Doing a retrofit on gen 3.5 - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

iovaykind · 01-07-2010, 03:08 PM

Since I can't find clear lenses for gen 3.5 and I can't afford depo at this point, I'm going to try and clear the low beam half of my headlights and then retrofit projectors into them. I'm planning to use 2002 audi tt fog light projectors, as they are the smallest I can find and I can get a great deal on them. The cutoffs look great, so here are my questions:

1. I'm in NY, will I fail inspection doing a retrofit?
2. I'm confused about this shroud thing, do I attach them the same way I attach the projector? [silicone sealant but without screws]
3. Any caveats of using fog lights as my headlights?

bigbird · 01-07-2010, 03:31 PM

foglights dont normally hold bulbs that are bright enough for headlights. what projectors are they? youll need to know this to be able to make sure your wiring is correct anyways.

i would hold out for better projectors. hell even the es300 projectors would be better id think. at teh same time they are nto going to look nearly as good if you clear the headlights yourself. one thing you need to consider is that a retrofit takes time so youll want another set of lights to work with anyways, especially if this is your first try.

personally id do your research here and on HIDplanet and take your time so its done right. dont cheap out on this. wait till ya got teh funds for the depos and then wait for the projectors if you havnt found a good set. this way they will look good and work well.

if you have periodic DOT inspections then you should make sure you do a good job but in most cases of the lense and headlight says DOT on it then inspectors dont really know whats supposed to be inside.

as for the shroud, it depends on the projector you get, then you can buy universal ones for a certain size projector or get the OEM ones and mold them to fit. if they are OEM they will be easier to attach since many of them are screwed on.

iovaykind · 01-07-2010, 03:38 PM

They're the Audi TT Bosch Fog/Driving Light Projectors holding H3 bulbs..
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...ht_3214wt_1165

If I use these and put HID in them, I think they should work fine, no?

I see this plug and play bixenon projector for $140..do you think this would be an easy retrofit?
http://shop.3bspecialties.com/3BSpec...-Projector.htm

The reason I want to get it done is because my headlights now, with the bulbs have a really bad pattern and I can barely see at night without street lights.. I end up turning on high beams to be able to see, and its annoying to turn them on and off whenever there are other drivers around.

I'm not really caring about how well these will look as much as how functional they'll be for me. Safety first, of course.

bigbird · 01-07-2010, 03:54 PM

i wouldnt get the audi ones. my foglights are the same bulb and i would never want to drive with thoes as my headlights.

since that kit you have listed has them avalible in 9006 then that would be an easy retro requiring no wiring modifications. just mount and go. but if it were me id get some bright ass 9006 halogens for the time being and wait till you can get at least another set of OEM lights if not the depos. Ive never had much of a problem with the factory headlights when i was running somthing liek sylvania silverstar ultras or somthign like that. they arent as bright as projectors with HIDs but they get the job done and it would hold you over till you can do it right.

iovaykind · 01-07-2010, 03:59 PM

Yeah I just bought an HID kit and its getting here tomorrow. I'm really looking for that nice cutoff for my headlights.. the audi ones can provide me that but so would the kit I posted except that's much more expensive. So its not possible to get away with the audi ones if I have H3 HIDs?

bigbird · 01-07-2010, 04:15 PM

honestly im not sure. but i dont know of any vehicles that are equipt with H3 headlights and judging by the way mine put out light they wouldnt work very well. what i do know is that no one here has done an H3 retro(except for one case where they were used as foglights in the high beam location) so youd have to take a shot at it and see(check out HIDplanet too if ya havnt already about the subject). what id advise over all else is to get anotehr set of headlights so that you can work on one and use the other. if you screw up or get stuck youll really have a hard time seeing at night with no lights at all

.

if its that bad with the OEM ones then you may have headlight problems that can be fixed instead of doing a time consuming projector retrofit. i would never look at a budget retrofit build as a solution. i have H7s in mine WITH hids and they are not a whole hell of alot brighter then my depos were with the silver star ultras. they are much more consistand with their light spread but not alot brighter.

iovaykind · 01-07-2010, 05:34 PM

I think I'll go ahead and get them, probably get an extra drivers side or passenger side headlight from the junkyard..if they come out fine I'll do the other one too so then I won't get hurt either way.. thanks for the tips bigbird

I'll update the thread as I continue to work on it

bigbird · 01-07-2010, 07:43 PM

best of luck with it

iovaykind · 01-07-2010, 07:46 PM

I actually did some more research on hidplanet and think I'm gonna go with acura mdx projectors..can you confirm if these will fit into our headlights?

bigbird · 01-07-2010, 07:54 PM

we have big ass headlights so almost every projector will fit. the shrouds...thats a different story. the MDX ones are likely similar to the TL ones which do fit.

the acura ones are really good too, great output and great cutoff. alot of us use the TSX and TL ones. good choice.

iovaykind · 01-07-2010, 08:01 PM

If I could get the MDX projectors for 45 shipped, should I hop on that deal?

iovaykind · 01-07-2010, 11:35 PM

Got them for $43 shipped! Pretty good deal in my opinion though I've read about better deals out there.

Anyway, I'm planning to do halo's on them too, but this project can't be rushed..and quite frankly I don't think I'll get to it until spring semester of college is over. Only got two weeks left before school and I don't think I'll be able to get spare headlights within that time.. for now, I'll use the HID kit on the OEM headlights [sorry, I know I should be shot for that]

MDX cutoff pics..anyone have some or can find some? I've looked for them everywhere but can't find any..

Alright I'm out!

2win2rbo · 04-23-2010, 04:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iovaykind

I see this plug and play bixenon projector for $140..do you think this would be an easy retrofit?
http://shop.3bspecialties.com/3BSpec...-Projector.htm

I was just searching the forums and I found this link from an old thread. Do these plug and play projectors have the proper solenoid and swivel plate for high and low?