There I was, years ago, a 15-16yo teenager that was getting into cars and what not. I liked what I saw, I wanted to learn more and get into details of things. So I did what others would do, look up parts and see how you can customize things. Boy, I was in the Need for Speed Underground 1 and 2 days, where you just customize cars to your heart's content...
There's a neat aspect to customizing your vehicle, but somewhere along the line, no one will teach you what is right and what is wrong. Companies are out there to sell products solely for the fact that uninformed consumers will buy those products because of...
1. It's cool looking!
2. It's cheap!

They'll put a price on it, they know you're not informed about the products, and they know you'll buy it. I decided then and there that I will wait until I've saved enough to build myself some proper headlights. I hated the glare from people taking cheap Plug N Play HID kits (PnP HID's) and shoving them into their halogen reflector headlights. A few notable offenders from home were Civics, Integras, Accords, F150, F250, F350's, and everything else far and in between. It's just absurd that you can't drive down the street at night with out being blinded from some car's obnoxious and dangerous glare.

I will be pulling information from different resources left and right.

 

1. HID Bulbs - An HID bulb is similar to a fluorescent tube or bulb, that produces light by sending a current through a metal vapor or gas. The lit Xenon gas is what’s actually being seen, not a metal filament like your traditional halogen bulb. Another way of describing an HID bulb is that of a static electricity arc. If a static electricity arc is seen in the dark, it produces light.
HID Bulbs, Information, Background and Design | HeadlightRetrofits.com
HID Bulb Colors & Kelvin Temperatures | HeadlightRetrofits.com
First off, this is important. Why put HID's on if you don't know what you're installing? The whole point of upgrading headlights is for you to see better, and we'll start with HID bulbs education.
"We often get the question: “Doesn’t a higher number mean it’s brighter or better ?”. The short answer – NO. When talking about an HID bulb Kelvin Color temperature, a 4100-4300K HID bulb is the brightest Kelvin Temperature you can get. This is the OEM coloring specification on most vehicles with factory HID headlights for a reason."
"“Why do my friend’s headlights look brighter than mine and he has xxxx-K temperature bulbs???”- The reason higher Kelvin bulbs may appear brighter is that they are actually glaring more off of the road surface. Glare is NOT how light output is measured. It’s annoying, obnoxious and dangerous. Anything above a 6000K color rating is extremely ineffective & can be deemed practically useless. 6000K is generally the highest Kelvin rating you can go without creating too much glare. The higher the Kelvin rating, the lower the lumen output is. (We can’t stress this fact enough…so we noted it twice)"
That gives you the run down on Kelvin and lumens. In short, yellow and white lighting run the game, blue lighting is obnoxious... Why anyone would want a Christmas tree for headlights is just plain silly and stupid.

3000K 3000K - The amber, yellow light cuts through the snow, rain, fog, etc... Lexus has these on their ES300 fogs.
4300K 4300K - This is usually the OEM Kelvin of choice, this is where you will find maximum lumens. It's white with a slight tinge of yellow.
5000K 5000K - Pure white. I'm a fanatic for pure white lighting, but you lose a few lumens... So I bought the ultimate 5000K bulbs... The Osram CBI's, these are "cool blue intense" but are actually the whitest bulbs that have a shipload of lumens. I currently run the Morimoto 35W 5000K bulbs from my retrofit kit, but I'll be taking some review photos of the CBI's when I return from my deployment.
D2S: Osram Xenarc 66240 CBI - HID Bulbs - Components

Did I mention that blue lighting is just super tacky and does no good for you?

Since we're still on the topic of the bulbs, it's quite important to buy quality bulbs. The price is up there, but the quality is worth it. HID bulbs last about 2000 hrs compared to their halogen counterparts that last from 400hrs to 1000hrs, HID's will pay themselves off.

 

2. HID Ballasts - HID Ballasts & Ignitors are the power plant of your Headlight Retrofit system. A poor quality ballast will decrease the lifespan of your HID bulb and can cause inconsistent bulb coloring between sides. A ballast has two important functions. The first is to take the 12-volt input and turn it into a 20,000+ volt arc which ignites the HID bulb’s Xenon gas & salts(this is also sometimes referred to as the HID headlight’s “pretty startup”. The second function is to stabilize that arc and maintain it throughout the duration of the bulb being on.
HID Ballast General Information | HeadlightRetrofits.com

A quality HID ballast will reduce all your worries, better yet, find a company that has great service and warranty. cough-cough, Morimoto.
You drive a Toyota, why else would you put non-quality products on your truck? Your Toyota is reliable, so don't settle for less.
The typical HID system runs on 35Watts, that's considerably less than our sealed beams, which runs at 65W.

Match the proper ballast to the proper bulbs, 35W to 35W, 55W to 55W. This ensures that you will have seamless operation.
There's more on the plugs themselves.
For our Hiluxes and Trucks, order the H4/ 9003 adapter pigtails. The Ballast to bulb will be dependent on whichever projector you decide to go with, such as D2S to D2S, or AMP to AMP.

"If a poorly designed/poor quality, old/worn out or damaged HID ballast is being used it can cause a number of issues. The most common is odd coloring during the startup/stabilization phase. Any pinkish, reddish or off color hues can indicate improper voltage or a malfunctioning unit. The ballast should be replaced."

There's more here. HID Ballast Startup & Stabilization | HeadlightRetrofits.com

Which reminds me of the silly Honda boys that put PnP HID's in their cars...
Haha, now I remember... I was driving to work and this oncoming ricer was blinding the crap out of me, so I high beamed him... He tried to high beam me back and his headlights turned off.
HID bulbs don't move, the projector does the high beam work, we'll get to that shortly.


To wrap this one up, buy a quality ballast setup. The Morimoto one is quite compact. Make sure all your connections are secure and grounds are clean.

 

3. HID Projector - An HID Projector is what actually emits & controls the light in a retrofit setup. It projects the light created from the HID bulb in a precision pattern. HID Projectors are the heart of any Retrofit project.
HID Projectors Information | HeadlightRetrofits.com

The sole reason why OEM manufacturers have projectors, to run HID's. If you want to say that HID's are okay in reflectors, then tell me why aren't manufacturers putting them into cars from the factory? Exactly, the projector and cut off shield provides an accurate, sharp, and precise light pattern that is superior to any halogen and reflector setup. The projector is everything here.

"An HID projector usually consists of a Back-Bowl, Bulb Holder, Front-Bowl, Lens and Cutoff shield. Bi-Xenon projectors have an additional component called a solenoid that moves the Cut-Off shield when required, to activate the high beam function.

Bi-Xenon projectors feature a solenoid that make the cutoff shield movable. When activated, the shield drops or lowers & removes the cutoff step. This disperses the HID light in a high beam pattern (bright and everywhere). These style projectors use the HID bulb as its only light source (one bulb for high & low beam)."


Here's mine, a FX-R 3.0 with the 3" lens setup. She's a beauty.

Got her with the E55-R shroud. I chose these because it's simple, doesn't look tacky and sophisticated, this will give me a very OEM look.


"A cutoff shield is what limits or shields the light output so it doesn’t blind oncoming drivers or create excessive glare. This is what creates the light steps.

A bi-xenon solenoid is directly connected to the cutoff shield. This simply drops or lowers the cutoff shield with a 12 volt power supply to create a high beam light pattern."

This is what your high beam function on your truck will engage. The pre-wired package will help reduce any headaches on install. When you flip your high beams, you bulbs don't budge, the selenoid on the projector will flip the cut-off shield, opening up the light pattern, basically. I just regurgitated that, haha.





Here's mine.



Now, some people will modify their projector to put an LED facing their cutoff shield or even paint it so when the HID bulb is off, the projector has color inside of it.

"The back-bowl is what actually reflects the Xenon HID Bulb’s Arc Light towards the front lens. The wider your back bowl is, generally, the wider & deeper your output beam can be. A good quality back-bowl is made from a cast metal. This allows for better strength, durability & reliability from the internal chrome finish."

You'll see here that the larger projectors have amazing output, especially in terms of light delivered and width. Such projectors are harder to retrofit or just can't fit in some headlights. The Lexus LS430 and LS460 projectors are top notch, these provide absolutely wide beam patterns. I may consider tossing LS460R's into my truck...


"What’s a “shield mod” or “color mod” and why does everyone always talk about it? A shield mod is just that- modifying your stock cutoff shield’s position to affect light output. This is generally done by spacing either the cutoff shield or projector lens to reach the desired light output characteristics. This can be done with thin washers from your local hardware store, as a spacing difference of as little as .5mm can have a big impact on output.

A shield or color mod is done to intensify the pretty color seen along the step line and maximize the clarity of the projector’s output. This is done before the projector is installed. However, too much modification and you can decrease light output & clarity. Modifying shields isn’t something to jump into lightly. If the projectors are “off” or done differently from one another they can have varying light output. They may never line up correctly, which can be difficult in an already wide output projector such as the S2000 for example."
Projector Cutoff Shields | HeadlightRetrofits.com if you want to play with your shields.

I don't have much for "low-beam only" projectors, I figured with the amount of work put into headlights, you might as well get bi-xenon's and give yourself the best of any projector. Treat yourself to some good stuff!


This link has all the Bi-Xenon projectors you can look at.
The H1 and D2S are great, easy as hell to retrofit and will most likely have a better fitment in a 7x6" housing compared to the FX-R, but that doesn't mean you can fit a FX-R in a 7x6". The way I had mine done, I pushed the projector further back. I don't like the bug-eye'd look, personally.
JoeyNational here has the Mini's on his headlights, I believe.
Bi-Xenon Projectors | HeadlightRetrofits.com



A Bi-Xenon in high beam mode.

 

Let's talk retrofitting!
Here's TRS's write up for the FX-R. Projectors: FX-R 3.0 Guide - DIY Installation Guides


What you'll need:
Two 7x6" headlight housings - Recommend plastic housing with clear lens, or a very high quality metal housing and glass lens if it's out there. I got a cheap metal housing with a super distorted and cheap glass lens...
The Pilot 7x6's go for $30, this is good enough, a very common housing which the plastic lens are actually optically clear.

A retrofit kit would be nice, it will have everything in it.
I got the FX-R Stage III kit for $270 when the Thanksgiving sale came along. Sure you can DEFINITELY put a complete kit together for under $200 with TheRetrofitSource.com's closeout and bargain basement deals.

Your retrokit will need to consist of...
Two Projectors - selenoids will come with wiring that you will plug into the wiring kit
Two Ballasts - I got the Morimoto 3Five DSP's, the wiring is plenty long enough, but the extra long is only $5 more. These perform well and ignite fast, no issues or complaints here.
Two Bulbs - match them with your ballasts, Wattage wise. I chose 35W for longevity, plus less heat.
Two Shrouds - To cover the projector once it's fitted in your headlight.
Wire Harness - Since we're Toyota Minis over here, you'll need the MotoControl BiXenon H4/9003 harness, that plugs right into the truck.
Halos - You don't really need these unless you really want them... That's all up to you.
Sealant - Get the OCI Butyl Rubber glue that TRS has. That stuff goes a far way.

Tools wise:

Dremel and kit - This is a must. Cutting discs, sanding barrels, etc, it helps so much. Don't get the Dremel with that stupid EZ Lock bullcrap, the play in the adapter doesn't feel safe, doesn't help with accurate cuts.

Compressed Air - helps push out dust and stuff...

Microfiber towel - I use clean Micro's to handle my stuff and keep the lens clean. A big pack of these go a FAR way.

Personal Protection Equipment - safety glasses, earplugs, gloves, etc...

Oven - to heat up your housings

Sharpie

JB QwikWeld, JB Steelstik, Foil Tape

It helps to have cardboard and other things you can use to measure and make templates, jigs... the list goes on. I think a cereal box would help.

Then your stuff arrives and you get this.





Split your headlight housings. Remove lens from housing. 270*F for 7mins in the oven is usually the trick. Use multiple wide flat tip screw drivers to pry apart the sealant. Since mine was glass and has silicone, I submerged these in gasoline and popped them apart. The cheap headlights had shoddy glass edges, be super careful, okay? Do yourself a favor and get the Pilot plastic housings, haha.



I basically measured how deep the projector is compared to the housing, to see how deep I wanted this thing.



Honestly, I wish I had better tools for the job. You will probably have to improvise. If you get the Morimoto Minis, you will have a MUCH easier time.
So I cut the bottom of a cup off, haha.



Rough template gives me a rough hole to begin with. Plastic housings are thicker, so account for material thickness when cutting, remeasure a few times.














At this point, I really wish I could pull this off.
Think about it, on the H6054 sealed beams, the source of light is in the back, right? It's appearance is deep, that's why it looks the way it looks at multiple angles, it's got that "character". Compare these three Mustang headlights really quick before you continue, you'll see why I had my projectors sit deep.
Factory, cheap aftermarket projectors that have ****ty output, and a retro.





See how it looks so much better with it pushed towards the rear? The headlights are deep, you don't want projectors right at the front, it looks yucky.
A truck at work has these exact lights, gawd they stick so far forward, it's nasty.

but hey, that's my personal opinion.

ALRIGHT, back to the retro, if it wasn't for the fact that this whole combo would've been 12" in depth, haha. obviously it would've never fit!


Just checking to see where I needed to be.

Retrofits are usually cut from the back, mounted through the front, and finish it from there on out.
It would've looked sooooooooo OEM if it was like this... no shroud and all.

you get the idea...


Chose out my paints... Keep in mind that heat is a small worry, now you have to consider the effects of UV on your paint. I chose to spray my housings satin black with a satin clear, and the shrouds a Toyota Metallic Gray with clear on top. I think I did a satin clear... I don't remember at this point, it's almost a year since I actually did the retro.



Several missing photos later, I trimmed a bigger hole, slid this in, mount the housing flat, aimed afar and tried to get the flattest pattern, then I made a bunch of sharp marks to keep track of everything.

Even this would've looked just fine as an OEM headlamp.

It was a cold night... I was up for 12 hrs doing this, I had to drive to a few places and take a few steps backwards. You'll have better results than me lol.

lowest setting, let it help the paint cure.

Once I got everything painted, I put it all back together, aligned each housing and projector against a wall (25ft helps), put JB Steel Stik on the assembly to help hold it in place, then I slathered the JB weld and made sure the thing doesn't budge. I sanded down the edges of the shroud to get it to fit snug on the projector. Some people glue it on.
Once the epoxy cured up, I wrapped it with foil tape.
Take the rubber butyl glue, make a really, really thin string of it, enough to fill the channel around the housing.
Put it in the channel.
Press your lens onto your housing.
Clamp it, put it in the oven, lowest setting for 5 mins, should be sufficient to allow you to clamp the housing and lens even further for a seamless seal.

 

Once it's cooled off, you're ready to mount in the truck and go aim.







Try to find a wall, flat parking lot that you can aim from 25 and 50 feet away.
Due to my housing's horrible, distorted glass lens, you can see how it blurred my sharp cut off line and a small portion of the light is reflected upwards.








You can see I used too much glue :'(

Now that my headlights and corners match, it looks better.

 

4. HID Projector Alignment - Aiming & Aligning the Output of your headlight retrofits is a very important step. A proper HID retrofit that’s done on your vehicle headlights doesn’t mean you won’t blind or annoy oncoming drivers – headlights need to be installed & aligned properly.
Properly retrofitted headlights should have a clean cutoff line with no hot spots, excessive glare or mis-aligned light. Their color flicker should also appear sharp & crisp when viewed at the proper height.
Headlight Retrofit Output & Alignment | HeadlightRetrofits.com


Refer to the link above on alignment. A flat parking lot with aiming from 25, then 50ft will help ensure your light will be as straight as possible when you drive.




Some Notes To Add


Mount the housings on a flat surface, mark the output of the housing on the wall with tape, use that as the baseline. You will be matching the projector to the markings on the wall. This will ensure the projector is pointing straight in terms of vertical, horizontal, and rotational accuracy. Nothing worse than seeing your headlights being tilted away from eachother to produce a flat beam pattern and cut off.

You can make a 12V power supply or use one from a computer to run your HID's off-vehicle to run and aim them.


If there's anything more I need to add, I'll make even more notes. Feel free to ask questions. I apologize for anything confusing, it's 2AM now haha!

 

Did I forget to mention that TheRetrofitSource.com is having a 15% discount for the labor day weekend?!



Code: Murica15

 

Ok I haven't read through the whole thread but thank you for this. As I have said before.... Ha ha I'm going to quote my self lol....

 

I appreciate it.

I miss driving with my projectors. Riding along to work in a Chevy 15 passenger van every day sucks, especially at night. I can't see much with regular headlights anymore.

 

This is an awesome, AWESOME infotut (new word?) bookmarking for the day I soup up my lighting. =) Epic thanks man.