HID retrofit (write-up coming soon)

[SimpleS14]

After some research, scouring for parts and dealing with this harsh winter...I finally finished my HID retrofit. I've had this on my car for a week now, but I've been in between school, work and moving so I didn't have time to make a post. I also didn't have time to make a write-up just yet...but I working on it since I took alot of pics. I like to thank Scott (aka RBS14) for the wiring information and note that http://www.hidplanet.com carries good information and parts. Anyways, here are some pics...for some reason my camera makes the lighting look green and brighter than it really is. In person its a clean white (4100K) with a purple cutoff and NO HOT SPOTS.

Please excuse my dirty car....I took this pic right after I put on the headlights and there was salt, sand, and ice EVERYWHERE. :duh:

http://home.comcast.net/~simples14/hid/front.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~simples14/hid/quarter.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~simples14/hid/frontnight.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~simples14/hid/quarternight.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~simples14/hid/cutoff.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~simples14/hid/cutoff1.jpg

I used Bosch projectors, Matshushita ballasts (from Infiniti Q45), Phillips 4100K D2S bulbs, and bezel trim from HIDplanet.com

Here are quick pics of the bezel, how I mounted the ballast, and the back of my housing...

http://home.comcast.net/~simples14/hid/bezel.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~simples14/hid/mount.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~simples14/hid/backhousing.jpg

More pictures and information will be available once I settle down at my new place. Also...I no longer use AOL...I've moved to Comcast and so has my webpage: http://home.comcast.net/~simples14/

[infinitexsound]

nice very nice.... very freakin nice..............

[91CRXsiR]

are you going to sand down the glass so its more clear or are those flutes still useful?

[SimpleS14]

are you going to sand down the glass so its more clear or are those flutes still useful?


Nah...I'm not going to sand down the glass and I have no idea what those flutes are designed for. The lighting is just fine for me and sanding down glass would be a PITA.

BTW...I must also add that the difference from halogen is greatly noticable and using the right optics (projectors) means no glare and no hot spots...also no trouble from cops.

[Drunk Bastard]

awesome! the retrofit looks great! cant wait for the write up

[TurDz]

...and I have no idea what those flutes are designed for.

see pic below:

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/10/web/214000-214999/214239_123_full.jpg

those are S2000 projectors. The fluted lens give you upward lighting for roadsigns on the highway.

I've done numerous qualitative tests and that's what I've figured out. Also, the angle change in the glass causes a slight fuzziness in the cutoff line. If the glass housing was purely flat and plastic (glass gets ruined more quickly due to rocks, etc) then the cutoff pattern would look similar to how it looks open air (without any headlamp housing.)

[SimpleS14]

Turdz - You have S2K projectors on your car? I wanted those because I <3 the cutoff...but I couldn't find any at the time I wanted to do this retrofit. :/ Also I did notice my cutoff was fuzzy once everything was done. I think I still need to adjust my projectors.

[ruthlesstyper]

very nice my friend. how much it cost ya?

[TurDz]

Turdz - You have S2K projectors on your car? I wanted those because I <3 the cutoff...but I couldn't find any at the time I wanted to do this retrofit. :/ Also I did notice my cutoff was fuzzy once everything was done. I think I still need to adjust my projectors.

Yes, I actually had audi tt ecodes but I desired something a little brighter to my taste. But too bad you can't really acheive maximum potential with our housing. Too bad they decided to put looks over function when it came to the headlight design (that bend in the glass).

That's great that you got it done though, your install is a lot cleaner than mine. It's great you will do a write up too, you can be an example of what a car community should really be like (more contributions).

I would have done it...but I'm soooo lazy :keke:

[Fastback180]

George, looks nice! I need to fly back home for a bit to check those out!
And for more Yechon!

[justinhustle]

nice work dude

i knew ya told me weeks ago ya did this, just didnt see pics ;)

[driftracer]

looks really great...good job :)

[SimpleS14]

very nice my friend. how much it cost ya?


I lost track after getting little bits (washers and bolts)...but I can say I spent roughly $450.

[RBS14]

Looks great! I especially love how the ballasts are mounted. :D

[Rusker]

How much were the S2000 projectors? I've been running HID's in my daily GSR for almost 3 years, and it's about time I upgrade the projectors to HID projectors.

[Rusker]

...wish someone would do a writeup on an S13 popup HID conversion, with projectors.

[mmdb]

Nice work! I just finished my retrofit and it's really nice.

Just to add, I used a bmw e46 single xenon projector, ballast and ignitor (try to get a ballast with a built in ignitor), also did my own wiring. This setup fits almost perfectly and installation is almost like installing an exhaust system (no joke).

[RBS14]

^^^^^

In what car?

It was nowhere near as easy as an exhaust install in my zenki lights. took 30+ hours total, a little more than the 1/2hour it takes to do an exhaust. You also need to be very precise which takes time and concentration.

[SimpleS14]

^--- w3rd It took me awhile to get it just right. Lucky I had a spare headlight to play around with so I can do some testing.

I looked at my pics...and I realized they look kinda crappy...so now more pics :D

http://home.comcast.net/~simples14/hid/cutoff_f1.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~simples14/hid/cutoff_f5.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~simples14/hid/cutoff_f2.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~simples14/hid/cutoff_f4.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~simples14/hid/cutoff_f3.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~simples14/hid/cutoff_f6.jpg


The fifth one is my fave..if you look at the staircase you can see the purple cutoff a bit.

Scott - I'm going to use another method on wiring. I'm going to install a DTDP(?) relay so the lows stay on when the highs are on. Russ told me about this and the Kouki S14 uses these and looking from the wiring diagram...its not hard to install. I will post your method and this one in my write-up once I'm done.

[RBS14]

Nice pics. I love it.

Yea, I would like to find a more solid way to wire them up. This is a good way, but if my solder joint ever breaks (coilovers could easily do that) I'm gonna be SOL. I'm awaiting your results with the new method. after all, there is more than one way to skin a cat.

[SimpleS14]

Write-up: http://home.comcast.net/~simples14/writeup_hidretrofit.html

Let me know if you see any typos *_*

[RBS14]

Looks good. Very detailed. I think I'm gonna put all my lights that are on the stalk on seperate switches in the dash soon, so I'll take pics of the back of the stalk where I soldered the wire in.

Cheers.

[XxJaPxOxNeEs23xX]

how do u make it so it doesnt have hot spots on a zenki? nd also so it doesnt have glares

[mmdb]

how do u make it so it doesnt have hot spots on a zenki? nd also so it doesnt have glares

it's gonna be hard/impossible to prevent that because the zenki lens itself isn't a smooth surface.

[SimpleS14]

how do u make it so it doesnt have hot spots on a zenki? nd also so it doesnt have glares

Use OEM HID projectors. It would be ideal to get Final Konnexion(sp?) clear lenses as well.

[RBS14]

yes, even with a retrofit, you still need clear lenses to get rid of all glare. My damn stock lenses are producing quite a bit of glare.

[tOfubOi]

sorry to steal thread, but does anyone here have hids on their s15 headlights? i retrofitted the d2s bulbs into the projectors and my beam pattern is waaay off..those no light in the middle..but only to the left and right of the car..does anyone why this is so?

[Fastback180]

George, after reading your whole full write up, it's good to see you didn't melt anymore headlights!
:bowrofl:
-Matt

[kings_blend]

Looks great

[SimpleS14]

George, after reading your whole full write up, it's good to see you didn't melt anymore headlights!
:bowrofl:
-Matt


Quiet you!!!..nobody is suppose to know about that. :-/

j/k

[Slidin240Wayz]

Simple,
How about using a shroud for the projector, from the bowl to the lens, ALOT of light is escaping from there and it causes alot of glare, it isn't even that much because of the flutted lens. Just something to think about. How about aluminum tape or some other method?

Wishing you the best,
Carlos Doria

[SimpleS14]

Simple,
How about using a shroud for the projector, from the bowl to the lens, ALOT of light is escaping from there and it causes alot of glare, it isn't even that much because of the flutted lens. Just something to think about. How about aluminum tape or some other method?

Wishing you the best,
Carlos Doria

These are the only pics I took of the shroud I made around the projector. It's the best I can do in the amount of time I wanted to complete this. The first was letting the JB weld dry, and the last one is the completed look (its the one in the back).

http://home.comcast.net/~simples14/hid/shroud.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~simples14/hid/shroud2.jpg

My camera makes the night shots worse than it really is...esspecially the close up shot..I looked at the picture and was like :wtf:

[RBS14]

it is overexposure. that's why it makes them look brighter than they really are. There is a little bit of light being thrown out as glare and the camera makes it look worse than it really is.

[RBS14]

George, I finally got a pic of my turn signal stalk. Feel free to add it to your write-up, it should make what I wrote a little more clear.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v607/ScooterS14/HID/HID014.jpg

[SimpleS14]

Thanks, I've added a link to the picture.