For those thinking about doing a retro...

[cosism]

DO IT!!! All the guys on here who preach about retros do it for a reason. Guys like Darksparkz, n8dogg, LNGasman, Whitechoc, etc. are trying to help. Searching here and on www.hidplanet.com, I was able to read enough information to get this project done.This is some of the BEST money I have EVER spent on my car, BAR NONE! TSX clear lenses were used, as were the OEM shields to make for a nice bracket. I used lvq-212s, Osram Xenarcs and a proper harness. Total time was about 8 hours.

I think the kicks are a bit too far apart from each other, but rotationally and height wise, I was able to do a decent job of aiming.

I am thinking about getting 85122+s, but am going to try to make my cutoff a little crisper w/ some bulb spacing first.

Also, there is a LOT of light coming in from each side of this parking garage. I will take some better night pics soon and will update this thread. They seemed MUCH brighter on the way to work this morning (5am). Thanks to all who did this mod before me.

Some of you might see some of this post somewhere else.

This cutoff can NOT be replicated with some PnP kit, please do not waste your time and money. There is no comparison.

[sky03]

i dont has the moneh for it right now

my pnp kit is fine for now, but ill do it one day

[Tobeit]

So, how much did you spend for the entire retro and where did you get the TSX projectors? I certainly would love to have that - I like things perfect. But from the cost point of view, I expect it will cost a few $100's (my reference starts with JSM's option). PnP HID has already supposedly much better light output than the standard Halogen - and I am not having a real visibility problem with the Halogen to start with. Even a better after market bulb from Mtec or so should yield more light output, at least that what I read. So, what really would convince me to spend that money would be some kind of quantification how much better the various options are:
Standard -> upgraded H11 halogen -> PnP H11 HID -> D2S full retro ?

[PRINCESS PEACH]

now that is one fine as hell retrofit job.

nothing compares to true retrofits.

[darksparkz]

Great job, seems like you took that extra time to align and setup the cutoff lines well. That's definitely something that's worth getting correct the first time, makes the after shots look amazing. Don't forget, after about 100 hours or so, the color may shift.

There seems to be some good color in the cutoff line already, but you can test adding a washer or two on the bottom of the projector and see how it looks.

Getting aftermarket bulbs from MTEC or something would actually yield less light output then the stock halogen bulbs themselves. The MTEC 4700K or 4900K has less lumens then the stock 3200K halogens, but then the MTEC are more 'white'. If you want higher light output, Sylvania SilverStars are good OEM replacement in terms of using stock projectors.

Getting an aftermarket plug-n-play HID kit would be a cheaper alternative, results aren't horrible either, due to our Gen6's coming with halogen projectors. All you would have to do is cover up the squirrel spotters and hope the HID kit is fairly weatherproof. It'll be a good improvement over the stock lights for a cheap price.

But the full retrofit would yield amazing results. Ranging from a much greater light output, due to D2S bulbs outputting more light then H11 bulbs. The standard OSRAM H11 bulbs produces 1350 lumens, while an Osram Xenarc D2S bulb can produce 3200 lumens.

But it all comes down to how much money you want to spend, HID kits are fast and a quick solution for visibilty, while if you don't mind saving up some and investing some time into it, the retrofits route is amazing.

TSX Projectors: $150 (HID Planet Classifields)
Philips LVQ-212 G3 Ballast w/Covers: $250 (www.hidplanet.com)
Philips D2S HID 85122+ Bulbs: $100 (www.hidplanet.com)
H11 Harness: $25 (I don't remember)
Cutoff Line: Priceless

[ebumdude]

This is nice. Good gob man.

[cosism]

Originally Posted by sky03

i dont has the moneh for it right now

my pnp kit is fine for now, but ill do it one day

At LEAST start out with a good kit. My kit was a rebased h11 kit w/ Phillips ballasts. I found some amp to d2s adaptors for $20 online and that was cool because I did not have to buy ballasts again.

Originally Posted by Tobeit

So, how much did you spend for the entire retro and where did you get the TSX projectors? I certainly would love to have that - I like things perfect. But from the cost point of view, I expect it will cost a few $100's (my reference starts with JSM's option). PnP HID has already supposedly much better light output than the standard Halogen - and I am not having a real visibility problem with the Halogen to start with. Even a better after market bulb from Mtec or so should yield more light output, at least that what I read. So, what really would convince me to spend that money would be some kind of quantification how much better the various options are:
Standard -> upgraded H11 halogen -> PnP H11 HID -> D2S full retro ?

It does not cost THAT much more. As mentioned above, I had a very good kit, so I re-used the lvq-212s. All I had to do was buy bulbs (Which I scored for free, YES!!!!) and the projectors, it was not that much more. See, I started out with the pnp kit, then a bulb broke after like 6 months. Then I took the kit out and was going to sell it all off. Then, I read I could use d2s bulbs on our projector and epoxy it on the projector (BAD IDEA) because I ended up not waiting long enough for a full cure and my BRAND NEW Phillips 85122+s($95) bulbs made the epoxy soft and the bulbs turne d up and melted my projector bowls! I was able to get a set of Xenarcs (which I am still using) for free, from my father-in-law. He got them from a salvaged 07' EVO w/ factory xenon. I reused these bulbs and used JB weld and it worked... guess what? I melted some of my projector which made my output shitty! Hot spots and blank spots galore! I figured tsx projectors were cheaper than a set of new headlights so I said "Fuck it. Retro time!" I am glad I did. Please learn from me and my experience and just do it right the first time.

Originally Posted by PrincessPeach

now that is one fine as hell retrofit job.

nothing compares to true retrofits.

Thank you. And yes, you are correct!

Originally Posted by darksparkz

Great job, seems like you took that extra time to align and setup the cutoff lines well. That's definitely something that's worth getting correct the first time, makes the after shots look amazing. Don't forget, after about 100 hours or so, the color may shift.

There seems to be some good color in the cutoff line already, but you can test adding a washer or two on the bottom of the projector and see how it looks.

Getting aftermarket bulbs from MTEC or something would actually yield less light output then the stock halogen bulbs themselves. The MTEC 4700K or 4900K has less lumens then the stock 3200K halogens, but then the MTEC are more 'white'. If you want higher light output, Sylvania SilverStars are good OEM replacement in terms of using stock projectors.

Getting an aftermarket plug-n-play HID kit would be a cheaper alternative, results aren't horrible either, due to our Gen6's coming with halogen projectors. All you would have to do is cover up the squirrel spotters and hope the HID kit is fairly weatherproof. It'll be a good improvement over the stock lights for a cheap price.

But the full retrofit would yield amazing results. Ranging from a much greater light output, due to D2S bulbs outputting more light then H11 bulbs. The standard OSRAM H11 bulbs produces 1350 lumens, while an Osram Xenarc D2S bulb can produce 3200 lumens.

But it all comes down to how much money you want to spend, HID kits are fast and a quick solution for visibilty, while if you don't mind saving up some and investing some time into it, the retrofits route is amazing.

TSX Projectors: $150 (HID Planet Classifields)
Philips LVQ-212 G3 Ballast w/Covers: $250 (www.hidplanet.com)
Philips D2S HID 85122+ Bulbs: $100 (www.hidplanet.com)
H11 Harness: $25 (I don't remember)
Cutoff Line: Priceless

Very informative post! That is about my tally as well.

I was bale to get everything aligned in about 2 hours, with the help of my nephew (who kept covering the headlights and is handy w/ a tape measure. The drop wass about 2.25 inches from the center of the projector... not too high... not too low... The bulbs are used, as mentioned above, although the car (the EVO) only had about 10K-15K miles on it, I do not even think they have shifted yet. Not bad for free. Also, I used 2 #8 washers on each of the bottom nipples. I tried 3 but it did not look as good as 2. The cutoff is WAAAAAAAAAAAY more impressive at night. I am going to find a dark spot and take some better shots. I need to try the bulb spacing first. Also, I need to wash my dirty ass car.

Originally Posted by ebumdude

This is nice. Good gob man.

Thanks man.

[lammydi]

Damn, you did it!!! Job well done.

[Tobeit]

Thanks darkspatz and cosism - very informative.

In terms of cost, yeah it does not sound that bad....I would also love to do it on my own but honestly, I simply have not enough time to spend a weekend in the garage. So, it adds up as my mod list does not appear to get shorter (grrrrr).... just ordered some other stuff, which I will put on as soon as I am back.

[n8dogg455]

you get my

[Punks_Not_Dead5]

great job!!

[cosism]

Originally Posted by lammydi

Damn, you did it!!! Job well done.

Thanks Wally. You can too!

Originally Posted by Tobeit

Thanks darkspatz and cosism - very informative.

In terms of cost, yeah it does not sound that bad....I would also love to do it on my own but honestly, I simply have not enough time to spend a weekend in the garage. So, it adds up as my mod list does not appear to get shorter (grrrrr).... just ordered some other stuff, which I will put on as soon as I am back.

The best part of it is. If you buy good components, you can buy some parts here and then some parts there. Buy at your leisure. Good luck bro.

Originally Posted by n8dogg455

you get my

Thanks n8!

Originally Posted by Punks_Not_Dead5

great job!!

Thanks man.

On a side note. The guys over on hidplanet say my drivers side bulb is probably dying. I am going to try and fix that soon. I will try to get some great night shots soon.

[glenn14]

Originally Posted by cosism

Thanks Wally. You can too!



The best part of it is. If you buy good components, you can buy some parts here and then some parts there. Buy at your leisure. Good luck bro.



Thanks n8!



Thanks man.

On a side note. The guys over on hidplanet say my drivers side bulb is probably dying. I am going to try and fix that soon. I will try to get some great night shots soon.

I know that I am bringing back a 6 month old thread so I hope I don't get flamed, but after having an FX 35 bi-xenon retrofit in my last car I am gathering parts up now to do this same retrofit.
here is a pic of my Altima that I totaled in April 08

I Pulled from my Altima my Matshusita GEN 3 ballasts, FX clear lenses although the projectors got damaged the lenses are like brand new and I sourced a pair of mint TSX projectors for 75.00 a steal since I have seen them go from 150 to 195 dollars and some Phillips 85122 + bulbs for 50.00.
All I need to source now is a H11 wiring harness and a used set of headlights. Thanks cosism for your pics, you have given me good ideas on how to mount the TSX'S in the stock mounting area.
So here is what I spent so far.
TSX Projectors 75.00
Phillips 85122+ 50.00
Matshushita Bal 100.00
So I have 225.00 total spent.
I am looking forward to starting this project asap. I got all of my parts from the HID Planet classifieds.

Glenn

[i 1a 05 Camry]

did any of u guyz who retrofit potted your ballast using 832TC-450ML epoxy compound?

http://www.mouser.com/Search/Product...0-832-TC-450ML

if you guys did, any problem occur?

[JSM1284]

Glenn, Ive seen you posting over on HIDPlanet . You can get a H11 relay harness from Xenondepot.com