Aftermarket Lighting

[aleutdude]

Originally Posted by DSF767

Cant wait to see these done man!

You do a great job.

I got word from Matt my Mini D2S's Kit should be here on Thursday!

My goal is to get them done in a weekend. Like I told you via PM do you think tis to ambitious to try and get them done in one day or should I wait untill next weekend so I have a solid 2 days to work on them.

I am getting Matt's Impreza brackets so they should be relievedly plug and play.

Its possible to get them done in a day but you should always give yourself a time cushion. I always try to plan for something taking roughly twice as long as I think it will! Lol!

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[tribalwrx]

I'm hoping my jdm's come apart just as easy

[aleutdude]

Originally Posted by tribalwrx

I'm hoping my jdm's come apart just as easy

The lenses should come off just as easy. After that I'm in uncharted territory! Should be fun.
I hope to be making more progress on the bugeye how-to soon. My schedule has been crazy with holidays and family stuff. If I get to do anything I'll be sure to post pics!

[aleutdude]

Made more progress and took more pics. See the areas with slash marks? These will need to be removed to install the D2S minis:

Weapons of choice:

After cutting with the angle grinder:

After reaming out with the dremel:

The wires for the highbeam solenoid and LEDs can be run through the hole left by the bulb hood:

[aleutdude]

Lockring nut and bulb retainer installed with bulb in place:

Straight back adaptor-nice!:

Note how the mounting holes line up with the horizontal lines in the reflector? this should be damn near level:

Shroud installed. LED test fire:

Mockup:

More to come later tonight!

[AKRS]

Holy crap that is amazing. I love the fire look. Great job!

[Carter]

Another great job, Sonny!

I would love HID projectors in my car. Too bad it'd look ridiculous!

[aleutdude]

Originally Posted by AKRS

Holy crap that is amazing. I love the fire look. Great job!

Thanks. The LEDs will be wired up to come on with the turn signals.

Originally Posted by Carter

Another great job, Sonny!

I would love HID projectors in my car. Too bad it'd look ridiculous!

Bet I can make them look cool. You know its only a matter of time before you join the bright side!

[aleutdude]

More pics. Another angle of the LEDs lit up:

HID test:

Beam pattern on my ceiling:

LEDs and HIDs lit up:

To clear out the surrounds you need to remove two screws circled in red:

[aleutdude]

Closeup of the screws:


Carefully remove the surround from the lens-its a little tricky and you may have to deal with sealant. Just remember to not get sealant on the inside of the lens or on any chrome:

The amber should just pop out:

Cleared out:

Mockup. I think I'm gonna leave these cleared out. Whoever gets them can add Chrome bulbs. I may add plugs to where the amber bulb cover went:

I need to get the pieces together for the wiring harness including a new soldering gun and I'll post more pics when I start fabbing it up!

[Carter]

Are there any difficulties when retrofitting headlights which use glass lenses like these?

[aleutdude]

Originally Posted by Carter

Are there any difficulties when retrofitting headlights which use glass lenses like these?

You would need to find aftermarket headlights that have clear lenses. I have seen people form clear lenses from acrylic using molds made from the fluted lenses. I can't do this quite yet but if I find something that'll work one way or another I will let you know. You can retro these but the fluting of the lenses would do all sorts of bad things to the beam pattern.

[Carter]

Originally Posted by aleutdude

You can retro these but the fluting of the lenses would do all sorts of bad things to the beam pattern.

Yeah, that's what I was worried about. I'm doing a little research to see if any JDM models came with clear lenses.

[LiLpNoY]

IMHO the bugeye housing might look better being painted black, just saying. Otherwise looks awesome!

[retrac]

Are the projector units sealed once the capsules are installed? If so, you could theoretically forgo the glass lens and leave the projector exposed.

Otherwise we can form lexan replacements.

[aleutdude]

The projectors are not sealed. I am going to be making my own forming table and should be experimenting with it by april.

[aleutdude]

Originally Posted by LiLpNoY

IMHO the bugeye housing might look better being painted black, just saying. Otherwise looks awesome!

Thank you! I thought about painting some parts black but I've seen that done so much and although I might replicate a retro if someone asks I really don't like doing the same thing over and over. In any case, if I painted the bucket itself the LEDs wouldn't shine as much as they do.

[Alaskan EJ20]

we have been working on mine and they will be blacked out, they will be done in a month or two.

[Greddyboost]

Originally Posted by Alaskan EJ20

we have been working on mine and they will be blacked out, they will be done in a month or two.

Love the lights ! Wish I had em

[Greddyboost]

Originally Posted by aleutdude

Closeup of the screws:

Carefully remove the surround from the lens-its a little tricky and you may have to deal with sealant. Just remember to not get sealant on the inside of the lens or on any chrome:

The amber should just pop out:

Cleared out:

Mockup. I think I'm gonna leave these cleared out. Whoever gets them can add Chrome bulbs. I may add plugs to where the amber bulb cover went:

I need to get the pieces together for the wiring harness including a new soldering gun and I'll post more pics when I start fabbing it up!

Are you selling the lights ?

[06gtleg]

Someone needs to become a vendor lol

[Wes_FSTGDB]

Originally Posted by Carter

Yeah, that's what I was worried about. I'm doing a little research to see if any JDM models came with clear lenses.

Carter,

It wouldn't be hard to find a set for your Forester on Ebay or even online for that matter. They should be fairly cheap and you'd get a brand new set of headlights. Last time I checked for a friend it's a lot cheaper than paying for a brand new set. Aftermarket or DEPO headlamps are just as good since they will be cut up anyways for the retro. Too bad they don't make any for the 04/05 WRX.

Your Forester would actually look pretty sick with a retrofit.

-Wes

[Wes_FSTGDB]

Originally Posted by LiLpNoY

IMHO the bugeye housing might look better being painted black, just saying. Otherwise looks awesome!

Saw you a couple times at 5th Ave. How do you like your headlights ?


BTW Sonny,

Looking pretty good. Love the fire look, very clean retro. Are those TL Projectors?

[Carter]

Originally Posted by Wes_FSTGDB

Carter,

It wouldn't be hard to find a set for your Forester on Ebay or even online for that matter.

Your Forester would actually look pretty sick with a retrofit.

-Wes

Yeah, you can get them most places. The JDM ones are kinda cool 'cause they have city lights in them, but they usually come a little scuffed up. Maybe I'll eventually do that JDM front end look conversion :P

I'm just worried the projector would look goofy since the headlight area is so flat and large...and I won't fill the empty space with silly little blinky lights or massive chunks of chrome plastic.

[aleutdude]

Originally Posted by Greddyboost

Are you selling the lights ?

The lights and harness will be for sale when completed. No dibs but locals will have 1rst preferrence cause I really don't want to have to ship.

Originally Posted by 06gtleg

Someone needs to become a vendor lol

Hold on to that thought till after the first of the year. Maybe.


BTW Sonny,

Looking pretty good. Love the fire look, very clean retro. Are those TL Projectors?[/quote]
Those are the D2S versions of the Morimoto minis.