Mug

They came well packaged


ZKWr next to stock


Stock


Removed headlights


Bake


Remove housing lens


Side shot of stock


Remove stock lens


ZKWr installed


Passenger side has a slightly less than perfect beam. Cutoff was awesome, but this projector had a "ghost" intensity cutoff (no blue) just below the blue cutoff. All my attempts to focus this projector failed. No adjustments to shield or lens (cereal box washer) changed the beam pattern. I removed the lens probably 10 times before the lens holder tab broke. I drilled a horizontal hole into the tab part of the projector (not into the light housing) that the holder clips to. My broken tab:


ZKWr in the housing


I'll post cutoff pics tonight once I have the car back together and it gets dark. Doesn't get dark until about 9pm now (I'm in Alaska) so I'll prob post them tomorrow.

diskinnect

iTrader: (2)

wow that is an incredible write up man! cant wait to see the after results

LTxArucAx60

iTrader: (9)

nice install, how come you didnt take out the amber pieces??

funkbro2

iTrader: (1)

not everyone dislikes amber

enigmaos

iTrader: (4)

looking good.

Roger555

iTrader: (3)

One of my clips broke the second time! but not all the way across still held the lens in. You gotta post beam pattern shots in a thread like this! Did you ignite the ballast in your house and spin the lens until you found the best focal point?? The lens is not perfect all the way around, as you spin it you will see it go slightly in and out of focus and switching from more/less blue and purple across the cutoff line.

Mug

I thought about clearing them, but I like the amber on the silver. I thought about all the options when I opened them up but kinda like the way they look stock. It did feel like a waste to open them up and not change anything but I'm not doing it just because I'm in there.

I did rotate the lens 90, four times. Once the clip broke, I even moved the lens forward with very little change while the bulb was ignited. It really just made the cutoff less sharp and more blue. I was going for focus and not color with this mod.

So, my passenger side has the ghost and it should show up in the pictures I take tonight. The driver's side was good enough with the very first installation. I did a "drop-in" retro on my Subaru and a full retro in my civic. Other projectors had ways to focus the beam. With this projector, there are not many options. But, I just keep telling myself that it will be better than stock.

Also, I read that these lenses could also display issues with the projectors that were already there, but were hidden or camouflaged with the stock lenses. I'll know more tonight when I test them out.

ABP_04TL

iTrader: (2)

welcome to the ZKWr family

Mug

Well, as I suspected, it's pretty bad in comparison to the driver's side. I've since better aligned them, but as you can see, I have a serious problem with my passenger side. Actually, it's like stock with a lot more color.

I'm actually pretty happy with it. It is an improvement. I was going for a razor sharp cut off like the TSX. The

Here is the driver's side:


And the passenger's side:


And together:


Pretty sad about the passenger's side. I'm going to send these pics to Matt at theretrofitsource.com to see what he has to say. For all I know, my projector has always been like this! But, now that I've seen how nice the driver's side is, I want them to match.

I must admit, the output seems much brighter. My foreground shield cutoff is very apparent now. Massive flicker and color. So if anyone wants more color, this is how to get it! The pics are deceiving. The driver's side has a lot of color and it's razor sharp. The passenger side just is blurry and limp.

Roger555

iTrader: (3)

Looks like your gonna have to get back in there and play around with the internals on the projector bend the cutoff shield a bit until it gets crisp. I don't think the lens would be an issue did you swap the two between projectors to see if it changed? I agree with you though TSX projectors with clear lenses are razor sharp! but they arrant bi-xenon thats what always crippled them. I have a retro with FX-R projectors on my Legend from Matt and I love them! Bi-xenon and a cutoff just as good as the TSX.

My TL with ZKW's



My Legend with FX-R

Mug

I'll go back in there and replace the projector if I have to. I did not swap lenses because I didn't want to mess with the side that was good. I just assumed the bad side needed to be focused. In retrospect, that would have been a good idea.

This it totally deja vu from when I did my wife's Subaru. She has an '05 that accepted the RX330 projectors that just dropped in. I was told to focus them with washers (they had a removable lens holder). I focused them both one by one. On the wall they looked great, but together, one of them was obviously less intense. But on that car, it's the driver's side! I'd fix it, but she doesn't care.

I'm going to fix the TL so don't worry.

Jays_04TL

for DIY ZKW swap. Cutoff looks so much more
crisp compared to stock. Hope you figure out the issue with the pass
lens.

Mug

Here are some pics of a 2007 TSX. I saw this car when it was brand new and the thought the cutoff was super sharp compared to my TL. Here are the pics now.

Driver's side:


Passenger's side:


Together:


Could this be a bad bulb or does something need to be replaced? It's under warranty so we'll find out soon enough from the dealer. Just thought it was interesting that this car had a sloppy projector too. I wonder how common this is.

JnC

iTrader: (12)

The lens seems to be fine, seems like the bulb is either sitting improper or there is something wrong with the cut off shield.

BTW I'm talking about your TL. Check the bulb in case of the TSX as well.

Mug

JnC, thanks for the advice. I would have never thought of that. I've never touched the bulb or even removed the cap. Good thing it's on the passenger side! I'll play with it when I get home.

This makes sense since the sides of the TL cut off are sloping down. That could mean that the bulb is cocked either up or down causing the sides of the cut off to slope. I also had to lower that side quite a bit with the adjusting screw once I had it mounted in the car. I know I messed up the alignment just by taking it out of the car, but I did put the screws back exactly where they were based on the dirt marks.

So I guess it was always like this, just unnoticeable with the stock lenses. Or, all the removal and baking caused them to move.

So just remove the cap, unplug the bulb, un-clip the bulb, and make sure it's seated correctly?

OR, should I be adjusting the bulb while it's ignited? All those 25,000 volt warnings scare me. Has anyone adjusted the bulb while it was lit???

Roger555

iTrader: (3)

The only time there is excess voltage is at startup but even then unless you have exposed wires there is no reason to be worried about getting shocked. I've used a ballast and a HID bulb connected to my car jumper as a flashlight just carrying the bulb base in my hand it doesnt even get that warm at the base.

Mug

Cool. So I should park my car in front of the garage, turn the wheel and expose the bulb. Then fire it up, wait till it warms all the way up, then just wiggle it around? I'll probably need to wear a glove anyway since it will be hot.

It doesn't get dark here until 10:00, but I'm going to try this. If I don't post back tonight or tomorrow, I'm probably dead. My neighbors will think someone ran me over and I got caught up in my own wheel well.

So if I discover that the bulb is not seated correctly, I'm good. But has anyone shimmed the bulb seat? Cereal box washers?

Mug

Okay, sorry to bore you guys, but for the sake of documentation, I thought I'd post my findings after making a little adjustment to the bulb.

With the advice of JnC, I removed the headlight cap and moved the bulb around while it was on. Sure enough, it did help focus the passenger side enough for me to be satisfied. It is far from perfect, but here are the pics.

Before any adjusting:


Adjusted:



Driver's side:


I simply put some double stick foam tape at the top of the bulb, this angled the bulb upward in its seat. Not sure if that foam will eventually compress so much it won't do any good, but I'll think of a better way soon. My guess is that the shield needs to be bent forward, but that would require taking the whole thing apart again.

This did reduced the intensity of the light a lot. There was a lot of light right around the cut off area that shifted behind the shield as the cut off came into focus and the sides straightened out. However, now I have flicker on both sides of the road. The passenger side is still not that great, but now at least it's livable.

navarretg

Is this your highs or your lows? either way, it looks very bright!

diskinnect

iTrader: (2)

man those are so clean

ABP_04TL

iTrader: (2)

im gettin the same issue with my passenger side.... i think imma have to wiggle with the bulb to make sure its seating properly

Mug

Did you get it figured out? Post pics!

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

btw, for those of you who dont want to open the headlight to mess with the cutoff shield, you can also do it by removing the bulb and sticking a screwdriver in there to bend the shield.

Project X

what temp and how long did you bake the headlights to remove the plastic? does this harm the headlight in any way?

im thinkin about painting parts of my headlights black.. around the foglight/projector etc..

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

looking good....any write up on how you adjusted the bulbs ?

Comptechtl2367

OP, does the lens have to be in there in a specific way?

I am with ProjectX, how long did you heat them? i had heard 20 min @ 250. Also what did you use to reseal the housing? My biggest worry is that it will leak, i hate that!

Swoosh: I think you just take the cover off and move the bulb around. Not much of a write up for that one haha.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

i thought i ask before i mess things up :P...and there is a thread on how to adjust the low beam...just that i cant find the adjuster

here is the link:
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/re-aiming-headlights-3g-garage-g-007-a-558380/

as for your question, yes you heat them for ~20 minutes at 225 (they said 200 in the original post)....and while putting it back i used regular silicone rather than self adhesive silicone only because, its a biyotch if you wanna redo them....

so after the silicone i dry, i went ahead and threw another coat on there....been more than 2 years and no condensation

quakerroatmeal

I've been wanting to do this. But don't want to keep adjusting them and than breaking the clip, do you adjust them with the housing apart still?

Roger555

iTrader: (3)

Did a quick test run with a custom cutoff shield today! This was just cut with scissors so its not perfect as you can tell I just wanted to see what it would look like before I do it was a razor blade.

Bada$$VTEC

iTrader: (1)

Awesome,bookmarked/subscribed 'cause i just ordered these lens yesterday and i'll be doing this lens swap next week. Will update on how mine goes.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

DAYUM !!! looking bad ass

Roger555

iTrader: (3)

you can cut any shape you want, here is a small step version I just I cut real quick. Again a bit lumpy at the top after the step but just because it was cut with scissors.

Roger555

iTrader: (3)

heres a good one I just made, step is too big but this is a really good cutoff w/ color

nate_0022

iTrader: (2)

Have you tried the prism shield mod yet?

Roger555

iTrader: (3)

No but I might just to see how it looks in person, just got some flash aluminum sheets from Lowes that I can cut with a razor blade

Mug

Any updates Roger on your custom cut off shields?

av2600

iTrader: (1)

threads like these make me nervous about doing a ZKW swap.... but i must say, it does look very clean and sharp!

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

Great pics and excellent writeup, but man your for sure gonna have to get back into that passenger headlight and do some tweaking.

Mug

I agree. But I exhausted my attempts with the projector in the housing. I'd have to try pulling it out next. Life has been a bit busy lately so I prob won't get around to it.