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Diaita's HID Retrofit
I finally decided to get serious and retrofit some HID projectors into my Blazer. It seems like a lot of retrofits I read about are a few years old, and technology and available parts has changed, making our life easier.
Anyway, I set out with a few goals in mind. Of course questions and suggestions are great as this is my first attempt. -To stop hijacking others threads regarding HID and projectors, and pass on my experiences as I go. -Far better light output. As most know, the factory headlights are marginal. -Water resistant/proof. They will be submerged from time to time -It must look factory quality. -It can't be too difficult, again my first try. -Cheap would be nice, but not a top priority. -Unique. I don't want to completely follow someone's idea. So. My first step was to see what others were doing, I started researching on what others had done. Lots of great ideas out there, no doubt, and a lot of passion for who feels there's is better. Not a lot of different ideas on S10s mind you. First web site everyone should check out on retrofits is hidplanet.com! A lot of very, very knowledgeable people over there, and a lot are willing to give pointers to new enthusiasts like myself. That said, several guys here have helped steer me in the right direction also, thank you. For my project, I decided to get a set of eBay projectors. Simple 9005 halogen bulb projectors so I had clear lenses ànd a deeper housing to fit new parts into. |
I ordered a set of these today, 55W XB35 5000k bulbs with 5Five ballasts. Square lenses, and ocular shrouds. The Ebay lights came with LED halos, so if for some reason I want to try halos I have the option, DRLs perhaps.
I was going to go with the H1s until I talked to the guys at TRS, they were pretty convincing that I should try the D2S 3.0s. We'll see... BI-XENON MORIMOTO MINI STAGE III KIT (D2S) 3.0 |
Ooh, I want to see the output of these. They put a s***ton of R&D into them so we'll see how they perform. The square lenses should look pretty bomb in the blazer head light housings too. And coming from someone with 55W projectors, I will say, you won't need any kind of off road lights after you're done. :D
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Funny you say I shouldn't need more light. I installed a pair of Rigid D2s not long ago in the grille, and I'm contemplating 55W HID bulbs for my hi beams. I think I've talked myself out of a SR series light bar for the grille, but stay tuned, it's not off the table yet....
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I am tuned in, I want to do this as well
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Apparently the projectors I ordered aren't shipping until the 20th... Gives me time to change the wiring for the lights to disable the DRLs, and wire in a + feed for the HIDs.
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If you do decide on angel eyes, don't use the ones that came with the ebay housings. They suck and will fail quickly. If you can spare the cash, go with the xBled rings. I love mine, even with the relative dimmness of amber, they are still bright as fuu.
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Maybe that's why my stuff hasn't shipped...So I can add the XB LEDs. Thanks for the heads up!
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Haha, glad I could help you hurt your wallet a little bit more. :D
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subscribed
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Ordered a pair of 80mm LED halos to replace the pos halos that the eBay lights came with. Thanks for spending my money Thogert! :D Now I have to wait for parts to come in....
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My order shows as completed and shipped!!!!
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Nice, so the production 3.0's then. I didn't understand why they weren't shipping till today, until I saw it mentioned on hidp.
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I was reading a couple forums over the past couple days and a few people are having issues with their early 3.0s, but mostly just whining(and a lot of it!!). When I talked to him on the phone I got the impression I would be waiting a bit for them to finish them up, I guess that's why.
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I was in contact with TRS and by the sounds of it the projectors that are enroute are the tested production units with the latest version ballasts. Finally got a tracking number as well, and if all goes as stated, parts should be here Thursday!
I have been examining the eBay headlight housings, and it looks easy to waterproof. The only issue will be the ballasts(which are water resistant apparently) and the rear of the projector. Only other thing I'm thinking of changing is the corner marker in the headlight to LED, but most 194 bulbs are pretty dim. Any ideas? I rerouted existing wiring that went to the now deleted ABS pump to the junction block on the drivers side inner fender(unique to early 2nd gens). Should bolster the block enough to support about 500+ watts, and it already has a fuseable link. The ABS harness also had a 10ga(guess) ground. Soon I'll have new parts, and there'll be pics... |
My next set of HIDS
HYLUX's ballast |
They are certainly cheaper that the ones I bought. Maybe I'll try them for my next HID project. |
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Here is one of the pics of the output of the halogen projectors in the eBay housings for a comparison later on.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-q...128_174003.jpg |
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nice, so they'll be installed by end of the weekend? :D
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I love your enthusiasm! haha I am still waiting for the LED halos, they didn't make into the box. Early next week I hope.
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I'm waiting on replacement shrouds for the FX-R projectors I am retrofitting for my Denali. I opened the box a little after Christmas and found the shrouds were scratched up. TRS is giving me fits about it so I just bought another set. If they refund me the cost later, that's ok with me, but I want to get these in!
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I was sooo close to getting the FX-Rs, but I wasn't sure if I could fit them into the skinny S series headlight housings, and if they did, if they would look jammed in. When the X series mini 3.0 came out it was meant to be. The styling is beautiful for the Blazer body style IMO, the lenses are about 2.5" tall, and they are still short enough to fit the shallow depth of the headlights.
For a Denali, the FX-Rs would be the cats a$$! It looks like there is a massive amount of room in the housings, and the bigger lens wouldn't look out of place. Prefered I think. At any rate, guess what the maillady brought!!! 70mm x 80mm 5000k white halos. https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1391118987 |
Guess you have something to do this weekend now!
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I'll start by putting my factory headlights in the next day or two, then I won't need to rush things. I'll need to glue the bulbs in though, three of the four bulb retainers broke, or were broken when I pulled them apart.
I think the LED halos may be a little bright, I could see the circular shape burned into my retinas for 10 mins after testing them. |
i cant wait to see this project all finished up! im looking to do the same thing eventually. please, please, please take a lot of pictures of the process for us newbies that want to learn. thank you good sir.
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I'm sorry to hear the retainers were broken. I'd say send them back, but I know how anxious you must be to get these put in. If you can rig some way to mount them non-permanently that would probably be better. Even OEM bulbs only last a couple of years before output really suffers.
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Originally Posted by Thogert
(Post 617057)
I'm sorry to hear the retainers were broken. I'd say send them back, but I know how anxious you must be to get these put in. If you can rig some way to mount them non-permanently that would probably be better. Even OEM bulbs only last a couple of years before output really suffers.
And, I am taking lots of pics, of all the parts as I get everything figured out. Hopefully I can share some progress this weekend. |
Give us some output shots of the projectors. I know TRS has some shots, but I want to know how to perform right out of the box.
I'm SUPER excited to see this finished, by the way! :cool: |
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This picture is less than a minute after putting power to it for the first time. It really doesn't do it justice!! Right in the middle it has the blue flare that I've read about. As a reference, the porch light is a 60W soft white fluorescent bulb.
https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1391247929 https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-T...201_013329.jpg |
:icon_drool: Color flicker.
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Its really nice to see someone doing this the right way using projectors and not just stuffing them in the stock housings. Serious light output but a clean beam cutoff so you wont blind everyone. Well done sir.
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I despise when people put HID bulbs in halogen housings, and call it good enough. Sure it puts out more light, but it makes it no better on the road right in front of you where you need it. That said, I get satisfaction when I turn on the Rigids and can see their blinded reaction. :D
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I'm glad these look as well as they do, both performance wise, and aestheticly. Proper installs for the win!
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Well, I know which projectors I will be going with, Real nice output.
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Alright! Pulled some screws, and did some baking.
Here's how the lights came: https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1391302284 Unclipped the chrome bezel, and removed the four metal clips that hold the lens to the housing: https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1391302284 Removed all the hardware from the back, put the headlight assy on a cookie sheet, tried(semi sucessfully) to explain to the better half what I was if to, and set the oven to 250F: https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1391302284 8 minutes in the oven, and a butter knife(pry tool) later: https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1391302284 After pulling the lens and black inside trim: https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1391302284 |
Haha, explaining to the other half what you're doing with the oven is the toughest part of the project. :icon_wink:
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I tried explaining to her what I was doing. "Don't make a mess"
Anyhoo, I did get further the other night, but didn't upload pics... This is with the original projector removed so you can see the reflector bowl: https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1391373619 I didn't take a picture of it with the 9005 bulb support parts, but I'll do that as I'm disassembling the other side and edit this. Here is after I hole sawed the hole from the 13/16" to 1-3/4" for the projector base: https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1391373619 Still needs to be tidied up, but trying to make sure everything fits first. It fits! https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1391373619 https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1391373619 I had to sand out the hole slightly after the hole saw, but only slightly. The back of the Mini D2S 3.0 fits nearly perfect into the reflector bowl of the original. A bit of high heat silicone will set it very well, so very happy about that! |
My biggest issue I'm having is the shroud...
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Yeah good luck with that part. I was lucky that my housings fit one of the largest shrouds without any trimming needed. :D
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