Projector Retrofits - Light output comparison

[rickashay]

Hey Expo members,

I actually did this project a few months ago and have since sold the set of headlights I am about to walk through. I was re-visiting this thread I had created on another forum and thought some members over here might find the info and comparison shots useful.

A little background: Somehow, in the past couple years, I acquired a taste for cool looking headlights. One thing led to another and now I find that for the past 2 years I have been doing retrofits for people in my spare time as I attend University. My initial thoughts were just how "cool" I could make a headlight look with a projector lens, some paint, and some angel eyes (guilty pleasure...). Little did I know how much time I would spend researching and learning about the whole retrofit process and more of an understanding and appreciation for the light output gained after completing a project like this. I am sure many of you own or have driven a newer Audi, Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, etc with an excellent set of projector headlights from the factory. (None of those tacky, eBay headlights here...) I just think it's interesting how much money people pour into our Expo/Offroad rigs in general but also into offroad lighting. This brings me to the main reason for the post, mainly to highlight projector retrofits as an option for people who demand better lighting both on the trail and on the road, as I don't think it's really considered. Parts for this type of project are more readilly available then ever before and at an increasingly better price point. I'm not trying to promote myself, by any means, as the majority of handy people on this forum will do a retrofit themselves vs. paying someone to do it. IMO a proper projector retrofit (PR) can replace a two sets of lights - your normal non-HID headlights and a set of offroad lamps. A PR drastically improves light distance, width, and foreground light all in a single assembly.

My initial headlight setup was as follows:
- OEM headlights
- drop in "HID kit"
- hi/low beam H4 bulbs
- 35watt ballasts

Here is the light ouput of the low beam: (notice where the beam starts to fade in terms of width, use the parking blocks as a reference. Also look how much light output is wasted and scattered up high into the eyes of oncoming traffic!)

20111123-IMG_0701 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

High beam:

20111123-IMG_0704 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

The following are the specs on the projector retrofit I performed on my 98 4Runner:
- OEM headlights
- EvoX-R Bi-Xenon Projectors (hi and low beam)
- 35watt Morimoto ballasts
- Philips 85122+ bulbs: 4300K
- stand alone dual relay harness
For looks:
- Gatling v2 shrouds
- angel eyes
- headlight paint

After - low beam: (look how much wider the beam is! Check the parking blocks... and the intensity of the foreground light)

20120109-IMG_0960 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

After - high beam:

20120109-IMG_0979 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

A couple cutoff shots:

20120109-IMG_0966 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr


20120109-IMG_0964 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

I hope this information is relevant and provides use to anyone considering a project like this. I just feel that this could be an excellent alternative or addition to increased lighting performance for an expo rig. Feel free to post any questions or comments you may have.

Cheers

 

[seanz0rz]

I just finished mine as well.

i am finding it hard to get the aim correct. I am all the way out on the vertical and horizontal screws, but the lights are still too low, and too narrow. i think ill have to put a spacer between the light and the body.

regardless, they are awesome! so much better than HID's in cloudy reflectors.

 

[Derek24]

That is awesome! I've been looking into this for some time now, but afraid of messing up my headlights. I'll check, maybe replacements are not that much and I can experiment.

 

[rickashay]

I just finished mine as well.

i am finding it hard to get the aim correct. I am all the way out on the vertical and horizontal screws, but the lights are still too low, and too narrow. i think ill have to put a spacer between the light and the body.

regardless, they are awesome! so much better than HID's in cloudy reflectors.

You may have mounted the projectors slightly un-symetrically between the two headlamps. (I hope that makes sense!) Meaning: your projectors may have been pointed at an angle down/up too far when securing them to the reflector bowl causing you to have to over-adjust the reflector adjustment screws to compensate. I've done this before.... either way, your right, the light output is amazing!

That is awesome! I've been looking into this for some time now, but afraid of messing up my headlights. I'll check, maybe replacements are not that much and I can experiment.

It's really not as daunting as everyone thinks. It's time consuming but if your prepared, it's pretty straight forward. You can find pretty cheap replacement headlights online nowadays or get some OEM ones off of the forum from people who put those ugly black eBay ones in. If you need any info on any part of the retrofit process, let me know!

 

[Saiyan66]

Im pretty amazed at how sharp the light cutoff is vertically. That has always been a concern of mine when upgrading lights. Blinding oncoming drivers is far more dangerous than me not having enough light on the road. So how many times did it take you to get the install process mastered? Should we consider the first set we do as a "learning curve" and plan on having to do it a second time? Not sure if these retrofit kits are available for all vehicles as well.

 

[rickashay]

Im pretty amazed at how sharp the light cutoff is vertically. That has always been a concern of mine when upgrading lights. Blinding oncoming drivers is far more dangerous than me not having enough light on the road. So how many times did it take you to get the install process mastered? Should we consider the first set we do as a "learning curve" and plan on having to do it a second time? Not sure if these retrofit kits are available for all vehicles as well.

The blinding oncoming traffic part, is a big concern and is another one of the many benefits of the projectors. All of the light is focused down low where you need it most on the low beams. There are several different projector options to choose from and some are easier than others to install. check out www.theretrofitsource.com for the best parts in the business. As long as you can get your horizontal alignment correct and consistant between the two projectors, you will have a good result. You should not have to do it more than once. After all, you can use your vehicle as a jig to get the alignment right before you seal the headlights back up permanently. Another trick is to use the factory lines in the reflector indicated "true" horizontal and make sure that the projector sits parallel to this line. You can do a retrofit on ANY vehicle as long as it has clear lenses, not the fresnal kind.

 

[Caoboy]

Check out http://www.theretrofitsource.com/

AND: http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=237

Basically 'bolt in' minus opening up the headlights. Fits most H4 housings, and REALLY simplifies things. I'm still thinking about converting my headlights (1994 4runner) to the older style sealed beams and then chucking a set of these projectors in.

Also, a little wet sanding and you can get rid of the fresnal lines on the plastic housings. I've seen a write up on a SAAB forum where they took the glass lenses and ground down the fresnal lines, frosted the glass, then shot the inside of the glass with a clear coat that 'cleared' the housings.

 

[seanz0rz]

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=227

that's the kit i got, it was literally bolt in. i had to grind down some locating nibs on the inside of the reflector that held the shield. i went low price on my kit because I am very likely to destroy them, and i doubt the quality will come into play in that scenario. I got some TYC aftermarket OEM spec replacements to swap to. they were decent quality, but both arrived broken in different places. some epoxy fixed that. it would be too expensive to ship them back and wait, etc. they broke in similar places to my stock lights, so i suspect design flaw over material or workmanship flaw.

as for not being straight in the housing, there is not much you can screw up. they are conical shaped and just fit into the round hole and self align. i have some rake in the truck, this is the cause of the low cutoff. i might have to space it out or try to get a bit more out of the adjusting screws (i have about 1/4 inch left on the screws).

i didnt find mine to be all that time consuming. each light spent a grand total of 30 minutes in the oven (15 minutes to heat it up to remove the glass, another 15 mins to reseal it) and then a few minutes to prep the housings and then drop the projectors in. each headlight maybe took 2 hours, max. that includes sealing up the grommet, modifying the rubber boot for the grommet, and doing the connections for the hi beams. doing the swap on the truck took maybe 2 hours , including some tidying up of previous wiring, and removing my old HID setup.

if i get around to it, ill grab some pictures.

 

[steve103]

looks great.

 

[rickashay]

Check out http://www.theretrofitsource.com/

AND: http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=237

Basically 'bolt in' minus opening up the headlights. Fits most H4 housings, and REALLY simplifies things. I'm still thinking about converting my headlights (1994 4runner) to the older style sealed beams and then chucking a set of these projectors in.

Also, a little wet sanding and you can get rid of the fresnal lines on the plastic housings. I've seen a write up on a SAAB forum where they took the glass lenses and ground down the fresnal lines, frosted the glass, then shot the inside of the glass with a clear coat that 'cleared' the housings.

That's an interesting method of clearing the fresnal lenses, I've never heard of that. I am going to have to look into this! Post a link if you have one handy??

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=227

that's the kit i got, it was literally bolt in. i had to grind down some locating nibs on the inside of the reflector that held the shield. i went low price on my kit because I am very likely to destroy them, and i doubt the quality will come into play in that scenario. I got some TYC aftermarket OEM spec replacements to swap to. they were decent quality, but both arrived broken in different places. some epoxy fixed that. it would be too expensive to ship them back and wait, etc. they broke in similar places to my stock lights, so i suspect design flaw over material or workmanship flaw.

as for not being straight in the housing, there is not much you can screw up. they are conical shaped and just fit into the round hole and self align. i have some rake in the truck, this is the cause of the low cutoff. i might have to space it out or try to get a bit more out of the adjusting screws (i have about 1/4 inch left on the screws).

i didnt find mine to be all that time consuming. each light spent a grand total of 30 minutes in the oven (15 minutes to heat it up to remove the glass, another 15 mins to reseal it) and then a few minutes to prep the housings and then drop the projectors in. each headlight maybe took 2 hours, max. that includes sealing up the grommet, modifying the rubber boot for the grommet, and doing the connections for the hi beams. doing the swap on the truck took maybe 2 hours , including some tidying up of previous wiring, and removing my old HID setup.

if i get around to it, ill grab some pictures.

Wow, your pretty fast!

The Morimoto projectors do simplify the process a lot for sure! Im still not to keen on using them personally, but that's just my opinion. I have had some issues in the past as the alignment rings did not actually locate the true "horizontal" for the beam and left the final output with some pretty nasty cross-eyes. But, that issue could very easily been due to a quality issue of the headlamp housings being used. I'm a big fan of bolting my projectors down and a mix of epoxy and JB weld, especially on a truck that will see some rough, offroad use. FX-R's for the money are IMO the best projector setup you can go with. A little harder to install (most of the time) but still pretty fool proof.

I'll have to post up some photos of my current work in progress: Lexus LS460 Bi-Xenon projectors in my 4Runner housings. The LS460 projector actually has two reflector bowls in one and makes the beam pattern dramatically wider than any other projector (other than it's brother, the LS430's - low beam only). The technology is crazy!

 

[Caoboy]

Are you having an easy time with the D4 bulbs or whatever they are using? Or are they still using D2? I remember there being an issue with projectors as the bulbs were mounted though the side of the projector.

 

[rickashay]

Are you having an easy time with the D4 bulbs or whatever they are using? Or are they still using D2? I remember there being an issue with projectors as the bulbs were mounted though the side of the projector.

No issues now that I am aware of. D2S bulbs are used in all of the projectors I have worked with and the bulbs load through the rear.

 

[Caoboy]

Maybe it's the 06+ GS projectors that load from the side. I just remember that the D4 bulbs fit bother reflector and projector bulbs.

 

[paddlenbike]

I just finished mine as well.

Pics or it didn't happen!

 

[seanz0rz]

Pics or it didn't happen!

ken, your first post is to badger me for pictures?! i will post up soon. there is a thumb print on one of my projectors, im thinking of tossing it back in the oven to open it up, clean it out, and reseal.

pictures soon, i promise.