Projector retrofits worth it or put the $$ into suspension?

If you are any sort of DIY competent my vote is HID Retrofit.

Get some Aftermarket headlights (100$ if that)

Go on TRS(the retrofit source) and select a kit while i advise you do a shit ton of research on the options before just willy nilly, it can get pricy super fast.

Read the many various posts on retrofitting your headlights here on this forum

Honestly if you've never done it i'd devote a single weekend to the task. Its not difficult in the slightest.

Enjoy the new output compared to the shit halogen bulbs and continue to save the extra money paying someone else to do what i described above toward suspension.

 

You are absolutely right! Even the NHK or ACME H1 kits (I have the ACME kit in my beater Subaru but the NHK's are better) are fantastic and end up costing just under $200 for EVERYTHING and have very good output for the price. But the MLED 2.0 can be put together for roughly $400 and the G5-BRT can be had for about $350 for a complete kit. Those are the current top performers out there. Plus I prefer a 3" projector over the 2.5" (H1) as it fills the headlight better, the H1 looks a little small in our housings I feel like.

https://www.lightwerkz.net/index.ph...ts/universal-kit/bi-xenon-h1-starter-kit.html

 

I agree! 2.5" is a bit small for my liking. I have a brand new set of oem headlights that I will be prepping for a 3.0" + Apollo/panamera shroud soon! Alot more light output from 3" as well!

 

The housings are OEM so I was thinking of doing the ultimate upgrade, but if I did a retro I'd buy a set of aftermarket black headlights so I have a backup if I have a problem with the install since this truck is my only vehicle. I do really like the way they look so that's tempting. After doing some research I don't know if I'd try painting the housings or not, sounds like the paint can offgas and cloud the inside of the headlight if it doesn't dry all the way before reassembly.

 

Oh dang you know what I didn't think about is having to ship the Kings out to get rebuilt after 30-50k miles. I'd have to have a second pair of shocks to swap in, and then swap the kings back in when I get them back from the rebuild. That sounds like a pain in the butt, especially with this being my only vehicle.

As of right now I'd just buy a new set of 5100s for $200 and throw them in and get an alignment, no swapping back and forth.

 

Painting isn't difficult to do, what I did was sand the inner housing with scotchbrite, sprayed some primer and used a good paint with a few light coats and a thick coat like krylon or Rust-Oleum. Let dry for a day and you're good to reassemble. Add in some more days for insurance if you are skeptical.

 

Ok cool. I did try to color match some aftermarket tails and warped a lens at 240°F, is there anything you did to keep that from happening? I'm definitely leaning towards the retro now with the whole performance shock rebuild thing. Sounds like a bit of a pain in the butt and around $350 or so when I do need them rebuilt.

 

Another way to speed up off gassing is to let it dry for 4-6 hours and put it in the oven at 200 degrees or in the sun for a day as well. I put in some descant packs too. But I haven't done that in my other 3 retrofits and haven't had a problem, so I don't think it's absolutely needed.

 

Tail lights are bit more difficult imo. I have done a few headlights and I find that using a heat gun in lieu of an oven helps not to warp the lens. I usually have a friend help heat small sections while I pry with a flat head.

 

That's a good idea, then you aren't heating the whole lens.

 

100% accurate!! Tacoma (and many others) tailights are plastic welded (OEM or aftermarket) so the only way to really get them apart is to cut them. It's a pain and I don't plan on tackling that anytime soon. haha

 

The aftermarkets I tried had butyl rubber sealant that I pulled out of the channel, but I think the lens was too thin for the 240°F. That's good to know about the OEMs though, maybe I won't be doing the rears.

 

I removed the screws on the backside that affix's the lens to the housing and put one in the oven at a time for 12 min @ 225 degrees. No melting and the lens pops off very easily. When reassembling there are a couple things to keep in mind. The plastic will be soft so when you reinstall the screws be gentle when tightening. What I did was the same time and temp, install screws till semi tight, pop it back in the oven for about 5 min and slowly tighten the screws a little more to ensure the lens is fully seated.

 

Nice! Do you recall what brand the aftermarket tail lights were??

 

Alright thanks for the advice

 

When you guys did your retrofit where did you mount your HID ballast at? Have you had any issues with moisture harming the ballast?
The only waterproof ones that I've seen are offered from TRS (denso amp waterproof) for $300.

 

They were the Spyder ones with the "fiber optic" looking bar around the outside. Here's a pic:

 

If you don't NEED OEM ballasts the Hylux 38w is very good, I think better than the Morimoto ballasts can be used on H1 or D2S bulbs. But the BEST ballast you can get is the Hella Gen III ballast, this is for D2S bulbs ONLY. They can be found at local You-Pull-It salvage yards from early-mid 2000's Audi A4's and A6's. The local yards around me don't know what they are so they charge $7-$10 each. The reason they are the best in my book is that they are fully water proof, lighting fast warm up and insanely reliable! I've had those ballasts on my wifes ford fusion retrofit for about 5 years with out a hiccup, 2 years on my Victory Cross Country and my Tacoma now for about 2 months.

One HUGE thing to note. DO NOT RUN 50W BALLASTS!!!!! It WILL RUIN your projector very quickly! The added wattage will overdrive the bulb (even 50w rated bulbs) and will drastically increase the amount of UV rays from the bulb. That is actually the reason the chrome in the bowl of the degrades or "burns" contrary to the belief that it's the increased temperature.

 

Mine are mounted outside the headlight just like your typical plug n play hid kit. I have it mounted on the core support with the bracket that comes with it. It's currently caked in mud and very often sees water here in Houston and has been running well. I ensure that the seals on plugs are good, I add some dielectric grease to the rubber seal and haven't had any water intrusion (which seems to be the biggest culprit in compromised and corroded plugs).

 

Get the ss3 fogs for lighting and put the leftover money to suspension.