Eggs999bacon

So one of the next mods I would like to do is to replace the headlight / high beams. I tried to research this on the forums and couldn't come to a solid conclusion as I am not that technically inclined.

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/le...l#.Vq48EDYrLnD

I was looking at these... Are these plug and play or do they need some type of ballast, harness, etc. I would just take these to get professionally installed if anything technical needs to be done.

Would these provide a much brighter light and still have a great high beam output?

Thanks for the help

ceb

Why do people keep trying to modify lighting to make it less effective. BTW, this is from the website you linked to. Bolding is mine.

Please note that neither US nor Canadian laws recognize the term "off road only" and have ruled that if an item can be installed in a vehicle that can be legally registered, then that item must comply with all laws.

These don't. If you read the reviews you see "I had to modify the bracket, "I had to aim the lights lower to keep from blinding on-coming traffic","you shouldn't put these in halogen reflector housings but I did it anyway" and " the bulbs fit crooked but it doesn't appear to affect light output"

These reviews sound like they were all written by a bunch of illiterate clueless teenagers modding their 20 year old Civic.

As you know, adjusting a headlight assembly properly requires a minimal adjustment with a screwdriver. How accurate do you think you'll get when you have to bend a bracket or have the bulb fit crooked?

If your state has periodic inspections then you may well fail.

Terms & Conditions

Disclaimer:

The Retrofit Source is not responsible for any damage caused to your vehicle, it's headlights, or any injury that may result due to modification and/or improper installation of any product's from our store. You should be aware that all modification to headlights may put them out of compliance with regulatory laws governing vehicle lighting in your city/state/country and therefore the products we sell are designed for off-road use only.

Eggs999bacon

Thanks for the reply.

My state (NJ) only checks for emissions, unsafe yet better for modding i guess.

Look, I don't fully understand modifications to lighting. I am trying my best, but I search, and get different lighting options, people adding better HIDS even though acura's seem great. There are so many options I am just trying to filter them. Basically, the stock DRL is an ugly low yellow look that I hate. Most new cars come with the LED strip, but for us we can either upgrade the DRL to an LED bulb, or go LED fog, or drill into your bumper and do some custom LED mod work.

I am weighing my options. I've heard pulling the DRL fuse if I add LED's bumper or fogs. Research only gets you so far here, as once the posts get a bit dated then the lighting is already old and something new is out.

I plan to keep this for 4-5 years, so I am asking for my best option to upgrade the lighting to keep it fresh and with the times. The link I provided above seemed to be a good option as it advertised it being brighter, and still had a functional high beam. If I am wrong, then I am wrong and I will accept the the downsides to buying an older sports sedan with dated lighting and tech.

cu2wagon

Well, to help answer your question (I'll refrain from commenting on the good/bad idea aspect of these), from their Description:
and
So yes, you should be able to just remove and replace the bulbs. Depending on what you currently have for DRL/HiBeams, these *should* be brighter. Arbitrarily picking the Osram Night Breaker H11s, the incandescent bulbs are rated as 1350 Lumens. The XB are quoted as up to 3000 Lumens, so they might be significantly brighter. Although the "up to" makes me think you won't actually see 3k Lumens. But it should be more.

The output will be similar, but arguably not as full, as the OEM incandescent bulb. Since the LED light relies on two opposingly fired diodes, there isn't a true 360-degree light output. It's more like two 180-degree outputs separated by a finite distance. So you don't get a full "cylinder" of light, there will be a small plane in the middle that is dark. If you get down to quantum mechanics and optics, it's probably not very perceptible, but it is there.

That's probably too much info at to pedantic of a level. But there you go.

ceb

Here is my take on modding. Many accuse me of being anti-modding but I'm just for rational, intelligent modding.


My first recommendation would be to drive the car a few months. This is a bad time of year to mod anyway.


Keep a notepad in your car and write down the things that you'd like to change. Group them by "I want to do this because it will make my..."


driving safer
driving more enjoyable
car look better


Then prioritize them. Make sure that you have the budget for the parts, the install and be able to fix whatever got broken during install.


Lighting mods are tricky. You might want to read FMVSS 108 that regulates the lighting on cars. The link is at the end as my computer hates me today and won't let me insert a link.


When Acura designed the TSX, they set out to give it world leading lighting - and succeeded. They could have chosen a bi-xenon setup with a shutter to throttle light output for the low beam but decided instead to use a halogen bulb. This is rooted in how the brain processes the information that your eyes see. The brain doesn't like blue light and it takes longer to process the images. Warmer images with less glare are easier (and faster) to process. Combined with the cost of making a class leading high beam HID housing, this makes perfect sense.


Retrofits don't work well because each housing is designed for a particular bulb type. halogen, HID and LED bulbs all have different housing requirements to get the proper beam shape - things most aftermarket developers try to overlook.


There is a reason for that dark patch right in front of your car. Your brain is drawn to the brightest light. With an improperly designed housing/bulb combination, your eye would be drawn to that area - but at night you need to see far ahead of your car.


That dark area gets filled in with your fogs - that should only be used during inclement weather, when you are driving slowly and need to see the side of the road and what is closer.


One of the biggest complaints from owners after a lighting change is moisture in the housing because the retrofit bulb didn't allow the moisture cap to close properly or the installer couldn't get it to fit or it needed to be "modified". The biggest complaint from other drivers is glare and improperly aimed headlights.


By regulation, the housing must be designed so that the high beam cannot be adjusted independently from the low beam. Accordingly, if one of the customer complaints from the reviews is that the bulb fits crooked, then how can it be aimed properly and how well will the moisture cap seal the housing.


When I make a mod it takes me forever even after I've decided. I scour the internet for issues (without asking initially) and try to figure out what could go wrong. I determine if I can do it myself or if I need somebody to do it. What could the unintended consequences be? Will I attract unwanted attention and so forth.


You have a great car with outstanding lighting. Me, I'd look at other changes first - the interior LEDs were a good choice but even that became a bit frustrating - and exLED had the reputation of being one of the better vendors.








https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-20...sec571-108.xml

Eggs999bacon

Thanks for both replies.

Honestly if it is that much trouble, then I will leave it alone. So far, all I have done were the exLED interior conversion and although shipping was a hassle and I blew a fuse in the process, in the end I love the look and so far so good with these. Also, weathertechs were put in and I am getting it tinted tomorrow. After that, I believe I will be good to go and will be satisfied with the look for the next few years, but well see.

As for the HID's that are standard, I love them, so with that said is it bad to always leave your HID's on, even during the day (as I don't really care for the look of the regular DRL's)?

Also, If i was inclined to buy new fog lights that are both LED and fog functioning, that would mean I wouldn't be messing with the housing, yet simply replacing them all together so I could have better luck with these as opposed to breaking into the hosing and changing the bulb? (again, these are just ideas, not going to follow through if it is too much of a pain in the ass.

Thanks

ceb

Do you see your DRLs while driving? I don't and quite frankly don't care how they look since I don't see them.

A few mods to consider that are easy and will personalize your car are wheels and tires. I like the Acura V6 wheels that can often be picked up cheaply and the 18 inch wheels won't get beat up too badly on NJ and NYC roads. Depending on your driving style, you might want to consider a set of winter tires.

robpp

iTrader: (2)

get off the soapbox now ceb. its very old.


mod away/

cu2wagon

No, no, no... We need ceb to be the yin to the nominal yang.

He's like the ultimate, "really think about what you're doing" checkpoint...

And not at all "old man yelling at clouds", even though it might seem like it.

Eggs999bacon

Whether ceb was being a smart ass (in the case, give it a rest, just looking for advice: absolutely no reason to talk down to anyone who doesn't know much and even admitted to getting any mods professionally installed), or being helpful (in which case, thank you), in the end just looking for advice since a lot of you have own TSX's for years. This is my first month of owning one, and I chose it over newer sedans because I found it to be more fun to drive, more affordable, and better looking. If any of the mod's that I ask about are a simple plug and play without hindering the functionality of OEM, then I may consider it down the line.

Honestly, the HID's are awesome enough that I may leave the lights alone, it is just the old looking yellowish headlights / high beams that irk me a bit, and if there was a simple solution to give it that 2016 bright white look, it would be nice. I am now even on the fence of just leaving the stereo, because the sound is great, and I can use my phone for any extra features (pandora, spotify, maps, etc) because it is large enough.

Again, any help is appreciated.

cu2wagon

Oh, ceb was being serious.

And he's not wrong, in the most binary sense. I've never seen anyone so versed in the minutia of regulations and legalities when it comes to doing absolutely anything.

I think of him as the textbook answer to a question or problem. Sure it's *technically* right (the best kind of right!) But sometimes there is a bit of leeway that most people exploit.

Like, pi is 3.141592.... but you can get darn close by using 3.1 or even just 3 for a rough calculation. Ceb will point out the nauseating details of why at least 7 significant digits should be used. With citations.

He means well.

Take it as advisement but not necessarily what is right for you.

Happy modding!

PS. I don't condone using less than 4 significant digits when calculating with pi. :nerd:

rambeezy

That Ceb guy is overly dramatic, the OP purchased his car then he can do w.e he chooses do with it just like everyone else. Now if he's asking a question that maybe simple to you @ceb and not to him then don't knock him for it. Better yet, don't reply!

t3hhcaptain

Hi. The second Gen TSX forum thanks you for your outstanding contribution to this thread.

As you may or may not be aware, ceb plays an important role here. He is the guy to keep folks from wasting their money and decide why they are really about to do what they are/were wanting to do. Leave ceb alone. We need ceb.

Eggs999bacon

He needs to get off his high horse. I asked for help and got a smart ass answer. Also, considering there is much worse mods that have been attempted by others on here.

thoiboi

Welcome to the Internet Just grow a thicker skin and don't let little things like that bug you too much.


And enjoy the car and whatever mods you feel like putting on it.

Eggs999bacon

I've been on internet forums for many years, so this isn't a big deal. I asked for help and felt that his answer was condescending, which is weird since usually responses like that are reserved for debating heated topics (religion, politics, etc).

Anyway, thanks for the wishes, and I always consider safety when I do any mods (headlights still stock, btw.)

KillerG

soupi

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/le...l#.Vq48EDYrLnD


I will try this one out, once i find a promo code to lower the cost just a little bit

thoiboi

Go on their Facebook and they have 5% code on their cover photo.

KillerG

So i didnt read anything other than the drama, but at the moment, i would advise against LED DRLs. I have high end LED-DRLs from v-leds and though they are a solid color match with the HID fogs i have installed the light output is poor and its VERY VERY disappointing to lose the high beam functionality

even with VERY high end LED-DRLs my light output DROPS when i flicker high beams which means you basically lose out on a signal and a way to communicate with other drivers. trust me you wont miss it till its gone but its a solid tool to have.

i also spoke to TRS about those new morimotos and like all LED-DRLs so far they are not designed to run at dual voltages like a traditional low beam would so they would either flicker or fail to function as a high beam like others do. the product is solid but not in our particular application...

anyway, ive tried sylvania crystalvision and a few other things but there is a new Sylvania WHITE or something halogen bulb that I ordered and ill be reverting back from LED-DRLs to something more traditional ill let you know how the color match is

Eggs999bacon

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I figured a good halogen white bulb will do the trick. Appreciate the feedback.

Eggs999bacon

Hey Killerg, I tried to look these up and found them nowhere. The best I was told to go with were PIAA's or Sylvania zXe's. I don't need HID quality (as we have some damn good ones already on it, but my OCD won't have yellowish DRL's. If these are bright white, I will be getting them.

If you have any info about the ones you mentioned, I would appreciate the help.

Thanks again

ceb

Philips makes the CrystalVision and Sylvania/Osram makes the SilverStar.


Both bulbs will give you whiter light - but - both have reduced longevity and since they are DRLs you'll be changing them like your oil.


There is no free lunch.

t3hhcaptain

What about those PIAA bulbs?

On a side note, I used to have a 2000 Toyota Celica GT-S. It also had high beams that doubled as DRL. I used the Sylvanias. They were in there for a few years and I didn't have an issue with them burning out. I actually never replaced them after the first time.

Maybe you'll get lucky too?

Edit: IIRC, it was the Silverstar Ultra.

The silverstars are rated around 100 hours... https://www.sylvania.com/en-us/appli...artnumber=9005

Philips are rated more than 4x as long http://www.usa.philips.com/c-m-li/ca...-bulbs/halogen

Eggs999bacon

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah I am going to look into my choices more for this. I guess LED is out unfortunately for the headlight, yet I still may rig eagle eye LED eyes next to the fog light just for show, and still have my standard lights for function. Best of both worlds and safe too.

t3hhcaptain

Anzo makes some good looking replacement headlights. Looks like dual projectors with CCFL angel eyes. No idea on quality.

http://www.anzousa.com/headlights/ac...mber-ccfl.html

I also don't know how you'd wire the halos to be DRL either. New harness? Outside of my current knowledge base.