Retrofitting 2012 projector vipmotoz/spider lights

hey guys I am doing a hopefully basic plug and play-ish projector bi/xenon install from theretrofitsource. These new projectors will have h1 bulbs instead of h7 ones which is what the stock ones come with. I am taking pics along the way. I just got the drivers side seperated!

Coot

 

So to start remove them from the truck. After removing all the screws I realized that the stock factory cables kept my driving light cover attached. I decided I would feel this out and keep the cover on as intended and taped up the wires as such. As you can see the job is ghetto but it keeps the wires out of the way. I stole some free wood from the rents and did a mock placement of how the light would sit in the oven. Next we set it in the oven for 6 min at 260 to be a little on the safe side.

Coot

 

I ended up taking my time and learning how the deal strip on this works. They do not apply much stripping to these lights so getting them apart is pretty easy. The best place to start is towards the inner portion of the light where the big turn signal is. For these anyway, there was a little clamp piece that I could easily fold back as the light was nice and toasty. Btw, none of the rubber was burnt or melting when pulling out so don't worry! I ended up keeping my high beam bulb in as it was becoming a pain in the ass to remove. When removing I just used some bike gloves I had and used some crappy butter knife to start working on the light. My recommendation is to sit in a chair, fold a towel or two over your lap and sit the light on your thighs. I would keep the gloves on and start to wedge your knife at the inner seam area by the turn signal area. The photo should show that you don't need much to penetrate the seal. Simply keep he knife moving around the headlight and try to cut the area as the orientation of the knife currently looks. After you have done so, return to the turn signal area and begin to push more on the flanged area until you start to get some more room to wedge the knife. Eventually you will be able to work the knife in between the front and back of the light. Slowly use leverage and begin to separate the light. After about an inch or so of open gap, you can start to pry with your hands. Slowly work your way around the light.

 

Just to give everyone a better idea here is the projector I am going to install in my headlights. It's a morimoto h1 7.0 replacement projector. This also has a side plug in for the high beam. This will probably negate my independent high beam stock light. Anyway now the fun of compatibility begins! Will update shortly!

Coot

 

subbed

 

So since I couldn't sleep anymore I decided it's time to kick some ass. I found that I will def need to use the general fiber glass cut outs and cut them to fit. There are many ways you can do this. I just placed the existing bracket on top of my plate and used two screws that had identical mounting points and then taped it to drill. After drilling I took a screwdriver and scratched around the existing bracket so I had an idea of what to cut with the dremel.

 

So now that I cut the new bracket it needed to fit with the existing light with the new projector. The projector itself was slightly overlapping with the new bracket holes and the ones on the adjustment plate so I just drilled out the overlap with the drill. You can approach this however you want, but that seemed no issue for me to drill with the projector in as the metal is pretty soft. After install back in the oven we go. I brought the screws with me this time so when the sealant is hot I can just crank on the screws to get better tension then I probably could just holding it. 6 min later we are nice and toasty and back together. These lights in particular didn't have much room for the little sealant, but the lights do have a decent overlapping channel throughout the outer frame of the body so it looks pretty legit. I will update later if moisture comes back in, but with the narrow space anyway, I think these ones will be fine without the sealant. One to the next one. Will post pics in the next post.

Coot

 

subd



Chad

 

Fuck yea the pride of chad is herrrrrrrr

 

So here are the photos. Got the second one done! When you are first installing these they will take about 10 min to tear the front off, I like to keep it easy and two times in the oven so that I can easily cut half of the sealant and then after pulling it out again I can finish cutting the rest and separate. Dremeling took me about 10 min between fitting and then bolting to the light. These projectors are about as plug and play as it gets. Rookie times are about an hour to install and half of that after you get the swing of things. It might seem intimidating to do this, but it's pretty simple and 260 degrees really isn't that hot for plastic. Also to know yourself you have quality components and paid just the parts for them make this worth it, not even the fact of the light output.

Coot

 

Also this kit also has all the hardware for the retro fit to replace a standard halogen mount that the stock Tacoma lights come with. That is actually easier as that will bolt directly into the light vs in my case I had to cut and make a new bracket due to different projector housing.

Coot

 

Anyway guys that's it in a nutshell! Feel free to ask any questions and I will do my best to explain. Hopefully the procedure seemed as clear as it seemed in my head.

Coot

 

Subd for installed pics a night shots!! Mad props for taking the plunge and opening those suckers up to make em right!!!!

 

Just put the lights back In and they work! I'm not sure if I will have to adjust the height tonight but I can see a faint light of them during the day when they are on...it's a good sign!

Coot

 

Appreciate that chad! I have been nervous for a few weeks but these stock projectors would piss me off at night so hopefully that fixes them!

Coot

 

This is the stock projector. Looks pretty basic and the housing is just cheap plastic.

Coot

 

subd

 

I did exactly this for my Mercedes when I bought Spec-D lights. However, rather than creating a template, I cut up the Spec-D projectors and used those to mount it. And I added halos.

That halogen high beam would still serve a purpose. You can use it to flash people during the daytime, when your HIDs aren't on. HIDs are not very good for flashing people due to the warmup time.

 

NOICE!