jvxdriver

I just sold a pair of non-afs rx330 projectors to a forum member on hidp. He wanted his projectors to be modded to get the most out of them. So I swapped out the oem polka-dat lens with a bmw e30 clear lens. The e30 clear lens is notorious for giving out the sharpest cutoff.

He also want a perfectly straight and wide cutoff. So, I made custom curve shield to replace the oem flat shield. With a custom shield, you can space it in reference to the clear lens to get the optimum focus at certain range, just like a display projector used in a classroom. I spaced the custom shield so that the output cutoff is super sharp at range between 30ft and 100ft.


Modded non-AFS RX330 projectors with e30 clear lenses and custom-made curve shields:



Indoor Testing at 20ft:



Outdoor Testing At 80ft:




Zoom-in (scattered light above the cutoff results from reflection off the Rav4 window):

(the e30 clear lens give a sharp cutoff going from white to blue, without the soft smooth transition)


Here's a video of the cutoff in action:

I'm going to miss these projectors

RX_330

Looks great! I understand for aesthetic purposes the reasons of a curve shield, but what about functional purposes? What are the benefits and drawbacks of a curved shield compared to flat shield?

ohiois350

iTrader: (13)

man that look awsome I wish I have that in my 08 camry which I sandwich the AFS RX projectors with stock shield

jvxdriver

With a custom curve shield, you can lower it by about 1mm to expose extra lighting. It also increase intensity on the sides too. Other than that, it's mainly for aesthetic reasons, with a sharper cutoff, wide, and color flicker. It's a personal preference. Some people like to see their cutoff bounces off walls and other cars.

I saw you on hidplanet a while back. Did you ever get that IS/RX hybrid projector going?

abounly

iTrader: (27)

That looks amazing. Hmm i have a set of FX-R's do you think that the stock lens is good enough? Or should i buy another set of lens?

jvxdriver

^ Your FX-R's already has clear lens. You don't need to get another lens. Besides there's no other clear lens to replace it. The e30 clear lens doesn't have the same focal point as the FX-R. If you put in the wrong clear lens, your output will be totally distorted.

The only thing I don't like about the un-modded FX-R is that it has too much color at close range. Some people like it, but at the expense of sharpness at longer range. With a custom shield, you can space the shield closer to the lens which gives you less color but increase sharpness.

Here's a pic of the modded FX-R with custom shield intentionally spaced to get a thin color band but extra sharpness:

(this is a special shield I made with star-like slits to create the prism star above the cutoff for crazy flicker effect)

Here's a closeup at 35ft:



Here's the video of your modded FX-R in action:

In the video, you'll notice that at 20ft range, the colorand is a mixture of yellow, orange, and purple, but at 35 and 80ft, the color come alive and the cutoff is still sharp.

abounly

iTrader: (27)

That's amazing. I haven't tested them out lately, but I would prefer more sharpness vs color. The blue tint looks nice, but not too much to my liking. Do you make custom shields for sell?

I would attempt it, but after looking at your work it seems pretty tough.

jvxdriver

It just takes some practice and a little patient when working with custom shield. It's just a hobby I'm doing on the side. I don't sell them. When time permits, I sometimes do it for others when not too busy with family and work.

j three

Hey jvx,Awesome work! I have a couple of questions for you. I remember you saying you wanted to check out RDX projectors on hidplanet in the projector comparison thread. Have you checked them out yet? I always notice they have awesome color and output on the road. Also do the bixenon RX330's perform as good as the non bi RX330s on low beam mode? I eventually want to do a quad setup on my 99 LS (bi x2 or lo+bi) and want width and depth. What would you suggest? I have lots of space in the housing, enough for an LS430 in the lowbeam spot and enough for an fxrin the hi beam area without cutting I believe. LS430's are out of my price rane, however I see some of the modded projectors hold their own in comparison.Thanks for all of the knowledge and time you give to the community on CL and hidplanet.

jvxdriver

The RDX projector hasn't been talked much on hidplanet. I've seen them on the road in socal, and I'm very impressed with their performance and color, but I've never got a chance to get a hold of one for comparison testing against the other well-known projectors. I think it has lots of potential.

As for the rx330, both non-afs and afs versions are single lowbeam projector (not bixenon). The rx330 has its own halogen highbeam housing. Only the newer rx350 is bixenon, acts as both low and high. Between the non-afs and afs rx330, they are both great projector when modded (I like the non-afs version better).

As for your 99 LS, I'm sure it can handle quad without problems. It's a huge headlamp with lots of space to play. I recommend single projector in your lowbeam housing, and bixenon projector in your highbeam housing. For single, I recommend either s2k, rx330 or sc430. Don't get the rx330 unless you can mod it. For bixenon, I recommend FX-R. If you can't get s2k, rx330, or sc430, then go for quad FX-Rs. You'll love it. Good luck.

j three

Thanks! Yeah I meant 350 bi-xenon . I never see sc430's for sale.

ohiois350

iTrader: (13)

Nah, I didn't have the gut to do that,but i love the hybrid you did on your IS

jvxdriver

The sc430 projectors are hard to find. The sc430 with clear lens has same output as the ap1 sk2. I've found that a hybrid sc430+rx330 yields greater output than s2k:





Yeah, rather than modding the rx330 with custom curve shield, try mating a sc430-front with an rx330-back. The sc430-front already have a curve shield and with the rx330 bowl, you'll get great result.

TommyBlaze

Hi JVXdriver,

Where can I get an E-40 lens? I have an unmodded RX330 non-afs projectors for my 8th gen civic Si sedan. This will be my first retro, and I read up on a custom sheild fab thread somewhere, I am really good with my hands, so no worries there. It's just that I don't see the Retro-fit source selling the E-40 lens. I see them selling the "Black" series as a compatible clear lens, but not an E-40.

(Every time I see the E-40, I think of the rapper, lol Ooooh)