anyone have a how to on Projector Retrofits yet?

[Brunoboy]

I want to do a HID RetroFit but I was wondering how many people have done it? Ive seen pics from a few of you, but no HOW To's. Anyone care to make a How to or explain what they did to tear up the housing and retrofit the projectors? And what projectors are you using? Thanks
-Shane

 

[kartorium]

What is everyone doing for adjust-ability on these retrofits. I mean, I see projectors mounted in the housing, but can you adjust the pitch and direction of the projector? To me just welding the projector into the back of the housing at a fixed pitch/direction is dumb. If you don't get it just right you'll be stuck with some craptasticly aimed headlights and the knowledge that things aren't perfect eating away in the back of your mind. I would hate looking out at a super nice cutoff line that is tilted or jacked in some way, its just too noticeable. I've got projectors to do a retrofit, and have for like 4 years, but haven't had the motivation or engineered a slick setup yet.

 

[omertaitalia]

ive seen write ups just not for our car, its pretty simple you have to bake the headlight to soften the glue then take it apart and have at it, i was looking at universal projector/halo kits that are made to be put into anything even motorcycles, once you get em in you mock up on the car to get your angle right, then epoxy them back together. just dont forget to adjust them before you reseal them or youll be sad

 

[GSX_TC]

if somebody were to get serious and start doing this and sell them as a hobby or something i would def get a set. like some TSX or S2000 projectors in our housings.

 

[SleepinGVR4]

No one on here wants to build them because they are a pain in the ass.

But these guys will...

Retrofitters

and order your parts through these guys...

theretrofitsource.com


They have tons of info on the best set up for your car.

 

[DR1665]

Plenty of write-ups on HIDplanet on this sort of thing. I'm sure e39a-specific tech is limited, if at all, but the concepts should be the same.

I've just been thinking about replacing the headlights entirely. Somewhere out there, someone has a set of BMW headlights in a CSM which, at first glance, look to be a perfect fit. There's also the sinister look of just mounting independent lights in there.

 

[GSX_TC]

Quoting SleepinGVR4:
No one on here wants to build them because they are a pain in the ass.

But these guys will...

Retrofitters

and order your parts through these guys...

theretrofitsource.com


They have tons of info on the best set up for your car.





im surprised there's nobody in california doing this. it would just be alot easier because in order to get it right you would atleast need the lights mounted on the car to get the correct angle for the cut off.

 

[turbowop]

Nobody is willing to pay for what it would actually cost to have Retrofitters do it. The real deal projectors ain't cheap nor are the good ballasts, let alone the cost of labor to have somebody else do it. And everybody on here is worried about hacking into an expensive set of nice '93 headlights and screwing them up in the name of a proper retrofit, me included. I absolutely love driving my girlfriends A4 with projector HIDs, but I can't take on such a project for quite awhile. Mods for both of my cars are gonna be on the backburner for some time. Curtis has done some decent headlight mods using foglight projectors, maybe he can find some time to do some fullsize ones, but somebody has to pay...

 

[QnzMostWanted]

im actually in the process of getting the parts together to do a projector headlight retrofit, i'll post pics and tutorial once im finished, it may be a while, but it will get done

 

[GSX_TC]

i would pay, as long as the work is done professionally and nearby. when it comes to mods on my cars the prices of parts doesnt really bother me.

 

[turbowop]

Then contact somebody professional to have your headlights modded and plunk down some cash. I would give you a worthy smilie instead of so much sh*t for running your HIDs in reflector housings.

 

[GSX_TC]

that wouldnt be a bad idea, but like i already said, the car would need to be there, and "there" is across the united states. if there was a way they could do it with me just simply sending off my headlamps to them than that would be great but i know its not that easy.

 

[SleepinGVR4]

Actually you CAN just send them your headlights, your car does not have to be there. I'm sure they have some type of mount to get them set up properly. You can always just email them and ask.

But like Mark said it may not be cheap. But those 3 shops I posted earlier, thats what they specifically do, HID retrofits.

 

[GSX_TC]

yeah but how would their mount relate to how it would sit when its on the car though? i called but it just went to their voicemail (which just loops btw) I'll try back tomorrow and see what they can do.

 

[QnzMostWanted]

if u do a projector retrofit correctly, u will be able to adjust them, whether using the stock adjusters or ones designed for the projectors all depends on who's doing the work, i've seen retrofits, and owned retrofits that used either the stock adjusters or they modified the back of the headlights and used the adjusters from the projectors as well, headlights are easy to work with, also fiberglass is a wonderful thing when retrofitting

 

[GSX_TC]

hmmm you have damm good point there sir. this idea is suddenly coming to life in my eyes

 

[QnzMostWanted]

i got a set of 93's coming my way which i plan on retrofitting, i'll take pics as i do it

 

[GSX_TC]

Sweet, i cant wait to talk to them tomorrow and see what they can do for me

 

[dustyduff]

Be prepared to spend $700-$800 (projectors/ballasts/bulbs/shrouds/painting) for a quality retrofit from the vendors posted. If you spend some time on hidplanet, you'll find tons of information for retrofits. Curtis provided a lot of information in some of the other retrofit threads on here. I have a 2 sets of 91' lights and a set of flaking 93' headlights that I planned to do the conversion with, but haven't had the balls to do it yet. Problem is that our headlights are fairly shallow and you'll have to cut the backplates to get the projectors to fit. For ease of install, look up morimoto mh1's on retrofit source.

 

[tsitalon1]

Yep, I plan on doing this very soon, as I have done a different car before...

I was told we need 93 HL's with the clear face, is this true, or will the 91 HL's work?

I do plan on using the morimoto's.