[covertash]

Nice! Looks like you beat me to the punch, lol. :thmsup: I'll be interested to see your results with the MDX projectors. If they turn out to be the same, I may just end up cancelling my TRS order instead and opting for an alternative like those MDX's. My order got pushed back yet another week, and I am growing really impatient at this point. :nuts:

 

[covertash]

how long do you need to bake the headlight?

Depends on your oven, but usually it will be around 7 minutes at 200 degrees Fahrenheit. For your first time, if you are unsure of how intense your oven is, at about the 6 minute mark you can take the headlight out and gently pry the tabs open to see if they will budge. If not, you can put it back in for a couple of minutes longer until it becomes workable.

Make sure that the headlights are not touching any sides of the walls. It would be best to also prop them up on pieces of wood so as not to allow any metal to touch as well.

 

[covertash]

Got pictures?

Hopefully Latin and Gearhead don't mind, but this is one of the threads that I have watched over in preparation for my own retrofit:

http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/showthread.php?t=136986

 

[covertash]

No that's fine. I PM'ed the link because I didn't want to spam the OP with my own thread.

Ah very true. I edited my post in hopes that Gearhead doesn't mind as well. I can remove it if anything.

 

[covertash]

I just picked up my Accord and have been e-mailing with TRS about their kit and was about to place my order. If you don't mind me asking, what has the wait time been? Not in a huge rush, but I'm going to be off work for the holidays and was looking to do this before I have to go back.

I placed my order on Black Friday, and the last email I have received from them said that they are hoping the projectors will be in to ship out some time mid or late this week. With the snow storm that has swept across this country, I'm not sure if this will incur further delays. I have the same holiday time off as you do, and it is getting awfully close to not making it in time.

My suggestion would be to call them and ask to see how many TL projectors they have coming in; and that they are not all going to be used to fill special orders. If there is a small surplus, then you should be good to go.

 

[covertash]

I just gave them a call as well and got pretty much them same response. Estimated time frame would be a little longer for me as TRS has a backorder list for them. I'm probably still going to order them and wait. While I wait I can look to see if I can find the TL projectors somewhere for a good deal.

That's really the best move you can make now. And LatinCT is right, the HID Planet forum is a good place to get decent discounts as well, although, it has been a little sparse as of late.

 

[covertash]

Yeah, those are identical to the 4th gen TL's. The 2014 MDX is now using LED's same as the RLX, so these belong to the 2nd gen (2007-2013) MDX.

This is great news, as it does open up the searchable possibilities on eBay, including the Toyota Avalon, which also has similar projectors as well, if memory serves me right.

 

[covertash]

The 9th gen accords come with halogen projectors. HID bulbs are meant to be used in HID projectors because the optics are designed and made for them. Halogen projectors do not have the right optics for HID bulbs.
Putting HIDs in Halogen projectors may seem fine but does create some glare for oncoming drivers.

This.

To put the above into perspective, because of the optics of the halogen projectors, once you pop in these aftermarket HID bulbs, it tends to create a crap ton of foreground lighting; thereby causing your pupils to constrict, and making it harder to see long distance. Not to mention, the inherent long distance throw of light, by itself, is also reduced as well since the concentration of light is focused on the ground right in front of you, instead of far down the road.

It might sound all well in good in normal night driving conditions, but it is no fun (and can be out right dangerous) when driving at night with bad weather conditions.

 

[covertash]

just got these in http://www.ebay.com/itm/121085460665?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 and i must say.. they are bright! much brighter than any led strip i have seen, and best thing about it.. it is PURE white, no tint of blue at all. which will match all my 4300k HID. i was afraid it might of been false advertisement when it says 1200-1400 lumen per foot. but i guess it really is that bright. gonna be putting them in my strip light socket soon. when i gather all the materials and information i need.
also.. these strips are super thin and small so they will fit in the strip light socket with no problems. only problem would be to get them to stay in place.

How do these lights perform when undervolted?

My only concern would be that these lights do not work at anything besides the full 12V, making them blindingly bright for night time driving, or not functioning at all when the low beams kick in.

 

[covertash]

thinking about purchasing this harness http://www.amazon.com/Daytime-Runni...id=1387957727&sr=8-2&keywords=led+drl+harness

anyone has any opinions on it? i like the fact that it has extra wires for extra features

+1 lights will stay on for 25 seconds after you turn off the car. ( i like to stare at them as im walking away from my car)
+2 reduce %30 brightness on the DRL strip if i need it.
+3 flashing with signal lights.

about to pull the trigger on this. looks like a really good deal.

For $12.99, it's hard to see a downside to this. :thmsup:

 

[covertash]

I guess your other 2 options would be to watch ebay for the whole headlight assemblies, which sell pretty cheap sometimes when they're damaged. Or you can order the projectors from TRS and wait until they're in stock (seems they're having trouble keeping stock too).



Thanks! I'll play with some spacing after my clear lenses get here. I'm also talking to Spencer (greenkouki) on hidp about some custom shields.

For what it's worth, my Retro-Quik kit finally came in this past Saturday. Another member on here also mentioned to me that he received a shipment notice for his order, which was placed recently in the past week as well. So it looks like they managed to get enough stock in and have orders filled this time around.

My suggestion is anyone who wants in on it from TRS should put their order in ASAP. In the worst case, the order can just be cancelled if there is going to be a long wait, but at the same time, they'll most likely be waiting for projectors or headlight assemblies to show up on eBay anyway. So no real harm in having the order waiting until something else comes along. :dunno:

Haha, looks like Spencer is going to have a busy weekend coming up if you're also sending your stuff over to him soon. :naughty:

 

[covertash]

After replacing the halogen Projector with the 4G TL projector, can I still using the original shrouds?

Absolutely. :thmsup:

 

[covertash]

Gearhead....i know the "13" kit is about 300.00. do you have a link for the tsxr reflectors? And confirm you added the clear lense then shipped them to "greenkouki" wouldn't TRS do this for you?

TSX-R clear lens:

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=135

Unless you meant something different by the "tsxr reflectors".

In my experience, TRS shipped everything separately. I'm sure if you asked them they would oblige to install the clear lens for you before shipping, but I would suggest calling them to specifically request that because email requests tend to be "forgotten". Even still, installing them on yourself is incredibly easy and pretty self explanatory if need be.

For me, I shipped all my pieces to greenkouki unassembled, in one box. The effort required to perform the custom shield mod would have him disassemble your projector to get to the shield anyway, so it would be just as easy for him to slip the TSX-R lens right in before putting it all back together. He's a nice guy and does great work, so definitely reach out to him. :thmsup:

 

[covertash]

You would need d2s bulbs and these connectors to connect to the to projector

Edit* unless ddm makes d2s bulbs that are already wired with their connectors (disadvantage of that is you're stuck with their bulbs and can't use oem stuff).

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

Agreed.

Personally, I would just start fresh and get a whole new set. A pair of these ballasts, which come with the D2S converter cables, would do well to fire up even OEM bulbs (if the Amazon reviews are to be trusted):

h ttp://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BHFIYBE?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&s=

(Seems this forum breaks Amazon URLs, so just copy and past the above link and remove the space after the first "h".)

 

[covertash]

just a side note, just hope you guys bought the resealing stuff from TRS or if you have something like that when it comes to resealing the headlights... last thing you want to do is have moisture leaks and reopening the headlights to fix the seal

I agree it's nice to have as insurance. Since it's still a relatively new car, though, the existing adhesive should still make good contact. :thmsup: The adhesive TRS sells is moreso for older vehicles, or headlights that have been opened and resealed multiple times.

I still have a completely unused roll that I bought from TRS when I did a Mini H1 retrofit on my previous '09 Civic; and that car had been on the road almost 3 years before I opened up the headlights. For what it's worth, I had to open those lights twice because I messed up the alignment the first time too. During the ~1 year I drove that car with the retrofit, it had never fogged up on me, and even survived Hurricane Sandy. :thumbsup: Although, one of the Morimoto ballast itself was not the same afterwards, but that's a different story.

Keep in mind, though, if anyone does purchase the resealing adhesive that you should make sure to remove the OEM stuff as much as possible; you should never just add new adhesive on top of the old. It's a pain in the ass to do, but if not done properly, it can lead to fogging issues, or worse, leak water inside.

 

[covertash]

I make such a mess with the rubber glue... Its my main reason for not using it. I think this time for the accord I'll reuse the stock glue them run some small black silicone on top of the rubber glue to be sure. I vaguely recall gluing my thumb and index finger together with that rubber glue :banghead::screwy:

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Lol, I've had similar experiences with regular crazy glue. Sheer will power made for a very painful experience in trying to pull my fingers apart... :boohoo:

 

[covertash]

Don't you think it would have just been easier and more cost-effective to swap in a set of the Touring LED headlights? Then you'd get LED lowbeams, plus the real LED DRLs.

You guys have been at this for weeks, baking headlights, trying LED strips, etc. I know I have also gotten wrapped up in projects over time, but I'm thinking that in retrospect it would have been easier to just buy some tourings and swap them in over an hour's time?

What do you think?

The total cost of the Touring headlights ends up coming out higher, assuming you can wait to have a custom harness made for you. If you make it yourself, and are new to electrical work, it can be just as time consuming, but certainly doable.

Even still, the lumen output, width (especially now with the custom shield), and throw will still be better with the OEM HID projectors.

Truth be told, if the Touring headlight prices were cheap like they originally were, you would see a lot higher of an adoption rate because it's easier. But as far as OEM HID projectors are concerned, the 4th gen TL, being a direct bolt on, is about as easy as it will get.

As with most projects, much of the time is spent really waiting for others to fulfill their end (have stock of products, perform custom work, and shipping on time). In a lot of respects, Gearhead is paving the way and trying out new things for the DRL's, which is great for everyone else who doesn't have a V6 Accord, but sucks when it comes to personal expenses and time used.

 

[covertash]

Yeah I understand. Often the journey (the project) is as fulfilling as the end result. Like I said I get into such things too from time to time.

Also I didn't realize the price for the LEDs had gone that high. I had assumed you could get the parts for appx $500 and it would be plug and play. My error.

Yeah Honda realized their pricing "error" quickly and adjusted them right around the beginning of 2013. Those who were fortunate enough to get them early on have been laughing their way to the bank ever since. :naughty:

 

[covertash]

Yay!!! :jumping:

 

[covertash]

how much do you think you ended up spending on the setup? So from I can gather the 4th gen TL projector is the exact same as our projector? You did not have to change any of the mounting? Do you know what size the TL projector lens is? Is it a bixenon projector?

I initially was contemplating swapping out my FX w/ 300zx lens swap from my 6th gen retro onto my 9th gen. But if the TL projector is direct swap I might just go with that route instead. Great thread BTW!

The 4th gen TL projectors use 2.5" lens, and are low-beams only. You can reach out to greenkouki on the HIDP forums, and he would be happy to help you mod them to become pretty usable bi-xenons (provided you can source the extra parts needed). In testing mine, it looks pretty good, but they definitely do need the halogen hi-beams in order to get the full effect. :thmsup: