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So I was helping a bud retrofit/convert his NC Miata halogen projectors to HID projectors, and for fun I Googled "crv hid retrofit" and found a few threads of people swapping in Morimoto D2S retrofit kits as almost plug and play. Supposedly once the lens is removed, the HID projector bolts right into where the halogen assembly once sat. Beyond a few pictures and "yeah it worked" there was not much information on the subject.
Considering that the stock lights in the CR-V are not that great (even with higher performance bulbs) I decided to order the retrofit kit and see if it is really as easy as it seems. Even if its a lot more work, I have done stuff like this before and I will make it work.
Anybody ever swapped in a proper HID kit (not just the bulbs in the halogen housing... ) so I have as much info as possible before I start this project?
I also plan on making a detailed write up w/photos when I install the kit so that if anybody else wants to attempt it, they will have a lot more info than I would of had.
All the parts were shipped earlier this morning, so hoping I can do the retrofit this weekend. I will keep you all posted on how it goes. If everything goes well, hoping to get a nice write up made by sometime next week.
I did a full Morimoto Mini H1 retro on my EG hatch. If you have ANY questions feel free to PM me. I plan to do one on the CR-V some time in the near future.
I had to get different housings for the EG becasue the glass is fluted but the CR-V should be fine using the OEM ones. Baking them in the oven is the sketchiest part LOL. Be sure to bake them long enough before reassembly to get the glue GOOD and soft so they don't leak when set.
I did a full Morimoto Mini H1 retro on my EG hatch. If you have ANY questions feel free to PM me. I plan to do one on the CR-V some time in the near future.
I had to get different housings for the EG becasue the glass is fluted but the CR-V should be fine using the OEM ones. Baking them in the oven is the sketchiest part LOL. Be sure to bake them long enough before reassembly to get the glue GOOD and soft so they don't leak when set.
Hey nice set up you have there. I like the shroud you picked, as it blends in with the chrome and looks as factory as its going to get. I ordered a similar shroud, as I hope to have the projector blend in with the stock housing as much as possible. I am personally trying to avoid the "eyeball" look with this retrofit, as it doesn't really go with the rest of my CR-V. On the contrary I have seen some photos where they painted the reflectors and shrouds all black, and it came out great. It all depends on the look you want.
Now the biggest question I have for you (and probably a few others on the fence of trying this) was how much Dremeling/cutting was required for your particular setup? From what I have found on the CR-V it seems to be a no-cut operation due to the stock H4 assembly (Morimoto D2S is pretty much designed for this size and includes a few adapter washers for alignment) and the rather large size of the reflector housing. Now I know a Civic hatch with an H1 setup may have nothing to do with a CR-V, but from my experience with Hondas, many parts are designed similarly across many models, regardless of what it may look like on the outside. My primary concern being the back where the lock nut locks the projector in place, as I have seen it sometimes be to thick to properly thread the lock nut, making some modification necessary. Just curious what you had to do to properly fit in your projector.
UPS has just delivered the goods! Everything checks out and is ready to install! So far I am super impressed with this kit. All these pieces are metal (where applicable) and have that "quality heft" to them. Looking forward to getting these things installed!
Hey nice set up you have there. I like the shroud you picked, as it blends in with the chrome and looks as factory as its going to get. I ordered a similar shroud, as I hope to have the projector blend in with the stock housing as much as possible. I am personally trying to avoid the "eyeball" look with this retrofit, as it doesn't really go with the rest of my CR-V. On the contrary I have seen some photos where they painted the reflectors and shrouds all black, and it came out great. It all depends on the look you want.
Now the biggest question I have for you (and probably a few others on the fence of trying this) was how much Dremeling/cutting was required for your particular setup? From what I have found on the CR-V it seems to be a no-cut operation due to the stock H4 assembly (Morimoto D2S is pretty much designed for this size and includes a few adapter washers for alignment) and the rather large size of the reflector housing. Now I know a Civic hatch with an H1 setup may have nothing to do with a CR-V, but from my experience with Hondas, many parts are designed similarly across many models, regardless of what it may look like on the outside. My primary concern being the back where the lock nut locks the projector in place, as I have seen it sometimes be to thick to properly thread the lock nut, making some modification necessary. Just curious what you had to do to properly fit in your projector.
NO cutting was involved. But when you're tightening the projector into the housing you get one shot. The nut is meant to deform to the housing. You have to make sure to keep the projector as DEAD LEVEL as possible so your cutoff lines are level and even. It was fairly straight forward. ALSO make sure to check the opperation of the
Post up lots of pics when you're done I'm trying to decide if I wanna go flat black housings and projectors or keep em chromed like the EG. I usually like the chromed look personally.
Just out of curiosity what made you pick the D2s vs the Mini H1?
Post up lots of pics when you're done I'm trying to decide if I wanna go flat black housings and projectors or keep em chromed like the EG. I usually like the chromed look personally.
Will do. I wasn't sure what color to go with either, but decided on the chrome to keep with the look of the car. In my opinion the flat black wouldn't go with my build, but I'm sure it would look great on some of the CR-Vs around here.
Was able to bench test the lights and test out the bi-xenon solenoid, and they work great. I also really loving the sharp cutoff and the bright white of the 4200k Osram bulbs.
So I got the lights all installed and wired up. Unfortunately I had forgotten to epoxy the shrouds to the projectors, so when I closed to hood to go for a test drive they fell off lol . Will post good pics when I get that sorted out tomorrow.
Here is a sneak peak at the lights though, the chrome shroud came out looking better than expected.
I got everything from the retrofit source & researched the hell out of everything on HIDPlanet before I attempted it.
D2S 3.0 bixenon, 55w Ballasts, & 5,500K bulbs all by Morimoto.
Initial setup:
Apollo shrouds I think
2 different sized halos which ended up coming out at slightly different colors
3" orange XBLED strip as a side marker wired to a relay to also blink when the blinkers were engaged.
So I finished the project, and have been driving and adjusting them for the past week or so. I am finally happy with everything, and will start writing the DIY today. The on-road results are spectacular, and still amazes me how nice and bright they are (especially the bi-xenon high beams!).
I got everything from the retrofit source & researched the hell out of everything on HIDPlanet before I attempted it.
D2S 3.0 bixenon, 55w Ballasts, & 5,500K bulbs all by Morimoto.
Initial setup:
Apollo shrouds I think
2 different sized halos which ended up coming out at slightly different colors
3" orange XBLED strip as a side marker wired to a relay to also blink when the blinkers were engaged.
09-14-2015, 06:09 PM
Proper gen 1 HID retrofit?
) so I have as much info as possible before I start this project?
. Will post good pics when I get that sorted out tomorrow.
