ZKW R swap issues
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 779
Likes: 431
From: OR
ZKW R swap issues
So I had the headlights out a couple months ago, Baked them and cleared them out put halos in but couldn't figure out how to get the projectors out to throw in the zkwr lens in..Soo I sealed em back up and I did a shit job sealing them because they start fogging just when I'm washing the car. So I will have to take them back out and try sealing them better before the rain season starts.Guess my question is can I get the whole projector housing out without pulling them apart? Will it unscrew and pull out the back? Thanks
Chapter Leader (San Antonio)
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From: Houston, Texas
Yeah dont take the entire projector out just release the lens holder and pull them out. Just an FYI though about 70% of the time one side of the lens holder tab will break (atleast thats how it seems when I do it and I have done about 5 TL lens swaps). As long as the other side stays together your fine and I have yet to have both tabs break.
Also, regardless what anyone says the replica lenses NEED TO BE fine tubed for the best output. Like I said I have done probably 5 replica lens swaps on my TL's and it requires some work. They need to be rotated and they need to be spaced to be perfect. So much tuning required I had to put 3 cereal box ring spacers to get a good sharp cutoff. The other side took 2 spacers if I remember correctly.
So im just letting you know that when your doing the actual lenses your gonna need to plug them back into your car to power the lights up and tune them out in your garage on a wall (furthur the wall the better). Not only will you have to fine tune them to have a nice sharp cutoff, but you will have to tune so both sides are identical otherwise you will have one side that might be sharp and colorful, and the other might be fuzzy.
James
Also, regardless what anyone says the replica lenses NEED TO BE fine tubed for the best output. Like I said I have done probably 5 replica lens swaps on my TL's and it requires some work. They need to be rotated and they need to be spaced to be perfect. So much tuning required I had to put 3 cereal box ring spacers to get a good sharp cutoff. The other side took 2 spacers if I remember correctly.
So im just letting you know that when your doing the actual lenses your gonna need to plug them back into your car to power the lights up and tune them out in your garage on a wall (furthur the wall the better). Not only will you have to fine tune them to have a nice sharp cutoff, but you will have to tune so both sides are identical otherwise you will have one side that might be sharp and colorful, and the other might be fuzzy.
James
If you want to take the projectors out completely, there are two pivot holders one on each side of the projector holder/DRL foglight area underneath, take a flat head and put it in there and twist it to pop the pivot ball out of the socket. You can then take the projector out of the projector holder. I find it a lot easier to work with just the projectors themselves instead of that whole assembly. As far as the lens holder goes, be gentle, very fragile. I have yet to break one with the many TL projectors I've messed around with.
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Yeah dont take the entire projector out just release the lens holder and pull them out. Just an FYI though about 70% of the time one side of the lens holder tab will break (atleast thats how it seems when I do it and I have done about 5 TL lens swaps). As long as the other side stays together your fine and I have yet to have both tabs break.
Also, regardless what anyone says the replica lenses NEED TO BE fine tubed for the best output. Like I said I have done probably 5 replica lens swaps on my TL's and it requires some work. They need to be rotated and they need to be spaced to be perfect. So much tuning required I had to put 3 cereal box ring spacers to get a good sharp cutoff. The other side took 2 spacers if I remember correctly.
So im just letting you know that when your doing the actual lenses your gonna need to plug them back into your car to power the lights up and tune them out in your garage on a wall (furthur the wall the better). Not only will you have to fine tune them to have a nice sharp cutoff, but you will have to tune so both sides are identical otherwise you will have one side that might be sharp and colorful, and the other might be fuzzy.
James
Also, regardless what anyone says the replica lenses NEED TO BE fine tubed for the best output. Like I said I have done probably 5 replica lens swaps on my TL's and it requires some work. They need to be rotated and they need to be spaced to be perfect. So much tuning required I had to put 3 cereal box ring spacers to get a good sharp cutoff. The other side took 2 spacers if I remember correctly.
So im just letting you know that when your doing the actual lenses your gonna need to plug them back into your car to power the lights up and tune them out in your garage on a wall (furthur the wall the better). Not only will you have to fine tune them to have a nice sharp cutoff, but you will have to tune so both sides are identical otherwise you will have one side that might be sharp and colorful, and the other might be fuzzy.
James
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 867
Likes: 37
From: Anchorage, Alaska
I don't mean to scare the OP, but I had a hell of a time trying to focus mine. I tried spacers, rotating the lens etc. I also found it hard to get just one cereal box spacer in that holder. I broke one side because of how many times I was adjusting it.
In fact, my pass. side was so bad, I had to adjust the bulb in the socket to get it to look halfway decent. here it is without the bulb socket adjusted:
And here it is once I placed a spacer at the top of the bulb to angle it upwards. I lost a lot of the output, but it was sharper.
In fact, my pass. side was so bad, I had to adjust the bulb in the socket to get it to look halfway decent. here it is without the bulb socket adjusted:
And here it is once I placed a spacer at the top of the bulb to angle it upwards. I lost a lot of the output, but it was sharper.
^^^yup, thats basically what we are getting at. Some people seem to think ZKW-R's are simple swap in and be done with it. If you just put the lenses in with no other work you will probbaly not be happy with the output. With a lot of time, patience, and aggravation though you can get VERY nice cutoff and output from the replicas. Right now the output of my 07 TL with replicas is amazing. The cutoff is soo sharp that I can illuminate only half of a speed limit sign way down the road. Not only that but the color is real nice to look at. If im driving down a street at night when my cutoff drops below any street signs off to the right they glow purple from the cutoff. Looks sweet :-)
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 779
Likes: 431
From: OR
Thanks for the feedback.Think I'm going to send them to JNC have him put them in and seal up my headlights right.Probably what I should have done in the first place instead of trying to do it myself.Hope he does the fine tuning to get the nice cutoff
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 779
Likes: 431
From: OR
... Has anyone on here had jnc put in zkwr's ?
JnC doesn't just put lenses in and leave them as is. He does distance testing to make sure your cut off is in the optimal position. Whether he needs to add spacers, shield bending, shield painting. He'll make sure you get the best performance out of your projectors as possible.
JnC doesn't just put lenses in and leave them as is. He does distance testing to make sure your cut off is in the optimal position. Whether he needs to add spacers, shield bending, shield painting. He'll make sure you get the best performance out of your projectors as possible.
Think we all know JnC doesn't just slap them in :gheylaugh:
All ZKW, ZKW-R, TL clear lenses are not created equal. I know for a fact that TRS has introduced ZKW-R lenses in two different focal lengths over the years, earlier versions yielded a good cut off without any mods, later ones require either lens spacing, shield tweaking and or shield painting to avoid cut off flare issues. I have said it before and will say it again, ZKW-R lenses are not replica lenses of actual ZKW lenses, actual ZKW lenses have a shorter focal length, ZKW-R lenses are actually clear TL-R lenses as they have dimensions, including focal length, which are closer to the OEM TL lenses, it just happens to be that the replicas are clear.
Every time a customer gets a lens swap done from me, the projectors are completely disassembled and are paired with individual lenses and modified/tweaked to produce optimum output.
Here is one of my old post with pictures.
Every time a customer gets a lens swap done from me, the projectors are completely disassembled and are paired with individual lenses and modified/tweaked to produce optimum output.
Here is one of my old post with pictures.
Funny how we call them ZKW replicas where in reality they are TL lens replicas. ZKW focal point is totally different than the OEM TL lenses and the replica lenses. Authentic ZKW lenses have a lower focal point than the TL and the replicas. There is a bit of output difference, I personally prefer output of the real ZKWs but the replicas are still a huge upgrade over the stock fresnel lenses.
Here are some pictures of all three, from left the OEM TL lens, replica and then the real ZKW.
Focal length comparison
All three
OEM vs. Replica
Replica vs. Real ZKW
Here are some pictures of all three, from left the OEM TL lens, replica and then the real ZKW.
Focal length comparison
All three
OEM vs. Replica
Replica vs. Real ZKW
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 3,473
Likes: 189
From: Dallas
I know this is an old post but are people still having issues with the cutoff. I said I was going to get those retrofit source zwk-r's like 3 times and then I ordered some last night and now I see this post. great. how bad is it going to be? and what the heck is a cereal box spacer?
chad, you will not be able to get 2 of the TRS spacers on the tl projectors without breaking the retainer clip, I guarantee it. One spacer, yes but you will have to struggle and be careful. I was able to get 2 but that's required some "modification" ahaha. I have an amazing cutoff with 2 TRS spacers.
VERY nice cutoff paperboy. Not sure what Chad was talking about your line looks too low. The only thing I see is that it seems your cutoffs arent aimed perfectly together. They are close but I would either lower the drivers side just a hair, or raise the passenger side. As you can see in your pics the flat line (to the left of the steps) are slightly different heights. As far as I know the cutoff to the left of the step should be identical. Obviously thats an easy fix since these headlights aim very easily with a screwdriver.
As for the spacers, yeah I agree. I think on a previous ZKW-R project I had to have two spacers in one, and maybe even three in the other to get a perfect sharp, and consistant cutoff between the two sides. I wish the lenses held in place using a different method besides those clips because I hate when they break. Even though they still hold, it just makes me feel like the job wasnt done right. Just curious, how do you guys do this job without breaking the clips? is there a way to modify anything so that not as much stress is put on the clips?
James
As for the spacers, yeah I agree. I think on a previous ZKW-R project I had to have two spacers in one, and maybe even three in the other to get a perfect sharp, and consistant cutoff between the two sides. I wish the lenses held in place using a different method besides those clips because I hate when they break. Even though they still hold, it just makes me feel like the job wasnt done right. Just curious, how do you guys do this job without breaking the clips? is there a way to modify anything so that not as much stress is put on the clips?
James
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 3,473
Likes: 189
From: Dallas
I dont know what chad is talking about.. blah blah..
Look on the left side. He has less than 2 cinder blocks of light. Those blocks are about 8" each. So, he has less than 16" of light on the left. Helms books puts our headlights at about 25". So like I said, his lights are too low. Not only a little low.. but A LOT LOW.. I dont know what Chad is talkign about. blh blah.. you know its funny I could tell it was too low just by lookng at the pic.. Then I had to get the actual data that shows the measurments of these concrete blocks. My question is, if I can see it, why can't a vette owner?
Look on the left side. He has less than 2 cinder blocks of light. Those blocks are about 8" each. So, he has less than 16" of light on the left. Helms books puts our headlights at about 25". So like I said, his lights are too low. Not only a little low.. but A LOT LOW.. I dont know what Chad is talkign about. blh blah.. you know its funny I could tell it was too low just by lookng at the pic.. Then I had to get the actual data that shows the measurments of these concrete blocks. My question is, if I can see it, why can't a vette owner?
Last edited by Chad05TL; Mar 6, 2013 at 12:50 PM.
VERY nice cutoff paperboy. Not sure what Chad was talking about your line looks too low. The only thing I see is that it seems your cutoffs arent aimed perfectly together. They are close but I would either lower the drivers side just a hair, or raise the passenger side. As you can see in your pics the flat line (to the left of the steps) are slightly different heights. As far as I know the cutoff to the left of the step should be identical. Obviously thats an easy fix since these headlights aim very easily with a screwdriver.
As for the spacers, yeah I agree. I think on a previous ZKW-R project I had to have two spacers in one, and maybe even three in the other to get a perfect sharp, and consistant cutoff between the two sides. I wish the lenses held in place using a different method besides those clips because I hate when they break. Even though they still hold, it just makes me feel like the job wasnt done right. Just curious, how do you guys do this job without breaking the clips? is there a way to modify anything so that not as much stress is put on the clips?
James
As for the spacers, yeah I agree. I think on a previous ZKW-R project I had to have two spacers in one, and maybe even three in the other to get a perfect sharp, and consistant cutoff between the two sides. I wish the lenses held in place using a different method besides those clips because I hate when they break. Even though they still hold, it just makes me feel like the job wasnt done right. Just curious, how do you guys do this job without breaking the clips? is there a way to modify anything so that not as much stress is put on the clips?
James
I dont know what chad is talking about.. blah blah..
Look on the left side. He has less than 2 cinder blocks of light. Those blocks are about 8" each. So, he has less than 16" of light on the left. Helms books puts our headlights at about 25". So like I said, his lights are too low. Not only a little low.. but A LOT LOW.. I dont know what Chad is talkign about. blh blah.. you know its funny I could tell it was too low just by lookng at the pic.. Then I had to get the actual data that shows the measurments of these concrete blocks. My question is, if I can see it, why can't a vette owner?
Look on the left side. He has less than 2 cinder blocks of light. Those blocks are about 8" each. So, he has less than 16" of light on the left. Helms books puts our headlights at about 25". So like I said, his lights are too low. Not only a little low.. but A LOT LOW.. I dont know what Chad is talkign about. blh blah.. you know its funny I could tell it was too low just by lookng at the pic.. Then I had to get the actual data that shows the measurments of these concrete blocks. My question is, if I can see it, why can't a vette owner?
Your going to base how correct or incorrect his headlights are aimed base on a picture? You have no idea if that ground is flat or any other variables for that matter. And what I meant by saying im not sure what Chad is talking about was because of how you said it. All you said was "your line looks too low". I had no idea what that meant.
Can't really do anything to the projector to be able to fit more spacers in. In the pictures, you can see that the real ZKW lens, this lip is a bit thinner so you may be able to fit an additional spacer with real ZKW's. If you're using the replicas, be sure to to rotate the lens (kind of like focusing the lens on your camera), that sometimes helps along with spacing. If you still can't get it in focus, try bulb spacing. Your last resort I would be shield bending.
Well I dont really need to fit anymore spacers in there than I have already done before (two is usually good, sometimes one, sometimes three). What I meant was is there a way to trim the lens holder clip so that when you go to put it back on with a couple spacers in there so the clip wont be as tight and break. I think I know of a way to do that so that so next time I do a ZKW-R swap I will use my dremel and trim a small section off the clip where it snaps onto the metal tab on the lens holder base. This will give it just enough room to go back on without too much tension. Either that or dremel just a little bit off the metal tab on the lens holder itself.
Just curious, has anyone installed a pair of the Xenarc SVS bulbs in addition to the ZKW-R lenses? I know this bulb will typically be more yellow, but they say this bulb has the absolute most lumens you can get. I wonder how the cutoff looks with this bulb and a SVS bulb.
Oh and BTW, I did see your comparison threads Nate with the SVS vs CBI bulbs. The SVS bulbs look great! What im wondering though is how do those SVS bulbs look with a nicely tuned set of ZKW-R's? I have an 08 Type S with only 29,000 miles, would you just keep using the original bulbs, or spend the 200 bucks and go with the SVS's? If you dont think it would be a huge difference then I wont bother spending the money.
James
Last edited by JTS97Z28; Mar 6, 2013 at 01:16 PM.
^^I have been running the SVSs with my Hybrid TL/Authentic ZKW lenses for a while, love them 
They are certainly brighter than 85122+ Phillips, not sure if they are bright enough to justify the $100 price difference though.
They are certainly brighter than 85122+ Phillips, not sure if they are bright enough to justify the $100 price difference though.
Thanks!
I do my measurement by aiming it straight forward 0 degrees, then bringing it down slightly. I have good visibility without blinding others.
Might just be the pic, the ground wasnt perfectly flat, and those cinder blocks are on a raised edge of dirt in the road. But yea I noticed my driver's side is a hair higher than the passenger's. Been meaning to correct it, just havent had time haha. When I put back my retainer clip with 2 spacers, I deemed it impossible because I tried really hard to be careful. The best I could do was that 1 side of the clip snapped, and the other side held on. Still plenty secure though as the retainer almost has enough friction to hold without any clips.
Nate, did you know there is a new version of zkw-r lenses out? I ordered 2 pairs of zkw-r lenses on 2 different occasions and they were both "updated" it's got a protuded notch on the lip, and also the curved lens part has an indent big enough to see even once the retainer clip is installed. After getting the first set, I thought I had the e46 version, so 2nd time i specifically asked for the tl version and was sent the same thing so I deducted that they have a new version now.
I do my measurement by aiming it straight forward 0 degrees, then bringing it down slightly. I have good visibility without blinding others.
VERY nice cutoff paperboy. Not sure what Chad was talking about your line looks too low. The only thing I see is that it seems your cutoffs arent aimed perfectly together. They are close but I would either lower the drivers side just a hair, or raise the passenger side. As you can see in your pics the flat line (to the left of the steps) are slightly different heights. As far as I know the cutoff to the left of the step should be identical. Obviously thats an easy fix since these headlights aim very easily with a screwdriver.
As for the spacers, yeah I agree. I think on a previous ZKW-R project I had to have two spacers in one, and maybe even three in the other to get a perfect sharp, and consistant cutoff between the two sides. I wish the lenses held in place using a different method besides those clips because I hate when they break. Even though they still hold, it just makes me feel like the job wasnt done right. Just curious, how do you guys do this job without breaking the clips? is there a way to modify anything so that not as much stress is put on the clips?
James
As for the spacers, yeah I agree. I think on a previous ZKW-R project I had to have two spacers in one, and maybe even three in the other to get a perfect sharp, and consistant cutoff between the two sides. I wish the lenses held in place using a different method besides those clips because I hate when they break. Even though they still hold, it just makes me feel like the job wasnt done right. Just curious, how do you guys do this job without breaking the clips? is there a way to modify anything so that not as much stress is put on the clips?
James
Can't really do anything to the projector to be able to fit more spacers in. In the pictures, you can see that the real ZKW lens, this lip is a bit thinner so you may be able to fit an additional spacer with real ZKW's. If you're using the replicas, be sure to to rotate the lens (kind of like focusing the lens on your camera), that sometimes helps along with spacing. If you still can't get it in focus, try bulb spacing. Your last resort I would be shield bending.
^^^ is this new version a recent thing? Its probably been almost 2 years since I did the ZKW-R swap into a previous TL so they are different compared to those? Besides a lip or notch or whatever, are there any other differences? Did you notice less tuning required or a improvement in cutoff quality? I dont mind tuning them, but im just curious thats all.
^^^ is this new version a recent thing? Its probably been almost 2 years since I did the ZKW-R swap into a previous TL so they are different compared to those? Besides a lip or notch or whatever, are there any other differences? Did you notice less tuning required or a improvement in cutoff quality? I dont mind tuning them, but im just curious thats all.
