OK, took a day off today just to get this quad project going again. Was planning to close the light today till I found out one of the shrouds has chorme peeling out I don't know if it came like that or I caused it. I did the other 3 the same way and was perfect! I'll get then ordered from TRS.


Passenger side, almost done just need to close and seal the light.


Shrouds and spacer mounting using screws and wire tensions ( to minimize space)






I like it

 

Yeah buddy it's looking good!

Do you need me to order another shroud?

S

 

I have them ordered already, I think it was my fault. No worries.

 

While waiting for MaximaSe86 shroud and solenoid replacement, I decided to make another set of retro using old parts I have just in case someone buys the ones I have for sale ( come one guys....make offers!). I Decided to refurbish the old beat up ebay housings and turned it into another FX-R retro. I have spare brackets laying around and decided to mod it and use it!


Painted bezel.


A couple of beat up/old mock up shrouds that I cleaned and trimmed and sprayed a couple of paint and clear coat. Considering all of these were used and mock up parts, I think I have pretty decent looking headlights assy
.



Not sure what I'm going to do with high beam yet,and no I'm not going to put any projector in there....maybe DRL, but I don't want to spend too much either.

 

Hey Genesis.. How much for these headlights^^^^???

 

Those are custom, a one off.

 

I have my old setup for sale if you are interested.....

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...eadlights.html

 

I saw them...I them, But think these would look nicer on my car.lol

 

Hmm...I can't win, can I? What color is your car?

 

I guess this is a way to strum up business huh?

 

No...no, believe me I'm just trying to recoup all the expense on prototyping process and getting rid of stuff I don't need. These housings were the ones I used to prototype your headlights. Now that everything is almost done, I need room and funds to "finance" my other hobby which is completing my CNC machine. It's been 2 years in the making, its running but not the way I wanted. I made those brackets of yours on this machine too.....

Between yours, this, and the ones on my car I have 3 sets of retrofit. I think all of these combined would be about the price of my Max, crazy huh...

 

Ok, the old retro ( the ones for sale) is finally off the car ready for any potential new owner. It's still looking good other than the lens that got slightly oxidized.


Replace above with these. No it's not a quad retro. That lens on the high beam spot is just the lens...for decoration...not a complete projector assy. I had to do something since I don't have the original reflector anymore and didn't want to put any projector in there.

 

Back to Maximase86 Quad retro.

Still waiting for the selenoid replacement for the driver side. Got the passenger side sealed and done.




Pressurized headlight to check for water leak. This doesn't guarantee the regular condensation film from happening but to make sure that the seal is tight. Condensation films can occur from time to time especially if you sit on traffic for hours in heavy rain. This Ebay housing is so thin than the heat from engine bay is easily transferred inside the housing causing the air inside the housing to heat up and when the front lens is cooled by heavy rain condensation occurs.

I plan to extent the back housing where the high beam bulb sits to create special cap to make sure that there is no room for moisture to go in and to make room for silica gel. With silica gel those annoying condensation film from heavy rain moisture of pacific northwest should be eliminated.



Currently installed in my car to test everything is in working condition.

Passenger side is the quad FXRs, driver side is my current FXR 2.5" ( sorry for bad pic due to rain like EVERYDAY) It seems like the FXR 3.0" has alot more intensity than the FXR 2.5" I didn't really notice the width different either

 

Looking good. Can't wait!

S

 

Both sides are done and sealed. Extend the high beam back cap to fit the smallest TRS cap I can find. Mechanical fastening + JB weld filler + silicone.


Added silicone washer and electical tape on the turn and parking signal for tight seal condition. These Ebay headlights are prone to leak on these area causing condensation.


Low beam cap installation procedure.


What the back should look like..




We'll test it for few days, hoping that I don't need any silica gel at all.

 

Nice work, i plan to do this but wanted to explore a factory option.

Can anyone verify post #15 that the 2002 maxima came with HID housings and if so can someone post a pic?

See post #15
http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...ght-issue.html

 

2002-2003 came with factory HID's. My car is an 2002 and had the factory units. Here is a stock shot from 2008.

 

survived 1st manual car wash with engine running today....

 

 

Those look sick

 

Phew...it's a lot of work. No more quad retro for me, at least for awhile. I spent crazy hours designing and machining those brackets. The clearance between the headlight lens to the E46 shrouds extender is 1/16". This because the FXR 3" is 6" long from lens to bulb holder. Fitting the FXR 3" in the bucket was the hardest retro for me so far. The Mini h1 was pretty straight forward to the the small size

 

Well I hope you enjoyed the challenge I put your through! You should definitely use the pictures from this retro as well as your others to build a portfolio of your work to show future clients!

S

 

It was a good challenge for sure. I know now that you can fit pretty much anything on this headlight other than TL projector. The FXR 2.5" was pretty easy to fit it with only 5.5" overall length. RX350 Bi-X was also pretty easy. I made a pair of bracket of RX350 Bi-X for someone here in the .org, hopefully he posts the builds, I'd be very interested to see the result.

 

Want a 4 th gen light to build a bracket for my rx350 job?

 

The reflector bucket is big enough for projector, but I can defenetly build you a pair of brackets if you are serious about it.

 

Can I have some brackets for my rx330s going in my 5.5's ? :'(

 

I'm thinking about it. Mainly because I'm scared to death of getting the rotational alignment screwed up...

 

With custom bracket, rotational alignment is much quicker to adjust and in case you have to replace the projector, it would be a lot quicker.

 

Would you need one of my 99 lights to build the bracket?

 

May be not. Ideally you would open the light and do the fitting first. I would then need few dimensions based on your mock up to build the bracket. Your light has flat bottom reflector so tha bracket is going to be mounted in there. The idea is to have you do most of the work with bracket that I made, that way you save a bunch money.

I do thing you're ok without bracket though and I can give you pointer. I have RX350 Bi-x so I know how big they are incase you still want bracket done.

 

I'll chat with you when you come up for Sarin's install

 

Took the quad retro for a second car wash tonight.



Drove for about 5 miles to stop at fedex station, no problem, no condensation.


Drove around some more...


Mini H1s only

FXRs only

FXR high beam

Both

Close up


looks really good on the car I think.. Notice....still no condensation.....



Went for a drive to video shoot...


Parked the car, went outside to get mail, then condensation appeared on the driver side. It happened few days back when it was raining hard here too (after 30 minutes drive). I re-sealed and re-test it and it was water tight. Only on the driver side, which is strange. I think its time to place the Silicon pack.


1 hour later the right section is gone....

 

Here are some pics of the final install on my car of the FX-R 3.0/Mini Quad setup:

Initial Fitment




Aiming




Comparison






High Beam in Quad Mode

 

That output

 

HOOD SHOT!

 

Geez....you're going to need sun glasses soon
Did people flash?

 

Only the ladies...

j/k

Haven't had that problem yet.

S

 

BTW, I forgot to share a picture of the switch for the inner projectors. I an OEM option. Foglight switch for a 96-99 Infiniti G20. Sure makes for a cleaner install.

 

 

New addition to the family.

1997 E36 M3 Techno Violet/Modena interior. 3.2i 5speed.

Been searching for E36 M3 for few years now and saw this color combo and felt in love instantly. It's got 158K miles with clean title (very very minor parking collision reported). Interior is immaculate, I couldn't believe what I saw. It's 17 years old and it looks like few years old. It's been a local car ( Seattle area) all her life with no rust, not even a drip of oil. Still have the Maxima at the moment and contemplating to keep it. So far, there are things that I like about the Maxima and there are MORE things I like about M3. The most significant different between the Max and the M3 are:

1. Steering feels and respond. No contests, M3 won. On a crusing speed straight smooth highway, they both feel the same but when you hit uneven roads, crowns, imperfection, My max steering moves with it. The M3 steering just sits there, it felt like it was made out of solid chuck of billet, It is weighted perfectly. The M3 steering respond is precise, point it where you want the car to be and it gets you there quick...much quicker than the Max.
2. The power band. The M3 is so linear. The torque is available from 1000 rpm all the way to red line.
3. The brakes. I don't know how to describe it, it is awesome. I guess that was due to massive disc brakes.

Things that I don't like about the M3:
1. The cup holder position. The cup holder position on M3 is an after thought really...
2. The seat. I love the seat because it wraps you well during hard cornering, but man the seat is small
3. The tiny side mirror, this really annoys me.
4. The small electrical cluster buttons. Hopefully I get used to it.
5. You can put car seats in the back, but there is no extra leg rooms even for small kids.

I guess they are different car so It's not fair to really compare them. One is family sedan, the other is classic hot rod of the 90's.

I'm looking forward to work on the M3 and have HUGE plan for the headlights and tail lights. Stay tune.....





The Max