Rickashay's Projector Retrofit Thread

rickashay

rickashay

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This has been a long time comin'! It may be a slow process because of how busy my schedule is right now and it being winter and me not having a heated garage....but I'll keep this thread updated slowly but surely.

First off, I wanted to get some photos for my own documentation on how terrible "drop-in HID's" are when compared to a true projector HID setup. Currently I have drop-ins on my T4R.

Drop-In HID specs:
- Morimoto 3Five Ballasts (Gen. 1)
- 4300K "Bi-Xenon" H4 bulbs (have a metal cover that is activated by a solenoid to change between HI and LO.)
- TRS H4 wiring harness (standard)

Light Output: (the photos have not been touched up at all, in order of consistency)

LO beams - the left headlight has been adjusted slightly lower than the right so help eliminate blinding to oncoming traffic. But the difference is minimal. How can anyone argue that when these are "aimed correctly" they don't scatter light EVERYWHERE.

20111123-IMG_0701 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

HI beams

20111123-IMG_0704 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr



The new goods:

20111122-IMG_0700 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

Playing around with my light tent:

20111123-IMG_0710 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr


20111123-IMG_0707 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr
 
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I forgot to post the specs on my new setup above, so here it is:

Projector/headlight specs
- EvoX-R 3" Bi-Xenon Projectors
- 4300k Philips 85122+ bulbs
- TRS HD wiring harness
- Morimoto 3Five ballasts (Gen.2)
- Gatling v2. shrouds
- 90mm angel eyes
- Headlight paint?
- LED DRL's?

Many people who do a projector retrofit don't really research the projectors. Which is fine, I guess, but just like all things each projector has it's own positives and negatives. I think most people just assume that getting ANY projector over a halogen setup is going to be better than before, and most of the time that is a correct assumption.

My rationale for choosing the new EvoX-R:
I was thinking of going with the popular FX-R projectors as they are proven to be such a good all-around performer with a medium size. They have a 2.5" lens and a really wide low beam pattern and a nice colourful cutoff with the clear lens in place. However, after looking at beam comparison shots I wanted to try something different. Knowing my truck is lifted (changed headlight angle and height of beam location) and will be offroad, I wanted something with tons of foreground light and a good hi-beam as I don't currently have any aux. lights. (no Lightforces for me yet...) So I came upon the new EvoX-R's that were released a few weeks ago. The lo-beam isn't quite as wide as the FX-R's from what I have seen but they have TONS of foreground light and a massive 3" lens. (this will look cool too as it will fill the big boring 4Runner headlight housing well.) The added foreground light will be great for offroad at the compromise of a little width in beam pattern. The high beams on the Evo's are supposed to be one of the best projector hi-beams out there, They have a really good central hot spot. I look forward to firing these things up and getting some actual output shots.

My progress for today: I got the wiring harness and the ballasts installed and ready to roll. Now when it's freezing outside all I need to do is put in the retrofitted headlights and plug them in.

You can see the HD harness has dual relays and fuses. I tried to tuck everything as much out of sight as possible, I like clean and tidy wiring!

20111124-IMG_0728 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

Passenger Ballast mounting location:

20111124-IMG_0727 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr
 
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Looking forward to the output pictures. You won't be disappointed in them. Doing a retrofit is well worth the time it takes!
 
Jeffs_T4R said:
Looking forward to the output pictures. You won't be disappointed in them. Doing a retrofit is well worth the time it takes!
Click to expand...

Yah projectors are awesome! I actually have a small headlight retrofitting business so this definitely isn't the first set i've done! I just finally have the money and time (sorta) to do my own....

Thanks for the comments.... Hopefully next week I'll get some real progress done.
 
haha ^^^

yeah man those new Gatling shrouds look legit! I cant wait to do my second set i want bigger better and badder projectors like those. is the glass on those like the TSX glass?

Subbed for sure i cant wait to see the results. are you gonna squeeze the blazers in there too?
 
GottaBeTRD said:
haha ^^^

yeah man those new Gatling shrouds look legit! I cant wait to do my second set i want bigger better and badder projectors like those. is the glass on those like the TSX glass?

Subbed for sure i cant wait to see the results. are you gonna squeeze the blazers in there too?
Click to expand...

Not sure what you mean with the glass like the TSX? My EvoX-R's have a clear lens in place, if that's what you mean... Yah, I really like the new Gatlings, super cool looking!

I was thinking of squeezing the blazers in but honesty, I am actually planning on keeping my retrofit pretty clean and simple. I dont want it to look ricey or like it's trying too hard to be cool! lol The 4Runner is an older vehicle and pretty clean and simple looking IMO, and I want to stick to that look. I was doing some foglight research and I don't think the blazers would work too well in my headlights either. You want fogs to be lower to the ground, and in my lifted application, it wouldn't give the desired results. I'll probably run them when I get a custom front bumper built though...

I just can't wait until I graduate from university and can afford a nice DD car. Thinking G37 sedan or Acura TL Type S, or STI or Scion FR-S?? When that time comes, I'm going to build the craziest headlights I can come up with.
 
rickashay said:
I just can't wait until I graduate from university and can afford a nice DD car. Thinking G37 sedan or Acura TL Type S, or STI or Scion FR-S?? When that time comes, I'm going to build the craziest headlights I can come up with.
Click to expand...

I think there is really only one choice.
 
yeah i was talking about the lens in the projector. Sorry i think i was still in my turkey comma lol

But it all sounds good! I hear ya on trying to keep it clean. I think ill be the guinea pig when that time comes around for me.

My buddy just bought a WRX that has been modded like crazy. That thing is scary fast! I'm loving that new FR-S though. It looked like it would be for the more mature crowd until they slapped a scion symbol on it. that's the only thing i personally don't like about it. nothing major i guess haha
 
tv4184 said:
A little off topic but what kind of fuse box is this?
Click to expand...

Blue Sea. More info in my build thread I believe. Got it off ebay, tons of guys on Expo and ih8mud use them and thats where I got the idea. It's a great fuse block!

brianemc2_42 said:
The only real choice???? I have my eye out for a BMW 330 coupe 6 speed manual, although not as fast as a STI.
Click to expand...

Bimmer's are nice, but I just could never do it knowing how un-reliable they are and costly to fix. Although I still could see myself in a E46 M3.
 
Time for some progress. Not much but...

I've been studying like crazy lately but I have managed to squeeze in a few hours of "play time" with my new projectors.

Got the headlights baked and opened up. It went pretty smooth, the only issue I had was I chipped the edge of one of the lenses because they were sealed so tightly from the factory that I couldn't even get a sharp kitchen knife in the gap. Took a chip, and some work to get it started, before I could get the lens to start moving.


20111128-IMG_0735 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr
Baked @ 250F for 8 minutes. This seems to be my best recipe for headlights. Always pre-heat to that temp. and as soon as the headlight goes in, I turn the temp. down to 150F, to assure that the oven doesn't kick back on and melt the housings.

Now I am kind of a perfectionist at this projector stuff. I am VERY imprssed with the dispersion of light and the amount of foreground these have. Here is the output of both projectors side by side when I first turned them on(distance ~30-35ft):

20111129-IMG_0750 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

I didn't like the "flare" up of light on the left cutoff and also wasn't happy with how the colour on the cutoff is a little different comparing left vs. right. I am now in the process of "tinkering" and have gotten them pretty close to how I want them. I had to re-adjust the alignment and spacing of the bowl relative to the lens and shield (these particular projectors split in the center, and the two ends are bolted together) I also did some very very minor tweeking to the shield to get more colour. It's a little too blue right now but I can adjust it back. Like I said, getting close, just need to put a little more time in with them.

Here are two comparison shots of the projectors now @~20 ft. (inside my house!) Sorry not side-by-side as I only have one spare ballast currently to work with when these aren't on the truck:
This one is just about perfect...

20111204-IMG_0781 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

Just a touch too blue and un-focused still...

20111204-IMG_0780 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr
 
Nice mantel ... lol those projectors are pretty decent as well :)

Are you going to paint the housings?

/-- The cutoff looks amazing --/
 
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brianemc2_42 said:
Nice mantel ... lol those projectors are pretty decent as well :)

Are you going to paint the housings?

/-- The cutoff looks amazing --/
Click to expand...

haha I figured someone would comment on the mantle. Yah, my living room becomes my work space when it gets too cold here!

Thanks, they are starting to come along... and regarding paint, yah they will be going black, or at least that is my current plan.
 
Finished my last exam today! Still got two papers due but that's too easy...

I also had some time a couple days ago to tweak my cutoff sheild a little more, check the matching color band!

20111205-IMG_0786-2 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr


20111205-IMG_0782-2 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

Anyways, after my exam I rushed home eager to get my projectors mounted. I have one test-mounted and the holes drilled for the second, but I ran out of long screws so I couldn't test-mount the second one. Here are a couple pointless photos of my progress:

Here is the back of the housing. You can see how I cut all of the H4 mounts out of the way and used my Dremel to get a relatively smooth surface.

20111207-IMG_0787 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

Projector mounted. I'm really liking the big 3" lens and how it fills the boring space in the 4Runner reflector bowl. Paint is after 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of low gloss black. Then I did a wet 600 grit sand. Waiting for the projector mounts to be complete before I spray the final black coats.

20111207-IMG_0790 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

Close-up. One thing I really like about these EvoX-R projectors is the various mounting holes on the outer edge. Makes it easy to choose the best mounting point.

20111207-IMG_0791 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr
 
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