HID retrofit

[venomous99]

after doing a lot of reading on some of the HID lighting forums i finally took the plunge into highend lighting by ordering a bi-xenon retrofit kit from retrofitsource.com.
the kit includes everything you'll need to retro an hid projector into your existing housing such as digital ballasts, shrouds, bulb of your choice and harness/relays. with any retro, the housing will need to modified to fit the projector and then aimed and adjusted accordingly to produce the correct light coverage/spread, output and cutoff.
i ended up going with the bi-xenon FX-R projectors(which are the same as the infiniti FX projectors but with clear lenses that should produce a nice crisp light and sharp cutoff), morimoto 35w digital ballasts, e46R shrouds, wiring kit and 4300k bulbs.
should be receiving the kit next week and get a start hopefully on the weekend time permitting of course. ill try to shoot some pics to document what's needed to do a retrofit on our cars since this info is quite limited based on what ive seen through browsing the mustang forums.
one may ask why ud do a retro over one of the aftermarket projector headlights and the reason is simply that projectors in these aftermarket headlights are POS and produce terrible light output.
the results should look similar to this as this uses the same shroud and projector as the one i ordered.

 

[98 svt]

Keep us updated. How much were all the parts? My Plug-n-play kit wouldn't fit in the projector?

 

[venomous99]

Keep us updated. How much were all the parts? My Plug-n-play kit wouldn't fit in the projector?

it came out to about $300. i couldve skimped on the ballast with one of those el cheapo ebay $40 ballasts but i opted for peace of mind by going through a reputable source that offers a warranty.
why wouldnt your plug n play with your projector? u mean the connector? what exactly didnt fit?

 

[98 svt]

I never tried. i was just asking you.

So all i would really need to buy would be the actual projector, correct?

 

[venomous99]

I never tried. i was just asking you.

So all i would really need to buy would be the actual projector, correct?

well assuming you already have things wired up, the projector is a huge part of the project in that you need to open up your housing and modify it to fit the projector. you'll need the shroud more for cosmetics.

 

[MouTine]

What kind of bulb that kit includes? Hi & lows? With a moving shield or real bi-xenon system?

I'm very interested of these. Many of you guys may remember my retrofit project few months ago.

 

[TDUB003]

Those headlights look very clean for a projector retrofit. Are you going to smoke them? I love the light output of the projectors but they look out of place on most cars that came with halogen reflectors. I'm definitely interested in this mod though if it would be possible to darken the projector and lens enough without overly effecting the output but not having the eyesore of a huge projector that clearly looks out of place.

 

[venomous99]

What kind of bulb that kit includes? Hi & lows? With a moving shield or real bi-xenon system?

I'm very interested of these. Many of you guys may remember my retrofit project few months ago.

yeah i think i remember seeing your thread which is the one the few i found. its a moving shield that performs the hi beam.

Those headlights look very clean for a projector retrofit. Are you going to smoke them? I love the light output of the projectors but they look out of place on most cars that came with halogen reflectors. I'm definitely interested in this mod though if it would be possible to darken the projector and lens enough without overly effecting the output but not having the eyesore of a huge projector that clearly looks out of place.

that is a pic of someone else headlamp retro'ed w/ the projector. im not going to smoke it as its too much contrast for a white car and will reduce the output. i am also concerned with the projector looking like a bug eye if i leave it clear, but after looking at a few retros i think leaving the housing reflective material intact helps blend the projector in.
here is an 03 w/ a retro...this is not the look im going for but it gives u an idea of how it looks w/out the chrome reflective material behind the projector. too bad we dont have too many examples for our cars and i think thats partly cuz our housing isnt the most ideal for a retro..just hope all this effort doesnt leave the headlight looking out of place.

 

[MouTine]

I would def. leave them reflective especially if car is white or non dark. Here's few pics of mine...

 

[venomous99]

here is another done by a member(Andrew97Cobra) here with an fx35 projector before adding a shroud. wish i could find pics of his car finished as his setup is exactly like how mine will be. ..fx35 w/ the e46 shroud.

does anyone know if the oem housing can be opened up like the aftermarket units by heating up?

moutine...tight fit in here..im surprised u were able to fit both. what does your retro consist of again? believe u used a mazda? what projector?

 

[MouTine]

moutine...tight fit in here..im surprised u were able to fit both. what does your retro consist of again? believe u used a mazda? what projector?

Yep, it was tight fitment. I had to grind quite much material away from back wall of SN95 Depo housings. Both, hi beam reflector and low beam projector came out from first generation Mazda 6. '02 or something.

Now... I had driven few months with them and I'm loving it. There's been only one prob. Some reason pass side lens like to moisture little bit but driver side not at all. I believe b/c I waxed in- 'n outside of that lense it helps.

 

[venomous99]

so the brown truck arrived and dropped off a medium sized box from theretrofitsource.com...the contents neatly packed in the box contained:
FX-R projectors(high beam capable), morimoto eballasts(house brand), harness/wiring kit, 4300k bulb, e46 shrouds and last but not least some stickers to be proud of lol

side view of the projector. this guy is pretty beefy.

i estimate i will be cutting a good portion of the shrouds to help follow the shape of the reflector.

my next step is to pickup some misc clamps from the el cheapo harbor freight so i can secure the cobra headlamps on a test bench(aka my dining room table) measuring the light output of halogen bulbs as the reference then retro these bad boy HIDs aligned to the reference. also need to get a computer power supply to modify for a 12V supply rather than lugging around a car battery.
im also trying to look for a spare set of 94-98 OEM cobra headlights so i wont have any downtime with my cobra not having headlights but we'll see how that goes.
after looking at several aftermarket headlights i think the OEM cobras look the best in making the projectors less noticeable over some of these crystal clear aftermarket sets that make the headlights look "bug eyed". im hoping the end result using the OEM cobras will be quite the opposite.

 

[Andrew97Cobra]

here is another done by a member(Andrew97Cobra) here with an fx35 projector before adding a shroud. wish i could find pics of his car finished as his setup is exactly like how mine will be. ..fx35 w/ the e46 shroud.

does anyone know if the oem housing can be opened up like the aftermarket units by heating up?

moutine...tight fit in here..im surprised u were able to fit both. what does your retro consist of again? believe u used a mazda? what projector?

My OEM lenses came off without too many problems after I heated up the headlights in the oven for 10-15 minutes. I still have to finish the shrouds, so I cannot offer any pics of the finished product just yet, but I am curious to see how yours turn out. It's basically going to be a process of trimming more and more of the shroud until you get the contour to match the headlight. The clear lenses of the FX-R projectors should give you a nice cut off.

 

[b dub]

My OEM lenses came off without too many problems after I heated up the headlights in the oven for 10-15 minutes. I still have to finish the shrouds, so I cannot offer any pics of the finished product just yet, but I am curious to see how yours turn out. It's basically going to be a process of trimming more and more of the shroud until you get the contour to match the headlight. The clear lenses of the FX-R projectors should give you a nice cut off.

You got any more pics/info on your work?

 

[venomous99]

My OEM lenses came off without too many problems after I heated up the headlights in the oven for 10-15 minutes. I still have to finish the shrouds, so I cannot offer any pics of the finished product just yet, but I am curious to see how yours turn out. It's basically going to be a process of trimming more and more of the shroud until you get the contour to match the headlight. The clear lenses of the FX-R projectors should give you a nice cut off.

yes, pleaese post some pics of what you have done on yours. i can imagine the amount of cutting ill be doing to the shroud and the back of the housing to fit the projector.

 

[Andrew97Cobra]

I don't have too many step by step pics of the retrofit, but here is a good one of the rear of the headlight with the projector bolted in, aimed properly, and everything JB Welded.

The bottom of the headlight housing will also have to get notched out for the bi-xenon solenoid and some type of cover will have to be fabricated to seal that area afterwards. I used a thick PVC shower pan liner and JB Welded it into place, but I'm sure that there are other ways to do it too.

Other than that, it's just a lot of trial and error to get the aiming right and I'm sure that the shrouds will take both of us some time to get them to work with the housing. I custom made my own wiring harness, but since you already have a pre-made one, that will save you some time.

 

[venomous99]

I don't have too many step by step pics of the retrofit, but here is a good one of the rear of the headlight with the projector bolted in, aimed properly, and everything JB Welded.

The bottom of the headlight housing will also have to get notched out for the bi-xenon solenoid and some type of cover will have to be fabricated to seal that area afterwards. I used a thick PVC shower pan liner and JB Welded it into place, but I'm sure that there are other ways to do it too.

Other than that, it's just a lot of trial and error to get the aiming right and I'm sure that the shrouds will take both of us some time to get them to work with the housing. I custom made my own wiring harness, but since you already have a pre-made one, that will save you some time.

i havent jumped into the project yet but i sure want to keep the projector far back as possible. u got any side view pics of projector sitting in the housing?

ill be using this write-up that was done on a civic but the steps should be similar to a mustang or any car for that matter
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=1IFd3kHOeSQ7IQoD9UgBZkL5SCilN2US0nIivOqitAap7wI4FuVvOvjfigS1j&hl=en

 

[Andrew97Cobra]

I'll have to take a look to see if I took any side view pics. However, you don't want to mount the projector too far back in order to minimize the chances of the headlight housing blocking any of the light coming from the projector.

 

[b dub]

I don't have too many step by step pics of the retrofit, but here is a good one of the rear of the headlight with the projector bolted in, aimed properly, and everything JB Welded.

The bottom of the headlight housing will also have to get notched out for the bi-xenon solenoid and some type of cover will have to be fabricated to seal that area afterwards. I used a thick PVC shower pan liner and JB Welded it into place, but I'm sure that there are other ways to do it too.

Other than that, it's just a lot of trial and error to get the aiming right and I'm sure that the shrouds will take both of us some time to get them to work with the housing. I custom made my own wiring harness, but since you already have a pre-made one, that will save you some time.

i havent jumped into the project yet but i sure want to keep the projector far back as possible. u got any side view pics of projector sitting in the housing?

ill be using this write-up that was done on a civic but the steps should be similar to a mustang or any car for that matter
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=1IFd3kHOeSQ7IQoD9UgBZkL5SCilN2US0nIivOqitAap7wI4FuVvOvjfigS1j&hl=en

Hmm, I'd just rather pass on all that JB weld/cutting, sanding crap. Dude with the Honda even used body filler?!


I like the take apart, tweak, and reinstall type of mod. I really liked Moutine's setup but I don't know if it puts out the light that these retrofits do.



That Honda writeup is done very well.

 

[venomous99]

Hmm, I'd just rather pass on all that JB weld/cutting, sanding crap. Dude with the Honda even used body filler?!


I like the take apart, tweak, and reinstall type of mod. I really liked Moutine's setup but I don't know if it puts out the light that these retrofits do.



That Honda writeup is done very well.

im pretty open on how ill do this project so if its body filler or fiberglass ill try that. the write-up is a lot info and my intent w/ this project is to make the results look like factory.