JnC

iTrader: (12)

Well I am starting off my most recent retrofit project and since its going to be for an 00 TL I thought i share the project with you guys.
I bought a spare set of headlights to work on which is always a good idea since that way the car wont be out of commission for long.

About the set up.

I will be using Lexus SC430 projectors which are identical to S2000 projectors. The only difference between the two is that the SC430 has a foggy lens rather than the clear one found in the S2K projectors and also the cut off shield is fixed rather than removable one found in the S2k.

I will be replacing the foggy lens with a crystal clear one from a BMW E30. Following are specs on that set up with some pictures of the output. Some of the pictures were taken by a fellow member at HIDplanet.com.












Notice that the above pictures are of the SC430/E30 hybrid projector.

This is how the SC430 projector will look like.



And this is how they look after all cleaned up of all the unnecessary metal.





^^ I have taken the lenses off so they don’t get damaged during the retrofit.


Following is a picture of stock S2K projector for comparison.






I want to keep the chrome look of the headlight rather than painting it that’s why will be opting for either of the following bezels. They will be trimmed to fit properly.

TSX Bezels







FX45 Bezels





One of the patients



Both the patients all opened up.










I will update this thread as the project progresses.

fsttyms1

Sweet. Keep us updated because i would really like to do this to my 2000!

BOSSIN$TL

think it would work on a 99'? i've been having a hard time finding new headlights and taillights

poohlikeshunny

yes pls! good set of pics so far! I have been contemplating how to install the projectors on mine as well...whether or not to cut the innards or use a different bezel...interested to see how the TSX bezel comes out...

tommiesay

PUT A DIY =-) Finally someone with Projector Headlight

speedbawlinTL

I definitely want to see what the headlights look like when you're done... good luck

JnC

iTrader: (12)

This is going to be a slow project since i am not taking time off from work/business and spending it on the project and the car needs to be on the road most of the time. Pictures would come as soon as there is any update. Bezels would be a decision that has to be made when they are about to be installed. As i said earlier that i want to keep the chrome look rather than painting the headlight and or use ABS plastic to make the shroud to cover up the projector.

Once you go projector you never look back.

Blazin_TL

iTrader: (1)

how much would you typically charge for somthing like this?

AznWay

iTrader: (8)

Cann't wait to see the finishing retrofit projector

JnC

iTrader: (12)

I dont do this for a profession, its more of a hobby.

Blazin_TL

iTrader: (1)

Well if I had somone do this for me how much should I expect to pay? Including all the parts and stuff.

JnC

iTrader: (12)

Cost totally depends on where you get your parts and how much you research for them, a set of good projectors such as S2ks can set you back $300 ~ $400 (demand vs. supply, S2ks are in high demand yet supply is low). A cheap alternative is to go with TSX projectors which can be bought for $100 to $180 from sources such as private sellers and Ebay etc. You will be utilizing your factory ballasts so you will save on ballasts and harness etc. As far getting someone to do it, there are only a few reputable people that i would recomend getting this job done from well you are way better off doing it yourself to your own liking. Spend some time on www.hidplanet.com/forums and get to know the HID/retrofit 101. I did my first retro 3 years ago and every since have done about 30 or so as a weekend project.

People charge anywhere from 300 to 1500 bucks for labor only, for instance Littodevil aka larry charges around 1200 for his retros, i almost got one done from him a while ago but that wised out and did it myself .

Here is a break down of my project cost.

Headlights $80
Projectors $170
Clear lenses $50
Misc Parts. $40
shrouds $50
New D2S bulbs $60
Projector headlights Priceless

So you are looking at around $450 ~ $600 in parts, that total can vary depending on how cheap you get the parts, what you get and where you get it from as i said earlier.

JnC

iTrader: (12)

By the way here is a video of one of the SC430/E30 hybrid projector. Notice that there is a lot of ambient light coming from a fuel canopy towards the left of the camera. The building in the video is about 300 feet away.

Video

Blazin_TL

iTrader: (1)

wow thanks for all the info.. one question though aren't the TSX projectors better then the S2K anyway?

JnC

iTrader: (12)

Cheap alternative? Yes. Better? NO.

JnC

iTrader: (12)

Some more pictures from today’s progress.

I drew horizontal and vertical reference lines to get an idea as to where to mount the projector and how far it should stick out in the back. This is to insure that the headlight cap in the back screws on without getting in touch with the back of the projector. I had to shave away a bit of metal from the top of the projector due to clearance issues.

Dremel was used to make the hole in the reflector housing, it still needs some work but the pictures give you an idea as to how it would look.

























Testing to see how far the projector would stick out once the front cover is on and once the plastic lens is on, seems like I have plenty of clearance.

L3wD

beautiful! i have a write up on doing a retro fit in honda tuning, they did it on a 2nd gen RL, im thinking of trying this in the near future also, cant wait to see your completed lights!

OntarioTL

Looks promising so far! The cost factor is certainly high (mine were close to a grand), but the results if done correctly will well be worth it. I'm tearing my projectors apart to install LED turn signals in them, and to finally utilize the small light shroud next to the projector.

Phrosttz0

cant wait to see the finished product, Im glad to see your keeping the the headlight chrome, i think it will look alot cleaner chrome.

00 acura tl

whats the diffrence is it more stronger or it will resiste longer?

mrproul

why doesn't anybody use the integra cat eye projectors with the TL hid's?

Phrosttz0

i could be wrong but arent those halogen projectors? i dont know if youll get a good output using an HID, but I dont know, not a projector guru

JnC

iTrader: (12)

Putting a kit in halogan projector would yield nothing but glare and it is that glare that we are trying to avoid here. A HID projector using a regular D2S bulb is the most potent form of HID rather than a 8000K HID kit in reflector or Halogen projectors. Do keep into account that the Kioto/Stanley projectors from an S2000/SC430 and HID equipped Celica are the best projectors available on the market. LS430 projectors are awesome as well but they have they are too big to fit in TL housing and so is the case with TL/ZKW projectors.

here is what my TL headlights look like, low/high beams are from TL/ZKW projector and secondary low beam is provided by a pair of S2ks.




Here are two pictures for comparison. First one is of a camry halogen projectors where the halogen bulbs are replaced with a HID kit. Notice the hot spots and the glare above the cut off.



Now compare that to the following picture of s SC430 projector with 300 zx lens, no glare no hot spots

mrproul

so you get a solid stream of light but with out the hot spots. i guess i don't get it,
isnt the inside projector of the integra low beam glass? they look just like the sc or s2k projectors. i have done an hid retrofit on a buddy's integra and the light seemed to shine through them just fine ( looked good to me). i was just suggesting the projector for fitment issues.

mrproul

JnC

iTrader: (12)

Today's progress, figured out how i am going to mount these so i can adjust them in all three axis, horizontal, vertical and rotational.

All the nuts and bolts that would be used.



This is how one of the reflector looks like after dremel had its way with it.





The top of the projector will be secured with a screw and nut to the back of the reflector. Where as the bottom would be secured to the bottom of the projector with these custom brackets i made, the brackets will be on either side of the projector and on each side the will be able to move up and down with the aid of a screw. The brackets are tapped so they can be attached to the bottom of the projector and will be tapped once more to be attached to the screw. This way i would be able to mount the projector once and use all the three mounting screws to adjust it properly to get a perfect beam.

Topher707

looks great, i want to try this myself.... just gotta save up some money.

baddbenny

Sooo this is rather interesting! I wanna try!!!!!!!

BI-Xenon = high and low beams??? Can someone please elaborate?
Also - I found a set of 04 TL projector headlights - broken tabs, blah, CHEAP
Are the projectors in the 04 bi-xenon? and are they considered good projectors to grab up for a project like this one. DS2 bulbs?

Any info is sweet! Thanks~

JnC

iTrader: (12)

^^ Bi-xenon projectors are ones that have a electronic solenoid in it. When you trigger the high beam switch instead of lighting up another bulb the solenoid pushes the cut off shield in the low beam projector down, this lets the unused light in the low beam projector to escape hence creating the high beam.

Yes 04 headlights have bi-xenon projectors in them, they are considered one of the best bi-xenon projectors on the market. The problem with bi-xenon projectors, specially the TL ones, is that they are too big for 3G TL housing. And it would be near impossible to fit them in 99-01 TL housing.

JnC

iTrader: (12)

Got some more work done over the weekend. The PITA part of the project is done, that is figuring out how to mount the projectors to the reflector, keeping in account as to how I would be able to adjust them in all three dimensions.

I mounted one of the reflector on the headlight and put it together just to see if everything looks good and sits in well and everything looks good .. I can use the three mounting screws to adjust the projector horizontaly, vertically and rotate it as well (most important). The factory adjustment screws can also be used to further adjust the light output horizontally and vertically.

Next step is to take the headlights apart, clean everything mount it back and then slap it on the car and adjust the projectors, mount the shrouds and seal the headlights back together. The project should be finished by next weekend

The two mounting screws, they will support the bottom of the projector and will be used to adjust the height of the projector and rotation.






Dont mind the epoxy, there was a crack in the reflector which i had to fill up to be sure that it wont break later.




The projector mounted.







The screw on the top to hold the projector in place, its rock steady.





The reflector/projector mounted on






Headlight cover mounted on..





The back, everything looks good and the cover goes on proper.

Phrosttz0

coming along real nice man

JnC

iTrader: (12)

Kris I see you in here , can you kindly change the title of the thread and include a 56K warning??

fsttyms1

Looks great.

AznWay

iTrader: (8)

Look Very Good

After blacking out the headlight an adjustment your headlight beam, Do you have to saw off part of the bolt that hanging out form screw or do you just leave it alone

JnC

iTrader: (12)

^^ The extra bit of the brackets will be cut, this was only a test fit, i might go down to one inch screw on the top (the one shown is 1.5") and 3/4" on the bottom, or to avoid that i might just cut them . There will be a small hole on the bottom of the headlight so that that the rotational screws can be accessed later after the install. Once not in use i am going to plug them with a rubber plug so dust can not get into the headlights. BTW i am not painting/blacking out the headlights, they will remain chrome

All the metal will be covered by the shroud, the problem with 00-01 TL is that you dont have much room to work with, the FX shround is too big and after all the cutting and shaving there wont be much left of it. That is the reason why i am leaning towards the TSX bezel. Although it might look a bit out of place and it might not cover everything, but its something I can live with, you have to understand this is a custom job and not everything would be perfect. The one thing that would be perfect would be the alignment of the beam.

Anyone can hack a hole in the headlight and put a projector in it but its the alignment that is PITA. Most 1st time retro-fitters use JB weld to secure the projector. There are many problems with that, one is that its permanent, if you screw up on the rotational alignment you would have to dremel the JB weld off and do it all over again.

I am going to try my best to make it look OEM and first step to achieve that goal is to leave it chrome which IMHO looks awesome. Just by looking at the headlight the way it is i can see how it will give the front of the TL a great look.

baddbenny

So I started to play tonight...

Grabbed up one of my extra headlights - left over front a front end fender bender... my fender......
But anyhow - wanted to take it apart and see what was going on inside - as if the wonderful tally of pics youve provided throughout haven't been enough. So my first wonder is this :

Is there anyway to get the little b*stards apart cleanly????

I pretty well hacked a perfectly good headlight. And it wasnt like I was over aggressive, it just didnt want to unseal - that rubber/glue/compound they slather a bit generously is TOUGH. Can I bake the headlight at a low low temp or something to get it softened up? Most every tab ended up snapping as well. Would love some input here from anyone...

JnC = youve done a fine job documenting your project

Thanks guys-

JnC

iTrader: (12)

^^ You are suppose to bake them to soften the glue and to take them apart. Working on the headlight the way it is wont help at all, bake them and then start from one corner and pry them open. If i am opening headlights just for the internals such as projectors then i dont care if i damage the outside, but in case i am doing a retro then i spend extra time and care to open them without any aesthetic or permanent damage.

baddbenny

How high a temp is best?

InspireUA5

Now you should start making some for 02-03 TL and sell them to us.
As you have mentioned above, LS430's projector is too big for 99-01, what about for 02-03 since those housings are bigger right?

fsttyms1

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/184466/18

JnC

iTrader: (12)

I own an 02 TL-S myself but again the housing is too small for the projector. After this project is done i am going to be doing one of my friend's 03 TL. Right now we are discussing as to which route to go with, it will either be a set of AP1 S2k projectors or LS 430 projectors or may be even a set of 7 lensed Q45 projectors . It all depends on how much he is willing to spend and how much he wants me to experiment. S2Ks wont be a problem and LS430 can be crammed in there no doubt but Q45 are most likely near impossible to fit in the 02-03 TL housing.

Here is a retro i did for my cousin down in Ellicot City, MD.








99 GS 400 with LS430 projectors.