[MENTION=116470]Tyler James Inc[/MENTION] & [MENTION=65101]BrianSD_42[/MENTION] - You both prefer this over just a replacement LED & running fog led lights or more? I've read through both of the builds and it does look like the light output is way better than the LED conversions. What made you guys go this way?
Tyler James Inc's Ultimate '01 SR5
- Thread starter Tyler James Inc
- Start date
BrianSD_42
New member
I don't think LED was even an option when I first added a retrofit many years ago. Personally, I think HID is superior.
Tyler James Inc
Senior Member
Oh dude, yeah.
LED technology has come a long way in the last few years, but I have yet to see a drop in LED that puts out more than halfway decent light. Even the new LED projectors aren't putting out anything comparable to what HID projectors put out.
Ask Matt(TRS) or Ceasar(LightWerkz)- they'll both tell you HID is gonna put out TONS more light than an LED.
I use LED on everything I can. I love LED lighting.
But when it comes to headlights, there just isn't anything that can touch HID bulbs in projectors.
On another note, I have 3 spare headlights. One driver side has a chip in the glass, so I'm not using that lens. I thought I had two pass sides and one driver, but- turns out- I actually only have one driver side. So I gotta order a DS headlight before I can make any more progress.
I guess I could still use the housing, and just use the glass of the new headlights when I get it.
Tyler James Inc
Senior Member
Not 100% yet, as I melted the lenses on my corners when I had them in the oven to remove them [emoji30] Gotta order new corners now. I'm sure it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I'm super happy with how it's coming together. A lot of guys like blacked out housings, but that's not really my cup of tea. I think Thunder Cloud would look really good on almost any color. I'd be willing to build another set for anyone interested. It's not a quick and easy job, so it's also not a cheap job.
After drilling the housings, and aiming/aligning the projectors, I could get going on the paint.
I scuffed the headlight housings, projector shrouds, and stock chrome grille.
Shot it all with Adhesion Promoter, base coat, and clear coat. The clear is a two part product- meaning it has a hardener in it just like auto body painters use.
It layed down super flat, but I ran out halfway through, so the grille will need some wet sanding if I feel like making it perfect.
Anyway, shot with base and clear-
Taping the grill off for the black was a huge PITA, but the SEM Trim Paint is awesome stuff!
I'm not a professional, so- again- this didn't turn out perfect either. Good enough for me though.
Then I shot the emblem with gloss black epoxy. I thought the gloss black would be enough contrast from the satin trim black, but I'm wishing I carried the body color behind the emblem to give it more contrast. Oh well. Maybe I'll get another grille and take another shot at it.
Before lenses
And the almost-finished product
I think the blue/purple lens looks super good with the Thunder Cloud. You'll notice new Tahoe's/Charger's/Challenger's have the same lenses.
I'll post finished pics once I get the corners built [emoji1598]
After drilling the housings, and aiming/aligning the projectors, I could get going on the paint.
I scuffed the headlight housings, projector shrouds, and stock chrome grille.
Shot it all with Adhesion Promoter, base coat, and clear coat. The clear is a two part product- meaning it has a hardener in it just like auto body painters use.
It layed down super flat, but I ran out halfway through, so the grille will need some wet sanding if I feel like making it perfect.
Anyway, shot with base and clear-
Taping the grill off for the black was a huge PITA, but the SEM Trim Paint is awesome stuff!
I'm not a professional, so- again- this didn't turn out perfect either. Good enough for me though.
Then I shot the emblem with gloss black epoxy. I thought the gloss black would be enough contrast from the satin trim black, but I'm wishing I carried the body color behind the emblem to give it more contrast. Oh well. Maybe I'll get another grille and take another shot at it.
Before lenses
And the almost-finished product
I think the blue/purple lens looks super good with the Thunder Cloud. You'll notice new Tahoe's/Charger's/Challenger's have the same lenses.
I'll post finished pics once I get the corners built [emoji1598]
4Runner4Leon
Senior Member
Looks nice! How's the light output, cutoff, step, and all that jazz?
Tyler James Inc
Senior Member
Well- not saying they don't exist, but- I haven't seen various colored lenses available to swap into a projector. The G5 line of projectors from NHK use these lenses, as do some OEM manufacturers. So I didn't pick the lens color, but I do like it a lot! Thanks for the kind words
I wish I could give you better feedback, but this morning was my first drive with them, and it was torrentially down pouring 90% of the drive. It's hard to get a good idea of output on wet roads- add rain and it's almost impossible!
I will say that they do have more light scatter built into them than the 4.0. I noticed the street signs were lighting up, where as they didn't with the 4.0. That makes me nervous, as I am not gonna run a projector that throws light in everyone's faces. I'll have to have my wife drive, so I can drive a car oncoming to her.
Also, I drove up the street real quick with them Saturday night, and felt like the output wasn't as great as the 4.0. I told my buddy- Onpoint Retrofits, check him out- and he said it's just my perception. He said the hot spot is so much brighter, it makes you think the rest of the beam pattern isn't as bright as the 4.0. That completely makes sense, and I'm sure he's right.
I'll give better feedback on them when I am able to drive on a DRY road at dark!
Oh, I forgot to mention- I'm an idiot, and put the lenses on before plugging in my high beam solenoids! So now I get to take them back apart [emoji23]
Happy Monday y'all.
4Runner4Leon
Senior Member
Sounds good, looking forward to it!
Ugh. Look at it as more practice for opening up headlights (not like you need it at this point).
Tyler James Inc
Senior Member
So, while I love the way they turned out- especially the blue lenses with my paint color. I can't say I like the output of the NHK G5-EXL 3.2" projectors more than the D2S 4.0's, but we'll see.
I'll follow up with more, but the Morimoto D2S 4.0 were much better for my taste.
Here's a quick shot from my commute this AM.
I'll follow up with more, but the Morimoto D2S 4.0 were much better for my taste.
Here's a quick shot from my commute this AM.
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octanejunkie
Elite Member
Looks good man, I've contemplated pulling mine apart to reshoot my black housings grey to match my grille and scoop
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
Tyler James Inc
Senior Member
Thank you both! And I definitely think you both should do it! Haha I love how they came out.
4Runner4Leon
Senior Member
So, while I love the way they turned out- especially the blue lenses with my paint color- I can't say I'm thrilled with the output of the NHK G5-EXL 3.2" projectors.
I'll follow up with more, but the Morimoto D2S 4.0 were much better for my taste.
Here's a quick shot from my commute this AM.
Thanks for the update. It's interesting, it looks like the hot spot, though very bright indeed, creates a lack of uniformity with the rest of the pattern, which I agree would be annoying. Sounds like D2S is the way to go!
octanejunkie
Elite Member
Are you painting your corner reflectors Thunder Cloud too? I did a black out set and it cut light output tremendously, not what I wanted. I swapped over to a clear corner as is.
I think those look bad, you should send them to me
Also, is that your old truck in your AVI?
I think the blue/purple lens looks super good with the Thunder Cloud.
I think those look bad, you should send them to me
Also, is that your old truck in your AVI?
Tyler James Inc
Senior Member
[emoji23] I'll get right on that! Yeah, that was my old rig on my avi. Just changed it yesterday, ironically enough!
Oh yeah, painting them black will definitely make the already-dim corners drastically more lackluster! If you had sprayed a clear over the black, it would have lit up a little better, but still not great at all. I had the oven too hot, and melted the lenses when I opened them up.
But- once again- [MENTION=124101]Chim[/MENTION] comin in clutch with a replacement set for me!
[emoji1373]
I threw them on so it wouldn't be looking so ghetto with empty corners, but I do plan on painting my old corners, and using the lenses off of these once they're done.
I will also be doing something else to the corners. Anyone familiar with my '97 build might know where I'm headed with that [emoji6]
Also, the more I run these projectors at night, the happier I am with them. The nut and bold method is a PITA, but also nice, because it allows you to sink the projector further in. I think that's one thing that helps the looks quite a bit. With the threaded shafts, the projector ends up much closer to the glass, which contributes to the not-so-awesome bug eye look of retrofits on our 3rd gens. As much as I want to say I would never do the nut-and-bolt method again- I can't say that. The more I think about it, the more I think the projector being sunk in really makes it look a lot better.
Just my super picky and anal $.02
Oh, and in case anyone wants to donate $300 to the cause, I found a Thunder Cloud Sport hood locally [emoji23][emoji30]
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octanejunkie
Elite Member
Right on, I still need to make my corners flash with my turn signals lol
I would consider it but your Anti Satoshi stance, I can't even
I would consider it but your Anti Satoshi stance, I can't even
Tyler James Inc
Senior Member
Hahahaha nice.
Yeah, the flashing corners is part of my retrofit. I retrofitted 7443 bulbs into the corners of my '97. There's a video in the thread somewhere.
octanejunkie
Elite Member
I think I saw a retrofit source GB thread in classifieds...
4Runner4Leon
Senior Member
That's a good point Tyler, I haven't thought about that. Then again, if you're a glutton for punishment, you can turn most any threaded shaft projector installation into a nut and bolt installation to place it where you want it. That's what I had to do in my minivan installation. I can see how the deeper installation would look less bug-eyed than the threaded shaft one.
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