ttocs
Post Whore
Had some questions about the retrofit I am doing now as well as a request for a how-to. Unfortunatly this came right after I had just separated the 2nd lens from the reflector. Separating the two is the worst part but its not that bad. I a started in one corner with the heat gun and worked my way around with different tools. You are not going to melt the glue as much as weaken it and then get it to separate from the other side. With a few different flat heads, a paint-scraper and some pics it took well over an hour to get them apart. Take your time and its not as bad as you might think, here are some of the tools I used and its a good idea to mask off the lens to keep it from getting scratched.
Once the lens is off there is the reflector and its bezel.
I will start with the reflector first. I needed to make the hole bigger so I used a stepper bit but first I removed that black plastic ring held on with the 3 screws as its important.
The reason for making the hole larger is to allow the projector assembly to sit back far enough to allow the lock nut to hold it in place(this will make sense in a few pics). I also removed part of the reflector that covered the bulb and had to clearance some of the plastic around the hole again to get it back far enough.
Now take the black ring that we took off the back and transfer its shape to a piece of metal. This is some scrap 14 awg I had laying around but you can use almost anything as long as its somewhat stiff. Using the tools shown and a file I cut it out.
This is steel so I put a coat of paint on it. Rather then reuse the original screws I put some thicker/longer screws in. This will be part of the aiming later so I need them thick enough to hold it solidly in place. You can mount the ring in place on the back of the reflector.
I decided to give the reflector a carbon fiber look so I first painted the reflector black and then mounted some 3m vinyl to the reflector with a little heat here/there to help get into the corners. I only painted it black so that the portions that were not covered would not stick out and blend in.
Prior to mounting the projector I also added an option I think are called devil eyes. By mounting two wide angle, red leds on the bottom of the assembly it makes for a neat effect of red eyes glowing. I got this kit off of amazon and it made for a real easy mounting where I only needed to slightly modify the projector assembly.
At this point you can mount the projector. You have also probably noticed the addition of the halo ring. Before the haterz start rolling their eyes, twitching to hit reply to tell me how stupid I am bla bla bla - the important part there is the bla bla bla as that is all I will hear. They will not be on all the time, are not an issue when they are turned off, and also notice the number of wires(they are 7-color halo rings). Like I said they will probably be off more then on but while I am in here taking stuff out and adding stuff I am installing them so sit back and drink yer hater-aid rather the hit reply
The projector shrowd will go over all this, then the reflector bezel will go in front of all of it. I didn't like the pocket the reflector made so I cut that out and had to fill a small area at the bottom with some filler before priming/paint.
You can see the discolored area at the bottom where I filled and sanded.
After that I painted the light and the projector shrowd with paint that is just a touch lighter then the actual color. Hopefully in sun under the tinted lens it will be close but I think it just barely going to look green next to the black areas. Should be cool I think but also if you look at the back area you will see the 3 raised areas on the sides. I masked those while painting so that they will remain the original graphite/clear color to allow light to pass through. I also mounted white leds behind the carbon fiber areas to help light them up but I am willing to bet with the HID lit that they will be fairly bright.
This is what it looks like with the white leds lit.
And I think these are called devil eyes if I am not mistaken(correct me if I am). This is what the small leds mounted in the bottom of the lens do but also check out how the light goes through the clear sections I masked. If they are called devil eyes these should be called eye lashes I guess..... Idunno.
And finally fer the haterz-halo's!
They will do almost any color.
So now I just need to get the car back so I can aim these and finish them up. Hopefully any day now stay tuned.
Once the lens is off there is the reflector and its bezel.
I will start with the reflector first. I needed to make the hole bigger so I used a stepper bit but first I removed that black plastic ring held on with the 3 screws as its important.
The reason for making the hole larger is to allow the projector assembly to sit back far enough to allow the lock nut to hold it in place(this will make sense in a few pics). I also removed part of the reflector that covered the bulb and had to clearance some of the plastic around the hole again to get it back far enough.
Now take the black ring that we took off the back and transfer its shape to a piece of metal. This is some scrap 14 awg I had laying around but you can use almost anything as long as its somewhat stiff. Using the tools shown and a file I cut it out.
This is steel so I put a coat of paint on it. Rather then reuse the original screws I put some thicker/longer screws in. This will be part of the aiming later so I need them thick enough to hold it solidly in place. You can mount the ring in place on the back of the reflector.
I decided to give the reflector a carbon fiber look so I first painted the reflector black and then mounted some 3m vinyl to the reflector with a little heat here/there to help get into the corners. I only painted it black so that the portions that were not covered would not stick out and blend in.
Prior to mounting the projector I also added an option I think are called devil eyes. By mounting two wide angle, red leds on the bottom of the assembly it makes for a neat effect of red eyes glowing. I got this kit off of amazon and it made for a real easy mounting where I only needed to slightly modify the projector assembly.
At this point you can mount the projector. You have also probably noticed the addition of the halo ring. Before the haterz start rolling their eyes, twitching to hit reply to tell me how stupid I am bla bla bla - the important part there is the bla bla bla as that is all I will hear. They will not be on all the time, are not an issue when they are turned off, and also notice the number of wires(they are 7-color halo rings). Like I said they will probably be off more then on but while I am in here taking stuff out and adding stuff I am installing them so sit back and drink yer hater-aid rather the hit reply
The projector shrowd will go over all this, then the reflector bezel will go in front of all of it. I didn't like the pocket the reflector made so I cut that out and had to fill a small area at the bottom with some filler before priming/paint.
You can see the discolored area at the bottom where I filled and sanded.
After that I painted the light and the projector shrowd with paint that is just a touch lighter then the actual color. Hopefully in sun under the tinted lens it will be close but I think it just barely going to look green next to the black areas. Should be cool I think but also if you look at the back area you will see the 3 raised areas on the sides. I masked those while painting so that they will remain the original graphite/clear color to allow light to pass through. I also mounted white leds behind the carbon fiber areas to help light them up but I am willing to bet with the HID lit that they will be fairly bright.
This is what it looks like with the white leds lit.
And I think these are called devil eyes if I am not mistaken(correct me if I am). This is what the small leds mounted in the bottom of the lens do but also check out how the light goes through the clear sections I masked. If they are called devil eyes these should be called eye lashes I guess..... Idunno.
And finally fer the haterz-halo's!
They will do almost any color.
So now I just need to get the car back so I can aim these and finish them up. Hopefully any day now stay tuned.
