I plan to retrofit some projectors into my headlights and fogs in the near future, and thus have bene reading like crazy the past few days. But I still don't get how the retrofitters do their "thing". From what I see of completed headlights, the projector is in and the headlight still retains its factory back - where the bulbs plug into. And that the aiming control is connected from the factory to the new projector. What I can't figure out is how they do the above? How can you tell which projector will fit into the shape of the headlight? How do you know the aiming controls will line up? Help and explanation appreciated.

 

I'd definitely wanna know this too, everyone always lists what they used and before and after pics but I don't understand the process. Do you have to cut your headlight to fit the projector if its currently a reflector housing,etc.

 

I suggest you go to HIDplanet.com and read read read.. Also when buying projectors you need to measure the dimensions of your housing to know what size projector will even fit or fit with SOME modification(like my setup). How adjustment is done with most if not all retrofits is through the factory adjustment ***** which are still left in place.

 

Here is some more insight on how its done..

http://www.vqpower.com/v2/modules.ph...howpage&pid=85

 

I am on the site, but still can't find a basic "retrofit breakdown" or guide on the site. There is tons of info, but none regarding the actual process. It's always a headlight, bakes apart, projector screwed in, and finished product.

 

what he said.. ^^^^

 

Thanks for the link, I posted my reply while you posted yours.

 

you are going to have to figure out a lot of stuff for yourself, its part of the fun w/ retrofitin. gtr riders write up is good info, and your process will be similar. if you are unsure of your skills you may want to pick up an extra set of headlights, so you can take your time getting things right. And do more reading on hidplanet, plenty of info on there.

you will probably want to attempt your headlights first, fogs tend to be more difficult b/c of thier small size

 

The fogs I will prob send out for them to be done. For low beam I was toying with the idea of buying a pair of the eBay I35 projectors and swap in some Bosch singles from hidplanet. The thing I'm most concerned about right now is whether what projector will fit or not. The battery is right behind my driver's headlight, so the projector can't protrude too much out.

 

that would be a good idea, you could swap the bosch projector into those housing pretty easily

 

I think you'll need to purchase the projector headlights and open them up to see what kind of frame you'll be dealing with. That way you can take measurements and see what kind of other projectors will fit. Also, in you initial post, you were concerned about leveling. Not to worry. If you take a look at the rear of the ebay I35 projector assembly you will see two machine screws, one looks yellow. Those screws should control the beam levels for the projector and high beam.

 

That is the basic idea.

Buy headlamps, bake the each headlamp in the oven to break the "seal" and open it up. Then you measure the projector housing against the headlamp backing, cut away material so the projector fits. Throw on some bolts and nuts to secure it and just clean up the lense part so it looks nice, bake again to re-seal it and you are done. Of course, MEASURE three times or more.

 

Ok, I've much more reading this week and pretty much have the "process" down. But, how can I be sure that whatever projector I buy will line up with the aiming ****? From what I understand, the aiming **** is just a big screw, turn it one way, the sscrew turns and thus makes the projector go up or down right? And given the 5.5gen driver's headlight is so close to the battery, *what if* the projector protrudes too much and touches the battery? Then just use longer screws so it sits more forward?

 

NO, the aiming screw adjusts the entire headlight housing, all you need to do is make sure that the projector is facing the same angle and height as a factory bulb would.

 

Oh I see, so if the entire headlight moves, the projector being screwed to it will move along with it?

 

Not really the entire assembly but the frame that the projector and the hi-beam reflector bowl is mounted to. but you got the idea.

 

Im in the same position as you. Trying to figure out how to do it and what to buy. A

You want to look for Bi-Xenon if you want High beams. E46, E55 from BMW's will work for Bi-xenon, and the TSX will work as well but arent bi. Im still learning

I just picked up these on ebay. They are E46 projectors and D2S bulbs.

 

Exactly..

Do you plan to use a shroud on the projectors and if so, what kind?

 

I know what I want, I just havent seen them yet. Still keeping my eye out for some.

-matt

 

Since the height adjustment is now OK, what about horizontal aiming? Just mount it on the car and start making small adjustments to the projector screws (ones holding it to the reflector).

 

Again, the housing will do ALL of the adjustment, all you need to do is make sure the projector cutoff is straight, and position the projector in the same angle as the factory bulb would sit.

 

www.hidplanet.com

The forums have retrofit kits, mutiple sections devoted exclusively to projector retrofits, and probably as specialized a classifieds section as one could hope for. Good luck!

 

I'm assuming you're talking about the rotational (horizontal) alignment of the cutoff, to make sure it's level, right?

From what I've read, there are a few different approaches to this.

- Try to mark on the housing the existing 90*, 180*, etc. marks to level the cutoff.

- Make some sort of custom bracket/aiming mechanism like LittoDevil has developed (on HIDplanet)

- Actually mount the lens-less housing on the car and place the lit projector in the housing and mark the holes that need to be drilled for the projector to be level.

- Place the projector in the housing and mark holes for best "guess" in terms of alignment...then when drilling the holes make (2 if have 3 holes total, or 3 if have 4 holes total) some of those holes more like arcs, so the projector can be slightly rotated if the alignment of the cutoff isn't perfect.

I'm going to try 1 or 4 when I crack my spare housing open.

 

Hey Meta, wanna disclose where you got your TSX projectors cheap? The cheapest I've seen is approx. $180. And I really want a 04-05 with the clear lens, which are getting more and more expensive apparently.

 

I just sold a pair of 04/05 clears for 180 shipped on hidplanet. I would have offered it to you if I had known.

 

I would say go with rx330 w/clear lense or poor mans mdx lens since it kills the output and color of the stock tsx, but it is very difficult to mount because of its bulk.

As far as mounting the projectors, if you do get the ebay projector headlights, I am hoping that the ebay i30/i35 projector lights have similar mounting brackets like the 00-03 maxima projector headlights. If so, I would recommend looking at Dr. Roy's write up:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/578450/4

This picture will address your issue with having the cutoff aligned perfectly straight:

You can see that Dr. Roy has lined up the shield's cut off between the two oblong holes on each side.


From the looks of the ebay projectors for you car, the internals will probably be the same. They seem pretty cheap for the price too ($150) versus mine which was about $250. Good thing about buying these is that since you are a first timer you won't have time against you since you will still have headlights in your car. Good luck, have fun, and take your time.

 

if you have some extra cash you can have someone do it for you. my 02-03 headlights are being retrofited by www.customlightz.com i never dare to do a retrofit myself even tho i'm very addicted to projector retrofits. on my previous car (2000 accord v6 coupe) i had 6 retrofits done by them and this one for my maxima will be the 7th retrofit lol it seems easy from what they do but i don't dare do it myself lol to expensive if i mess up