I thought you all might like to see a project I've recently completed. I mostly followed in the footsteps of this thread for a MkIII Supra: http://www.supramania.com/forums/sho...-the-Right-Way

For supplies I had:
Pilot Automotive H6054 to H4 conversion headlights
Morimoto Mini H1 projectors
H4 relay harness
35 Watt ballasts
XB35 4300K HID bulbs
Butyl sealant
JB weld
3" PVC Caps

To begin with, I separated the lenses from the conversion housings by heating them in the oven at 220 deg for about 8 minutes then gently pried the lenses from the housings.

Then I sat the PVC caps over the rear of the housings and used them as a guide to draw a line so I would know where to cut the housings at.



With the housings cut, I placed the PVC caps back on the rear of the housings and JB welded them in place.



Once the JB weld was set, I drilled the holes for mounting the projector and the solenoid wires, mounted the projector, and replaced the lens.





The projector housing fit without contacting the outer lens.



In order to mount these in the car I had to cut out the back of the headlight buckets.



I'm going to get some output shots soon. These are a great upgrade over our factory sealed beams. Hope you guys like them.

 

I've had a similar idea cooking in the back of my mind for awhile.....

Looking forward to some light output pics!

 

I'm curious to see some night time shots-make sure you get an angle showing the cut-off angle, too!

 

In for output shots!! Also in for pics of how much of the bucket you had to cut...and what kind of space you have behind the PVC cap once installed.

This is looking great, and similar to what I was thinking of doing a while back, and just lost the drive to mess with it. I also only had Bi-Xenon FX projectors, which were too big to mess with I think. The H1 would be much better.

Good job!

Justin

 

I love this idea, I was trying to figure out how to do something like this. You mentioned that you had to cut out the back of the housing, do you have any pictures of that? Also, I'm assuming that the opening and closing mechanism still works with these?

 

Sorry it's taken me a bit to get back to this. December's been busy to say the least. I hope these pictures can answer some of your questions.

First here's a pic showing the cutoff. Taken from about 20' away.



And the high beams.



And here are some pictures trying to show how much clearance I have. They're tight in there but they do fit.

 

Regarding how much I had to cut on the headlight buckets, I thought I had a picture but I don't. I only cut enough that the PVC cap could fit through. So it's probably a 3.5" hole. The majority of the bucket is still there by far.

My camera really struggles at night but I'm going to try and get some back to back pictures with the 89 because it still has its sealed beams. That should give a good impression of how different the light output is.

 

That looks pretty good to me! I like the sharp cut-off!

 

^Agreed, those look fantastic! Huge props for successfully executing this!

 

Thanks for the compliments guys.

 

That output looks AMAZING!!!!

Also doesnt look like things are TOO tight behind the light.

So, you cut the conversion housings, just enough that the projector bowl touches the reflector of the housing right? Then used the big nut on the back to pull the projector tight, and everything stays nice and firm? Brilliant set up if thats it... Were you able to get plenty of adjustment with the stock adjusters to get your headlights aimed?

Did you purchase everything from one place? If so...mind sharing where you got it all from?

Last question...Ive heard stories of the lights popping up while the bulbs are firing causing short bulb life. Some guys have installed delay timers so that the headlights are fully up before the ballast fires. Any thoughts on that?

Again..great job. Simple and effective!

Justin

 

No, I sat the PVC cap over the rear of the housing and marked the where it sat on the housing. I had the lenses removed and made sure the cap was level before I marked the housing. I would say that the projector bowl sets deeper than if you were to cut things so that the projector bowl was just contacting the housing. I did use just the big nut to pull the the projector up tight. Make sure they are tight otherwise you'll get some vibrations that will drive you crazy.

Regarding headlight adjustment, I'm not sure why but I am close to maxing out my vertical adjustments but I was able to get them where I wanted them.

All the HID components came from The Retrofit Source. Ballasts, projectors, bulbs, wiring harness, and sealant.

I found the housings on Amazon.

PVC caps came from Lowe's plumbing section.

I've never heard that before but I'm no HID expert by far. I don't have much run time on the bulbs to say. I think it would be neat to have a delay timer so you could see the bulbs fire up. As it is, they're on by the time the headlights have flipped up.

Thanks. I hope some of y'all can do the same.

 

Oh ok...So the projector is pulled tight to the PVC cap? And there's plenty of support doing it that way?

I havent looked into those style of projectors much...the ones with the threaded mount on the back like that. Seems like it'd be pretty stout.

I really want to try this. Not sure I can justify it right now...for the 4 times a year (maybe) that I drive the car after dark haha. Im going to see if I can sell off my FX-R projectors to recoup some of that investment and go from there. I have 4 of those things collecting dust haha.

Thanks for the info.

J.

 

Yeah the projector is pulled up tight against the PVC. There's a washer that goes against the projector bowl. It gives a better surface to tighten against than pulling the bowl into the PVC. It's sturdy but that's why I said you have to make sure it's tight otherwise the projector will bounce up and down in the housing. Everything is cantilevered.

I definitely get in more in night driving than you haha. So these are a welcome upgrade.

If you have any other questions just ask.

 

I'm back with output pics as promised. They're not the best but I can't exactly carry both cars somewhere for a better picture haha.

89 TA Sealed Beam Low Beams


4300K HID Retrofit Low Beams


89 TA Sealed Beam High Beams


4300K HID Retrofit High Beams

 

Oh yeah....me like it a lot!

 

I don't see why/why that would make a difference?

I've been lurking in this thread and have not posted what I did, but I put a set of "Matchbox" projectors in some housings and put them in the 91/92 Headlight buckets without doing anything.

 

Post up some pics. I'd like to see how they look. I know the Matchboxes are smaller projectors but I've never seen any myself.

 

I can post a picture of the matchboxes, I bought a second set accidentally and I was going to use them for fog lights in the stock location in my 92 Fiirebird, but I decided to go with some LED's instead. The housings are just some generic 4666's (I think that's what the stock sealed lamp is) that take an H1 or H4 bulb and I separated the housing from the lens, put the matchbox in as stock (no cutting or anything) and then sealed the lens back on with some black RTV in the channel then it just bolted back in.

My hood is stuck closed again so I cant get pictures from the backside, but I will try to remember to take a picture when I get home. I have some Mini D2Ss at home too, I can take pictures of them side by side for comparison

 

I dont know the exact theory behind it. But when I was messing with retrofits, I remember some claiming that jarring the bulb around (headlight assembly slamming to a stop) during warm up can cause issues. And I THOUGHT I remembered a couple people, maybe even F-body owners, going through a couple of bulbs before setting it up so the bulbs didnt fire until the lights were up.

This was also like...5 years ago? So HID bulb and ballast tech could be much better now... I dont know. It must have been convincing enough, because in my harness diagrams that I was drawing up, I have 555 timer circuits included in some. So that the firing of the ballast was delayed by like 2-3 seconds.

Im a bookmark packrat...I have a bunch of HID info saved so Ill see if I can find where I read it. Probably isnt a valid concern at this point though...

J.

 

'Needs more innnnnput.' =p

looks great

 

Those pictures would be good. I have a set of D2S's as well as another set of 6054 housings. I'll get some pictures of the D2S's in the housings. The lens definitely won't go back on without cutting the housing in some way.

Looking at The Retrofit Source's listed dimensions, the Matchboxes are 106mm long while the Mini H1's are 136mm long. That's nearly 1.2" difference so I think the Matchboxes would probably fit without cutting in a 6054 housing as well.

What do you think of their light output? That's the concern I've always seen mentioned when people talk about using the Matchbox as a main headlight. My understating is that this is a byproduct of their small lenses (1.8" vs 2.5" or 3" for a standard projector).

 

I don't have a lot of comparison from the drivers perspective of other projectors, but they are Ehh as main lighting. Don't get me wrong, it is still a huge improvement from stock, but I may not have them aimed high enough too. I put them in, shined on the garage door to where I thought they should be but my friend said they were blinding, so I lowered them, and in doing so, may have gone too low. The only other complaint I have is that the "high" beam is not really any different than having them on low, but that may be because of the aiming.
For now they are good enough for what I do and I can still see really well in very low light places, but when I am going through places that are partially lit, it isn't so good, but that may be my eyes too. I would do it again for my other car over a halogen any day though.

I'll try to remember to take the pictures tonight. I have to find the Matchboxes though. They are extra and if anyone would like to buy them from me send me a PM.

 

I would definitely check the aiming. When I first got mine in they were too low and I couldn't see anything unless the high beams were on.

Here are the pictures I promised. D2S projector in uncut 6054 housing. The projector is fully seated against the back of the housing.

 

Very nice mod that can be done simply..Im sure install time wasnt long once you figured out clearances. Where did you mount the ballasts and relay control box and was there sufficient length of wire to reach the furthest headlight?

I would certainly try this mod..just sucks id have to buy a all new hid kit just to work in the projector lense when the kit I have now works fine.Oh well

 

Here are the D2S next to the matchbox

 

Yeah the relay harness I got makes it plug and play. All the wires were long enough.

I mounted one ballast behind the battery as you can see in this picture.



Here's where I mounted the relay (gold box) and other ballast on the passenger side. I don't have the charcoal canister anymore.



And I tapped power from the distribution stud at the radiator.

 

Depending on the ballasts/bulbs you have you may be able to do this just by changing bulbs. The H1 bulbs have amp type connections which may be what your ballasts have. I think that's a pretty standard connection on HID ballasts.

Wow. That is a big difference.

 

Nice retrofit. I'm currently in my 2nd retrofit On my 87 formula/TA. Originally I did a popup delete with H1 bixenon projectors a few years ago. But now I want to go back to popup. Decided to do a lazy eye 4 - H1 projector retrofit and basically got it all mounted. Pics can be seen in my thread in this same section. you think liGht output is good with 1 pair of H1s... try 2 pairs lol Plus fog light HIDs.

Now onto the matchbox... I'm pretty knowledgeable of HID systems and alot of what is ouT. I've done prob 5 custom retrofits and have learned alot. The matchbox are a not great projector, the H1s have much better lighoutput, clearer cutoff etc. Match boxes small design is for fog light retrofits, not as a main headlight system. The Match boxes don't even have a stepped cutoff plate.

HID bulbs do not have filaments that can break by the headlight jerking it around. It uses 2 filament arcs/probes with a space between them in a capsule filled with a powder and gas, ballast uses an ignitor that doubles amperage at bulb igniton to start the arc in the capsule from the 2 filament probes. Once the arc is started the ballast reduces Power by half as that's all that is required to keep the arc going. I do not have any evidence of the jerking of the headlight to cause issues. I have seen the arc move but nothing that comes to Mind about burning out. I've actually Never had a bulb burn out but I would assume it has something with burning out the filament probes or powder/gas inside. However jerking or bouncing electronics adbrubtly is never a good idea... so it might as well be very true. This is my first pop up retrofit so I will see or the OP will.

I will also note that I don't spend money on retrofit or morimoto parts for the most part. the original morimoto projectors from my nonpopup delete are the same brand and in fact an exact copy of the cheap Chinese projectors. Both have AES casted into the bowls. The only different is I paid $120 for the morimoto and $91 for 4 of my cheap Chinese projectors. I also have DDM and morimoto DSP ballasts and besides a slightly quicker warmup time the DSP ballasts are not worth the money either. DDM has a new ultra ballast I want to try and I'm sure they are better than the DSPs. I have no experience with morimoto bulbs yet, but might soon as I have a pair sitting around.

 

They do have a stepped cutoff plate

 

Whoops… must have been the gen 1 that didn't have it.

 

Thanks. Your original retrofit was one of the reasons I set out to do mine. I guess I'm odd though because I actually like the looks of our pop-up headlights and wanted to keep that functionality.

I wasn't trying to plug for TRS and their Morimoto stuff but since people were asking where my components came from I told them. This was my first retrofit and dealings with HID's so I wanted to go somewhere that seemed to have a good reputation for quality products. If I do another retrofit I will probably get my components from elsewhere.

 

Nice work. I just went the easy route on my S10 and put in a set like this http://www.ebay.com/itm/7X6-PROJECTOR-CLEAR-LENS-HEADLIGHT-6000K-H4-HID-HIGH-LOW-BEAM-THIN-BALLASTS-/371084696905?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item56665f1d49&vxp=mtr
They work great so far though and are so much brighter than the old stockers.

 

I'm sure you do have increased output over the stock headlights but I wish you would not run HIDs like that. Those housings are not true projectors and your beam pattern is much like that of a stock halogen except now you have increased light output. I'm regularly blinded by people in my area who are running headlights like those. It's not because they're improperly aimed but because the pattern is like a standard halogen bulb.

 

I agree about being blinded, which is why I re-pinned the socket. My lows are the halogen and brights are the HID. I'm still trying to figure out why they come arranged backwards. I don't need all the extra light for city driving, I need it on brights when out in the country so I don't hit a deer!

 

Yea but even the HIDs need time to ignite and charge up… so thats why HIDs are not used for brights as most run them for high beaming and not extended high beams. Your setup would work fine if you kept the brights on for long periods of time. High beams and HIDs is why there are "bixenon" or solenoid activated light cut off shields. The bulb doesn't change (some versions tilt the bulb for a high beam effect in non bixenon setups) and the shield just flaps down letting all the light out.

However yours will not work in a quick high beam situation which Im sure your aware of.

 

Good to hear!!! You did a great job on this retrofit. Enjoy your new found headlights

 

check out DDM tuning. I bought this kit from them (there is a thread about it on here ) it works well so far and I payed around 120 shipped to me. Its a direct drop in

 

Unless I am very mistaken, the DDM H4 housings are very similar to the Pilot H4 housings I began with. They lack the projector assembly which I feel is essential when running an HID bulb. Without the projector, you have the beam pattern of a sealed beam but with the light output of an HID. You can see more, that is true, but you run the risk of blinding oncoming traffic.

 

That isn't a projector, is not legal to run and will likely get you pulled over.

I have an 4666, but a proper projector in my 92 and it was only about $280 total with a proper projector, but you could cheap out on the HID setup and do it cheaper than the TRS/Morimoto stuff. I bought some cheap 4666 H4 housings on ebay, the Morimoto "Matchbox" projector, pulled the lens off, put the matchbox in and sealed it up. Easy peasy and I don't blind other people

 

When you order the hid from them, they have a housing you put over he bulb. You actually don't blind anyone providing you adjust the lense angle.

 

It has a cutoff in the housing?

 

No it has a light deflector attached to the bulb housing

 

Thats going to be like a plain halogen bulb then, blinding people

 

It does not blind anyone unless they stand right in front of it and look into the bulb

 

Alex,

Can you take a picture at night from directly in front of your car, another at 30 degrees, and another at 60 degrees? That would confirm/counter the debate.

 

This is what it looks like Low beam driving:



Also Low beam




Looking at low beam:




looking at High Beam

 

Sorry bud, you got the regular reflector housings with the cheap glass lense stick to the inside of the housing… not a real projector, horrible light output and blinding to everything. I recommend you throw those in the trash and get a real setup like the OP did or just put halogens back in.

 

 

They are not blinding. I adjusted the aiming a bit, and I get a better light output than the halogens. (especially in this state where everyone has HID's) Unless you stare directly into it, they are not blinding. Everyone's experience differs. Are they the best - no, do they work and are they better than halogens - yes IMO hands down, am I buyist because I spent 100+ bucks on it - well I would be lying if I said no, but they are no more blinding than any other car with HID's

take from this what you will, maybe I am being stubborn and won't admit failure but I truly believe this kit if adjusted for is much better at lighting (and safer because of this)