aldente

Hey, i just got a cheap plug and play HID kit and put them in the stock projectors of my Lexus 1992 ES300. Everyone is telling everybody to do a "retrofit". Well, my question is this, since the lexus already has projectors, could i just buy some quality ones such as Bosch or Valeo and slip them right into the slot and screw them where my stock projectors were? I'm very willing to buy the quality projectors, but i really dont wanna be doing any heavy custom work with the headlights.
On a simpler note, does anyone know the specs/dimensions of the stock projectors on the 92 ES300, so I could do the homework and matching myself?

Pheonix

Nothing. The projectors are non-removeable. The entire assembly must be cut out.
Either cut out the stock cut-off & develop your own, or shim the lens out about 3/8" to re-sharpen the cut-off at the expence of a reduced lens spread angle.

Or do both.

aldente

aww thanks...sounds like a pain in the ***.
Actually glare isnt really that big of a problem, it's just that
1. There is no color flicker (i.e. changing from shades of blue to purple to white, etc while looking at it from different perspectives)
2. They don't seem as bright as possible
3. There is not a beautiful slanted cutoff witht the nice ribbon of dark color like high quality projectors

But ill think about cutting it out, i just need to figure out what would fit now..

Pheonix

Trust me, they do glare. It's simply not civic levels of glare.
By shimming the lens out, the cut-off will re-focus to create a sharp cut-off. When re-focused correctly, you can introduce a lot of blue/purple into the cut-off.

You get a choice of either creating the most razor sharp focus no other projector can create (without the same lens adjustments), or you can create a relatively sharp focus, with more & more light bending the farther you get away from being razor sharp. (Eventually you go past the point of refracting nearly exclusively blue/purple. That's how the stock projectors are setup. They have passed the point of light refracting in the upper spectrum, and you refract the entire rainbow spread of colors.)

Pheonix

If I can dig out some pics a few years old, I can show you.
I've got one headlight out & apart right now. If I can find the time (Good luck fighting the woman on that one). I'll setup an HID in it on a semi-shimmed lens & show you the difference.

Pheonix

OK this is the best I can do.
I've had a phillips uliton (DS2, 6000K) kit for several years now.
Bone stock + HID



Shimmed lens + 9006 Sylvania Halogen



Shimmed lens + HID




*First picture taken by a crap sony mav. Other two by the new cheap crap china cam. The mav can auto-focus with the HID patterns. The china one has problems with it. I shoulda taken pics with the mav b/c you wouldn't see all the halo on the bedsheet I taped to the wall. (Because it really isn't there in real life.)

*The focal length of the stock lens is not far enough to focus it down correctly.
*The shimmed pictures have very minor tweaks to the cutoffs. Mainly to give more frontal light, and side light to counter-act the smaller angle of shimming a lens. HID's throw so much more light at all angles, this is not needed... I wouldn't recommend anyone else doing HID's to play with the stock cut-off's. Just shim the lens until you get a sharper cut-off with the balance of blue that you like.
*Shimmed out one curtian rod width b/c that's the fastest way to do it. About a 1/4" out, not the full 3/8" that will produce an insanely razor sharp cut-off.
The farther out you shim (to a point) the more refracting you'll get in the upper bands. Then you'll be insanely out of focus & it will look like crap.

Charlie97L

i'm sorry could you explain how to shim the lens? you obviously know what you're talking about... is it as easy as just putting a washer type thing in between the lens and the mount?

Pheonix

No it's not.
I did it by cutting a curtian rod to the diameter of the projector casing in the oven & gluing it on the projector casing. (Automotive Goop)

Then I ditched the crappy stock bolts that hold the bracket down (To hold the lens against the projector casing). I re-tapped the holes to a #10 machine screw & used longer screws to make-up for the extra space the shim causes.

MoreMGD32

iTrader: (1)

Do you have any pics you can post. Im haveing a hard time imagining the curtain rod and cutting it to form a mount for the lens. THis would be much appriciated. how much would you say you shimmed the lens outward? i have 10000K hid would this benefit me at all?

Pheonix

It's the same as making angel eyes, or playing with curtain rods in arts & crafts. You cut it the length you need, melt it, then make it a circle. On average, it's shimmed out about 3/16" from the outside of the housing. From the inside of the housing (Where it actually sits), it's roughly 1/4" farther out than stock.


Ya it'd help anyone with rebased bulbs. It would make a *better* beam pattern with a halogen bulb, but I wouldn't do it on halogen & give up even a small amount of the horrendously poor light spread on a halogen. If someone were doing an HIR swap I would probably tell them to do it.. It would help you. Taiwan 10K 35w HIDs are about the same light output as an HIR (Just a bigger spread & it's higher up the color charts) so ya, you should do it.

10K!? Damn! I'd be more up to buying some 55w ballasts to get some light outta them purple things! I'd love to see those on a warm-up. My 6K phillips turn purple, then the arctic/white color.
I bet those things turn a real pretty purple during warm-up on a good ballast!

knight1987

I am interested in getting some White lights for my 92 ES 300? How much would it cost to have someone do it for me?

Pheonix

$38,000usd
j/k j/k~!
Get on ebay & see. What are good quality rebased kits now? $300-350? $5 for a curtain rod $5 for a thing of Automotive goop.