retrofit or not?

[DenaliAK]

Thanks, I'll try to do a write up with pics, but we'll see how much time I end up with to work on it. Having another guy help me, too, so I can't take the credit. He knows what he's doing and I don't, basically....lol. I know a lot about the lights, but have never actually done the hands-on part, so it'll be good to learn.

What color are your bulbs? I like the light from those. And why do you have what appears to be a three-tiered cut-off? Kinda funky. Looks like something is not lined up, or it's just a different cut-off then I'm used to seeing.

 

[rigo_jones]

Thanks, I'll try to do a write up with pics, but we'll see how much time I end up with to work on it. Having another guy help me, too, so I can't take the credit. He knows what he's doing and I don't, basically....lol. I know a lot about the lights, but have never actually done the hands-on part, so it'll be good to learn.

What color are your bulbs? I like the light from those. And why do you have what appears to be a three-tiered cut-off? Kinda funky. Looks like something is not lined up, or it's just a different cut-off then I'm used to seeing.

i dont know the color temp of the bulb i bought them locally for $25 i was told 6000k but look like 4300k. IDK. as for the funky cut off i dont know what you are talking about. what is three-tiered cut-off?? i might just buy some depos man. 1 thing i dont like is how short the projection is. it frustrates me that i cant see far. ive been looking at the af-r projectors but i might put my next retrofit on hold for now... unless your looks badass i will copy you lol...

this is what i dont like.

and this is what i want.

 

[DenaliAK]

In the last pic, against the wall, your light appears to go in three steps, from left to right. Typical cutoff is one step. The confusing part is that you have two headlights, and the cutoff in the middle, the step, should line up from each headlight so they overlap. If you cover one headlight, you'll see the cutoff from the other. Then do the reverse, and you'll see the other cutoff. The driver's side should be a step lower then the passenger, but the cutoff point for each individual light should line up with the other on the wall. You can actually do all of this and mark it off. It's reallllly hard to explain this w/out pics.

This is a random google'd sample of a good cutoff, what it should look like in the perfect world:

Someone on here, might be Max, don't remember, has recent pics of an excellent cutoff in his jeep. This is an excellent link from another forum on how to align your headlights properly (HID or not): http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54740

Anyway, I think you could correct your alignment by either lowering the passenger side or raising the driver's side beam a little. Could be wrong, though, in which case you just have funky lights....lol. That light ouput you want, from that last pic, is pretty amazing. Fairly sure that's with high's on, though, but still....

I'll keep ya'll posted on my project.

 

[rigo_jones]

i guess i spread them out to get more light on the sides.

 

[DenaliAK]

Freakin' Columbus!!!

I was waiting all weekend for my parts to get in only to realize it's Columbus Day and the good ol' USPS is not operating today.

Aaaarrrgghhh.

Waiting on: Depo headlights, Morimoto D2S 4300K HID bulbs, Matsushita Gen 3 OEM ballasts (stock parts on Infiniti/Nissan vehicles with HID's), wiring harness. Already have TSX clear-lens projectors.

 

[DenaliAK]

All the parts are finally here. Took the headlights a little longer then I liked, but now the work can start. These are the headlights I'm going with:

Completely removing the projector and replacing it with a TSX clear lens projector, then installing HID's. Should have great light and cutoff when it's finished.

 

[rigo_jones]

damn nice. i get my depos on Wednesday but what i dont like is that they are chrome :/ but cant beat the price of $50 new on ebay. hey bro are nissan murano projectors good? some one beat me to the tl headlights but i found some muranos but dont know if they are worth retrofitting they are of an 04 or 05 nissan murano.

 

[DenaliAK]

Honestly have no idea on the Murano's. Never heard anything about them one way or another, which probably means they aren't the first choice for a retrofit. If you're going to retro, you may as well make sure you are using quality projectors, ya know?

Ok, so the Depo projectors are removed. They came off pretty easily, actually, and with no baking required. They are screwed in and siliconed, so you just remove the screws and then kind of scrape the silicone out and pry the projector off. No point in baking the whole thing apart if you don't have to.

The TSX projectors should fit on there with only very minor modifications. It's almost a perfect fit. This shouldn't be a huge project.

Will have more info and hopefully pictures once things are closer to done. I will also have two sets of Denali headlights and a set of Depo projectors (just the projectors) for sale when I'm done.

 

[MikeTheApeman]

Someone on here, might be Max, don't remember, has recent pics of an excellent cutoff in his jeep.

http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/forum/showpost.php?p=43499&postcount=12

That would be the cutoff in my Grand Cherokee....I think.

 

[rigo_jones]

Honestly have no idea on the Murano's. Never heard anything about them one way or another, which probably means they aren't the first choice for a retrofit. If you're going to retro, you may as well make sure you are using quality projectors, ya know?

cool thanks in going to see the murano headlights i found for $100 obo. but i might just go with some tsx like you or the fxRs.

 

[DenaliAK]

http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/forum/showpost.php?p=43499&postcount=12

That would be the cutoff in my Grand Cherokee....I think.

Yeah, it was you. Sorry to mis-identify Mike.

 

[DenaliAK]

In the fabrication mode at the moment. Have to fab a bracket to connect the TSX projectors to the DEPO lights. Shouldn't be long now, though.

Have some headlights and DEPO projectors for sale in the classifieds if anyone is interested. As soon as the project is complete, I will also have a set of stock Denali headlights on there.

 

[DenaliAK]

Got driver's side done, but encountered a mounting issue. The new projector is bigger/deeper then the stock one, so I can't fit it in. Need to move the windshield wiper fluid reservoir and battery back about an inch. Should be doable pretty easily, but I ran out of daylight yesterday and today I'm at work. Fitment on passenger side shouldn't be an issue as there isn't much behind the light to get in the way on the side.

Will hopefully have a walk-through and comparison pics in the next few days. Did fire it up and compare the light to the stock, and it's WAAAAY better. Can't wait to get them both finished and installed.

 

[Sam Hamm]

i just did a 55w ddm ballast with a 55w d2s bulb in a fx35 projector with e55 bezel retrofit in my friends ek civic. i didnt get any progress pictures because i was hurrying but they turned out nice. need a little adjusting but nice.

hes got about 500$ in it total.

 

[DenaliAK]

Yeah, I've got roughly the same in parts into mine. A little more, I think. Not really keeping exact tabs.

You should post ouput and cutoff pics of that setup. I've been wanting to see the fx35 projector results.

Install set for Thursday night.

 

[DenaliAK]

Install done, and pretty impressive for a first try. Write-up w/pics coming soon to a forum near you.

 

[DenaliAK]

A couple of my retro results. Will have more to come when I have time for a full write up. Also have since adjusted the beams a bit for a little better cut-off, but you'll get the idea.

Front end look with the final product:

Output and cut-off shot:

 

[Sam Hamm]

what all kind of piece did you use? (projectors, bezel, etc..)

and did you mod the cut offs any?

 

[DenaliAK]

They are aftermarket DEPO headlights for a Denali. Took the projectors out and swapped with TSX clear-lens projectors. I didn't mod the cutoff at all. It looks better now with a more defined step since I adjusted things more. Will have pics of that later, gotta wait for dark again.

The rest was expensive OEM parts:

Matsushita ballasts (come stock on Infiniti/Nissan/Subaru with HID...they are bullet-proof and should last a long time).

Morimoto 4300K D2S bulbs.

Other then a wiring harness, that's it. Didn't need a bezel as the headlights have it built-in.

 

[rigo_jones]

dude nice denali. these are great. i think im going to do another and final retro i got it all planned out. u think these projectors can take 50w hid?