My Retrofiter finished up my lights and is shipping them out today. I wanted to get HID lights done right and have the absolute best product available. After months of researching, I choose my retrofiter and the product I wanted installed. I took Taz's Cobra as an example and researched from there.
Here are some reasons why putting HID bulbs into a halogen reflector are a bad idea.
The Details:
I chose Caesar at LightWerkz as my retrofiter. After researching his quality of work and attention to detail it was clear there was no other choice. You can see some of his projects here.
The light setup I chose was what he calls a TFX setup. This is a hi-bred setup that uses a Infinity FX35 Bi-Xenon Projector and a Lens from a Acura TSX. This is a more expensive setup since two projectors are consumed into the making of one But it's small and Bi-Xenon so High and Low Beam still works and it just fits in our light housings.
For bulbs themselves I chose the 55 watt ballasts instead of using the OEM 35 watt. Originally, based on what I've been reading, OEM bulbs and ballasts are the highest quality and are consistently superior to most aftermaket HID bulbs and ballasts. However, the new 55 watt Digital HID ballasts are on par with OEM in quality and the light output is the best there is.
Originally I drop shipped brand new true Ford OEM light housings from Late Model Restoration to him to use for the retrofit. These cost more than the aftermarket, but I considered since I'm only doing this once, I want it to be the best. Well, after Caesar got them, the sealant used to hold the base and the lens together is some of the worst kind and it would take him hours to separate them. He just went through a Ford F-150 project with that type of sealant and it was a bear to separate them. So back went the Ford OEM housings and I dropped shipped the same factory look non-OEM light housings (a lot cheaper) from Late Model Restoration and returned the OEM ones. The part numbers from Late Model Restoration on the non-OEM housings are LRS-13008J and LRS-13008I. Once Caesar got the new housings and inspected them he said that the sealant was the correct type and the project could move forward.
So it's taken about two months to finish this once I initiated it. Most of the delay was due to getting the correct housings to Caesar, back order delays from Late Model Restoration, and getting on Caesar's waiting list. When he receives half of the funds for the retrofit up front, you go on the waiting list. There were 15 people ahead of me when this project started. By the time he had the correct housings he only had one person ahead of me and he could devote his time to my lights. Every new light project has it's unique challenges and the Cobra's lights proved no different. He spend about week or so working on my lights but now has his design down so future 99-04 lights won't take as long.
Costs Involved:
Retrofit Labor: $325.00
FX35 Projector with TSX Lens Swap: $350.00
E46 Replica Shroud: $100
Digital HID 55 Watt Kit D2S 4300K $220.00
Plug 'n Play Wiring Harness 9007 Bi-Xenon $100 (Click here for Harness Quality)
Housings from Late Model Restoration $130
Plus Shipping costs.
Total Costs: $1,225.00
You can save about $220 on this setup by going with the OEM ballasts and bulbs.
Pics:
Here are the initial pics that Caesar took. I will be taking more once they are installed and pics at night as well when I get them.
Here are some pics of the projector that I took:
Pics of the stock headlamp:
Pics of the Stock Headlamp and the Projector side by side:
Pics of the Harness and Ballasts:
Pics of the car with the HID lights installed:
Pics of the rest of my car:
Pictures of the installation in the order that I took them. I'll flesh this out later into a general installation document:
Here are some reasons why putting HID bulbs into a halogen reflector are a bad idea.
The Details:
I chose Caesar at LightWerkz as my retrofiter. After researching his quality of work and attention to detail it was clear there was no other choice. You can see some of his projects here.
The light setup I chose was what he calls a TFX setup. This is a hi-bred setup that uses a Infinity FX35 Bi-Xenon Projector and a Lens from a Acura TSX. This is a more expensive setup since two projectors are consumed into the making of one But it's small and Bi-Xenon so High and Low Beam still works and it just fits in our light housings.
For bulbs themselves I chose the 55 watt ballasts instead of using the OEM 35 watt. Originally, based on what I've been reading, OEM bulbs and ballasts are the highest quality and are consistently superior to most aftermaket HID bulbs and ballasts. However, the new 55 watt Digital HID ballasts are on par with OEM in quality and the light output is the best there is.
Originally I drop shipped brand new true Ford OEM light housings from Late Model Restoration to him to use for the retrofit. These cost more than the aftermarket, but I considered since I'm only doing this once, I want it to be the best. Well, after Caesar got them, the sealant used to hold the base and the lens together is some of the worst kind and it would take him hours to separate them. He just went through a Ford F-150 project with that type of sealant and it was a bear to separate them. So back went the Ford OEM housings and I dropped shipped the same factory look non-OEM light housings (a lot cheaper) from Late Model Restoration and returned the OEM ones. The part numbers from Late Model Restoration on the non-OEM housings are LRS-13008J and LRS-13008I. Once Caesar got the new housings and inspected them he said that the sealant was the correct type and the project could move forward.
So it's taken about two months to finish this once I initiated it. Most of the delay was due to getting the correct housings to Caesar, back order delays from Late Model Restoration, and getting on Caesar's waiting list. When he receives half of the funds for the retrofit up front, you go on the waiting list. There were 15 people ahead of me when this project started. By the time he had the correct housings he only had one person ahead of me and he could devote his time to my lights. Every new light project has it's unique challenges and the Cobra's lights proved no different. He spend about week or so working on my lights but now has his design down so future 99-04 lights won't take as long.
Costs Involved:
Retrofit Labor: $325.00
FX35 Projector with TSX Lens Swap: $350.00
E46 Replica Shroud: $100
Digital HID 55 Watt Kit D2S 4300K $220.00
Plug 'n Play Wiring Harness 9007 Bi-Xenon $100 (Click here for Harness Quality)
Housings from Late Model Restoration $130
Plus Shipping costs.
Total Costs: $1,225.00
You can save about $220 on this setup by going with the OEM ballasts and bulbs.
Pics:
Here are the initial pics that Caesar took. I will be taking more once they are installed and pics at night as well when I get them.
Here are some pics of the projector that I took:
Pics of the stock headlamp:
Pics of the Stock Headlamp and the Projector side by side:
Pics of the Harness and Ballasts:
Pics of the car with the HID lights installed:
Pics of the rest of my car:
Pictures of the installation in the order that I took them. I'll flesh this out later into a general installation document:
Last edited:
epper:
