Cheap, Effective, Quick projector HID's... for trans ams
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Cheap, Effective, Quick projector HID's... for trans ams
Ok first this project should cost you no more then 170 bucks. 100 bucks for the hella projectors and the cost of a hid kit if you wanted to use one. I am using the hella 60mm HL5700 projectors as they fit the bucket perfect. I hope i havnt missed a thread that someone figured this out first
Ok so now proceed at your own risk, this is obviously for off road use only and if you mess up your car or get a ticket, get a booboo blame yourself, im telling you not to do it! Just showing how i did it... Anyways it was easy and only requires very minor mods to the headlight buckets. This modification should in no way keep me from installing sealed beams in the future.... dont know why i would though...
Now this install for sure is not the nicest looking or finished looking so if your looking for something you want to show off while you headlights are flipped up you should definitely buy the blackbird kit. What i wanted is just cheap effective lighting that installs quickly with minimal mods.
OK so first we have to remove the sealed beam light and then remove the bucket attached to the headlight housing. Take the bucket out and grab a dremel with a cutoff wheel. I cut 4 relief cuts in the corners where the wire comes through the bucket. Now grab a pair of pliers and just slightly bend out the metal. just have to bend it out barely enough for the end of the projector to fit through.
Now the majority of this project is done... YEP! it is that easy. Screw the bucket back into the headlight housing. Now grab your projector and place it in the bucket and hook up your wires. Make sure there are no sharp edges on the bucket to cut your wires. Align the projector so the mounting holes are resting against the top and bottom of the bucket.
Take the outer plate that use to hold in the sealed beam and screw it down over the projector.
Now if you've done everything right the projector should be held very securely in place and can be adjusted the exact same way as the sealed beam was... Thats pretty much it. Make sure your cutoff is level and start adjustments. If you want to add a hid kit to the projectors you'll need to find a place to mount the ballast, which is pretty easy. If you use the 9005 bulb you'll need to find a 9005 pigtail and solder it on the to factory wiring. Just save your stock connector if you ever switch back. if you do use hid you should use a relay kit as some ballasts can draw very high current on startup and smoke factory wiring.
Personally i couldnt give a hoot if the lights have a finished look. For one they are only on at night, and obviously hidden when the lights are off. For the price how can you go wrong? Im happy with the light output! now this doesnt have provisions for protecting the projector glass. But there are a couple reasons this doesnt concern me. Number one is the projectors are sealed, which means to me hella apparently figured they would be exposed, thus weather wont affect it and i would assume the glass be strong enough to not pit. Number 2 is that being a transam with the flip down lights these are not going to be exposed as nearly much as a fixed headlight car... Im kind of experimenting to see if the glass holds up, i have no reason to think it wont. Hella makes quality.
Ok so now proceed at your own risk, this is obviously for off road use only and if you mess up your car or get a ticket, get a booboo blame yourself, im telling you not to do it! Just showing how i did it... Anyways it was easy and only requires very minor mods to the headlight buckets. This modification should in no way keep me from installing sealed beams in the future.... dont know why i would though...
Now this install for sure is not the nicest looking or finished looking so if your looking for something you want to show off while you headlights are flipped up you should definitely buy the blackbird kit. What i wanted is just cheap effective lighting that installs quickly with minimal mods.
OK so first we have to remove the sealed beam light and then remove the bucket attached to the headlight housing. Take the bucket out and grab a dremel with a cutoff wheel. I cut 4 relief cuts in the corners where the wire comes through the bucket. Now grab a pair of pliers and just slightly bend out the metal. just have to bend it out barely enough for the end of the projector to fit through.
Now the majority of this project is done... YEP! it is that easy. Screw the bucket back into the headlight housing. Now grab your projector and place it in the bucket and hook up your wires. Make sure there are no sharp edges on the bucket to cut your wires. Align the projector so the mounting holes are resting against the top and bottom of the bucket.
Take the outer plate that use to hold in the sealed beam and screw it down over the projector.
Now if you've done everything right the projector should be held very securely in place and can be adjusted the exact same way as the sealed beam was... Thats pretty much it. Make sure your cutoff is level and start adjustments. If you want to add a hid kit to the projectors you'll need to find a place to mount the ballast, which is pretty easy. If you use the 9005 bulb you'll need to find a 9005 pigtail and solder it on the to factory wiring. Just save your stock connector if you ever switch back. if you do use hid you should use a relay kit as some ballasts can draw very high current on startup and smoke factory wiring.
Personally i couldnt give a hoot if the lights have a finished look. For one they are only on at night, and obviously hidden when the lights are off. For the price how can you go wrong? Im happy with the light output! now this doesnt have provisions for protecting the projector glass. But there are a couple reasons this doesnt concern me. Number one is the projectors are sealed, which means to me hella apparently figured they would be exposed, thus weather wont affect it and i would assume the glass be strong enough to not pit. Number 2 is that being a transam with the flip down lights these are not going to be exposed as nearly much as a fixed headlight car... Im kind of experimenting to see if the glass holds up, i have no reason to think it wont. Hella makes quality.
#4
Quick, simple and appears to be effective. I would only suggest you find some way to avoid water and moisture to funnel to the back of the bucket and down into the front of the bumper. The projectors are sealed and intended exposed use but surprisingly damage fairly easily with stones and what not. I would recommend a bit more secure mounting solution for the projector in the bucket. I'm sure its tight but I only say this because you would be surprised how things move around on a car with various vibrations and such.
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Quick, simple and appears to be effective. I would only suggest you find some way to avoid water and moisture to funnel to the back of the bucket and down into the front of the bumper. The projectors are sealed and intended exposed use but surprisingly damage fairly easily with stones and what not. I would recommend a bit more secure mounting solution for the projector in the bucket. I'm sure its tight but I only say this because you would be surprised how things move around on a car with various vibrations and such.
thanks for the responses guys
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here they are on the Blackbird Lighting Solutions (sponsor here) kit:
to the OP:
I commend you for the initiative, but I'd be really weary of that setup. Doing this is a lot more than just stuffing projectors into the stock bucket. I'd do a little more R&D into figuring out how to make it more stable and also protecting those expensive projector units. Anyone whose seen what rock chips can do will agree that it won't be long until those bare projector lenses will need to be replaced.
*edit*
You must have posted while I was typing my post...
Originally Posted by got-a-ls1
true but the fogs on the camaro are exposed constantly and low to the ground... the t/a lights are only exposed when the lights are on.
thanks for the responses guys
thanks for the responses guys
Last edited by Jersey Mike; 08-24-2010 at 10:45 PM.
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I know all the risks i said it in my first post.. Im merely saying that the headlights are flipped down for a majority of the portion the car is driven. I know rocks dont disappear at night. the sealed beams are not pitted (appear to be original and atleast 6 years old since ive owned the car) or anything which makes me feel better about doing this. I know im putting them at risk but i want to see just how durable they are... for science! trust me im all about making lexan shields and making a nice pretty install, when i have the ambition and the time. But i wanted projectors in my car, i had a half hour, now i have projectors in my car. I figured anyone else who wanted something quick easy and cheap might be interested in what i did and did without the replacement sealed beam housings that are not designed for hid and blind other drivers.
About the stability in the bucket. trust me they are not going anywhere. I twisted and wiggled them so hard i was afraid of braking the plastic mounts that hold the bucket. Projectors did not move one bit and havnt moved in 200+ miles of driving.
About the stability in the bucket. trust me they are not going anywhere. I twisted and wiggled them so hard i was afraid of braking the plastic mounts that hold the bucket. Projectors did not move one bit and havnt moved in 200+ miles of driving.
#13
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I just added this thread to the Lighting FAQ: https://ls1tech.com/forums/appearanc...hting-faq.html
I know you said that these don't move, but I would recommend using some screws to hold them just in case things loosen up.
I know you said that these don't move, but I would recommend using some screws to hold them just in case things loosen up.
#14
ok OP: Where are you getting $100 Hella projectors from? for both? Are these a fog light kit from somewhere? Because last time i checked, hella 90mm projectors cost over $600 i can't imagine it being that different for a little smaller diameter.
They can be, if in a projector housing. In a reflector housing it is annoying, distracting, dangerous, inconsiderate, and in many places illegal. But that all can be said for low beams as well. There are two solutions. Jersey here showed you the first. Second is a bixenon kit inside the low beams projector beam. Some kits have two bulbs one above the other, other kits physically move the light forward and increase output. My 2003 Audi TT had all of these combined and is by far to the date the best lighting i ever had on any car. It had HID BI xenons, and when you turn the brights on it also had high beam halogens in reflector housings.
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can the black plastic cover for the lights fit back on after? i dont see them on your car? im sure you could paint the background black and itd look pretty damn nice / finished look. well done
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the projectors are 50 bucks a piece. bought them from rally lights.. the site isnt a sponsor so just google for hella 60mm and theres a bunch of places that sell them... Not a fog light. BTW even the 90mm hella projectors are 65 bucks. Dont know where you found them for 600 but thats the biggest rip off ever.
yes the covers go back on just like normal, just hadnt screwed it back on in those pics!
yes the covers go back on just like normal, just hadnt screwed it back on in those pics!
#17
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Current pricing (you can confirm by going to Rally Lights and elsewhere):
Halogen
Hella 90mm Halogen H9 Low Beam ........................... $65 ea
Hella 60mm Halogen 9005 Low Beam ....................... $50 ea
HID
Hella 90mm Xenon D2S Low Beam .......................... $168 ea
Hella 90mm Bi-Xenon D2S (with bulb and ballast) ... $547 ea
FX Bi-Xenon D2S (bare projector, not sealed) ........... $90 pair (at The Retrofit Source)
I have the Hella 90mm Halogen H9 projectors on my 2001 Formula.
got-a-ls1, has the Hella 60mm Halogen 9005 projectors on his Trans Am.
Maybe you were thinking of the Hella 90mm Bi-Xenon projectors which are too expensive, especially considering their performance. For the price FX Bi-Xenon D2S Projectors can't be beat at $90 for the pair at The Retrofit Source.
Last edited by VIP1; 09-01-2010 at 11:24 AM.
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The 90mm hellas have been about the same price since I put them into my firebird over 4 years ago. VIP did something similar around that time as well. Now that HID kits are cheap, it would be no problem to put an entire HID retro kit together like the OP did, for just low beams, for ~$200 give or take. 100 for projectors, ~65 for HID ballasts, harnesses and bulbs.
The only thing I dislike about the hella units, and I don't know if the 60mms are the same or not, is that the H9/H11 bulb was not a common connector.
The 90mms do not allow the plastic cladding to go back on the firebird light bucket without notching. Good work noting the 60s do. That takes care of an hour or so of 'retrofitting.'
The only thing I dislike about the hella units, and I don't know if the 60mms are the same or not, is that the H9/H11 bulb was not a common connector.
The 90mms do not allow the plastic cladding to go back on the firebird light bucket without notching. Good work noting the 60s do. That takes care of an hour or so of 'retrofitting.'
#19
So this is an awesome thread and great suggestion for someone who is not willing or cannot afford a more expensive setup.
My confusion is with the hella projectors. They accept a 9005 bulb. But I have an H7 HID kit setup now in a eurolamp housing. H7 obviously being the factory bulb as well. Will an H7 bulb fit into the projector or will I have to change my bulb over to 9005?
My confusion is with the hella projectors. They accept a 9005 bulb. But I have an H7 HID kit setup now in a eurolamp housing. H7 obviously being the factory bulb as well. Will an H7 bulb fit into the projector or will I have to change my bulb over to 9005?
Last edited by AdmAnt13; 08-31-2010 at 05:32 PM.
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So this is an awesome thread and great suggestion for someone who is not willing or cannot afford a more expensive setup.
My confusion is with the hella projectors. They accept a 9005 bulb. But I have an H7 HID kit setup now in a eurolamp housing. H7 obviously being the factory bulb as well. Will an H7 bulb fit into the projector or will I have to change my bulb over to 9005?
My confusion is with the hella projectors. They accept a 9005 bulb. But I have an H7 HID kit setup now in a eurolamp housing. H7 obviously being the factory bulb as well. Will an H7 bulb fit into the projector or will I have to change my bulb over to 9005?