DIY: 2nd Gen CL Projector Retrofit
11-30-2009, 02:53 AM
#1
Whats up with RDX owners?
Thread Starter
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DIY: 2nd Gen CL Projector Retrofit
...At least I think so, Ive never seen one with this mod.
**DISCLAIMER** The following stunts were performed by trained professionals. I take no responsibility for anything, including, but not limited to, destroying your headlights, setting fire to your car, or killing kittens. The following is merely suggestions. Use at you own risk. This is also a long post. So if you're at work reading this, you might get fired. That's not my fault either.
When I first got my CL, the lights were great. But lately, when I drive down the highway and an M45 or TL passes me, I get very jealous of their lights. So what is a man to do?
One word: Retrofit.
I started this about 5 months ago with a set of headlights, TSX projectors, Phillips 85122+ bulbs and some Crossfire shrouds. To make a long story very short, I practically destroyed my first set of headlights. My dumbass thought "it seems simple enough, just mount them and seal it up. Done!.
I was very wrong. I had no plan on mounting them, I didnt take any measurements, and I sure as hell didnt even check to see if the projector was straight in the housing. So I hit the interwebz and started reading - ALOT (did you know people in India are successfully retrofitting, and yet I managed to completely fuck up a set of headlights?)
Fast foward to November 26, 2009; Judgement day. Luckily I managed to get a 4 day weekend, so I thought it would be a great time to start the retrofit. I took all the knowledge I gained from the aforementioned interwebz and applied every ounce of it to this project. Lets start with the shrouds.
I had originally purchased some Crossfire shrouds:
But those didnt cover the entire projector so I picked up some E46 shrouds:
They looked pretty good, but they just werent doing it for me. So I took a trip to Home Depot and Lowes and scoured every isle for the perfect solution - and I found it.
There they were, in the ceiling fan section of Lowes. Two fan cover bezel thingies on clearance (open box item, cha-ching!). They wanted $5 each, so I scooped them up with the quickness and made my way to the register. I then ran to Wal-Mart to pick up a pair of $9 mugs (for a grand total of $19 for some nice, metal shrouds). I could care less about the mug itself, its the top chrome ring I want. So I broke out the heat gun and melted one side of each mug, then pulled the ring off. That got me a shroud that, when assembled, looks like this:
The most tedious part of this project had to to be polishing those damn things. They were originally a very cheap looking silver. Alot of sanding plus Mothers metal polish got me that finish, and Im am very happy with it.
Moving on. The next thing on my to-do list before even touching the headlights on my car was to make some brackets. My first attempt (the one that resulted in me being envious of Indian people) involved 4 long bolts straight through the back of the reflector. That's a horrible idea for a few reasons; adjustment is difficult and thats alot of weight on one area.
So I "borrowed" an idea from a gentleman on the HID forum (who happens to have a 2g TL). It involves a few pieces of aluminum stock bent at strategic spots, three per light. There were two at the bottom that went through the bottom of the reflectors and adjusted the level, and one on the top that went out the rear that adjusted pitch. The brackets were tapped for the screws I have, so viola! Instant adjustability!
So that stuff was taken care of. Thursday morning I went outside (it was a bitter 67*) and pulled the headlights off the car.
Ill spare you the tedious task of pulling the headligts apart as the clearing DIY will cover it ( found here: https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...d.php?t=421142 ; there was a better DIY, but Im too lazy to find it, so search N00B!)
Now that your headlights are apart, remove the bucket from the housing via these two screws.
One is a 10mm socket (bottom right), the other is an allen key (top left). I dont know what size allen key, just find one that fits. Be very careful with it though, Honda thought using plastic would be an excellant idea. It's not. You can strip it very easily. You can use a screwdriver to loosen it, but that takes too long. I also marked the screws and counted how many turns so when putting things back together I had a baseline for the alignment.
Now that you have your buckets out, you can remove the bulb holder as well as the shield. Now, you can draw some lines. I put the bulb back in to make it clearer for me, but basically you want to mark the path of the bulb. It conveniently lines up with the "v" in the reflector.
Now flip it over. Honda was nice enough to give us an outline to cut along, so my suggestion is use it. But for your own safety, wear some goggles and a mask, these reflectors produce so much white dust it would make Tyrone Biggums cream his pants.
You should be left with this:
At this point I made a quick template for the brackets and drew it out on the reflector, then drilled the mounting holes.
Now test fit. By the way, either remove the lense from the projector during this phase or cover it with tape, that way it wont get scratched.
Once everything looks acceptable, you can paint it, or toss the shrouds on it and seal it up. But I wanted to paint the reflector as well as the projector and shrouds. Painting the reflectors black reduces the possibility of stray light escaping. Painting the exterior of the bowl was just for aesthetics, and painting the rear of the shrouds was to cut down any possible reflections. Use high heat paint. I used Rustoleum Engine Enamel. Also, if you are inclined to do so, you can pull the shield off and paint the side that faces the bulb black. If you look at some TSX cutoff lines, you'll see an odd rainbow output, painting them black mostly eliminates it. DO NOT paint the inside (shiny part) of the reflector bowl. Its the, uh, reflector. And it needs to be shiny.
Notice how I dont have tape over the highbeam reflector? Thats because tape will peel the chrome away. I REPEAT, TAPE WILL PEEL THE CHROME OFF THE REFLECTOR!! Do not use tape. Use celophane. It sticks nicely, and peels off with nothing more then the overspray.
Once everything has dried take some aluminum tape (I dont know the official name, but one side is shiny and the other side is sticky) and cover the seam on the projector with it (sorry, no pic), It would be the seam where the two halfs meet.
Now you can mount the buckets back into the housings. If you used the same mounting method as I did, drill some holes in the housing directly behind the screws. That makes aiming a shit-ton easier.
Speaking of aiming; measure the height of the lights from the ground. Subtract 2 inches. Whatever number you come up with is how high it is supposed to shine on a wall that is 25 feet (300 inches) away. Also measure the distance (center to center) of the projectors. You have a total of 5 adjustments per light, so determine what works best for you. Also, remember the cutoff should look like this:
Once they are aimed correctly, attach your shrouds. I used JB Weld putty. You knead it together and then apply it to whatever youre working on; theres no mess, no clamps. It dries in 5 minutes, and its ready to be drilled/sanded/painted in an hour. My shroud was oversized, so I had to trim it down (sorry, no pics). If you are using JB Weld, and you have any on your fingers DO NOT touch anything chrome, shiny, or glass. You will leave a fingerprint thats hard [read: painstakingly difficult] to clean off.
You may need to trim just a tiny amount from the headlight bezel so the projector wont contact it. These headlights arent small, but they arent exactly spacious either, so you need to measure wisely. I had to shave about 1/8" off the bezel. You should be able to use the stock rear bulb cap as long as you placed the projectors in the housings correctly. Again, theres not much room front to back, so be wary or space. Luckily mine fit, but the ignitors dont fit during reinstallation so I had to take apart the plug and feed the wires through, then reconnect everything.
Before putting everything back together, blow out all the dust that accumulated in the lights, and use the alcohol prep pads supplied with your projectors (if you dont have them, Isopropyl Alcohol on a soft tissue works just as well) to wipe down the bulbs and the lenses. Put everything together and seal it up. You can use silicone sealant to close the holes you drilled to access the adjustment screws. Let the headlights air out for about 24
hours, then install the ballasts and seals.
Congratulations, you just completed your first retrofit. You will no longer look at headlights the same way again. You will no longer say are these halogens, but instead Can I fit a TL/ZKW bixenons in there? And trust me, you will want to.
And what Im sure all of you have been waiting for:
I had the exposure set a bit too high on that last one, but I decided to post it anyway. The other two pictures before it show the actual output as seen in person.
Cost:
TSX Clear Lense Projectors : $200
Crossfire shrouds : $45
Phillips 4300k bulbs : $60 (had a few hours on them)
E46 shrouds : $26.99 (used a coupon)
First set of headlights : Traded with e30cabrio for them
Paint, sealants, JB Weld : $20
Custom shrouds : $20
Grand total : $371.99
Since I wanted everything to come out perfectly, I spent alot of time on these; 30 hours total to be exact. Whats sad is Im already thinking about another setup, so these may be up for sale in the near future
More pictures will be added.
**DISCLAIMER** The following stunts were performed by trained professionals. I take no responsibility for anything, including, but not limited to, destroying your headlights, setting fire to your car, or killing kittens. The following is merely suggestions. Use at you own risk. This is also a long post. So if you're at work reading this, you might get fired. That's not my fault either.
When I first got my CL, the lights were great. But lately, when I drive down the highway and an M45 or TL passes me, I get very jealous of their lights. So what is a man to do?
One word: Retrofit.
I started this about 5 months ago with a set of headlights, TSX projectors, Phillips 85122+ bulbs and some Crossfire shrouds. To make a long story very short, I practically destroyed my first set of headlights. My dumbass thought "it seems simple enough, just mount them and seal it up. Done!.
I was very wrong. I had no plan on mounting them, I didnt take any measurements, and I sure as hell didnt even check to see if the projector was straight in the housing. So I hit the interwebz and started reading - ALOT (did you know people in India are successfully retrofitting, and yet I managed to completely fuck up a set of headlights?)
Fast foward to November 26, 2009; Judgement day. Luckily I managed to get a 4 day weekend, so I thought it would be a great time to start the retrofit. I took all the knowledge I gained from the aforementioned interwebz and applied every ounce of it to this project. Lets start with the shrouds.
I had originally purchased some Crossfire shrouds:
But those didnt cover the entire projector so I picked up some E46 shrouds:
They looked pretty good, but they just werent doing it for me. So I took a trip to Home Depot and Lowes and scoured every isle for the perfect solution - and I found it.
There they were, in the ceiling fan section of Lowes. Two fan cover bezel thingies on clearance (open box item, cha-ching!). They wanted $5 each, so I scooped them up with the quickness and made my way to the register. I then ran to Wal-Mart to pick up a pair of $9 mugs (for a grand total of $19 for some nice, metal shrouds). I could care less about the mug itself, its the top chrome ring I want. So I broke out the heat gun and melted one side of each mug, then pulled the ring off. That got me a shroud that, when assembled, looks like this:
The most tedious part of this project had to to be polishing those damn things. They were originally a very cheap looking silver. Alot of sanding plus Mothers metal polish got me that finish, and Im am very happy with it.
Moving on. The next thing on my to-do list before even touching the headlights on my car was to make some brackets. My first attempt (the one that resulted in me being envious of Indian people) involved 4 long bolts straight through the back of the reflector. That's a horrible idea for a few reasons; adjustment is difficult and thats alot of weight on one area.
So I "borrowed" an idea from a gentleman on the HID forum (who happens to have a 2g TL). It involves a few pieces of aluminum stock bent at strategic spots, three per light. There were two at the bottom that went through the bottom of the reflectors and adjusted the level, and one on the top that went out the rear that adjusted pitch. The brackets were tapped for the screws I have, so viola! Instant adjustability!
So that stuff was taken care of. Thursday morning I went outside (it was a bitter 67*) and pulled the headlights off the car.
Ill spare you the tedious task of pulling the headligts apart as the clearing DIY will cover it ( found here: https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...d.php?t=421142 ; there was a better DIY, but Im too lazy to find it, so search N00B!)
Now that your headlights are apart, remove the bucket from the housing via these two screws.
One is a 10mm socket (bottom right), the other is an allen key (top left). I dont know what size allen key, just find one that fits. Be very careful with it though, Honda thought using plastic would be an excellant idea. It's not. You can strip it very easily. You can use a screwdriver to loosen it, but that takes too long. I also marked the screws and counted how many turns so when putting things back together I had a baseline for the alignment.
Now that you have your buckets out, you can remove the bulb holder as well as the shield. Now, you can draw some lines. I put the bulb back in to make it clearer for me, but basically you want to mark the path of the bulb. It conveniently lines up with the "v" in the reflector.
Now flip it over. Honda was nice enough to give us an outline to cut along, so my suggestion is use it. But for your own safety, wear some goggles and a mask, these reflectors produce so much white dust it would make Tyrone Biggums cream his pants.
You should be left with this:
At this point I made a quick template for the brackets and drew it out on the reflector, then drilled the mounting holes.
Now test fit. By the way, either remove the lense from the projector during this phase or cover it with tape, that way it wont get scratched.
Once everything looks acceptable, you can paint it, or toss the shrouds on it and seal it up. But I wanted to paint the reflector as well as the projector and shrouds. Painting the reflectors black reduces the possibility of stray light escaping. Painting the exterior of the bowl was just for aesthetics, and painting the rear of the shrouds was to cut down any possible reflections. Use high heat paint. I used Rustoleum Engine Enamel. Also, if you are inclined to do so, you can pull the shield off and paint the side that faces the bulb black. If you look at some TSX cutoff lines, you'll see an odd rainbow output, painting them black mostly eliminates it. DO NOT paint the inside (shiny part) of the reflector bowl. Its the, uh, reflector. And it needs to be shiny.
Notice how I dont have tape over the highbeam reflector? Thats because tape will peel the chrome away. I REPEAT, TAPE WILL PEEL THE CHROME OFF THE REFLECTOR!! Do not use tape. Use celophane. It sticks nicely, and peels off with nothing more then the overspray.
Once everything has dried take some aluminum tape (I dont know the official name, but one side is shiny and the other side is sticky) and cover the seam on the projector with it (sorry, no pic), It would be the seam where the two halfs meet.
Now you can mount the buckets back into the housings. If you used the same mounting method as I did, drill some holes in the housing directly behind the screws. That makes aiming a shit-ton easier.
Speaking of aiming; measure the height of the lights from the ground. Subtract 2 inches. Whatever number you come up with is how high it is supposed to shine on a wall that is 25 feet (300 inches) away. Also measure the distance (center to center) of the projectors. You have a total of 5 adjustments per light, so determine what works best for you. Also, remember the cutoff should look like this:
Once they are aimed correctly, attach your shrouds. I used JB Weld putty. You knead it together and then apply it to whatever youre working on; theres no mess, no clamps. It dries in 5 minutes, and its ready to be drilled/sanded/painted in an hour. My shroud was oversized, so I had to trim it down (sorry, no pics). If you are using JB Weld, and you have any on your fingers DO NOT touch anything chrome, shiny, or glass. You will leave a fingerprint thats hard [read: painstakingly difficult] to clean off.
You may need to trim just a tiny amount from the headlight bezel so the projector wont contact it. These headlights arent small, but they arent exactly spacious either, so you need to measure wisely. I had to shave about 1/8" off the bezel. You should be able to use the stock rear bulb cap as long as you placed the projectors in the housings correctly. Again, theres not much room front to back, so be wary or space. Luckily mine fit, but the ignitors dont fit during reinstallation so I had to take apart the plug and feed the wires through, then reconnect everything.
Before putting everything back together, blow out all the dust that accumulated in the lights, and use the alcohol prep pads supplied with your projectors (if you dont have them, Isopropyl Alcohol on a soft tissue works just as well) to wipe down the bulbs and the lenses. Put everything together and seal it up. You can use silicone sealant to close the holes you drilled to access the adjustment screws. Let the headlights air out for about 24
hours, then install the ballasts and seals.
Congratulations, you just completed your first retrofit. You will no longer look at headlights the same way again. You will no longer say are these halogens, but instead Can I fit a TL/ZKW bixenons in there? And trust me, you will want to.
And what Im sure all of you have been waiting for:
I had the exposure set a bit too high on that last one, but I decided to post it anyway. The other two pictures before it show the actual output as seen in person.
Cost:
TSX Clear Lense Projectors : $200
Crossfire shrouds : $45
Phillips 4300k bulbs : $60 (had a few hours on them)
E46 shrouds : $26.99 (used a coupon)
First set of headlights : Traded with e30cabrio for them
Paint, sealants, JB Weld : $20
Custom shrouds : $20
Grand total : $371.99
Since I wanted everything to come out perfectly, I spent alot of time on these; 30 hours total to be exact. Whats sad is Im already thinking about another setup, so these may be up for sale in the near future
More pictures will be added.
11-30-2009, 03:06 AM
#2
Whats up with RDX owners?
Thread Starter
iTrader: (9)
Also, this project is the easiest way to make your high beams look like candles:
WEAK! But I rarely use my highbeams so it's no big deal.
You may have noticed a hint of red in the lenses. Thats what happens when you paint the other side of the shield.
You can paint it whatever color you like, it doesnt interfere with light output at all. And it doesnt show up all the time. Light has to hit it at the right angle to see the color.
Im thinking about painting the shrouds black now too, but leaving the ring around the lense chrome. What do you guys think? Its more work because Ive gotta tear the lights apart again, but I think it would look better.
Im already in love with these lights. I almost met a deer tonight, and had it not been for the brighter lights I wouldnt have seen him.
WEAK! But I rarely use my highbeams so it's no big deal.
You may have noticed a hint of red in the lenses. Thats what happens when you paint the other side of the shield.
You can paint it whatever color you like, it doesnt interfere with light output at all. And it doesnt show up all the time. Light has to hit it at the right angle to see the color.
Im thinking about painting the shrouds black now too, but leaving the ring around the lense chrome. What do you guys think? Its more work because Ive gotta tear the lights apart again, but I think it would look better.
Im already in love with these lights. I almost met a deer tonight, and had it not been for the brighter lights I wouldnt have seen him.
Last edited by mantis23; 12-01-2009 at 04:04 PM.
The following users liked this post:
CanCLS (08-31-2011)
11-30-2009, 07:59 AM
#6
Racer
Great work and writeup! Can't wait to see the headlights themselves. I have a set of bi-xenon FX projectors and clear lenses with e46 shrouds... your post might get me motivated to drop the cash on a spare set of headlights to do this mod to! Thanks.
11-30-2009, 10:39 AM
#7
Whats up with RDX owners?
Thread Starter
iTrader: (9)
Lol, give me a few minutes. I finished late last night so I couldnt get a single good picture. I took some before and Im uploading them now.
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11-30-2009, 11:42 AM
#10
Whats up with RDX owners?
Thread Starter
iTrader: (9)
Mods, do you mind adding this to the original post right under the last picture?
Last edited by mantis23; 12-01-2009 at 04:04 PM. Reason: moving to top
11-30-2009, 11:48 AM
#11
Whats up with RDX owners?
Thread Starter
iTrader: (9)
Im also on the hunt for amber 168 bulbs. All the stores near my house have clear bulbs 
11-30-2009, 12:00 PM
#12
G.uns O.n D.emand
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wow..great job on the retro fit...i would never have the time to do this mod...one thing is killin me tho..the red in the projector...its gotta go..and i agree with you should paint the housing black and leave just the ring chrome...if you do that i think they would be perfect
11-30-2009, 12:12 PM
#13
wow..great job on the retro fit...i would never have the time to do this mod...one thing is killin me tho..the red in the projector...its gotta go..and i agree with you should paint the housing black and leave just the ring chrome...if you do that i think they would be perfect
nice job but i think it needs to grow on me a bit
11-30-2009, 12:49 PM
#17
what an amazing job you did...I think it looks good chrome for now...sleep on it before ripping apart again. Also, the red, I thought it looked different and kind of evil. Great to me!
About the 168's have you thought about LED's?
About the 168's have you thought about LED's?
11-30-2009, 01:33 PM
#19
Whats up with RDX owners?
Thread Starter
iTrader: (9)
Thanks guys. The red isnt too noticeable in person. I had to turn the flash on to even get it to show up. You can only see it at certain angles and in certain lighting, otherwise it looks like a normal projector. I like how it matches my wheels and my dash.
I looked into the LED lights, but I havent seen anything that illuminates evenly, and thats a peeve of mine. If you know of some, let me know.
I have no problem ripping them apart again. Im already thinking about my next setup, and there will be a next setup. Im just going to roll with these for awhile. I cant wait for night-fall!
Its raining today, so tomorrow I plan on washing the car and taking some better shots.
I looked into the LED lights, but I havent seen anything that illuminates evenly, and thats a peeve of mine. If you know of some, let me know.
I have no problem ripping them apart again. Im already thinking about my next setup, and there will be a next setup. Im just going to roll with these for awhile. I cant wait for night-fall!
Its raining today, so tomorrow I plan on washing the car and taking some better shots.
Last edited by civicdrivr; 11-30-2009 at 01:36 PM.
11-30-2009, 02:31 PM
#21
Whatever it is! I know how you mean...I do that a lot too...finish something and immediately want to improve upon it. At least now it'll be easy for you.
About being even...I'm not sure about the LED's...is this for your turn signal bulbs? Or the high beams or DRL?
PS...if you haven't already...I would look into doing the DRL module on your high beams...I have the Nokya yellow bulbs in mine for DRL and I think it looks mean on NBP.
About being even...I'm not sure about the LED's...is this for your turn signal bulbs? Or the high beams or DRL?
PS...if you haven't already...I would look into doing the DRL module on your high beams...I have the Nokya yellow bulbs in mine for DRL and I think it looks mean on NBP.
11-30-2009, 02:41 PM
#22
Lead Footed
^
Great Job, and I think the red with works. Kind of an evil Cylon look . . .
Ruf
11-30-2009, 04:05 PM
#26
Whats up with RDX owners?
Thread Starter
iTrader: (9)
Where would you find this DRL module for the high beams? Ive been looking for over a month. I want them BAD. My highbeams are pointless now anyway.
I am talking about the side marker light. Ill take a pic later when I get home from work so you can see what I mean. I removed the diffuser and the clear 168 bulb looks like shit in there underneath the amber turn signal light.
And thanks for the compliments
I am talking about the side marker light. Ill take a pic later when I get home from work so you can see what I mean. I removed the diffuser and the clear 168 bulb looks like shit in there underneath the amber turn signal light.
And thanks for the compliments
11-30-2009, 07:25 PM
#31
Whats up with RDX owners?
Thread Starter
iTrader: (9)
Thanks 
I just picked up some amber bulbs for the sidemarker. I hope they look good
Im still searching for a DRL module. That would make my life sooooo much easier for the next retrofit
I just picked up some amber bulbs for the sidemarker. I hope they look good
Im still searching for a DRL module. That would make my life sooooo much easier for the next retrofit
11-30-2009, 08:05 PM
#34
Missing my
As for the lights, VERY impressive! I have to say it depressed me a little because I could never do something this innovative or detail oriented. Looks like I'm #3 on the dibs list here. Maybe you should mass produce these suckers!
11-30-2009, 08:11 PM
#36
Whats up with RDX owners?
Thread Starter
iTrader: (9)
I wanted S2ks soooooo badly but didnt have the funds at the time, plus finding a set was proving to be a task in itself. Thanks, Id love to see how you did yours though. And driving at night is completely different now. The old HIDs werent terrible, but I can actually see now, which I love.
My next setup is going to by much brighter though
I gots plans.
11-30-2009, 08:13 PM
#38
Whats up with RDX owners?
Thread Starter
iTrader: (9)
