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I've decided to retrofit my headlights with proper HID projectors and make some other changes while I have the headlights opened. I bought a spare set of 4cyl headlights that I'll be working with thanks to a kind member who happens to live nearby and had an extra set after his Touring swap. This is the first time I've done a retrofit or opened up a set of headlights so I'm learning as I go.
It turns out the 4th Gen Acura TL ('09+) HID projectors bolt right in place of the Accord's oem halogen projectors which saves a lot of the customization work that's usually required for a retrofit. I (hopefully) have a set on their way to me. They were listed as Acura MDX projectors on ebay but the pictures are identical to the TL ones. It was my understanding that MDX projectors are different, so either I'm wrong about that, or the seller had the wrong pictures up on ebay. I guess I'l find out soon enough!
I'm planning on installing a DRL strip light of some kind, getting rid of the amber colored reflector inside the housing (which I've wanted to do since I bought the car) and probably cutting back on the amount of chrome inside the housing (but nothing drastic).
I have 1 light opened up so far. Here is a pic of all the pieces that make up the headlight:
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I ordered a couple things that will let me power my projectors/lights inside so I can play around with different strip light options and check the output of the projectors before I install them. I bought this 12V power supply and adapter from Amazon. It fired up a 55W HID ballast without any problem. Links below the pics:
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I'm leaning towards an LED strip for the DRL. I ordered a cheap 16' roll of 5050 SMD led lights that can be trimmed to length. I'm guessing this is similar to what a lot of the pre-made strips are made from that people have been installing. They're bright indoors and probably visible during the day but I don't think they will really be great on a bright day. I mostly bought them so I can play around with them and find the best way to secure them for when I find the right ones. One thing I'm concerned about is that they run pretty hot. After running them for a couple hours the bottom of the plastic strip light housing that they were adhered to was about 130F and that was inside the house. I don't think that would cause too much trouble but I'm wondering if higher power ones might run too warm for this application.
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A couple pics of them in the strip light housing. Note: I actually have 2 led strips inside the strip housing for this test. The reflective housing is tough to photograph because of all the chrome.
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These aren't as blue as they look in the pic, but they are fairly blue. Probably about 6500k.
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I've ordered a few feet of these which should be much brighter, whiter, and hopefully not too much hotter. http://www.flexfireleds.com/bright-white-high-intensity-ultrabright-led-flex-strip-light/
Bonus pic:
Output of oem halogen projector with 4300k HID bulb (35W ballast) from a couple feet away.
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I'll update this thread as I progess.
It turns out the 4th Gen Acura TL ('09+) HID projectors bolt right in place of the Accord's oem halogen projectors which saves a lot of the customization work that's usually required for a retrofit. I (hopefully) have a set on their way to me. They were listed as Acura MDX projectors on ebay but the pictures are identical to the TL ones. It was my understanding that MDX projectors are different, so either I'm wrong about that, or the seller had the wrong pictures up on ebay. I guess I'l find out soon enough!
I'm planning on installing a DRL strip light of some kind, getting rid of the amber colored reflector inside the housing (which I've wanted to do since I bought the car) and probably cutting back on the amount of chrome inside the housing (but nothing drastic).
I have 1 light opened up so far. Here is a pic of all the pieces that make up the headlight:
I ordered a couple things that will let me power my projectors/lights inside so I can play around with different strip light options and check the output of the projectors before I install them. I bought this 12V power supply and adapter from Amazon. It fired up a 55W HID ballast without any problem. Links below the pics:
I'm leaning towards an LED strip for the DRL. I ordered a cheap 16' roll of 5050 SMD led lights that can be trimmed to length. I'm guessing this is similar to what a lot of the pre-made strips are made from that people have been installing. They're bright indoors and probably visible during the day but I don't think they will really be great on a bright day. I mostly bought them so I can play around with them and find the best way to secure them for when I find the right ones. One thing I'm concerned about is that they run pretty hot. After running them for a couple hours the bottom of the plastic strip light housing that they were adhered to was about 130F and that was inside the house. I don't think that would cause too much trouble but I'm wondering if higher power ones might run too warm for this application.
A couple pics of them in the strip light housing. Note: I actually have 2 led strips inside the strip housing for this test. The reflective housing is tough to photograph because of all the chrome.
These aren't as blue as they look in the pic, but they are fairly blue. Probably about 6500k.
I've ordered a few feet of these which should be much brighter, whiter, and hopefully not too much hotter. http://www.flexfireleds.com/bright-white-high-intensity-ultrabright-led-flex-strip-light/
Bonus pic:
Output of oem halogen projector with 4300k HID bulb (35W ballast) from a couple feet away.
I'll update this thread as I progess.
