HID Projector Conversion

[cribbj]

My car is a USDM '97 Supra with an aftermarket HID kit. Because my plastic lensed headlights were looking a bit yellowed and dull, I've changed them over to the European (E21) style with glass lenses. Now with the clearer lenses, and sharper beam characteristics of the E21 setup, the optics mismatch between the OEM Halogen projector assemblies, and my HID kit is pretty apparent (as described on Daniel Stern's Lighting website):

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html

4-5 years ago, before Toyota were shipping HID equipped vehicles some people retrofitted BMW HID projector assemblies into their headlights, and although they weren't an "exact" fit, they had good success, and improved light output.

Now I'm curious if anyone here has retrofitted newer Toyota/Lexus HID projector assemblies into their older non-HID Toyota/Lexus headlights? If so, I'd like to hear about it.

 

[Toysrme]

ALot of ES & Camry owners have. I modded my OEM projectors to work.
You'll never own a car without them once you go aftermarket HID. I'll say that much for sure.

 

[cribbj]

Agreed, I like my HID's, except now, with the E21 beam pattern and cutoff, the optical mismatch is annoying.

Looks like I need to find a wrecked Camry and relieve it of its projectors. Hopefully they'll be close enough to the Supra that it'll be a bolt in swap.

You don't happen to know which year Toyota switched over to HID's for the Camry do you?

 

[LondonBenji]

Everything I've read about putting HID's where they weren't originally designed to be generally isn't good. Certainly here in the UK anyway.

Yes they will work and yes they generally will give a better light output, but there are so many reasons like alignment and glare in other peoples eyes that make it a touch dodgy to go with, like loud pipes on bikes, you take your risk.

I mean I haven't driven with HID's, I really want to try them because I know what its like to have less light than perfect light (motorbike lights generally suck big ones), but I've always been cautious about fitting them where they weren't originally designed for it, do a bit of googling, I am sure I found a few articals on the subject.

 

[cribbj]

Update: I've found a company that specialises in retrofitting HID projectors to non-HID projector headlights. They've done nearly 300 of these conversions to date, several of which have been Supra's like mine.

They're not cheap, but I'm going to give them a try and will update this thread when it's done.

 

[ACleanSC4]

It's not that hard to do yourself. Best projectors out there are S2k, LS430, TL, TSX, etc...just to name a few...

I've done the E39 and E46 and soon TSX in my SC...

Let me know if you need any help...

 

[cribbj]

I wound up sending my headlights to a fellow MKIV Supra owner who had already done the retrofit. I'm really terrible when it comes to precision cutting with a Dremel, and I didn't want to run the risk of ruining a brand new set of headlights.

Here are some pics of the right headlight after the TSX projector has been installed.

The work isn't finished, so I don't have the headlights back to inspect & use them, but I like what he's done so far, and he's kept me informed about them 2-3 times per week.

 

[ACleanSC4]

not bad, looks very OEM...you're going to absolutely love the output...

Congrats!

 

[cribbj]

Thanks, and I agree. "Looks very OEM" is one of the highest compliments someone can receive!

Kurt, the guy who did these, has done several sets now for Supra owners, and they're turning out very well, as you can see. He takes his time, does a nice job of cleaning out all the old sealant, uses all the original OEM adjusters for the new projectors - no hack job. He then reassembles them with a special 3M automotive sealant, instead of RTV so they can be taken apart again in the future if necessary.

Kurt will do more if anyone wants theirs done. He charges $300 labor, which seems to be the going rate for this modification, plus the cost of the projectors, plus return freight, so all in, my job was $465. You can contact him at: kcsupraATyahooDOTcom.

Here are the finished pics, along with a couple showing the new beam characteristics. The beams are much better focused, with tighter cutoffs than before. Due to the mismatched optics I had with aftermarket HID lamps rebased to fit into the 9006 sockets, and projectors designed for 9006 lamp optics, I had very sharp rises on the right side of the beams like this _____/ _____/ which would blind people on the right as I was passing them. Anyone who fits an aftermarket set of HID's into their vehicle will have this problem too.

Now with the correct D2S lamps fit into the correct projectors for the D2S's, everything is as it should be.

 

[ACleanSC4]

excellent! I'd like to find some of the 3m automotive adhesive...RTV doesn't work well for me...