retrofit or not?

[BillBlatt18]

post pics if you do it

 

[rigo_jones]

in trying to find some stock headlights on Cl for cheap. im also going to do the audi LED mod. if i even get to finish this. but heres the LEDs.

how? with this
http://cgi.ebay.com/24CM-24-White-L...ries?hash=item1c0c7135ff&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14



im 100% sure my first retrofit is going to look getto but the more u do it the better u get.lol

 

[jgiguere17]

you can use those but you should use a trim piece to make it look oem

 

[DenaliAK]

jgiguere--thanks for all the info. Since I'm still just piecing this together in my head, that's all very helpful. The projectors (TSX) are the real deal. I still haven't decided on the rest of the stuff, though. Got any suggestions on ballasts? I'm not modding the high beams, just the low-beam projectors and probably fogs will get HID's as well. I'd like to get 55w as well.

My biggest problem has just been finding suitable headlight assemblies to bake apart. It's very hard to tell from a picture on the web how they are sealed. I'm also on a budget. I can get used OEM ballasts for fairly cheap.

I looked at RX330 projectors as well, but they looked a bit big to fit in the OEM projector slot. Not sure, though, just eyeballing it. I got a good deal on the TSX projectors, and I've heard nothing but good about them. I've also seen a couple cars that had them and was impressed. If you have a good place to get quality ballasts and D2S bulbs for cheap, let me know.

 

[DenaliAK]

cool i got some D2S valeo projectors local fro $15 a piece

That's like, almost free....lol. Helluva deal.

 

[rigo_jones]

getto but DONE. i get my hid kit monday so ill post some pics monday night.

 

[Eagle]

very nicely done! I like, can't wait to see em installed.

 

[DenaliAK]

Looking forward to output pics! Include some against a wall for cutoff...I'm curious how those Valeos perform.

What kind of HID's are you getting? Brand/color/watt??

 

[rigo_jones]

Looking forward to output pics! Include some against a wall for cutoff...I'm curious how those Valeos perform.

What kind of HID's are you getting? Brand/color/watt??

yup its an ebay kit :/ i got for $43 i got 6000k d2s bulbs and order 4300k bulbs with the new kit. just for now, i want to get the clear "euro" headlights and do a bixenon projector retro fit. thats why i didnt even bother fitting the projector bezel. im looking for some OEM audi ballast i found a pair local for $100 but we'll see how it turns out. this projector type was super easy to install since it sits nice and flush inside the headlight so i didnt brake my head leveling the cutoff.

 

[MikeTheApeman]

The cutoff on those valeo's should look a lot like this. That's what they retrofit into my Jeep.

 

[rigo_jones]

The cutoff on those valeo's should look a lot like this. That's what they retrofit into my Jeep.

yup looks like that.... uhmmm i got the wrong bulbs with my kit i order d2s bulbs and got H fucken 7s. but it was cool cause i had an extra 2 6k d2s from my audi and guess wht? one is out so i order a new pair of d2s bulbs they should be here in a WEEK! . if any body wants to see i can show 1 headlight in action but im going to wait for the bulbs till i post pics. its a big difference nice and clean cut off i cant wait.

 

[DenaliAK]

yup looks like that.... uhmmm i got the wrong bulbs with my kit i order d2s bulbs and got H fucken 7s. but it was cool cause i had an extra 2 6k d2s from my audi and guess wht? one is out so i order a new pair of d2s bulbs they should be here in a WEEK! . if any body wants to see i can show 1 headlight in action but im going to wait for the bulbs till i post pics. its a big difference nice and clean cut off i cant wait.

That's what you get for a $43 ebay kit....



I'm torn between going all-out with new Matsushita ballasts and Philips D2S bulbs, or just getting a kit for less. I may go with Digital (the brand, not the type) HID's so I can color match my fogs, too.

 

[rigo_jones]

does any body know if i can use a 35w hid bulb with a 50w/55w ballast?

 

[Eagle]

It will reduce lifespan but a friend had to do that for a week or so until he could get 55w capsules from DDM.

EDIT; I feel I have to mention that a '55w' bulb is actually still just a 35w capsule that is overdriven by ~40%. This is where the ~40% lighting improvement comes from, and the reduced lifespan.

I think he needed a new set of capsules because:
a: he didn;t know this,
B: it was a 4300 and his other one was 6k
c: they should be replaced in pairs because the color does change over the life of the bulb.

 

[Markus01]

That is cool how hard was it to pull the headlight apart?

 

[rigo_jones]

oh ok thanks bro. im going to retrofit another set of headlights but im lost on which projector to go with. its simple to do but some times i rather just buy some depo projectors and call it a day.


the hard part was getting the headlight cover to clear.

 

[Eagle]

I can't wait to see how they look on the `hoe.

 

[rigo_jones]

what do you guys think? i bought some osram d2s bulbs and boy do they make a diferance against the ebay ones. im gonna do all OEM on my next retrofit. im going with the fx projectors.

 

[DenaliAK]

I finally found a set of OEM used Denali headlights at a salvage yard. Haven't looked at them yet, but the guy said they are in great shape. $300 for the set, gonna go take a look in the morning. I hope they are good lenses, because then I can finally start the retro!!

Yay...the best ones to use are the GM ones, so if this works it should be great.

 

[rigo_jones]

I finally found a set of OEM used Denali headlights at a salvage yard. Haven't looked at them yet, but the guy said they are in great shape. $300 for the set, gonna go take a look in the morning. I hope they are good lenses, because then I can finally start the retro!!

Yay...the best ones to use are the GM ones, so if this works it should be great.

cool make sure they dont have rock chips on the headlight. u should do a how to thread. im going to retro a second set with a better projectors, then i will do a how to thread.