astynx

Would auto-body shops have a vacuum table? Thanks.

LittleBeast

haha nice

drmix

How much have you spent total? Do you have any pics of the lights installed on the truck?

exist

If you went with DDM or equivalent bulbs I'd reconsider going with Morimoto bulbs from TRS. My DDM bulbs aren't anywhere near as bright as my Morimoto bulbs, but they are certainly cheaper..

As for the lens upgrade, it would help with intensity and clarity, especially in the cutoff - but the glass ebay headlight lenses are the real bottleneck in your setup ... Look into lexan - just take your bezel that holds the headlight to the bucket and trace it onto some lexan and cut it out ... That'll be my next step with my lights..

If I were you I'd actually email Matt at TRS and ask him a few questions - dude is extremely knowledgeable and helpful - pointed me in the right direction a couple times with my retro..

93YotaGuy

X5 Projectors - 75 for both
EBay headlights with clear glass - 25 a pair X3 since I have broken 3 and had to order another set to finish the one left
EBay Gatling gun shrouds - 25 for both
Ballasts and HID kit - 80
HID relay kit for lights - 10
Miscellaneous supplies - 30-40

For a grand total of about $300

Keep in mind that I could have kept it at $250 if I wouldn't have broken the glass on 3 of the headlights.

No pics of the finished product yet because it's not quite done. I should be getting the lens on Wednesday. I will either finish Wednesday night or Thursday morning. I'll be sure to update when I do.

93YotaGuy

Thanks for the input. I'll probably run the bulbs that came with the kit until they burn out and then upgrade.


The cutoff is cool to have but I started the project to gain better vision at night. I don't really mind what it looks like against a wall or another vehicle just as long as I can see.

When doing this would it just be to remedy the cut off and help it go back to blue or would it intensify the light output? Also, I think it would be tough to make it look as clean as the glass helps the headlight to look.

aa1911

iTrader: (1)

Matt at TRS is awesome, I would x2 recommend him and their stuff. I'm also rockin' some morimoto 55's, love 'em like no other. I think TRS does free shipping for life once you buy one of their kits if I remember right. woo hoo!

HIDplanet forums is also a good place to look, tons of retrofits on there to look at, even some old yotas. Worth taking a look there to see other's problems/solutions.

93YotaGuy

So I finished it! Well, kinda... I still have to aim the lights. I attempted to the other night but was having a little trouble getting the adjustment screws to move the light were it needed to go. I'll probably work on it again today or tomorrow and post some pics as to what the real light output is like. For now I have this...


Surprisingly enough I got it in the first time without breaking the lens. Here it is on the truck.








Like the christmas lights?


Here are a few pictures of what the light output looks like without the adjustment. Pretty pleased. I had a hard time keeping the photo adjusted because of the snow so i'll post some more on a clear night.

drmix

Looks great! Its nice to see someone actually install a HID kit the proper way

shaeff

:highfive:

While I'd have chosen different projectors, you did a pretty darn good job. Thanks for not slapping a PnP HID kit in halogen housings and then boasting about your awesome (dripping with sarcasm) output!

Amazing what a proper retrofit will do, eh?

93YotaGuy

I chose the projectors cause I got a pretty good deal on them. Although I currently do not have high beams, I do plan on putting in some extra hid's to act as high beams, and wiring them to the original control switch.

I am very impressed with the light output. Seems like my lights currently blow other vehicles lights out of the water.

shaeff

I hear ya. However now you've got to figure out a high beam setup. For less than double the price of your X5 projectors, you could have used FXr projectors: http://www.theretrofitsource.com/pro...roducts_id=101

Those have low beam and high beam, are super easy to retrofit, and put out incredible light. They're also very easy to wire up for high beams, it's just two wires to a solenoid. I did what we call a TFX retrofit on my M3 (OEM FX35 bixenon projectors, TSX clear lenses, modded and blacked out shields, etc...) and the output is amazing.

Even still, I commend you for doing it right. With a decent set of halogen highs you'll have plenty of great, usable light!

93YotaGuy

I thought about that after purchasing the projectors and figured I would just do things a little differently.

I do want to keep the light color the same and came across these on ebay.



They are 6000k bulbs with ballasts and I would end up wiring them to come on when I run my high beams. They run about 80-100 bucks depending on who you buy it from.

I did a quick paint scheme as to how it would look. I originally thought about putting them in the grill next to my headlights but thought that it would look to cluttered. I like this idea a little better. What do you think?



They would obviously be tucked in and I would have to figure a way to mount them.

Or maybe even finding/making an hid light setup that would fit in the housing where the blinkers are. If I were to do that I would simply integrate the blinkers to work off of the corner lights. Hmmmmm what to do?

exist

Anything you put in the lower valence wont work as well as you would want for a high beam.. Especially in a 2wd where you're low already. Especially a spot light pattern like the lights you posted, you'll just have 2 orbs of light.

I'd honestly run a halogen high and run them off the bumper, like hella 500's or something.. Instant on like halogens are awesome compared to the slow warm up time of hids, especially for high beams..

Also take note that if you hit your high beams, your low beams turn off. So if you have your ballasts wired to the low beams I would either make a switch to run the ballasts off the parking lights and then run your high beams to auxiliary lights.. You can run a diode and relay/dual relay setup to have it all work a little cleaner but it's a pain in the ass on our trucks..

93YotaGuy

Not necessarily. If I were to mount them in there and make some custom mounting brackets that would allow me to adjust them in an upward angle I think I'd be able to achieve the high beam.

That thought crossed my mind too but the only time I would really need an instant high beam is if I were trying to flash someone. For driving desolate roads it would be fine. Plus, after initially warming up they stay warmed up for quite a while.

I like the hella 500's but want it to look as clean as possible and have people think it is the way the truck was made. Any fool can drill holes and mount lights. The real task is making it work and keeping it clean.

I've encountered this problem and have it already figured out. These trucks have a switching ground that distinguishes the high and low beam.

Basically in the stock lights you would have your low beam running off of your switch. When you hit the high beams the ground is switched to the other part of the headlight that has a higher intensity filament. Thus, you have a high beam or more light.

What I've done as a temporary fix, until I figure out the high beam, is wired the two grounds together. Now if I accidently hit the high beam switch while trying to hit my blinker I don't have to worry about my lights shutting off. When I run the new high beams, I will simply have to run a ground from the headlights to the body. The switching ground that is already in place will act as my switch for the high beam and will allow me to keep my headlights on while the high beam is lit.

wii_tarded

I have a set of Caddi projectors with the HID's and it has a single filament bulb. The high beam is set by activating a mechanical alteration to the housing. There is a flap that provides the "cut off" (the straight line between light and dark when your head lights are pointed at a wall) and when HI is turned on, it moves the flap down to allow more of the light to pass through.

93YotaGuy

No, you do not have a single filament bulbs. Instead of heating a filament as standard halogen bulbs do, HID bulbs create light by bridging an arc between two electrodes similar to the energy transfer of lightning. The arc stimulates a mixture of Xenon gases and metallic salts, producing the light.

What you have is referred to as bi-xenon projectors. Keep in mind that mine are single beam projectors and do not have the flap.

shaeff

93YotaGuy is spot on. HID's have no filaments.

On that note, YotaGuy, steer clear of HID high beams. Just get good halogens, wire them up with 12awg wire, and use some good bulbs like Osram Nightbreaker +90, or Phillips Extreme power, etc...

As I said above, did a retrofit on my M3, and I'm running that bulb setup in the OEM high beam location with the wiring setup stated above and the color is very, very close. Full wattage on a good halogen bulb will produce light that appears very similar to HID, just without the width of a proper HID projector.

It's nice to see more and more people doing proper retrofits and actually know what they're talking about!

wii_tarded

Do you have pics of your process for cutting and installing the unit into the housing?

93YotaGuy

No, I basically cut the housing with tin snips until the hole was big enough to fit the shroud through. From there I used plastic epoxy around the shroud and the housing.