Gen 4.0 Projector retrofit

[TMetalMan]

Right now I have a Mod Express Hi/Lo 6000k HID conversion kit in my stock headlight housings. Obviously this is not ideal from a safety or light output standpoint, but it is only there to hold me over until I can do the real thing - a retrofit. In case anybody is wondering, there is only a slight amount of glare, but that's also partially due to the low aiming I did to attempt to prevent glare.

I've been hesitant to do this retrofit because it will end up costing nearly $350 for me to do it, but I'm already $250 in. Here's what is currently on the way:
-new set of aftermarket OEM headlights (should be DEPO) ($60 shipped)
-BMW E46 Bi-Xenon projectors with bulb holders ($115 shipped w/ no scratches!)
-D2S 6000k bulbs from The Retrofit Source ($55 shipped)
-adapter cable that will allow me to use my current Mod Express ballasts with the D2S (OEM Xenon) bulbs also from The Retrofit Source ($20 shipped)

And I will still need buy a set of custom lenses from Greg Cheban.

I would like to document this retrofit as thoroughly as possible, since I haven't seen what I consider to be a thorough DIY for a Gen 4.0.

[dpanda88]

well you'll need shrouds thats for sure and that runs for another 30-50.

Right now to finish my retrofit is to get the D2S kit with relay and exactly get off my lazy ass to install them into the camry haha..then again its finals week and I need to study for that too >_<

but i'm planning to install them on saturday.

[TMetalMan]

Do I NEED shrouds? I think I've seen other people get away with high-temp shiny (aluminum) tape.

[Eye8Pussies]

no, you don't NEED shrouds. as long as your projectors are sealed, they're more of an aesthetics thing than anything else

[bigbird]

if your gonna do it, do it right and get shrouds. the look factor is at least 50% of why anyone goes through this.

[tacomonkey69]

Originally Posted by TMetalMan

Do I NEED shrouds? I think I've seen other people get away with high-temp shiny (aluminum) tape.

i put tape on mine and i'm ok with how it looks.

[Eye8Pussies]

Originally Posted by bigbird

if your gonna do it, do it right and get shrouds. the look factor is at least 50% of why anyone goes through this.

very very true...

[dpanda88]

^^^

+1

[TMetalMan]

Alright, alright. I'll get some shrouds. But I don't want to spend a lot, and want decent looks. I like these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TYPE-...spagenameZWD1V
because they will fill up the headlight housing better. But these also look like they could work:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/INFIN...0076QQtcZphoto

[Eye8Pussies]

the second ones will do the trick- the only tough part will be to trim them out of the headlight assembly without breaking them

how big of a shroud you need will also depend on how clean of an install you did on your projectors themselves. if it's a messy install, then get bigger shrouds to cover things up. if you did a clean install, then small shrouds just to accentuate the projectors will be enough.

I was lucky when I did my install and everything came out really clean, so my small universal shrounds (no idea what they're from- I got them off ebay) were more than enough

[Creeps228]

[TMetalMan]

Everything I mentioned previously has been received, including:
-new headlights (these were made by "Eagle Eye Automotive Lighting" instead of DEPO, and seem to have higher quality plastic)
-e46 bi-xenon projectors (no scratches on the lenses!)
-6000k D2S bulbs from the Retrofit Source
-bulb wiring adapters to allow me to use the D2S bulbs with the Mod Express ballasts

I just ordered this:
http://integramod.tripod.com/product...xenon.html#top
It allows the 3-wire high beam solenoid to function properly.
And these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/INFINITI-FX-CHROME-SHROUDS-BEZELS-PROJECTORS-HID-RETRO_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ36476QQihZ020QQit emZ300215550076QQtcZphoto

Now onto some instructions for preparing the headlight housings:

1) Remove the bulb covers and the bulbs.

2) Remove the mounting hardware that will hold the headlight housing to your Camry, to make it easier to remove the lens:


This last pic shows the bottom part of the mount undone, this allows you access to remove that middle screw (the bottom part is removed just like how the other mount is removed from the headlight housing).


3) Throw the headlight housing in the oven, which should be preheated to ~260 deg. F for about 7 minutes. I've heard conflicting info about the actual temperature to use, but 260 worked just fine for mine.

4) With a large flat-bladed screw driver, pry the lens from the housing. At first this takes a bit of work, as the adhesive is REALLY strong, but as you work your way around the housing it will become easier. Once the lens is removed, if there is any stray adhesive on either the housing or the lens, just stick it back onto the rest.

5) Repeat (1)-(4) with the other headlight.

6) I used about two layers of masking tape to protect the surface of the reflector during the retrofit and to keep any plastic debris from getting caught in the adhesive. I suppose covering up the reflector surface isn't entirely necessary, especially if you'll be repainting the surface anyways, but I wanted to keep the painted chrome scratch-free:


7) Now you can begin the actual retrofit process. In this step I held the projector in the headlight housing in a position similar to how I want it to sit:

And marked off what portion of the back I will need to cut out:

You can't see the mark, but the upper limit to what I will cut out is at the top of the ridge above the circular hole.
Note: the pic shown is what I will be cutting out for BMW e46 projectors.

Now I'm off to cut out the openings using a jig saw (too much plastic dust flying around when cutting with a Dremel).

[dpanda88]

if you do a DIY on how you took off the front bumper of the car to fit the headlights that be an excellent addon to us gen 4 users for when they do retrofits

[TMetalMan]

Originally Posted by dpanda88

if you do a DIY on how you took off the front bumper of the car to fit the headlights that be an excellent addon to us gen 4 users for when they do retrofits

You are probably thinking of retrofitting gen4.5 headlights and installing them into a gen4.0 Camry - that does require modifications to the bumper and radiator support. But since I am retrofitting OEM gen4.0 headlights, they will be a direct bolt-in and will not require removal/modification of the front bumper cover.

I just finished cutting out the backs of the headlight housings to allow clearance for the bulb holders to stick out the back:

This pic doesn't really show the bulb holder sticking out from the housing, but it does.

Also, here's almost exactly how the projector will fit:

[TMetalMan]

So I got the actual projector mounting done today.

I went to the hardware store to pick up some items:
- #8 x 3/4" long screws (I used 8 of them, but bought extras just in case)
- regular size #8 washers, bought ten and used eight
- large 5/32" bore "fender" washers - used them to secure the brackets to the headlight housing, to reduce the stress on the plastic of the housing
- #8 nylon-locking nuts, 8 of them were used
- right-angle brackets - I got two types since I didn't know which ones would fit properly

1) I cut down the brackets so they would fit onto the projector, and mounted them using a washer under the screw head, and another washer between the projector and the ny-loc nut.

By sitting the projector as shown on a flat surface, the brackets naturally levelled out and stayed straight. Here's another view, showing the clearance of the bi-xenon solenoid:

Note that this bracket is different from the first pic - the one shown in the first pic actually caused the projector to sit too high in the headlight housing, so the projector wouldn't fit. But with this other bracket, the projector barely had enough clearance in the headlight.

2) This part gets kinda tricky. You gotta put the projector into the headlight housing, and mark where you are going to put the screws through the housing to hold onto the brackets. I used a Sharpie to do this, and then with precision I transferred the location of these holes to the other side of the housing, where I was able to drill them out.



3) Now it's time to mount the projectors! I used a large fender washer between the head of the screw and the headlight housing (to distribute the load on that screw), and you can see the other fender washers and nylon-locking nuts.



And I did end up cutting out a little bit more of the back of the housing where the bulb holder pokes through, to make room for the bulb holder. The bulb/bulb holder can be easily removed, if I ever need to.


And a pic showing both projectors mounted up:


After that I removed the projectors, and then the masking tape. Then I reinstalled the projectors into the housings, and plugged the bulbs into ballasts to make sure that everything would work properly. Sure enough, the projectors lit up the neighborhood! But without the shrouds and because the reflectors were in perfect shape (to reflect stray light), there was some glare.

Now I have to make a decision - what to do with the reflector surfaces? I imagine with the shrouds there shouldn't be any glare with the reflector in its current chrome-painted condition. But I'm also thinking I could use some "smoke" spray paint over the chrome to get a black chrome color. Or I could paint the reflector surface gloss or flat black, or some other color (perhaps the color of the car?). What do you guys think?