Gen I projector install

mark0101

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So the plan is to go quads. One projector is stronger than both OEM reflector HIDs combined that came with Gen I Mark VIIIs.

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So no where near done but here is some work in progress...

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Still gotta get the cut off lines at the same spot but I am liking it so far.

[video=youtube;4ln0UOeG1Is]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ln0UOeG1Is&feature=youtu.be[/video]

Gotta cut the shrouds next so it can fit the housing. Then have to order more projectors and HID bulbs to finish this project off for the other side.
 
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Really great job man. If it works out well (no housing melting and such) I'd be interested in what you did exactly and what you used. I've wanted to do this for a while but I've seen a lot of failed attempts due to heat and such.
 
Will let you know how the other LSC housing comes off. I have 3 pairs of LSC housing and this housing was the worse out the 6. This had already been opened before so the lens came off pretty easy. I think with a heat gun it shouldn't be a problem to get the other lens off but will let you all know how that goes.

Already F'ed up one of the shrouds but now at least I know how to do the others.

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And I really wished there were more attractive looking shrouds for this size projectors but these are the only one that come with it.

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Alright, so using the heat gun on the other housing which had not been opened, it came out fine. I just opened two good housing since I want this to be permanent. The very first one I opened had it's inside chrome painted and was not as shiny as the originals. Now, I have to wait for the other projectors and bulbs to come in which will take around 2 weeks or so. I will prep these lights for projectors but till then this project is on hold.

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I will post a video of stock LSC HID vs these... it's like night and day difference between them.
 
Which projectors are those? I have a second gen but am thinking of doing mini H1 for the low beams (and doing bi so it will also be the high beams) and mini 2.5 for the high beam with some 3000k, or just some LEDs on a separate switch. After looking at some examples of output from the 2.5s as main lights, I didn't think they would be good enough for main lights, but probably better than gen1 halogen.
 
To be honest I can't justify doing projector swap (mini 2.5 inch projector) on a gen 2 mark viii with proper reflectors. I also would not do quads on the gen 2 since I believe the high beams of the stock reflector is better than projectors would be. Ascetics is the only reason I would convert to projectors on a gen 2. These projectors were 1.8 inch projectors like the matchbox on theretrofitsource website.

The gen 1 on the other hand usually suffers from wear out of the headlight that leads to bad output. I do believe the high beams for the gen 1 are still more focused than the projector which makes it more useful for high beam plus you can stick with halogens(for flash). I decided against this route as i'm gonna keep a spare of oem and go all out on light output on low beam for this setup.
 
Some more progress pictures, btw I really messed up on spraying the clearcoat. I realize in the future i might even have to sand it down and possibly redo the clear.

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More pictures, this is just with one projector working. I took it with my phone camera to get a more realistic output of the light so the quality isn't great.

Original HID housing with ddm 35w bulb and ballast
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One projector with ddm 35w bulb and ballast
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Projector and original housing on
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Stock
[video]https://youtu.be/PgCbvyym9lA[/video]

Projectors, this isn't quads just one projector in each housing.
[video]https://youtu.be/gj-xwZydjx0[/video]
 
So, how much to make me a set? :p I have like 4 sets of headlights!

I need to try and smooth out the lenses of a stock set.
 
I honestly don't know. I'm still not comfortable with everything and am not done with the project. Just like my led taillight I would like to take more time before qualifying the project as a success. FYI I think it would be more easy to take halogen housings and fit lsc lenses on them. Then the parking lights might not look as good though... who knows a lot of experimenting still left to do with the project.

Some more pictures. I still wanna look into different shrouds or halos. I think i'm definitely not doing halos as i think more lights the more aftermarket it will look but who knows, tastes change.

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I honestly don't know. I'm still not comfortable with everything and am not done with the project. Just like my led taillight I would like to take more time before qualifying the project as a success. FYI I think it would be more easy to take halogen housings and fit lsc lenses on them. Then the parking lights might not look as good though... who knows a lot of experimenting still left to do with the project.

Some more pictures. I still wanna look into different shrouds or halos. I think i'm definitely not doing halos as i think more lights the more aftermarket it will look but who knows, tastes change.

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I'm so confused here..do you have two accounts on here or something? I assume mark0101 and 93mkviii are one in the same? And in another thread you mentioned you now live in chicago? If you have the car in IL I'd love to take a look at this headlight set up you have and the LED light bar out back...
 
No, 93mkviii is my brother. We started this together but he ended it while I moved up here to Chicago.
 
^^ that, i usually hate posting things so he went ahead and just did it even though I said not right now. He's always complaining why i don't take pictures of the things I do. He's also the one that forced me to make the progress thread. I'll try to find if i have pictures of the led light for you keviiin.
 
As my eyes get older, I know my night vision isn't what it used to be. Lighting this good will be something that will allow me to feel more comfortable driving around in the dark. So I'm looking forward to watching your progress with this.
 
First fit trial of the new test housing. I got bored of the smaller projector so I put a 2.5 inch projector in to see if i could make it fit. I also blow molded a clear lens to fit on the halogen housings. So far the fit is doable. Still need a lot of finishing touches. The lenses actually look like crap close up but here they are next to my LSC projector setup.
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Output of the light. The difference you see is more of the new clear lens verse older clear lens. The 2.5 inch vs 2 inch does have some improvements but mainly the light output is greater due to a newer lens.

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I don't have the skills to make something like this, but if you get around to making them, I would like to purchase them too. could become a nice side business for you.
 
I don't want to set anything in stone since I don't even know if I can make something that i would be comfortable making for you all but for future reference what type of setup would you all like to see? 2.5 inch projectors? 2.0? Halogen high beam or projectors? ETC since there can be many setups. I'm just getting around to doing a 2.5 inch projector in the low beam and halogen high beam and will post a video once that is done in the same place as the videos before.
 
I know personally, I would only care about low beams. I've never in my life used my high beams (city life lol). I could just throw in my HID lights into the highs if I really wanted to do something.

Dual projectors would LOOK sweet, but, would drive the cost up quite a bit I would assume.

I'd think cost of buying these from you would be pretty significant (just considering cost of parts and labor) but hey, you never know.
 

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