I finished my retro last november in 3 days , in a rush due to the reason that i was moving. It sat in my storage compartment for almost a year before I finally dug it out and installed it . Had to redo everything due to faulty bulb holders on the S2ks ](*,) ](*,) . Before installation I test fired them and S2ks were all out of shape, pulled the whole retro open only to find out later that only the bulb holders were messed up ](*,) oh well. I also installed CCFLs but i think later down the road i might pull them out, as my brother so eloquently put it "it makes the retro look cheesy" lol.


Set up

Car: 2002 Acura TL Type S
Main low/hi beam: DOT TL projectors with clear ZKW lenses =P~
Auxiliary low beam: AP1 DOT clear lensed S2ks =P~
Bulbs: All 4 are Phillips 85122+
CCFLs
Ballasts: Densos with a wiring harness for the S2ks and factory HID ballast for the TL low beams control the TL projector.
Shrouds: MDX shrouds for the S2ks and AP2 S2K shrouds for the TLs and yes the S2k shrouds do fit the TLs .

Factory controls are used to control the TL for low and high beam where as separate controls are there to trigger the S2k and the CCFLs.

First impression : I wait for it to go dark so i can go out for a drive thats how much these things are sick . I am afraid to turn all four on at the same time thinking it might burn a hole through the ground , j/k light amount is insane.

On to the pictures :

Everything turned off .








CCFLs



Road Shots

TLs









S2ks






All four on





Wall shots , everything is perfectly aligned.

TLs



S2ks



All four




I woke up this morning to head to work and turns out it was pretty foggy outside , so here are some fog shots.

TL









S2ks (they seem a bit bluer than they actually are .





The following pictures were taken with -2.0 exposure.

 

Nice work like always jack n coke

 

nice.........

 

nice work

 

I'm not sure if i'm feeling the CCFLs when they are off, looks kinda cheesy. But nice work nonetheless. If you were to sell this set of headlights, how much would you be selling them for?

 

yeah how much would you sell a set i like how they look on the ssm tl which is what i have but a 2003 tl type s

 

Very nice, but damn how much light you need!!?? lol

 

that is sick. i would also like to know how much a set would be?

 

nice head lights man

 

Crazy ass

 

Like alway your retrofit LOOKs Great

 

Lovely. I would love to have the skills like you. The headlights are blazing!

 

Hats off to you man! That is by far the cleanest most beautiful Headlight Retrofit I have seen.

 

Good lord!

 

Damn those look sweet. Me personally wouldn't have went with 4 projectors, but they look tight though. I see everyone asking how much you would charge if you were to sell them or make them a set, but no replies. What's Good?

 

Thanks for all the kind words guys . As far as if these are for sale or would be mass marketed then no, even if i sell my car i'll take the headlights apart and use the guts for other retros. I dont think someone would be willing to pay even the cost of these headlights. Just take a look at the FS thread I have for my other set of retrofitted headlights, i am selling those below what its cost me to make them yet I dont have anyone interested in them . Here is a cost break down for these.

Headlights $100
Misc parts $50
S2k shrouds $70
MDX shrouds $70
TL projectors $250
S2k projectors $350
ZKW projectors for the clear lenses $350
CCFLs $125
Denso ballasts $150
harness $40
Bulbs $180
Eons of labor priceless


As you can see just the cost is above $1700 bucks , yeah i am crazy, and that doesnt even include the fabrication, install etc I doubt that anyone would be willing to pay that much for a set of headlights beside a HID nut like me.

As far as 4 projectors go, its something that I wanted to do for a while, I had TSX projectors for about a year before I got tired of them and wanted to move up, S2ks were an obvious choice but i wanted more , thats why I went the quad route. I doubt that I'll ever do something like this again, there is just way too much light on the road. It actually is dangerous at times, so much light with sharp cut offs kinda strains your eyes. Thats why I only keep one set on at a time .

If anyone is thinking of a retro then i'd say go with a single set of S2ks and take my word you will be tons happy . You think your Factory HIDs are da bomb wait till you drive behind a wheel of a car with a set of S2ks in it . Ask MyAltyza he knows what I am talking about .
As you can see the cost itself is

 

The following are what I recently finished making for a friend of mine down in MD. 03 TL headlights with S2k projectors along with CCFLs.

 

I know it dont belong here but I thought may be I should introduce my next project . Picked up a GS300 a few weeks ago and will be doing a retro soon, almost exactly the same I did for my cousin down in MD, he has a GS400 with LS430 projectors .

You take the car





you add these



and you get this







and the output looks like this







cant wait .

 

Awesome work on all three retrofits, cant wait to see the next one. Can you post pics of your personal setup during the day and also with the cfls on?

Also- do the ZKWs just make the cutoff sharper or are there additional benefits?

 

JnC do u think if u painted the housing SSM itd flow a lil bit better? the black just draws too much attention

 

amaizing work man. looks like u put some real care into those

 

They are very sexy, although in my opinion the CCFLs stand out too much when they are off, but don't let that discourage you lol. Oh and put some razor blades behind your lights, just in case somebody decides to "borrow" them, you'll have good evidence, it would be a disaster if you were to lose em after all that work. I'm looking into the distant future of doing a retrofit myself but I'm not sure if I'll be able to gather enough guts to cook and drill something that already works just to improve it...

EDIT - on second thought, never mind, the CCFLs are sexy, awesome job.

 

Holy hell those are some sexy headlights! Good work man!

 

Thanks guys, as far as silver painted headlights rather than black, hmm well thats an option that can be explored later on, right now i just wanted to get these on the car . After waiting 8 or so months I wasnt going back on the drawing board, these will go under the knife later cause i plan on removing the CCFLs. I'll try to take pictures in a bit of the CCFLs during day time.

For anyone thinking about retrofitting, I suggest just go with a pair of TSX or if you have the dough then S2ks. Four seriously is an overkill lol, i doubt that i turn on all four at a time or ever will, there is just TOO much light, my car looks like a freaking space ship at night if all four are one and due to that very reason i dont turn all four on, why have four when you are more than happy with two .

 

Increase in width and intensity, sharper cut off etc etc .

 

nice job, they look great...

 

im in love

 

let me get this straight. you have 4 headlights? man id hate to be the guy in front of you.

 

love the setup of your headlights, but it seems to me that your left projectors are hitting a bit on a lower angle im not sur i was just checking on pic number 5 and 6 but besides that great job with everything

 

They are supposed to be. Even the OEM headlights have the passenger side pointed down to prevent blinding oncoming drivers.

 

Yup you got it . Output from two projectors, both left and right should be as follows

____________/"''''''''''''''''''''________/'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''


Lower on the left to avoid hitting on coming traffic and higher on the right to light up pavement and pedestrians further down the road .

 

The passenger's side is pointed a bit higher than the driver's, not the other way around.

 

I didnt even read properly, both headlights are actually level the output from the projector comes out with a step which makes the light output to be lower towards the left of the car and higher towards the right, its the other way around in RHD cars where traffic would be towards your right and pavement towards your left .


Instead of coming out like a flat line __________________

it comes out as ___________/''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' from each projector

 

I have to say that you got talent man...but I am sorry I am not feeling the look of the headlights. The design does not flow with the retrofits. I have to admit though, the output of light is amaizing!!!

 

I meant to say it the other way around. Drivers' side is lower.

 

you're creating daylight in front of your car. haha 4 projectors all aimed for lowbeam is crazy!

 

I NEED THESE HEADLIGHTS, 1.) HOW DID YOU DO IT, or 2.) HOW CAN I GET THEM!!!! PLEASE email me at bthomas130@hotmail.com

 

Help Make Me Some Ccfls Pleaase [=

 

I saw this machine on the road a couple of weeks ago WITHOUGHT any lights on and believe me the view is sick ....just looking at the headlights rolling towards you is enough to make you pump your brakes- I DID!

Great Job JnC!!!

 

^^ Thanks SE Next time i see myself closing in on you on route 3 i'll turn everything on lol, four low beams and 3000k Fogs.