Kick started my projector HID, DRL project today, 3" Mirimoto DS2 take some effort!

[RAAMaudio]

I bought a set of the Mini H1 to use in the car and the DS2 in the truck but decided to go all out and put in the bigger and better DS2 system in the car and will order another one for the truck, I guess I better put up an ad for the Minis....

This is taking some serious effort as a far tighter fit than the pics will show, had to recess the projectors a lot to get coverage with the shields which are also going to take a lot of trimming to make work.

#1, getting the lights apart is a pain in the arse with the adhesive Ford uses. I tested different methods, diamond cut off wheel, heat gun, combination and in the end the job would look like crap and take a great deal of effort.

This and how I used it save a huge amount of effort, it was a $17 demel saw blade and cuts, when used right, without melting the ABS back together.

I decided to cut out the backing and not even mess with the adhesive, I will use proper adhesive to glue them back together and then with the valley nearly all the way around will use black silicone sealer and make a really clean coved seal over it all, it will come out quite nice, pics will be posted when I get to that part.

I "cheated" a bit on the corner, no need to cut it out, will not show when done, left it a bit stronger that way....

First job is always the one that takes most of the time, that hole took a couple of hours to carefully make it just right, the second light will take 25% of the time at the most.

High beam replaced with Mirimoto 25mm DRL LED, they are VERY bright and look better than the picture shows, aluminum housing, etc......

See next post

 

[caliboy15]

is the MiniH1 a plug and play? or needs to make the H11 hole bigger?

 

[RAAMaudio]

35mm wide angle shot, the projector is a much bigger that the picture makes it look.

Rear view, I used a sanding drum for most of the holes and to remove the stock inner lip on this area so I could have more room for the back of the projector, adjusting them, installing bulbs, etc.....

I went to get some 3" black ABS caps but they were out and only had one PVC one, not a big deal as will be inside the lights, this will be used between the lock nuts and stock housing to hold the projector in place and allow some swiveling to adjust properly. Lots of fine trimming will be required, hole in the middle, etc. I could just screw the projector to the housing via 4 holes on the flange but then not adjustable easily.

PVC cap in the middle, on the right side is a rubber 3" ABS cap, it will be secured with a hose clamp and allow access to adjust the angles and or change bulbs if ever needed. This is going to take some trimming and some work on the frame rails, reshaped a bit, big hammer time, that part is done.

Those are the smallest but huge shields on the left, I had to recess the projectors a great deal so they will fit and they will take a lot of time to fit just right.

I will post more pics as this part of the job goes along.

Back view of DLR install, lots of fine work there as well, they are so bright in the daylight I can hardly look at them!

 

[RAAMaudio]

I was going to offer this as a service, having my very talented son do the work, just to time consuming on these lights thus very costly as others have seen and waited forever to get back. The Mini H1 would of been much easier but still considerable effort. I just hope somebody comes out with some very good aftermarket lights with good projectors or even crap projectors but easy to take apart so more can do this very important upgrade, mine is done for safety first and foremost, far more important to me than looks.

 

[RAAMaudio]

The Mini H1 would still need to be recessed a bit and add just a sleeve or a 2" ABS cap to make it adjustable, much less work than I did to fit the DS2. Mini Gatling Gun shields would pretty much just fit, no trimming, the rest of the job would take just as much time but the method to open them up I came up with will cut done on that hugely compared to others I have seen done.

If these lights would come apart in an oven safely I could do just a mini H1, GG install in a few hours at the most.

 

[RAAMaudio]

I am considering painting every thing black as the DRL and Projectors do not need the reflectors.

Not sure about the Mishimoto turn/park lights though, I might have to do a test.

Silver car, black lights, sounds good to me but open to ideas, please

 

[caliboy15]

nice! how much do you think you'll charge to do the retrofit?

 

[RAAMaudio]

Not planning on it now but when I see how mine go back together, how they look, consider only offering the Mini H1, etc...will reconsider.

Perhaps I will offer to do one set at a reasonable fixed price when my son comes to visit in a month or so and we can work out just how much time and trouble this would be for him to do and if a viable thing to offer.

 

[blurred]

Have you checked "greenkoukis" mini d2s3.0 mods on hidplanet? If you weren't aware, you can do some mods to these that will improve output, sharper cutoff, more colour etc.

 

[RAAMaudio]

Thanks, great info there, I will probably mod them since already trimming the sides of the area to make them fit snug, just a bit more work to do the mods.

I am using XB35 5k bulbs and 3/five ballasts with them which I hope is a good match, TRS said it would be for my needs.

PVC rear mounting cup so allow for alignment and solid lock down of the projectors, a fair amount of time getting this just right. I will add some beads of silicone after aligned to ensure they do not come loose.

Option on running connector to ballast, 1st is easier initially but requires removing ballast to take out the lights, which I have done a couple of dozen times so far. It also results in less choice of where to mount the ballasts, higher and more forward but very easy to seal.

This way is better for ballast mounting and headlight removal but harder to seal though I have a good idea I will look into.

3" pipe seal from hardware store, fits, seals, easy install, clears everything(with a slight tweak on the frame rails with a big rubber hammer but no worries on that) If I wind a curl into the wiring it would be easier to use the rubber grommet on the ballast harness, the idea I had above, I think this will work best.

How they look together for now, no shroud on the projectors yet though and the parking/turn bulb is not in straight.

 

[westcoaST]

Rick, I think black reflectors would look great. Don't forget to use ceramic paint, as it will get really hot in there.

I did not color my reflector for the turn signals in my HID headlights because my retrofitter said there would be very little light output, even with LED lights. I had my reflectors for the other beams (low and high) painted performance blue, and had the morimoto shields painted black. I also had an LED strip installed, which this weekend, I wired to a waterproof two pin quick release plug. I had to pick my mustang engine block, so I couldn't install my HIDS this weekend, probably next. Sucks when only weekends are mod days. At least I don't have to worry about snow.

 

[blurred]

Thanks, great info there, I will probably mod them since already trimming the sides of the area to make them fit snug, just a bit more work to do the mods.

I am using XB35 5k bulbs and 3/five ballasts with them which I hope is a good match, TRS said it would be for my needs.

If those are the new xb35 bulbs you have a great starting point. I have seen independent tests and they are among the top for light output (as new, not tested after significant hours). It looks like you already have the new style xb55 ballasts there (not the old style three/5 versions?) so again good stuff.
The only upgrade I would recommend (but a pricy one and not really "needed") is going to the Phillips 85122XV bulbs as they are brighter out of the box, and actually get brighter over time. Don't bother with the Osram CBIs as the underperform and dim very quickly (as in after a few months of usage)

I see you have the morimoto xb leds bulbs. They aren't bad but are very forward shooting and not incredibly bright. They will most likely be an upgrade from stock because of the way the reflector runs along the side of the bulb. Again, if you want to upgrade (again pricy...) the Triton V3 will be the best option.

I will be doing the same retrofit once this spring, but I won't be painting anything, I tend to like and OEM+ look where it doesn't seem "modded" but looks "updated".

 

[RAAMaudio]

These are the ballasts, I might have to spend a bit more and get the good stuff!

Like these!

 

[FearTheSnail]

How did this turn out for you?

 

[RAAMaudio]

I have been busy with other projects, old injury acting up and had a nasty bug so the lights have been on a back burner but I will finish them soon as finally have the EFR DHM turbo installed, just working out a little bug on it then start tuning!

It is not the turbo, it is something else on the car, the kit is incredible

I will just tape the one light together for now to get tuning runs done then get back to finishing them, in fact I might work on them today as waiting to get a part I need for the engine.

 

[blurred]

Come on!! its all about the lighting

Ive just ordered a set of Corolla LED projectors as well as a set of Murano LED projectors (and high beam led reflectors) to retrofit in (have to see which one fits best). It won't be as much light as the HIDs but a bit less power draw and will be a fun project to try out (now that my car finally arrived last week )

 

[tacomahogany]

So far so good, any updates?

I'm going to be doing quad Koito Bi-LEDs on my Fiesta lights. Gotta go nuts.

-Andrew @ TRS

 

[RAAMaudio]

Project is still on hold, going as still settling in to the RV and going to pull the turbo off next once I have a place setup to for that, while waiting for the next turbo, my third one, I will do the lights

 

[Mynameiscoco]

I bought a set of the Mini H1 to use in the car and the DS2 in the truck but decided to go all out and put in the bigger and better DS2 system in the car and will order another one for the truck, I guess I better put up an ad for the Minis....

This is taking some serious effort as a far tighter fit than the pics will show, had to recess the projectors a lot to get coverage with the shields which are also going to take a lot of trimming to make work.

#1, getting the lights apart is a pain in the arse with the adhesive Ford uses. I tested different methods, diamond cut off wheel, heat gun, combination and in the end the job would look like crap and take a great deal of effort.

This and how I used it save a huge amount of effort, it was a $17 demel saw blade and cuts, when used right, without melting the ABS back together.

I decided to cut out the backing and not even mess with the adhesive, I will use proper adhesive to glue them back together and then with the valley nearly all the way around will use black silicone sealer and make a really clean coved seal over it all, it will come out quite nice, pics will be posted when I get to that part.

I "cheated" a bit on the corner, no need to cut it out, will not show when done, left it a bit stronger that way....

First job is always the one that takes most of the time, that hole took a couple of hours to carefully make it just right, the second light will take 25% of the time at the most.

High beam replaced with Mirimoto 25mm DRL LED, they are VERY bright and look better than the picture shows, aluminum housing, etc......

See next post

Subbed for updates. would love to see how this turns out. Me and my friend wanted to buy a set of stock to play with.

 

[RAAMaudio]

I hope to get them done in the next few weeks while my car is apart in storage where I have to sneakily work on it in the early morning only while waiting for the third turbo change parts to be made, shipped, etc...In that time I have to take off the bumper cover and realign the DHM beam as it was a rush install by me and not lined up right, great part, just needs installed properly.

I have to make ABS ducting for all the coolers and the brakes which takes considerable time to cut and mold to fit.

I can at least work in the garage in our trailer on days I cannot go to the storage or after those hours but right now to hot and we might be buying a 2016 version of the one we live in now which will take considerable time to move into and modify to our needs of hauling the car.

Sure glad I am retired as no time left to have a job!

Rick