retrofitted projectors are done!!!

ovendenk · Post by **ovendenk** » March 20th, 2007, 12:20 pm

hey,

i took on the challenge this winter of retrofitting some projectors into my baby and let me tell you, it was worth the $$$ and time. went with BMW E46 bi-xenon projectors and a pair of 3" fog lamps for my highbeam flashing since you can't flash the projectors on and off (really bad for bulb). took about 3 months from buying parts to finishing the install.

if you are interested in good quality optics, check out http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/ . really nice guys and huge amount of info.

i've got more of a step by step process laid out on my site, so check it out. under mods-> exterior-> projectors. let me know what you think.

finished look

cutoff pics. first no lights, then lows, then highs. btw, pic doesn't do highs justice, they are amazing.

Dali · Post by **Dali** » March 20th, 2007, 7:05 pm

those look pretty sweet, good job.

prunn · Post by **prunn** » March 20th, 2007, 8:16 pm

really nice that how mx-3 lights should look like
for those who didnt get the time to enjoy it before yahoo exeded bandwith

mitmaks · Post by **mitmaks** » March 20th, 2007, 9:33 pm

looks nice

hoffman_BMX89 · Post by **hoffman_BMX89** » March 20th, 2007, 10:18 pm

thats sweet

hharb · Post by **hharb** » March 21st, 2007, 12:11 am

man, you are my f---ing hero... i mean you get those "professional shops" to make us a darn headlight and it takes them a year before they run away from us and admit that they screwed us up... i really love the work you've done any idea on the total cost?

ovendenk · Post by **ovendenk** » March 21st, 2007, 2:36 am

thanks guys. definitely feels good to be able to put a big DONE sticker on this project. cost wise, it's hard to tell. here's a brief outline of costs i had all in CDN funds.

$340 - projectors w/ ballasts, and bulbs
$80 - gts clear covers
$80 - 2 sets of foglights (first set didn't fit and couldn't return)
$50 - home depot (paint, epoxy, pvc fittings, etc)

so, give or take $550. i also had to buy a dremel for this. no way in hell you could do it without one.

BTW, i'm working on getting my own domain for my site real soon, so i should have the step-by-step back up again.

Mazdaracer · Post by **Mazdaracer** » March 21st, 2007, 1:41 pm

Good job Kevin!! Looks really nice.

greengoblin231 · Post by **greengoblin231** » March 21st, 2007, 9:43 pm

These are just stock mx-3 lights modified right ? or did you have to modify the body(bumper,fender) to get these to fit ? if these are direct plug and play lights, I'd consider you start making these and selling them cause you'd make out good. I would want a set if they are direct fitment with no modifications or very little modifications.

hharb · Post by **hharb** » March 21st, 2007, 10:37 pm

haha, check his website he's got all the info there...

ovendenk · Post by **ovendenk** » March 22nd, 2007, 12:32 pm

hey greengoblin231, these are in fact oem housings that have been modified. so, they are essentially bolt-on. now, you need a custom wiring harness because the stock one is garbage and you need to solder into a couple of wires under the dash for the relays to work properly. SO, i wouldn't call it plug and play.

now, about me making some, i have no interest in doing that. i would need to charge around $900-1000 for a set and as we've seen on here, no one on here is willing to pay that. that's to cover material costs as well as the time it takes to make these. this idea to make a gb is not new and you will find a thread by tatsu that explains why no one will take on the challenge of making these things for the masses.

i don't want to sound like an a--, but i really like the fact that i am one of few with this proper headlight mod done and would not like to lessen the significance of this by making copies for others. i learned a lot about optics throughout the procedure as well. if you want a set you should take the time a build a set, it's not terribly hard if you take your time with each and every step.

i am by no means the first to accomplish this feat. there's also guys like taras and patdiesel who have done it with great success. if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

PATDIESEL · Post by **PATDIESEL** » March 23rd, 2007, 2:39 am

Good job Oven. I always felt we were kindred spirits (whatever that means, lol).

I'll make you a set if you want- 1400 for the pair and you supply a set of good condition OEM lamps for me to work from. Will come with a wiring harness and relays, pretty much completed, but you'll need to wire it into the stock switch.
It is very labor intensive and the lamps cost a ton, the other smaller parts and materials are not that bad. So if you want to make your own set, get a junkyard set of headlamps, or start with broken ones like I did. They were free from a buddy with a wrecked MX. You can see enough of Taras' or The Oven's to get an idea of where to start. The rest is trial and error. The hard part is getting them in far enough to look clean and stil aim them easily. A bi-Xenon like The Oven's is a great idea since you only need to fit one lamp and a second if you want, but it does not need to be as perfect. Using lamps from a manufactured car like BMW or some other with a good projector is a good idea too since they will be cheaper. However, I found that the Hella lamps are a bit easier to fit b/c they are made with custom fitment in mind.

Jteezy · Post by **Jteezy** » March 23rd, 2007, 11:35 am

please tell me you guys are kidding me that you guys want 1000 bucks for headlights?! I did my retrofit and my buddies. Lets price this out

e55 projectors-150 bucks
e46 shrouds-100 bucks
xenondepot wiring harness-50 bucks
clear gts lenses-40 bucks

with labor and everything i would say 500-800 bucks is reasonable price for a complete retrofit considering varibles (projectors, shrouds, etc) not including ballast or bulbs, which you can find for pretty cheap anyways.
Nice retrofit by the way, what did you use for shrouds and why didnt you color mod them? they resemble halogen

ovendenk · Post by **ovendenk** » March 23rd, 2007, 12:35 pm

well then Jteezy, i will forward all the requests i get towards you.

just so you know, you need a halogen based bulb in the housing as well because during the day when the projectors are not on, you need to be able to flash the high beams and you can't flash on and off xenon bulbs. otherwise you'd need a bi-xenon projector and have to have them turned on at all times and when the bulbs are $100-150 for a pair. i'd rather use halogen.

and i really doubt that you can get a set of projectors, ballasts, ignitors, and bulbs for $150. i'm calling bs on that claim. mine were a steal at $300. your quote of $500-800 quickly jumps up $200-400 once you add in the cost of bulbs, ballasts, ignitors, and a halogen based light unit, so you too think it'll cost around $1000.

btw, i used home depot pvc fittings for the shrouds and i do not want to color mod them because that only worsens the optics and has no benefits, but thanks for the compliment.

pat, thanks and i know what you mean. it'd be cool if we could meet up one day. anyways, you do need a second halogen based bulb for the reason i mentioned above. i went with bi-xenon because i didn't want to spend the extra cash for proper auxillary highs and fog lights let me flash during the day.

Jteezy · Post by **Jteezy** » March 23rd, 2007, 3:36 pm

haha, who needs high beams? I dont use a high beam, that is completely up to the owner. The price i mentioned is what everyone on hidplanet forums are charging. Anyways nice retrofit, enjoy. Peace