TemjinX2's tsx retrofit project

[TemjinX2]

Anyways guys, after everyone telling me tsx projectors won't fit into depo lights. I decided to take a stab at it anyways. The reason i'm doing this instead of just buying the oem xenons is because this way is cheaper. Second reason is the fact that the mercedes oem xenons are crap and are basically the kia's of the hid projector world. I wanted something with a wide beam and a sharp cut off. Just as i figured, there is enough space to fit the projectors. I do admit its a tight fit. here's how the head light came straight out of the box. as you can see the person i bought it from didn't pack it well or and the shroud on the head light is a POS. i'm glad i bought the insurance, so i did get another set. It just took me 2wks. here's a pic of the depo projector. As others have said, it basically is a replica of the e55 projector. The great thing about these head lights they came with four mounting points to hold the projector in. I can use the four points as a basis to keep my rotational align straight. here's the mock up the projector fits within the stock space. So i can use the depo seal and keep it stock looking. With a little squeezing, the projector does fit securely among the stock four mounting points. I'm going to drill four additional points, so i can used screws to secure it into the reflector. sorry for the bad wall shot. it was taken at a 30 degree angle, since i was talking to my girl friend on the phone and taking the pic at the same time. The rotational alignment isn't as bad as it seems. its probably off around 5 degrees, which is easily adjustable. the projector is in stock form, i'll probably do a washer mod later to add more blue to the cutoff. Once i do some final adjustments i'll jb weld the screws. I'm still debating whether i want to buy a set a shrouds or just paint the projector black to keep it stock looking. ANyways, i work on my project a little after work and sometimes on the weekends. So this will probably take me a couple of weeks like my carputer did. I'll post more pics once i have some thing more solid. Right now, i'm just doing initial aligments and mock ups.

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[alchang32]

good stuff...keep up the good work!

[Mu9enx]

awesome!! i'm also trying to do a retrofit, however i wanted a TL. do you know if the TL would fit? i don't remember the sizing for the TSX, but i know that hte TL is just a few mms bigger than e55 pos. thanks!

[Mu9enx]

oh, and just to let you know, you didn't get the depo headlights.. you actually got hte eagleeyes.

i should know, i had both of these. the depo ones can probably make it better because it actually is an replica of the OEM BiX

[TemjinX2]

i just bought the cheapest ones, so i assumed it was depo. To answer your question, i dont think you can fit the TL's unless you cut into the bottom part of the reflector to account for the selenoid.

Its possible, but would be a little more work.

[boohooramblers]

Originally Posted by TemjinX2

i just bought the cheapest ones, so i assumed it was depo. To answer your question, i dont think you can fit the TL's unless you cut into the bottom part of the reflector to account for the selenoid.

Its possible, but would be a little more work.

Very innovative! Great stuff!
Please keep us posted on how they perform / behave once they're in the car.

[TemjinX2]

updated 5-9-08

i figure i would give a update. I'm almost done with the first side. i might do a little more of a adjustment then start on the second side.

here's a pic of the cut off with 3 washers on the bottom holes




i drew out the mounting holes with a blue pen




here's my projector setup

i used 8-34 screws with 8-34 nuts. I added rubber stoppers as well to relief some pressure being put on the plastic reflector. I added springs as well between the top of the projector and where the screws meet the reflector.

The spring is designed to keep tension on the projector so it will absorb the impact when you go over a speed bump. Without it, you'll notice your light will flicker when you go over bumps or drive on a bumpy road. It doesn't do anything to the bulb, but it gets kind of annoying.

When i mounted this i realized its better to have the screws facing the other way. This way you can just tighter the nut and adjust for the rotational, the tension from the spring will keep the projector moving in or out based on how i tighten the nut.




here's a pic of it mounted to the reflector




pic of the rotational once mounted on the reflector

its slightly off to the right, but i think i can live with it. I might adjust a little more later before the jb weld.

[c32used]

[Mu9enx]

beautiful keep it up!

wanna try and do a s2k retrofit on mine?

[TemjinX2]

Here's my update 5-27-08

i decided to removed the lower part of the head light to make it easier to work with.

It seems to be held to the head light housing at 3 ball joint locations. They can be pulled out with some light amount of force.





Pic of the lower head light with the mounting holes.

Drilling the mounting hole location is probably the most important part of the whole project. Your drill location will determine how much rotational adjustment you have to do later. So take your time






i discovered having the screws faced inward was better. This way i can make any adjustments by using a philips screw driver




pic of it lit up





here's a wall shot. As you can see i fixed the rotational angle.

The camera was set on auto with no flash. The beam is a lot more blue in real life.





Right now i jb welded the screws today. I ordered some oem nissan head light sealant, to seal up the head lights. Hopefully i can have them mounted later this weekend

[TemjinX2]

Originally Posted by Mu9enx

beautiful keep it up!

wanna try and do a s2k retrofit on mine?

you can probably just do it yourself. Its not hard, just takes a lot of time to do it right. I believe the s2k's should fit no problem, since the tsx's are wider then the s2k. Depth wise, there's still a lot of space left. I tried to push the projectors as far as the stock projectors were.

The pics i provided should give you an idea where to start. I'll put a materials list and cost break down.

[redfarsi]

dude this is bad ass!!! sweet stuff i think this needs to be stickied. i cant wait to see like a 1v1 comparison from before to after.

[steve_bris]

I have a set of RHD TSXs sitting in the garage, from when I did my HID retrofit, if anyone wants to buy them .... RHD ones are very hard to find.

[TemjinX2]

you should try posting in the classified forum. You might get more of a response.

[jdmimax]

keep up the good work! this seems aggravating lol

[TemjinX2]

My oem nissan head light sealant came in the other day. I would recommend this sealant to reseal your head lights. Its the same stuff nissan, mercedes and bmw use.

Its about $20 a roll. I bought two rolls, but one was a enough, since these head lights are relatively small.

I applied layers around the edges, i would recommend apply thinner layers. The layers i put on the first time were too thick.









I used a heat gun to semi melt the sealant, then i put on the head light lens. I used pliers to force the lens all back to its original position. Then i used i heated it again and let it cool in the original position.

here's the finished product





i finally mounted them tonight. all i have to say is i hate taking off german bumpers. Japanese bumpers are a lot easier to take off and require less tools.

after struggling to take off the bumper, i was able to mount the head lights. I drove around a bit with them on. I'm pretty happy with the way they came out. I didnt have my camera with me, so i'll have wall shots and exterior shots probably on sunday.

[c32used]

Very nice!

[TemjinX2]

as promised, here are the pics mounted on my car.


I tapped my harness to the side markers, so i dont have to worry about the xenon present setting.

It looks pretty stock as you see with the exception of the black housing.







wall shots

the driver is slightly more white then the passenger. I attribute this to the cheap chinese 50watt hid bulbs i'm using. I'll pick up a set up of philips 50DL later. The ballasts are 50watt chinese ballasts.

[TemjinX2]

i'll try to take some more shots later. I'm very happy with the retrofit. I drove it around LA last night and on the freeways.

Here's a materials bought break down

1. eagle eye black head lights $207

2. tsx projectors $160

3. harness $45

4. 50watt hid ballasts and bulbs $150

5. miscellous screws, bolts and springs $30

6. oem nissan sealant $20 per roll (bought 2, only needed 1 )

total $632

retrofitted tsx projectors priceless.

items used, but not bought


drill

dremel

heat gun

300watt computer ps for ballast testing

[redfarsi]

and the amount of hours/days spent?

awesome project by the way

[TemjinX2]

i just worked on a little bit at a time during the work day and weekends. if i had time off i would say probably 3-4days of solid work.

[rsxer63]

Is there any projector that will basically bolt right in to replace the Depo one and provide a better output?

[TemjinX2]

Originally Posted by rsxer63

Is there any projector that will basically bolt right in to replace the Depo one and provide a better output?

i believe the e55 hid projector, since the depos are just replicas of the oem bixenons.

[NOMO]

Good thread, I'm looking to have some one retrofit a set of M3 lights into my CLK. I picked them up today.

[TemjinX2]

thanks...

i updated my head lights. I shaved away the glare lines and i got some e46 shrouds and added them as well. Its a little brighter now with the glare lines gone and theres more color. Still not as bright as stock clear head light cover. I also repainted the black head light cover. It doesnt seem like eagle eye painted the cover, seems like they just primered it.