LS460 Retro

So I've decided to do another retro and this time it is with the LS460 projectors. All parts have been purchased from theretrofitsource. Currently waiting on VHT flat red manifold/exhaust paint so I can paint the shield. Also, still looking around for some clear reflective corners.

I'll start posting up pics of during my progress until completion.

 

i was the only one i believe as of last year that i know of with 460's in a tacoma.

the reason i switched up is because of the loss of functionality you have to cut a massive hole in the back of the housing to fit that beast in there.

any kind of water crossing will almost certainly bring on the foggy's or worse.

if i where you i would scrap this idea and go with the fxr's or mini morimotos the light out put on the 460's is phenomal i ran them for 6 months and i can say that are with out a doubt the best bi exnon projector out there but they are extremely difficult to retrofit properly!!!

 

i have the fx-r right now...

massive hole in the housing or in the reflective bowl?

 

Sub'd... I am intrested to see and hear your thoughts of the ls 460's compared to the FX-R.

 

Damn Hans, I remember when you had them done and drooling over the results! I didn't know you took them out... did you sell them off on here and what'd you replace them with?

 

i was talking about the rear of the head light housing. but, the reflector bowl as well i believe.

and i'm talking about a 5 or 6 inch hole in the rear not to mention the massive weight of the projector this one will need bolts and jb weld to keep it jiggle free but you want to maintain adjustability you could mount them and just screw them in place before putting the lens on to get the aingnment correct then lock them down permanenatly.

 

also the weight of the projector can be an issue as well as our reflector bowl only mounts with those two rinky dink plastic sleeved screws they alone will not spport the weight of that projector as it weighs close to a pound! or maybe more lol. i would heat and squeeze those plastic screw things together at the end as an added measure of security for bumpy roads.

 

i had a talk at great length with bjorn from custom lightz he is the best i would say besides clearcorners.com. he has been retrofitting headlights for something like 9 years.

he said if it was up to him he would do the fx-r or mini for a 4x4 to retain full functionality.

and a fun fact is that trs just completely redesigned the mini d2s projector to improve the low beams which is cool.

i'm redoing my set i currently have now with fx-r's i'm going to have bjorn do the work this time because black flame customs while they are a recommended installer they suck ass the guy jb ruined three sets of lights

 

wow.. i just went thru ur thread of pics too.. kinda wish you had pics of the light frmo the back and what not...

you are making me think about having someone else do them for me LOL

 

i was going to ask about your level of experience concerning retro fitting. fx-r's can be done relatively easily and the minis are a joke lol. the 460's however are a whole nother ball game if you are dead set on getting the in there you will have the baddest bi-exenon lights around no questions asked but, if it where my truck i would call bjorn and set some thing up ask him what he thinks pick his brain he is a really cool guy.

good luck man this went from a simple up grade for me and turned into a saga lol in the middle of the winter on a cold ass driveway. all complements of black flame customs.

do you have any shots at night with your fx-rs the reason i want to redo mini is they fog a tiny bit and the low beam on the mini at least the old design is nothing to write home about i'm wanting an better low beam for sure because after the 460's nothing is really comparing lol.

 

Well my experience is not too shabby i suppose. My FX-R came out just fine through reading posts and asking a bunch of questions to other members. WHen it came down actually to it, it did take a while to do but only because i didnt want to rush things and screw things up.

I did send an email to bjorn and also clearcorners.com.... clearcorners.com is near my place here so i am hoping to hear something back from them and/or both

i do not have shots of my fx-rs at night however, i know others here who have write-ups do ..

i gotta have the lights!! gotta have em!! im a light freak ahhhh

 

bjorn will not do it.

 

after a few emails frmo bjorn (still waiting for more replies) here is what i gathered and assuming.

he said i'll need to cut the reflector bowl and the housing big enough to fit the solenoid.. Which all is ok, i understand that. I'll fill up the gaps with the 2 part JB Kwik weld.

but...From what I'm assuming with this setup so far, I will not be able to adjust the projector using the stock adjustment screws? Once it is on, it's locked correct? Because it'll be welded onto the reflector bowl AND the housing.

 

Not having any aiming adjustment sounds like a bad idea to me. Those LS460 projectors really are big. You don't like the output of the FX projectors?

I just finished my FX retro and I love the output. I didn't cut out the back of the stock reflector though, I just Dremel tooled the H4 base enough to get the FX projector in. This made the horizontal alignment automatic, and the factory rubber boot fit over the D2S connect with only slight modification.

Maybe you should investigate a quad FX setup, now that would be sweet!

 

Wait, you got FX-R's in without cutting the reflector bowl?!?! Interesting... I might have to get in on this next group buy and get a set of FX-R's instead of Morimotos.

Asianants, I think you should do the motor adjustable kit if you're looking for something interesting. Look up Yosh2000's write-up. He used the light aiming motors from a Lexus and mounted them up so he could adjust his lights from inside the cab.

 

Yep, I just cut into the H4 base in three spots and the FX slid right in there. The back of the FX projector is flush with the back of the H4 base. I knew I should have taken some pictures of that.
My Infiniti had the adjustable headlights, up and down only. This was for load compensation, which would really make sense in a pickup truck. If you load the bed with heavy stuff your headlights are going to be pointing much higher than when the bed is empty.

 

That's what Yosh did, made them adjustable up and down. It was a pretty slick system but was a PITA to fabricate/install.

Check this out:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/84931-ultimate-hid-retrofit.html

 

I finished my FX-r a while back (see OP). The output is great, dont get me wrong.. but i want something even better!

Yea, at first the sound of not being able to adjust (if that is the case with the LS460 retrofit) didnt sit well.. But after thinking about it, if you have it set right the first time, why would you need to adjust?? (except in cases where you have your truck loaded, but again its a temp at least for me)

Yosh2000's write-up is great but still falls back to: If i make the hole bigger on the bowl and the housing, i will need to fill the gap with jb kwik weld. And by filling the gap with jb kwik weld, that will cause the projectors to not be able to adjust (correct me if im wrong).. im only assuming this because the projectors will be welded onto the housing which is a permenent fixture vice just the bowl...

with my FX-R setup, i made the hole in on the reflector bowl just a bit bigger (like most other's write-up)the rubber boot, like you said, only required a tad bit of cutting/modification. just a tad bit....

 

Shiet is huge

 

Can someone confirm this?