2000 ex. Need to get new headlights now that I have HIDs. Mine are fogged and yellowing and the left one's mounts are destroyed after getting clipped. I don't want to buy new ones just so I can throw them in the oven and bake at 300 degrees. And I really don't want to spend $600 at PJDM. So, guess I'm going to go third party. Best place to buy them from then?

 

Might go up to my local Summit and buy a pair made by Anzo. But they come with the small amber piece which I would like to eliminate. Also, tey have plastic horizontal lines running across the lens.

 

Oem at ICB

 

Bust a DIY black housing on them and then clean and polish the lenses. Good as new in my opinion and u save yourself at least $70 if u plan to buy the blacked out cheap ones. Once you're there, might as well eliminate the amber reflector that you so dont like.

 

I got some 'oem style' on ebay, put them in the oven and put tsx hids in them, they leak sometimes but overall pretty good for like $130. I had mixed results with ebay. One pair I got was total garbage, paint peeled of, they leaked, horrible beam pattern etc. Best way is oem then do a really good job sealing them back up.

 

You no read post.

The baking thing freaks me out.

 

I might try TYC, the make oem led tails for the scion, so I am assuming they have to be somewhat decent.

If you have HID's you will need projector style lights, I do not recommedn opening up lenses, never seem right after.

 

Says Mr. Special Brownie

You don't have to bake, a heat gun works as well. It's super easy.
I'll sell you mine if you add cash to your stock ones

My friend got one for $30 or so on ebay.

 

Lol, so... tell me how they fit in my OEM ones right now?

 

I'd do that if my left one wasn't broken. The top two mounts are destroyed. Zip ties to the rescue! I'm thinking I might just buy the Anzo editions at my Summit for $120. That'd be comparable to buying a set of OEM replacement ones plus shipping so, no harm no foul.

 

You should look into a HID retrofit if you want better lighting. You can get bi-xenon projectors for $120 shipped, a DDM H1 kit for ~$30, and relay harness for $30.

Total = $180 for a set of HID's that are better than BMW, Infinity oem ones. Oh and they take all of 2 hours to install. I'm doing mine soon, will be making a video/tutorial so people see how easy it is.

Any junkyards in your area? Shouldn't cost more than $40 for a set of OEM lights there

 

Ebay my good sir! I've bought two different black housing headlights one for my 98 civic and a pair for my del sol witch you can see in my profile picture and I never had a problem with them. There just like the jdm ek fog lighs everone say's there cheap and plastic...well there really pretty good and glass. My girliend

 

Oh and you don't need a retro fit for hid's just get the h4 hid's that's what I did and they fit perfectly and I got them brand new for 40 buck's from my local flea market.

 

Gah, why does no one read my post?! I ALREADY HAVE HIDS AND THEY ARE ALREADY INSTALLED. I bought mine for $54 shipped with a one year warranty. Win.

EDIT: ...Unless you were talking about a retrofit into projector headlights. I'm actually fine with how my HIDs work in my OEM ones. What's the deal?

 

I see my answer to sde was wrong. If you could shed more light on this retrofit, I'd love to try to do it. I assume I have to open the headlight to do this of course. I also thought projectors were something someone wanted to stay away from though, due to ricer-ness and unreliability? It seems you're tewlling me I would buy the projectors and then replace the output with another proven set of HIDs? What is the bonus from going from my H4 bulb HIDs to these bi - xenon projector retrofits?

 

You're glaring the crap out of everybody with your plug-n-play kit.

I'm talking about fitting OEM HID projectors into your stock housing. They've made a custom projector (Mini Morimoto) that not only performs better than many OEM projectors but is easy to install as well. Advantages? Why do the higher-end cars (BMW, Infinity, Lexus) come with HID projectors stock? Better, more consistent lighting of the road, that sexy cutoff, much wider beam pattern, and in general better visibility without glaring the **** out of everyone else.

And ricers buy Ebay projector headlights. Stay away from those as the projectors suck and aren't designed for HID's. The projectors you want are either from a car that already has them from the factory (cut it out and fit them into your housing), or buy the Mini Morimoto's that fit easily with NO CUTTING!


Here is a link for you to check out regarding HID retrofits VS plug and play kits
https://honda-tech.com/forums/lighting-107/ref-automotive-lighting-color-you-1768060/

I'm glad you want to do it the right way and not just throw a HID kit into your stock headlights. They glare the crap out of everyone and have a horrible beam pattern.

Here are a couple retrofit's I've done for my friends and my car

My prelude (Mini Morimoto H1)


The cutoff (HID kit in your stock headlights don't look anything like this)


My friend's Mazdaspeed Protege (Mini Morimoto H1)



Same car, different projectors (OEM Pontiac GTO projectors)


This is the site if you want to get the Mini Morimoto projectors (PM for free shipping code )
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/pro...roducts_id=221

 

retrofit is the way to go. Got my kit from retro solutions, $200 for everything. projectors, bulbs, harness, relays, and controller.





ninja edit: read more of the description on the website for them and sounds like they install the same as the kit i have. I like the look of transparent housing more so if i ever find myself needing to retrofit again, i will most likely go this route. thanks for the info

 

Your cutoff doesn't look like the Mini Morimoto's at all, you have the predecessor to the Morimoto's G1/G2 projectors if I remember correctly?

 

i'm not sure what they are honestly. on there website the only identifier i can find with regards to the projector says "g3 type".

they definitely don't have the same cut-off that's for sure, not that i'm sure it really matters :p but the large projector which i used has this pattern



where as the small projector they offer with the kit has this pattern, which i think more closely resembles the morimoto's.

 

I remember back in the days looking to get that, then the Morimoto's came out.

Here's a thread comparing the two, he ends up saying the Morimoto light output is better but G3 has it's upsides

http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/show...-G3-vs-mini-H1

 

I ended up finding that retrofit source before you even sent it to me. I went researching like crazy. So, it would benefit be to find the cheapest headlight set I can then right? Because the only thing I need to worry about is fitment to the body? Because bulbs and reflectors that come with the headlight won't matter correct?

What would be an advantage to going mini Morimoto instead of Low beam TSX's or Bi - Xenon TL's/ S2K's? I'm on retrofitsource and I'm a little confused on what I would need to buy for my setup. If I were to get bulbs, does it matter if I want to go Philip's D2S's or Morimoto color? I'm really appriciative that you brought this up to me. I honestly had no clue there was an upgrade farther than my HID bulb/ plug and play kit. Seems like the only hard thing to do is fitting the projector into the headlight!

 

The only hard thing is really simple as it gets - it comes with adapters so you don't have to cut anything - you just put it through and tighten the locking nut.

Yes get the cheapest headlights you can find, or just take 4 hours to do your own set. I will be ordering mine soon and make a DIY video.

The TSX/S2k projectors need much more work. You have to cut the reflector bowl in your headlights and figure out a way to mount them, then you have to make sure they are aligned properly. With the Morimoto's you can easily change the alignment because it's held in by only the locking nut in the back.

 

Sounds good. The only thing about that I don't like is that I would like to take the challenge of TSX/ S2k lights. Also, I love the look of oversized projectors in an OEM setup. But money - wise, time constraints and honestly, with lack of ability, it sounds like Morimoto's are the way I should go eh?

Could you help me with what I should purchase on retrosource? The site looks great minus the price tags haha. Glad you have a shipping code though! Have any leads on finding cheap, unmolested OEM headlights? If I don't have to open the headlights for morimoto's though, I would rather not open a set just to paint them either. May just go with a black Anzo set anyways.

And Morimoto might actually be better than TSX/ S2k setups then eh?

 

Well I'd recommend you use the Morimoto for simplicity sake. If you look at the pics I posted, the last one is with the GTO 3" projectors in my friend's car. I worked on them for ~12 hrs nonstop and got them somewhat aligned, not anywhere near perfect though. It was a PITA to say the least.

You should get the Mini H1 projectors, head to ddm-tuning.com for a pair of H1 HID bulbs (or you can order the more expensive ones from TRS) , and relay harness if you want bixenon.

Morimoto > TSX. Also TSX is not bixenon so you won't pass inspection nor have high beams. I've never had S2k projectors so I can't tell you, but I know for sure stock TSX projectors aren't as good as the Morimotos.

Honestly it's really hard to screw up your headlights just by baking them for 2 minutes, it's basically to soften up the sealant so you can pry it open. Once you bake it they open up really easily, then you can take the reflector off and paint it, then do the retrofit. I painted mine and they look like this