FinLIFE

iTrader: (8)

Is it better to use an oem headlight assembly and retrofit a hid projector into that? or is it better to buy the halo headlights off of ebay and retrofit into that?

Reason I ask is because the ebay ones come with brand new clear lenses where mine started to show some wear already and also they have a projector already which might make the mounting of the new projector easier. Any opinions on this? I also noticed that the ebay ones use a different bulb for high beam, but I am not entirely sure. Can anyone confirm this?

thanks

sam430

iTrader: (10)

I'm looking to do an LS400 projector in the future too. If this is an easier more cost effective method then that would be great! good questions.

Kaydee

ebay ones won't fit as good (at least for our cars) and I'm not sure if having a projector in there already matters since size the projector you want maybe come in different size which will need a different bracket

FinLIFE

iTrader: (8)

oh, well I was thinking of picking them up if I can find a used set or something. Im mostly interested in them for the fact that they have a new clear lense. I was actually thinking of swapping lenses to my oem headlight when I do the retro.

sam430

iTrader: (10)

What happened the the new improved look lens from tophat?

GS300Rich

For my retrofit I just bought some old halogen headlights someone was selling on here. I am in the process of using the 3m headlight polish to polish the lens and then I am going to install a clear bra over the lens to keep them looking new. As far as if it is easier or one is better Im not sure. If you do buy headlights just make sure the mounting tabs are intact, and I dont know anything about the ebay headlights

cduluk

It depends if you like the look of the after-market headlights. Also depends on what projectors you plan to retro in them.

If your projectors are larger ones such as LS430, LS460, M35/45 or Q45's (which all have rather large shrouds) you'd be better off retroing them in oem headlights since there's a lot of room.

If you're going to use projectors such as TSX, TL, S2K, FX.. anything that's smaller, your best bet is to get the after-market headlights which are meant to fit a smaller projector.

Which after-market headlights are you thinking of getting? You'd need to determine the size projector they have and replace with an oem projector with better performance to replace it with.

durtysc300

what about buying new projector glass? isn't that the reason for a sharp cutoff line?(im a noob i know)

Kaydee

^ no glare for other drivers

cduluk

there's nothing you can do to the Q45's to get a sharper cutoff.

On ordinary projectors you can switch to clear lenses which will give you a sharp cutoff, but on the Q45 it's impossible, just the way they work.

mowmow

Don't cheapen your car with Ebay crappy projector style headlights. If you really want to do retrofit, goto hidplanet.com, there are plenty of resources and helpful people to help some of them will offer to do it for you for a fee. I met my retrofitter on there and he did a quad hid setup ( FX bixeon and valeo with 4 halos + superflux led blinkers ) which was awesome. I don't recommend putting clear bra on your headlights after because you need to understand when you look at your retrofit before the plastic cover goes back on, it's the sharpest, once you seal the plastic cover on, the light is already diffuse and if you add the clear bra on...you are just shooting yourself in the foot with further diffusing the beam coming from your projector. which defeats the whole purpose of doing a HID retrofit in the first place. This is from previous experience.

If you want halos, there are plenty of different one out there,just make sure you have the ballast set outside instead of stuff inside the light assembly
cos it's no fun if they go out and you need to bake your headlight open just to replace the ballast.
You can see my retrofit write up here if you are interested
Quad projector write up