TRS FX-R Projector Retrofit on my 2004 D-Cab

I've been getting many PMs so here are the pics for everyone.. Knock yourselves out!

Comments:
* I hate working with JB Weld. It was my first time using the stuff. That crap gets all over the place and makes your work look totally Mickey Mouse. I found better stuff that is more like a putty and dries hard as a rock and is high heat resistant. I'm going to dip/coat the back housing in silicone so it's not ugly as sin.
* Total hours 6-8hrs for someone competent enough with basic tools and common sense not to heat the plastic too hot. It would take me 4hrs to do it again and I would have made the holes smaller (you can tell from this pic that I kind of f'ed up and made the hole about 5mm too big). Air tools or a dremel is totally necessary
* FYI THIS IS NOT THE OEM Toyota housings but instead OEM replica replacements
* Pics are not in order. You'll have to figure it out

 

I'd love to do this one day. HID retrofits=Sex

 

Got any snap of them on your truck ?

 

Sweet!!

 

Headlights are the one mod you make that can have a direct effect on someone else.
Maybe I'm gettting old and crochity and agrivated with being blinded by oncoming vehicles with bright blue alien abduction headlights. BUT ~ Most of the headlight mods I see (yours included) do not address OE lens design / safety / reflector position / alignment.


Please tell me I'm wrong!!! I've been out of the business of fixing cars 10 + yrs and have no projector headlight experience.


Those look like Non DOT (made in Taiwan ~ I see the sticker) show light housings with non directional reflectors ~ not made for legal road use. US DOT lights have strict lens specifications are designed to drop down and right on low beam and have a cut off for height as to not blind on coming traffic. Also I do not see the (3) DOT aligning pins that are necessary for most head lamp aligning tools.

The real DOT housings make that statement in the Ad and have the DOT stamp on the lens.

Heck a quick off the cuff 2 page search on EBAY didn't turn up a good set of stock headlights in the stagnent pool of xenon / projector / halo / Tiawan polution ~ But I did see a projector set that said DOT and SAE approved with no visiable DOT stamp or aligning pins. I'm some what skeptical to their claim... Hopefully I can learn somthing here

 

^^^ You do realize that this is a complete retrofit of projectors right? He purchased aftermarket headlights then retrofitted real projectors into them

 

You do realize that still doesn't make it legal. I'd love to find somthing brighter to install on old folks cars so they can see better with out blinding others. I could make a living retrofitting their cars. If this were legal it would be fast money for me.


I find it interesting that a search of the TRS web site reveals no info supporting these being legal for on road use.

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/index.php

Yes I did read that they offer a North America Left Hand Drive Projector but nothing about meeting the strict US DOT safety standards. I also see them mentioninog the lense "Most projectors come from the factory with fresnel or cloudy optical lenses. These "detuned" lenses never let the projectors perform to their full potential." Don't you think their is a reason for that? What mfg would buy and produce technolodgy and then dilute it intentionally. I'd bet this OEM frosted lense is to meet safety standards and not blind other drivers. All the information offered and even sifting the the tech specs and FAQ they make no mentions as to the LEGALALITY of the swap or to the projectors they sell meeting DOT standards. IN fact they skirt around every area while avoiding the real question. Do these meet DOT standards and are they legal to install. A simple yes with the stamp of approval, "This item meets XXX standards as required by XXXX for US DOT retrofit" would be enough.

 

I will guarantee you that my retrofitted projectors in my Tacoma have less glare to oncoming traffic than the factory halogens on a Tacoma. In fact, a projector has no glare above the cutoff.

 

Mr. Whitfield - I can guarantee you sir that one of the biggest driving factors for me to spend the time to do this is largely due to safety concerns for both myself (so I can see the road better) and other drivers around me (so they're not blinded due to glare). I admit that I did not have the patience to read through more than a few sentences of your rant but I do appreciate you bringing up this point on "legality".

You do understand that to get DOT and/or SAE certifications it cost THOUSANDS of not TENS of THOUSANDS of dollars. Do you really think any hobbyist in their right mind would spend for that? or even a startup company like TRS? I can guarantee you these projectors far better addresses safety issues than the factory OEM Tacoma headlights but do you think TRS will spend the money to get them approved? Will I? Will you? If they did, regular folk like me and you could never afford such an awesome upgrade nor would small business like TRS be in operational to provide these "better" lighting solutions to begin with. THEN WE ALL LOSE!

Let me also add... since my humble projectors are "home made" do you really think they do not meet the minimum standards of DOT/SAE guidelines if not greatly exceeds them? Isn't innovation and the drive to make something better part of the American way of life? Anyway... I digress but I hope you get my point.

 

Now on to some more pictures!

Comments:
* I must say.. these turned out much much better than I ever expected. They really do look OEM in my opinion.
* The light output is simply amazing. I was driving on one of LAs abundant 7-8 lane freeways and, I kid you not, all 8 lanes had more than ample illumination and the "hot spot" was evenly dispersed.
* I've owned many cars with projectors and the FX-Rs are outstanding.

Here is the HID 55W bulb in the stock OEM housing. You can see that even though I had them aimed down considerably they still had a lot of "dirty" light everywhere. This was a nightmare when driving thru fog, snow, and even rain.


This is the new and improved beam pattern. Simply an amazing difference.


Here are some more less important pics on the truck for you "bling" type folks

 

Guys, just a quick plug for Matt and the folks @ TRS (http://www.theretrofitsource.com/). In my older years I really do appreciate attention to detail and quality customer service. These guys are outstanding and you should be comfortable sending them your $. They certainly work hard for it.

 

look great...i'll add another good note for the guys at TRS, great customer service

 

If you really want to impress the non believers then do this...

Set up a dash cam in another car. Have that car drive at you and lets see how the projectors compare from the drives seat of oncoming traffic.

I'd like to see 2 or 3 standard cars then you pass then see what the video shows.

And YES I think that business should work with in the confines of the law and have their products certified for use legally ~ I've been in the auto industry for 20+ yrs I understand the cost.

 

Instead of doing a dash cam, why dont you make your life easier and compare a pic of any stock BMW, Acura TSX, or other car that comes with projector HID's from the factory to the one posted by RYU? I've had several BMW's and currently have a 335i which has factory HIDs in projectors and from what I see, the cutoff on RYU's "homemade" kit is VERY similar to my non homemade kit.

 

In other news...RYU, would you consider doing this retrofit for people if you were paid? I'd be willing to purchase everything and ship it to you if you are willing and the price is affordable. Let me know.

 

Well, I did not start this thread to debate the legalities of these headlights. Yes, you can prove these lights are legal (or illegal for that matter) but I neither have the time nor the money to run these tests for you nor to debate and frankly have no interest in discussing this further.

If this is deemed illegal by the authorities, then I will gladly submit my truck to be poked and prodded but under their dime not mine.

Bygones... oh, and you're only 37? really? You make it sound like you're a senior citizen. Enjoy life. Be happy If you were in town I'd gladly buy you a beer and we can shoot the shit on how I think some of the DOT standards are archaic and absolute crap... but hey, it's better than nothing!

 

Hello Mik, I consider it a compliment for someone to want to pay me to do this work for them. For that I thank you. However, I must respectfully decline for I simply don't have the the extra time to do this at a price that would be affordable for folks. I chose to do this myself because I plan to ride the truck into the ground (though it may outlast me at this point) and I simply got tired of the substandard OEM headlamps. The OEMs are really really quite terrible. Which begs the question... if they're so terrible how did they pass DOT? lol... i'm kidding.

 

Understandable. I might get a hair up my butt and try to do it, I'm just lazy...I also dont want to screw it up. And I lol'd at your last sentence.

 

Ryu , what did you use to seal the headlights back up????