VIP1

Previously, I had Hella 90mm H9 Projectors with custom cut-off shields and DDM 55 watt HID.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/appearanc...enty-pics.html

Now I have Sinolyn 3" D2H Projectors with 35 watt HID.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3-0-HID-Bi-...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT


https://fadingarrow.com/images/sinol...ctorOnEbay.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/sinoly...ctorOnEbay.jpg

I'm, also now using Morimoto Bulbs and Acme Ballasts - both from The Retrofit Source

Here are some comparison pictures comparing the Hella 90mm Projectors to some other options I was trying. Some projectors are shown upside-down to avoid beam overlap. I'm using the camera on my phone and not a DSLR so you can't really compare between pics, but I tried to pair up the projectors for comparison in the same pic. The Hella 90mm H9 projectors were also mounted in the car at the time of the comparison pictures.

Hella 90mm H9 with 55 Watt HID -vs- (OEM) Intiniti G37 D2S with 35 watt HID


https://fadingarrow.com/images/sinol...0mm--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/sinoly...0mm--SMALL.jpg

Hella 90mm H9 with 55 Watt HID -vs- Hella 60mm 9005 with 35 watt HID


https://fadingarrow.com/images/sinol...0mm--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/sinoly...0mm--SMALL.jpg

Hella 90mm H9 with 55 Watt HID -vs- Sinolyn 3" with 35 watt HID


https://fadingarrow.com/images/sinol...0mm--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/sinoly...0mm--SMALL.jpg

I also compared the (OEM) Intiniti G37 with 35 watt HID to the other aftermarket projectors to show the brightness and width of the aftermarket projectors vs the OEM projector. These are all using Morimoto Bulbs and Acme Ballasts. The G37 & Sinolyn are using the same Morimoto D2H bulbs and Acme Ballasts.

(OEM) Intiniti G37 D2S with 35 watt HID -vs- Hella 60mm 9005 with 35 watt HID (showing width left/right)
The width is pretty similar.


https://fadingarrow.com/images/sinol...eft--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/sinoly...eft--SMALL.jpg


https://fadingarrow.com/images/sinol...ght--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/sinoly...ght--SMALL.jpg

(OEM) Intiniti G37 D2S with 35 watt HID -vs- Sinolyn 3" with 35 watt HID


https://fadingarrow.com/images/sinol...G37--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/sinoly...G37--SMALL.jpg

I also compared the Sinolyn to the Hella 60mm 9005 projectors that many on here use (and in the BLS Kit)


https://fadingarrow.com/images/sinol...0mm--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/sinoly...0mm--SMALL.jpg


https://fadingarrow.com/images/sinol...eft--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/sinoly...eft--SMALL.jpg


https://fadingarrow.com/images/sinol...ght--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/sinoly...ght--SMALL.jpg

I like the beam of the G37 projectors, but they aren't sealed. I'd need to build a housing to contain them.

The Hella 60mm 9005 projectors have more beam width than the Sinolyn 3" projectors, but I liked the shorter step and better uniformity along the cut-off that is in the Sinolyn projectors. Although the pics are crooked, you can see how the right side of the beam on the Hella 60mm 9005 projectors dips down more than the others.

Here is the right Hella 90mm H9 by itself with 55 Watt HID


https://fadingarrow.com/images/sinol...led--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/sinoly...led--SMALL.jpg

Here is the Sinolyn 3" Projector with 35 Watt HID on the left and the Hella 90mm H9 with 55 Watt HID on the right. The Sinolyn projectors are brighter and wider.


https://fadingarrow.com/images/sinol...led--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/sinoly...led--SMALL.jpg

Here are both Sinolyn 3" Projectors installed


https://fadingarrow.com/images/sinol...oth--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/sinoly...oth--SMALL.jpg


At first I tried to modify and use the brackets that are on ebay that allow you to install the Hella 60mm 9005 projectors in the stock headlight mounts. I drilled new holes, trimmed the opening, and added angled aluminum for strength.


https://fadingarrow.com/images/sinol...ont--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/sinoly...ont--SMALL.jpg


https://fadingarrow.com/images/sinol...ack--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/sinoly...ack--SMALL.jpg

To make the projectors sit deeper in the headlight buckets, I had to trim the rear of their frames. I also didn't need the adjustors they came with so I removed them and solidly mounted them in their frames so they couldn't pivot anymore; adjustmet would come from the bracket instead. I guess I forgot to take apic of the back of the projector after I trimmed them so I drew on the pic showing what was done.


https://fadingarrow.com/images/sinol...ved--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/sinoly...ved--SMALL.jpg

However, I didnt think they mounted in the car secure enough. The old Hella 90mm mounts were more secure. After much trial and error, I ended up drilling holes in the Hella 90mm brackets I already had installed and used screws and springs to make new spring-loaded adjustable mounts.


https://fadingarrow.com/images/sinol...ket--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/sinoly...ket--SMALL.jpg

My headlight buckets were already modified to fit the Hella 90mm H9 projectors so if you were to try mounting these, you might have to do the same trimming.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/appearanc...enty-pics.html
The "bumps" in the headlight frame at the back of the bucket were cut off and the center hole was made larger. There was a pic in one of the linked threads that I used as a guide, but I think that pic is gone and I didn't take one before everything was installed.

The beam of the Sinolyn projectors is slightly bowed at the edges. I could try modifying the shield, but they are good enough and I want to leave them as-is for now.

Also, I haven't mentioned yet, but the Sinolyn 3" Projectors are Bi-Xenon. I haven't connected the solenoids yet though. I'm waiting for the LMC Truck High Beam headlights to arrive. I'm going to put LED in them and then wire up the Sinolyn high beam to work in parallel with them. I also have a pair of Infiniti QX4 High Beam projectors that I've been toying with. They aren't sealed but I think I can seal them fairly easily. However, they are a bit wider than I was hoping and may not fit the way I want.

1BadElky

Dang, you might barely beat me with the LMC high beam housings with LEDs. My plan is to upgrade mine next week or so when I get a chance. I just received my Hella 60mm for the low beams a few days ago, along with the LMC high beams. I decided to stick with Hellas for the simple fact that they're tried and true on here, but kudos on once again being a pioneer with this one! Can't wait to see the fully finished product .

VIP1

Hella makes 60mm High Beams too. The ebay brackets should fit them into the high beam location as well.

Which LED bulbs are you going to try? Some are made better than others and each housing reacts a bit differently.

1BadElky

I looked at the beam pattern on the Hella high beam projectors in the BLS setup, but they seem more like a spotlight, whereas the LMCs have a more appropriate spread. I'm going to make a thread with pics to show what I'm referring to. I'm guessing you arrived at the same conclusion since you're doing the LMC highs?

Going with the TechMax 9005 LEDs on Amazon. I'm sure the Morimoto's are a step up, but given that it's something of an experiment, I don't want to put $120 into it, especially since the low beams will do most of the heavy lifting.

VIP1

There are a few different TechMax 9005 on Amazon. Which one did you get?

I have 3 sets of LEDs for experimentation:
* Morimoto H11 (for different headlights) - the new 2Stroke 2.0, not the old ones, skip the old ones
* 2 Diff Auxito 9005 from Amazon



The fan in the Morimoto LED bulbs was loud enough that my father didn't want them in his car. I don't think they were that bad but he didn't like it. Which is why I tried a couple without fans. They do get hot though.

The grey one with the "lid/top" was causing a dark spot in the 9005 projector. They should work fine in a reflector though. The plus side to the grey one was that it is rotatable/clockable to get the LEDs correctly aligned in the housing for the best beam pattern.

The black one without that lid/top didn't have that dark spot but it isn't rotatable to make sure the LEDs are aimed correctly in the housing. In the Hella 60mm 9005 projectors, I think they were aligned correctly, but the Infiniti QX4 9005 High Beam projectors have the bulb at a different angle/rotation so they didn't work as well. However, you can remove a screw in the collar and rotate the LED Bulb on its collar, but then you'll need to drill a new hole in the collar for the set screw. I haven't done that yet but I might try it out.

When I compared the Hella 60mm 9005 with the LED Bulbs vs HID, HID won. I didn't take pics comparing but I probably should.

However, for a separate High Beam, you don't want to wait for HID to warm up (although good ones can warm up in 30s) and you don't want to flick HID on/off too quickly.

I haven't compared the Hella 60mm High Beam to the LMC Truck High Beam. For the High Beams, I wanted a quick upgrade for now. I'm still temped to make the Infiniti QX4 High Beam Projectors fit. I like to experiment and compare.

1BadElky

These are the LEDs I'm going to try in the high beams:

I should clarify that I'll be using 55W HID 9005 bulbs in the Hella projectors for the low beams, not LEDs. I haven't actually tested LEDs in there yet, but you just confirmed the suspicion I had that LEDs in projectors may cause a dark spot. My other concern is brightness. LED headlights still have a way to go in terms of development and design, so in 5 years, what I have may be outdated, whereas the HIDs have pretty well peaked. Once I have all the parts together, I can put the LEDs in the projectors and post pics just for a visual aid to the community for anyone wondering how they'd perform. These however, are the HIDs I'll be using:

I have read that DDM quality is not what it used to be, but it's backed by Amazon, and my credit card adds an extended warranty to any purchase I make, so it's worth a try IMO. Time will tell.

1BadElky

As for the sound of the cooling fans, I probably won't be able to give meaningful input since my exhaust drowns out everything else.

VIP1

Let me know how those LEDs end up looking for you.

The LMC High Beam housings arrived today, but I don't think I'll be able to take pics tonight though.

35 watt in the Hella 60mm 9005 should be plenty. You can see in the pics that they are brighter than the Hella 90mm H9 with 55 watt HID. 55 watt in the Hella 60mm 9005 would probably be overkill.

These are the bulbs and ballasts I was experimenting with:
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/90...to-xb-hid.html
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/am...start-35w.html
$100 combined before shipping, but you can pay via Amazon Payment.

1BadElky

Well if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing #amirite?

I have a decently long driveway to test for glare against my other car, so we'll see how it plays out. My real concern is the first time rain hits the projectors that have been heated by 55W bulbs. But at $42 a pop, I'll take a gamble.

VIP1

The other concern is the chrome in the projector bowl being damaged by 55 watt HID bulbs. Some aftermarket HID bulbs don't have the appropriate UV filter coating. Couple that with the increased light and heat output and you can get damaged projector bowls. It is a gamble. My Hella 90mm H9 projectors survived, but I've seen other projectors that didn't. Smaller projectors are also more susceptible to to damage than larger projectors.

_JB_

iTrader: (33)

I had 55w HIDs in those Hella 60mm projectors. They were fine in rain, however the projector cutoff themselves are absolute ****. The ticks get extremely large the further light is thrown, which causes you to turn them down ALOT unless you want to blind oncoming traffic. You'll also be blinding anyone to the right of the road (such as people sitting perpendicular at a stoplight). When trying to prevent blinding other drivers, anything to your driver side is worthless and not illuminated.

I went back to stock halogen lights and actually see better and no longer worry about blinding others. I've been waiting for a better HID/LED solution from Blackbird Lighting but I guess they're no longer producing the improved kits.

VIP1

I did a quick test of the Auxito LEDs in the LMC Truck High Beam housings. The grey ones with the lid/top had a brighter hot spot in these reflectors than the black ones without it. So I'm using the grey ones in these. I had to make a minor mod to the headlight buckets to make the heatsink of the LEDs fit through. I used tin snips/shears to make small cuts on either side of each of the four right angle tabs around the center square hole in the bucket so I could bend them back a bit to gain a little more clearance.

I forgot to take pics of the cuts to the bucket. So I took a pic of a spare headlight I have and drew on it what I did. The red lines in the pics show the slits I cut. The green highlights are the tabs that I bent back a bit for more clearance. I did the cutting and bending while they were still installed in the car. In the lower pics showing the clearance behind the headlights in the down and up positions, you can see that I didn't have to cut/bend much; only a little bit.


https://fadingarrow.com/images/LMC_T...ont--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/LMC_Tr...ont--SMALL.jpg


https://fadingarrow.com/images/LMC_T...ack--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/LMC_Tr...ack--SMALL.jpg


Here is how the back of the high beam looks for clearance down and up.


https://fadingarrow.com/images/LMC_T...own--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/LMC_Tr...own--SMALL.jpg


https://fadingarrow.com/images/LMC_T..._Up--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/LMC_Tr..._Up--SMALL.jpg

View from the front showing the LED installed.


https://fadingarrow.com/images/LMC_T...ont--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/LMC_Tr...ont--SMALL.jpg

VIP1

Here are some pics of the Sinolyn Bi-Xenon High Beam and the LMC Truck High Beam with Auxito LED. I made a "Y" cable to easily connect/disconnect the bi-xenon solenoid instead of splicing wires.

Unfortunately, the bi-xenon solenoid on the Sinolyn Projectors stick on even after turning off high beam so I'm leaving them disconnected and using these as low beam only. They seemed to work well when bench testing so I don't know if they are sticking mechanically or if there is still some current flow leaching through the high beam wires just barely enough to keep them latched. When I turned off high beam, they were still flipped and knocking on the projector reset them. I'll have to use a multi-meter to verify, but for now, I'm leaving them disconnected.

The LMC Truck High Beam with LED actually perform pretty well though. They work better in person than the pics show. However, it would have been nice to have quad high beam.

Sinolyn 3" Bi-Xenon High Beam


https://fadingarrow.com/images/sinol...non--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/sinoly...non--SMALL.jpg

LMC Truck High Beam with LED


https://fadingarrow.com/images/sinol...LED--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/sinoly...LED--SMALL.jpg

Both On Together


https://fadingarrow.com/images/sinol...oth--SMALL.jpg
http://fadingarrow.net/images/sinoly...oth--SMALL.jpg

1BadElky

Looks nice! That's a shame about the high beams sticking. Hopefully it will be a simple fix.

VIP1

Sorry for late update, but I think its a current leak issue and not mechanical issue in the projector. The high beam indicator is on dimly even with the high beams off. The car is in storage now so I'm not working on it until spring.

VIP1

UPDATE. I have shrouds on there now.

I used Fusion360 to design shrouds to fit over these projectors. It was a lot of trial-and-error printing samples on my 3D printer, but I think I got something nice out of it. My 3D printer is a smaller one and can't print ABS so I sent out the final design to CraftCloud to get them printed. It was $36 delivered printed in plain black ABS.

Here they are as they looked pulled from the package.


https://www.fadingarrow.com/images/F...hroudsBare.jpg
http://www.fadingarrow.net/images/Fi...hroudsBare.jpg

I added Aluminum foil tape to help with heat (it may not be needed since these are ABS, but I wanted to add some to help just in case).


https://www.fadingarrow.com/images/F...udsPrepped.jpg
http://www.fadingarrow.net/images/Fi...udsPrepped.jpg

I used 3M trim mounting tape to attach these to the existing headlight shrouds. I was planning on using stainless steel bolts as well, but there isn't much space left for good mounting. I may end up putting a shim on the back and drill through to that to act as a clamp. Since the molding on the car is held in with 3M trim mounting tape, this may be fine. The Gurney Flap on my bother's WRX is held on with 3M trim tape.


https://www.fadingarrow.com/images/F...ountedBack.jpg
http://www.fadingarrow.net/images/Fi...ountedBack.jpg

Here is how the Projectors looked before.


https://www.fadingarrow.com/images/F...NotCovered.jpg
http://www.fadingarrow.net/images/Fi...NotCovered.jpg

Here is how they look with the shrouds.


https://www.fadingarrow.com/images/F...torCovered.jpg
http://www.fadingarrow.net/images/Fi...torCovered.jpg


https://www.fadingarrow.com/images/F...d/CarFront.jpg
http://www.fadingarrow.net/images/Fi...d/CarFront.jpg

Here are the STL Files if you want to print the shrouds yourself.
https://www.fadingarrow.com/images/F...-%20Driver.stl
https://www.fadingarrow.com/images/F...0Passenger.stl

VIP1

Let me know if you have any issues with the pictures appearing. I posted links to them just in case (COM & NET URLs).

VIP1

3M Trim tape wasn't enough. One was coming loose. So they are bolted now. There ended up being enough for 3 of the 4 to bolt through alright (it was close for a couple). The 4th on each had to have a bigger washer for something to grab onto. I used stainless steel flanged M4 cap screws and matching flanged nylon lock nuts.


https://www.fadingarrow.com/images/F...rontBolted.jpg
http://www.fadingarrow.net/images/Fi...rontBolted.jpg


https://www.fadingarrow.com/images/F...eredBolted.jpg
http://www.fadingarrow.net/images/Fi...eredBolted.jpg


https://www.fadingarrow.com/images/F...oltedFront.jpg
http://www.fadingarrow.net/images/Fi...oltedFront.jpg


https://www.fadingarrow.com/images/F...BoltedRear.jpg
http://www.fadingarrow.net/images/Fi...BoltedRear.jpg

ws6-speed

I absolutely love the work that you're doing here, it's really impressive.
I'm really curious about how these have been holding up without having any glass or plastic covering the actual projector lens?

My vehicle is a daily driver and my halogen bulbs SUCK, but they are also constantly covered in bugs and my headlight sheetmetal covers have a lot of rock chips etc on them, so I know the headlights themselves are getting pinged by rocks regularly.

I'd hate to have an expensive and labor intensive set of projectors and potentially bulbs broken from road debris...

I'm also wondering what the driver is vs using the blackbird low/high bi-xenon setup using the 50W Morimoto mini D2S (or are the blackbird kits not available anymore?)

Thanks!

VIP1

Thanks.

I barely drive the car so no issue with bug guts or rock chips. I work from home now. So they've held up great.

A quick and easy upgrade over the Sealed Beam Halogen are the LMC Truck Housings. You can use upgraded Halogen bulbs in them or a good set of LED in them (there are threads on it and its in the Lighting FAQ -- 9011 replaces 9005, 9012 replaces 9006, but need some trimming to bucket since right angle). Check beam patterns and reviews of LED, some are crap (bad beam pattern, lose too much brightness as they heat up, etc) The LED I used are not available anymore but there are similar and better ones out now. I barely use them so I can't comment on longevity.

As for the Blackbird kit, the pics above do compare the Hella 60mm Projectors with a 35 watt HID Kit. That is what is in the Blackbird kit (you can buy the projectors on amazon ebay, etc and brackets on ebay). I used standard 35 watt instead of the 55 watt you mentioned. Ignore the color difference above. Its different bulbs. The step in the cut-off of the Hella 60mm is higher than others. With that said the Hella 60mm projector and mounting kit is a comparatively easy upgrade to replace the sealed beams with projectors. I preferred the step and beam pattern of the Sinolyn projectors so that is what I went with, but they are much more work to install. If you see my Hella 90mm thread (linked above), you'll see what I had to cut to mount those and that mod would also be needed for these Sinolyn. -- Actually looks like in there I linked to a thread on another forum showing the work involved but its gone. I had to do some cutting of the headlight frame behind the bulb buckets/holders. The "nubs" had to be cut off and the overall hole opened a bit.