheels I'd leave that alone.

 

ok it wont cause lots of glare if I keep it as it is then right?

 

^light goes thru the projector, doesnt touch the housing. youre good. pics when finished

 

ok cool, thanks. you think that I should just keep it the reflective silver then? These projectors are kinda big so I'm probly going to need to butcher the housing a bit then FG it up...unless someone knows a better trick?
EDIT: Actually they are not that bad...I think I'm gonna do a dark silver like the body paint.

 

Are E55's open or closed projectors? I don't remember off the top of my head.

If they're closed, you've got nothing to worry about. If they're open there will be some glare but it won't be all that bad since only some of the light will be hitting the reflector. But this is what shrouds are for and they're relatively cheap so get some if you're worried about blinding other drivers with glare.

 

ya I got some mugs for cheap at the store they will work i am hoping.
I was figuring out how to rig up an adaptor for the solenoid/high beams. I got the driver side working correctly; the light stays on through low/high beam, and the solenoid activates only when I throw the high beam switch.
But now my passenger side stopped working all together...I dont understand how neither the low/high beam doesn't work on the passenger side, the driver side works fine...a fuse?
EDIT: The 15amp fuse blew for the passenger side head light...anyone have an idea why? Am I supposed to be wiring up the ballasts directly to each side's output wires, or am I missing something that ties them both together somehow?

 

It would be much easier if you used an actual wiring harness like a 9004 bi-xenon one that way you don't have to mess with stock wiring. Plus, you'll be drawing the current to power the ballasts directly from the battery which is a nice advantage.

 

I figured out the wiring, so now it stays on whether I have it on Hi or Lo beam...and the solenoids work perfect as well...I also replaced the fuse and it's not blowing...yet.
But now that you mention it, yea, I'd much rather just get a wiring harness so that I don't need to chop up my stock wiring.
it's using d1s bulbs and ballasts so can you recommend anything?

 

I'd get a bi-xenon wiring harness and tap into that harness instead of the stock harnesses but if it's working just fine, leave it be.

 

here's a pic of what I'm doing.

This is what I'm going to do, fiberglass it up, but I can still remove the projector after doing so...any thoughts negative or positive? Any alternate routes before fiberglassing? I want some input before I do this. Thanks.

 

Shouldn't the projectors be inside of the housing, or is this jus a mock up?

 

with that much sticking out, will it clear the battery or the other things on the other side?

 

It clears the battery by about 2" or so. The other side is good also...I didn't buy shrouds, now I want some. The projector is about 50% inside the housing...

 

I wouldn't mount them like that. Since they're open projectors, the heat from the HIDs will probably melt that section where the projector bowl and housing meets. Just enlarge that hole and fit the bowl through the front, then fiberglass the back or just epoxy it.

 

uh oh...already fg it in...

 

Uh oh is right. Time to cut that fiberglass.

 

Your going to have issues with aiming as well as a limited width of light output since the projector is so far back. Your supposed to leave yourself some room to position the projector left/right and up/down for aiming once all assembled.The projector should be angled a bit more inward.
As it sits, once assembled into the housings and back on the car the projectors light output is going to by way on the outside.Yes you can use the headlights adjustment points but to get the lights output back onto the area directly in front of the car the headlight housings will be angled extremly inward and look odd. I wouldnt fiberglass anything unitll youve got them pretty much completed, have had them installed into the car and have verified the postion of the light ouput.
Also, sometimes when using tape on the silver chrome areas it can come off with the tape once the tape is removed, just an FYI.

 

HIDs actually generate less heat then halogens since they charge a gas vs a filament so I dont think anything would melt.
If it were me though, I definitely would use a shroud or some aliminum tape to seal up the projectors. It will allow the light to be more concentrated towards the lens and eliminate any glaring from light escaping from the sides.

 

Alright Thanks. Also, it's only resined in with minimal fg...so I should be able to take it back out, and then I'll put it a bit more forward. How much space is optimal between the headlight front glass, and the projector lense? About within 1"?

 

ok started over, heres what it will look like I guess. I still need to figure out a way to make the projector stay in position, whether fab some bracket or fg again or something.

 

Looks like its pointed outwards still, Im assuming you were still positioning them.

 

Just got off work (long day)
yea that was just mocked up...the cutoff looks nice even with the stock lenses its blue/purple. I got some homemade bezels/shrouds that I'll try first and if I like them I'll just use those...This is mainly for purpose, secondly for looks. Sometime I can't tell if my stock headlights are on or not lol.

 

I hear ya, youve got the right idea now. Placing them into the car and aiming them while installed before sealing them in place.

 

here's where I am I'm almost done..I painted it black because the drivers side headlight housing had water in it for about 5 years. I never bothered with fixing it, and during that time it faded the reflector finish to a dull gray/white color..hope it turns out nice. This is going on a silver Maxima.

 

Looking good, what shrouds did you go with?

 

Thanks man. I just picked these up, I'm kinda on a budget. I had to cut them on the top and bottom to make them fit. Also, it looks like they have drill-out holes for LEDs or something. I'd need to wire some LEDs up in series with resistors to see about 4v per LED if I went with the white/blue ones. But I probably won't do it.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...K%3AMEWNX%3AIT

 

Those dont look bad.
Many do the led mod, its refered to as the Iron Man setup. A bit ricey to me, but to each their own.....

 

Progress is looking good!

 

Thanks chris and flava...
I just noticed that the shrouds that I listed are like $50 bucks lol...when I bought them , I got them for only $22.00!! I guess the seller raised the price just a little.

 

LOL, yeah I was thinking about that when you said you were on a budget.
The 50 bux is a normal price for decent shrouds, 22.00 is one heck of a deal.

 

If you buy them directly from The Retrofit Source you can opt for a "value" shroud which is what I got. Its the same shroud, but with slight imperfections and they knock like half the price off. Mine arrived and I couldnt even spot an imperfection.

 

Nice work! These are looking good! I plan on getting my TL projectors from The Retrofit Source. They quoted me for $200.00 for the pair, which includes the replica ZKW lense. Anyone have any input as to if that's a fair price?

 

thanks guys, I just finished it. It's not the best by far, and I know I could have done a better job, but I needed to get it finished! It's a wee bit uneven but I don't think they'll be blinding anyone LOL.. Here are final pics. It's a lot better than the stock was.

from inside first power up, looks kinda green? Amd I'm not sure why the light on the driver side does not "flow" into the passenger cutoff, but oh well:

from the outside:

and finally night shot with lights off:

Now I need to figure out how to make it match and whether or not thefogs and corners need catching up.

 

Do you have an HID kit in them? Those dont look to bright, are they halogen?