Members projector retrofits

[07TrailyLS]

Thanks capote
And khalid, it's certainly not a straightforward process to say the least. first off you have to buy new aft error market depo brand headlights since the sealant is a good butyl. 250 for 12 minutes and they come apart decently. The main problem I ran into was the goofy balljoint between the up and down and left and right adjuster. After popping the reflector off, the balljoint gets very brittle and it's hard for it to hold the weight of the projectors once all said and done. But after you spend hours dremeling (and I mean just that, hours) you can fit your projectors and put them on the truck for test fit. Once you are rotationally level the shrouds can be set, cut, and jb welded on. The jb qwik weld is an excellent product and will pretty much hold anything in its place. Once shroud is set I used some morimoto retrorubber in thin amounts and went around the outside of the sealing channel. Rebake the headlights at 250 for 6 or 7 minutes and start compresing them back together and try your best to get them to clip back in the stock black plastic clips you can. It's a pretty crappy "how to" but it's just to give you the concept of what goes on during the install. Adding halos, or demon eyes, is another small step lol

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

@07TrailyLS

Thanks for the explanation, my current headlights are really bad with oxidation and what not. As a short term fix i put HIDs in them. So buying new headlights is in the pipeline. The only thing I'd be concerned about it's the projectors. Since I'm in the other side of the world it's not easy to get those shipped here. However I plan on trying out Borderlinx soon to get them shipped here. The thing is I could just go out and but replacement headlights with projectors and Led Drls, but the problem is none of them are like what I want. I really like the orange reflectors in the side and also love the little side marker lamp, but rarely do any of them have that. Retrofit is the way to then

 

[07TrailyLS]

Trust me when I say this. DO NOT spend the 4 or 500 USD on a set of aftermarket lamps. The projector bowls are 99 percent of the time absolute garbage and get serious burn marks in them after just a few weeks of use. They are also usually made for halogen only bulbs and the output is just nonsense. A full retrofit using all morimoto product and buying depo brand lights can be done the way YOU want it to look for the same price as buyin a crap set of spec D aftermarket lights. I couldn't stress this enough to my friend and he stepped out and bought some junk lights with LED bulbs and spent more than he would on an actual retrofit.

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

Trust me when I say this. DO NOT spend the 4 or 500 USD on a set of aftermarket lamps. The projector bowls are 99 percent of the time absolute garbage and get serious burn marks in them after just a few weeks of use. They are also usually made for halogen only bulbs and the output is just nonsense. A full retrofit using all morimoto product and buying depo brand lights can be done the way YOU want it to look for the same price as buyin a crap set of spec D aftermarket lights. I couldn't stress this enough to my friend and he stepped out and bought some junk lights with LED bulbs and spent more than he would on an actual retrofit.

Yep ! No way I'd spend that much when I've got other expenses as well Also the fact that they don't have the things I'd like in my head high is enough reason not to spend that money on aftermarket lamps

I also prefer to wear the "Made not Bought" badge wherever I can

 

[07TrailyLS]

Atta boy!

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

After going through the whole thread of awesome retrofits I've got a few questions

1. Many people prefer to buy a second pair of headlights, usually aftermarket. How about OEM headlights from a junked TB?

2. Bulbs!? Would I be able to use my existing HIDs or am I totally missing the point here?

3. Price? I mean if, you've seen my other posts, money is tight. I have seen the prices go up to $200. I am planning some thing simple like this :



Changes I'd like to this are to have the reflectors all black and it'd be perfect

 

[xavierny25]

@$ Khalid ! 9130

1. You can use oem but your going to have to cut them open.
2. You can use your ballasts but your going to need h1 bulbs.
3. You can do a budget retro like I did. They do the job for me and look good.

I'll link my retrofit on here shortly so you can see what I did.

Edit: here's the link
gmtnation.com/forums/threads/projector-retrofit-on-a-budget.15500/

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

@xavierny25 Aren't my existing HID bulbs H1 bulbs??

One thing is my headlight lens is pretty bad, it seems to have been sanded down by the previous owner which made it worse. Its got such a yellowish tint on it my regular headlights were useless. So I was thinking of getting some from a junked TB at least for the lens. Checked out the projectors, they are still in stock and look good. Soo tempted to order them right now. Anything else I should consider getting at the moment other than picking up a set of headlights, maybe

EDIT : Do you happen to have a pic of the front end, how the headlights look after you have mounted them all up, went through the link you gave me, didn't find the picture of it installed on your Voy. Thanks a bunch

EDIT 2 : Oh #$%^ I was just thinking of using a new service to deliver products from the US to Saudi, which also has COD so I thought why not check it out, and while going through the checkout it ordered itself. Going to have to cancel this order and wait till I am back as I will be going out of town for a week tomorrow

 

[xavierny25]

@$ Khalid ! 9130

No.... Your head light bulbs are 9006.
Your high beam bulbs are 9005.
Unless something you adapted h1's to the factory bulb socket.
I've got a ton of pic's through out this forum of my Voy.
I'll be detailing the truck this following weekend so I'll get more pic's for you then.
Here's a dirty one. Lol. Night shots are pretty hard to do because I have a high 4/6 mod so theres all type of lights coming out the front of my voy. As you can see on this pic.
And as you can also see my switch backs are crazy bright.

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

@xavierny25 I don't know if I put it out clearly before but I have 8000K HIDs installed in my TB atm, just wanted to know if I would be able to use the existing bulbs and ballasts

I wanted a day shot anyways though so thanks looks sick. I cancelled the order successfully, maybe when I get back, I will reorder, thinking about ordering two sets and doing the fogs as well. I have quite a long list of to-do s to the TB I have drafted up, might do this with it

 

[Blckshdw]

No.... Your head light bulbs are 9006.
Your high beam bulbs are 9005.

@xavierny25 I don't know if I put it out clearly before but I have 8000K HIDs installed in my TB atm, just wanted to know if I would be able to use the existing bulbs and ballasts

As @xavierny25 said, you have 9006 bulbs, and those are nowhere near the same as the H1 bulbs that would be necessary. You can use the same ballasts though.

Also, 8000K is quite a bit more blue than most of us would recommend.

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

As @xavierny25 said, you have 9006 bulbs, and those are nowhere near the same as the H1 bulbs that would be necessary. You can use the same ballasts though.

Also, 8000K is quite a bit more blue than most of us would recommend.

Right, thanks for the clarification, so I would need to purchase H1 bulbs as well with the projector right???

I'm guessing it was 8000K, not really sure what it was cause I just got whatever the shop had

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

Well too late, already ordered the projectors and bulbs, from amazon.com through a Borderlinx, like local company, which also offers Cash on Delivery so that's another bonus for me

 

[Blckshdw]

If that screen shot is correct, you ordered halogen bulbs, not HID/xenon. That's not going to work at all.

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

If that screen shot is correct, you ordered halogen bulbs, not HID/xenon. That's not going to work at all.

Oh @#$@#, I just noticed. Thanks!! I searched for h1 bulbs and added the cheapest one. I did cancel the whole order, due to them trying ti jack the price up to almost $ 83. Also just saw an advert by a guy selling them locally, might check the pricing on that before I reorder

 

[Sparky]

Part of me wishes I hadn't put so much custom work into the turn signals on my retrofit for my Trailblazer as that would have made it easier to sell them to somebody here to use.

Wouldn't be too terribly difficult to switch them back... if I had the turn signal reflector guts still lol.

 

[Matt]

Part of me wishes I hadn't put so much custom work into the turn signals on my retrofit for my Trailblazer as that would have made it easier to sell them to somebody here to use.

Wouldn't be too terribly difficult to switch them back... if I had the turn signal reflector guts still lol.

You know....

 

[07TrailyLS]

@$ Khalid ! 9130 before you go and pull the trigger. If your on a budget, can i seriously suggest the Morimoto acme series bixenon projectors over virtually ANYTHING you'll buy on eBay. I don't want to sound like a broken record but I am a part of the Facebook page @headlightjunkies and I've seen literally thousands of retrofit cutoff shots, how two's as well as what to buy against what not to buy. Every single person I've come across on the page who bought an eBay projector upgrades to the mini H1 or the D2s projector within a month due to the "ugly" output they provide. The inside of the projector known as the reflector bowl is a chromed mirrored finish. The quality is VERY sub par compared to the morimoto brand and the h1 bulbs even at 35 watts tend to scorch the reflector bowl within weeks making your hotspot very weak and deadening any usable light output. I think the acme projectors are only in the 50? Dollar range if I remember correctly. Just something to think about. I just hate to see people spend hours on there lights, seal them all up and say this output is not what I expected. Again not trying to nag. If you have questions feel free to ask. Cheers man

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

@07TrailyLS

I get ya. I was thinking about getting the mini h1 instead of going the cheap route and then regretting it later. I was going to order online but I found a local seller who has all kinds of projectors and bulbs etc.. U contacted him and sent him a pic of my TB and he says he has projectors that will fit so I'll have a look at those when I'm back, currently outta town

 

[07TrailyLS]

You can make virtually anything fit. I have 3 inch d2s projectors in mine. If I did the nut and bolt method I would have had even more room. The minis definitely won't be a problem with fitment. The retrofit source literally JUST put out a new mini H1 bulb holder that you can buy separately from the projectors themselves. H1s by default have this little cheap locking clip assembly. Their new full ring assembly provides even pressure to the back of your h1 bulb to prevent having to shim your hotspot up down left or right. For a first timer shimming is time consuming and a PITA. That's originally what led me to doin D2s instead because the build quality of the threaded shaft and full locking ring.

 

[Sparky]

I never actually had problems with the stupid H1 bulb mounts aside from being annoyed when clipping it into place. But never have had bulb alignment problems.

I was looking at my projector in my Silverado headlights again and am thinking I might end up using the nut-n-bolt method instead of threaded shaft (after verifying alignment) so that the projector can sit back a little more. I don't like it sticking out as far as it does.

 

[littleblazer]

The bulbs that came with my mini h1 had slight alignment issues I never corrected. The replacement set I got from them was spot on. Go figure.

 

[Matt]

@Sparky do you think that the Morimoto acme might be something to look at, or just go with the mini h1? OR, buy yours and get you to change the indicator back.

 

[Sparky]

I think the acme is basically the same as the Mini H1 4.0 which is what mine were based off of.

Make me an offer on them. If you get me the reflector parts I'll switch them back assuming I can get the lenses back off - I did use clear RTV to seal them back up so I can't really bake them apart again lol.

If I do get them apart without destroying them I'll fix the left/right adjustment on the passenger side.

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

Well, I was replacing some bulbs on my Dads Denali, today and just noticed something that never crossed my mind till date. I knew the headlights had projectors in them, but I replaced the halogen bulbs with HIDs by myself and they fit and work perfectly!!!!

Would that be the same case when I do my retrofit, although many of you have already told me I need new bulbs.

Need some clearing up here . Thanks

Edit: And what would be the nest method to seal them back up. I'd like something that's nice and tight but easy to remove should the need ever arise

 

[Tiggerr]

Well, I was replacing some bulbs on my Dads Denali, today and just noticed something that never crossed my mind till date. I knew the headlights had projectors in them, but I replaced the halogen bulbs with HIDs by myself and they fit and work perfectly!!!!

Would that be the same case when I do my retrofit, although many of you have already told me I need new bulbs.

Need some clearing up here . Thanks

Edit: And what would be the nest method to seal them back up. I'd like something that's nice and tight but easy to remove should the need ever arise

Those bulbs may physically fit and light up in those projectors...
BUT if they are not HID projectors the beam pattern won't be close to right...

They won't put out a proper beam... and will just scatter light all over...

They'll probably give you less light down the road than a good halogen in the same projector...

 

[Capote]

Butyl Rubber in a sealant or strip form is what you use to reseal after a retro.

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

Those bulbs may physically fit and light up in those projectors...
BUT if they are not HID projectors the beam pattern won't be close to right...

They won't put out a proper beam... and will just scatter light all over...

They'll probably give you less light down the road than a good halogen in the same projector...

But the light output is amazing in his car, unlike mine of course. And it's also better then the halogens that were in the car originally. I still plan on getting the bulbs as well cause the guy selling them has them, but it'd be nice to have other bulbs/lights to test and see which ones better

Butyl Rubber in a sealant or strip form is what you use to reseal after a retro.

Going to have to start looking for that as well. I plan to be ready by this Friday/Saturday with everything including the projectors and getting down to the actual retrofit by Sunday

 

[Blckshdw]

@$ Khalid ! 9130 you gotta let the HID bulb thing go my friend, you can't replace H1 and 9006 with each other. Take a look at these pictures, this may help make it more clear. 9006 is a twist lock bulb, and H1s use a clip on the back side.

Like @Tiggerr said, halogen projectors are not designed for HID bulbs. The light source for the bulbs are in different positions from each other, so the focal points of halogen projectors and HID projectors are also different. The light output may appear better, but I honestly think that's because you haven't learned enough yet about the optics, foreground light and beam patterns to make a well informed judgement.

Also, the HID bulbs can end up burning the halogen projector bowls over time. Better made projectors will hold up longer than cheaper ones, but they aren't made for HIDs. Eventually the light output will start to dim, and you won't have an obvious indicator of why, even after putting in new bulb, or even putting halogens back... Until you take the projectors apart, and they look like these examples. And no, this can not be fixed, only replaced.

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

@Blckshdw I guess so

Thanks for the nice informative post. Can't wait till Friday / Saturday to go and get them projectors

 

[07TrailyLS]

What brand projector did you choose? What bulbs are you going with and which HID kit? For the butyl, make sure you dont get just any butyl. Get morimoto retrorubber. Regular butyl when hot will let your headlight lens fall right off the front of the truck. retrorubber holds up to much higher temps since its intended purpose is to seal lenses.

 

[Blckshdw]

Keep in mind, he's on a pretty limited budget, and shipping to the middle east from TRS wouldn't be wallet friendly

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

What brand projector did you choose? What bulbs are you going with and which HID kit? For the butyl, make sure you dont get just any butyl. Get morimoto retrorubber. Regular butyl when hot will let your headlight lens fall right off the front of the truck. retrorubber holds up to much higher temps since its intended purpose is to seal lenses.

Haven't gotten any yet. Hopefully by tomorrow or Saturday. Looking at morimoto h1 at the moment. Still not sure about what bulbs and HID kit it will be, all shall be answered tmrw or by Saturday. I am still looking around on how to seal them back up. Very hard to find these little things over here which is quite frustrating over here

Keep in mind, he's on a pretty limited budget, and shipping to the middle east from TRS wouldn't be wallet friendly

 

[07TrailyLS]

It must suck to have to deal with shipping charges and stuff. good luck to you man. Keep up posted. If you need any help were all here!

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

It must suck to have to deal with shipping charges and stuff. good luck to you man. Keep up posted. If you need any help were all here!

Yeah!!! . Thanks for all the support. Hopefully will be getting the projectors today!!!

 

[07TrailyLS]

Fwiw, i found my old set of morimoto 4500k 9006 bulbs if anyone wants them. I believe theyre from 2 christmas' ago which means they still have another year on the warranty

 

[Capote]

Fwiw, i found my old set of morimoto 4500k 9006 bulbs if anyone wants them. I believe theyre from 2 christmas' ago which means they still have another year on the warranty

Post them in the for-sale thread.

 

[07TrailyLS]

Probably a good idea lol

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

After much consideration and running around I still haven't been able to get hold of some projectors in my price range. Adding the fact that I travel by mid June for two months out of the country I thought it would be better to hold off till I got back as to avoid having to take the easy or cheap route and regretting it later. However I still plan to getting them done, just will be a while sadly

 

[xavierny25]

As some of you may know I scored a set of oem 2002 bmw x5 headlight assemblies with projectors inside. I plan on cutting them open and see if I can use the projector portion of them on a retro fit. I know the shroud part is going to take some time to figure out cause there is not much of any in the assemblies themselves. Your guys thoughts on this are very much welcome. @Blckshdw ????