tiguy99

Wait...according to

http://faq.auto.light.tripod.com/car-oem-hid.htm

5 series AND X5's use Hella projectors....

This is the part I have to research...but I don't think Hella comes in one size fits all. So far, I know there are 90 mm size projectors and the question is, do these fit well on our cars? These are readily available online and several auto makes use them. What do you guys think about these? Do they have that blue effect?

tiguy99

I hear folks put their headlamp units in the oven for like ten minutes on 400 degrees and they just come apart easily. This out'to (is that even a real word) save us some time right off the bat...just have to make sure nothings melted right? L L

themasta3

hey lex400sc, i've got a 92' ES300 and im looking to do what you did to your SC headlights. im in the process of finding a pair of 5-series projectors on ebay (happen to know where i can get a pair) and i planned on doing exactly what you did. i'm very interested in learning how you performed this retrofit. it seems that the 5-series projectors are the closest in size to our Lexus projectors. in the forum you said that u used a dremel tool to cut the lexus and 5-series projectors in half, correct?

what was the point of doing this mod?

what are u talking about when to say that you formed a flange out of the lexus projector?

you used the BMW HID projector and put it in the hole where the old Lexus projector was, correct?

whatever your procedure was, is there any way that you could possibly explain it more in-depth for me?

i'm really interested in doing this mod (i'm sure you can tell from all my questions). i already have an HID kit that i was just planning on glueing the bulbs into the housing (cuz the wont screw in correctly to a 9006 application), but then i read all of this stuff about people doing retrofits and how it made it look MUCH better. from your pics i can tell that you definetely did a GOOD JOB! your headlights look almost identical to BMW ones. and it's because of this that i want to do the same procedure that you performed. any info that you can tell me would be greatly appreciated. i'm even willing to call you if you think you can better explain it over the phone. ANYTHING YOU WANT!!! lol, i really wanna do this headlight mod. well, sorry for the long post....hopefully i'll hear back from you soon. thanks a lot!

Peace

Curtis

lex400sc

400 degrees will melt the entire headlight housing into liquid. Do not try this! In fact 250 degrees for 10 minutes will melt the housing. There is no easy way to open the headlight housing because the resiliancy of the adhesive is close to the failure point of the black plastic backing on the housing. In order to open the housing, there are two methods: the oven trick and the hot water trick. The goal is to soften the adhesive bond enough to where you can man handle it open. Man handle is not a term to be taken lightly though, you will have to put some real backbone into opening them. Lexus glue is a lot stronger than say Honda glue. Anyway, on to the tenchniques.

Before you do anything, remove all the metal clips, screws, and rubber nozzles from the headlight, anything you can. With the oven trick, you preheat your oven to about 250-300 degrees and then shut it off. Then you insert the headlight into the oven while it is OFF. Put the headlight on a palette and keep it as far away from the oven filaments as possible. The ambient heat will soften the glue. After about 15-20 minutes in the oven, remove the headlight housing. It should be very hot to the touch. Take a butter knife, putty knife, flathead screwdriver, or anything with a strong edge and start to carefully pry at the edges. Once you get a good wedge in all the way around, insert it back into a preheated oven for another 15 minutes and then pull it out. Pry a bit more at the edges with your tool then start to pry with your fingers when you can get a solid hold in it. It will take a lot of time and effort, and most likely soreness and pain afterwards.

The safer method is the hot water trick. First remove all the clips, screws, and nozzles from the housing. Submerge the headlight housing in 200 degree water and hold it submerged for about 15-20 minutes. Take it out and pry at it some. Put it back into a fresh vat of 200 degree water. You may have to repeat this process a few times. Eventually you will weaken the glue enough to pry it open completely. Once again, brute strength is required to break the bond. Lexus doesn't fool around with seals.

tiguy99

Thanks! The elaboration is truely helpful. I will use this information during my installation procedure. I'm also in the process of scouting some junk yards around to locate the E39 projectors from a wrecked 5 series or X5 as well. I'll keep you guys posted. IF that method fails, is it possible to arrange a group buy on some projectors from Hella? This would be a last resort but I'm in if I don't grab these projectors I'm in the process of getting right now.

lex400sc

For those of you seeking E39 projectors (BMW X5 & BMW 5-series) complete with ballasts and bulbs, there I have two sources for you. OEM they cost about $2400 a pair, through these guys you can get them for around ~$600 give or take which is about 75% off. In California, talk to Johnny info@illusion-lighting.com, and in Oklahoma, contact Vick poboindo@hotmail.com

themasta3

hey lex400sc, i've got a 92' ES300 and im looking to do what you did to your SC headlights. im in the process of finding a pair of 5-series projectors on ebay (happen to know where i can get a pair) and i planned on doing exactly what you did. i'm very interested in learning how you performed this retrofit. it seems that the 5-series projectors are the closest in size to our Lexus projectors. in the forum you said that u used a dremel tool to cut the lexus and 5-series projectors in half, correct?

what was the point of doing this mod?

what are u talking about when to say that you formed a flange out of the lexus projector?

you used the BMW HID projector and put it in the hole where the old Lexus projector was, correct?

whatever your procedure was, is there any way that you could possibly explain it more in-depth for me?

i'm really interested in doing this mod (i'm sure you can tell from all my questions). i already have an HID kit that i was just planning on glueing the bulbs into the housing (cuz the wont screw in correctly to a 9006 application), but then i read all of this stuff about people doing retrofits and how it made it look MUCH better. from your pics i can tell that you definetely did a GOOD JOB! your headlights look almost identical to BMW ones. and it's because of this that i want to do the same procedure that you performed. any info that you can tell me would be greatly appreciated. i'm even willing to call you if you think you can better explain it over the phone. ANYTHING YOU WANT!!! lol, i really wanna do this headlight mod. well, sorry for the long post....hopefully i'll hear back from you soon. thanks a lot!

Peace

Curtis

tiguy99

Thanks lex400sc! I've noticed some Ebay traffic as of late on these HID equpiment simply because of this thread (well..it helped somewhat)! During my search and hunt for proper lighting, your knowledge is 110% helpful and I commend you and Amrit50 and everybody that has pitched in in any and every way! This holiday season will be an HID experience for all to see! Forget the tree, let's see the cars! I've always wondered what first model ES300s would be like with HID. I asked that question last year. Now its time to find out! BTW...nice car! How many compliments do you guys get daily anyway? L L

Kyle Harty

iTrader: (17)

The conversion looks great in the SC, but I'd think it would look a little funny in the ES unless you did the high-beam projectors too. At least to me it wouldn't look right if you had two different projectors. Well, that's my 2 cents; good luck to anyone doing this, it should work very well.

EGainer

for the oven, i just set my oven on 200 degrees, and leave it in for 5 minutes, pry some, leave it in again, pry some. then repeat, the oven stays on all the time and nothing melts. that way goes pretty quickly... water seems like a bad idea to me, for example, when you are trying to reseal the headlight.... all that water is going to get into the headlight that you just cleaned out.

1loudlex

All I have to say is that I am VERY JEALOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek:

Adam " Lexist "

lex400sc

Yeah, 200-degree oven heat will do the same as 200-degree water so that'll probably work well too. The water gets everything wet, but no big deal. Water dries, water spots can be wiped away, and the water doesn't rust anything or affect the glue. It's up to you which method you prefer, but both dothe trick just fine.

tiguy99, you'll probably be paying too much on ebay. If the auctions exceed $600 for two projectors, two bulbs, and two ballasts, then contact my sources. Thanks for the compliment, I do get quite a few looks when I cruise around at night. Especially from SC owners thinking "how come I don't have HID???". I changed my fog light bulbs to amber yellow as well to complete the look.

themasta, the point of this mod is improved lighting, of course. A flange is a mounting ring , we cut a 3mm thick portion of the OEM projector out preserving the aiming screw pivots, and used this flange to epoxy bond it to the bowl reflector of the BMW projector. This way I am able to adjust yaw and toe of the beam.

tiguy99

Lex400sc, when I contact your sources, whom should I tell them sent me? What is your name? (you can pm the info to me if you like). This is the current situation...I've got the projectors (A6 from the auction I mentioned earlier). Now I remember you mentioning that they wouldn't fit properly. This is the situation... 1. Do the mod myself...I have a few installation techniques I'm deciding on performing
2. Have you guys at Illusion perform the mod for me. The only thing is, if you say that they won't fit the car's headlamp, then they probably will also. So upon this, can they swap these projectors for the Bimmer's for free? And would it be possible for them to give me a quote on how much the process would cost if I only needed the rest of the HID system (i.e. Bulbs, Ballast and whichever additional mods like wiring ect that would be needed).

Please let me know. I may also end up writing them as well. I won't need the install until some weeks from now so the timing is perfect if I discover the news now. Thanks again!
Mike