Underdog's HID Retrofit

I will be installing my JDM front end swap soon and I want to freshen up the headlights to go along with it. Back in early January I bought a partially complete RX330 retro kit from a member on the boards. I finally ordered a new set of headlights from Fred Beans so I could start fresh and put rockblocker on these headlights from the get-go. Now that I am ready to open them up I have more questions than answers so I figured I'd start my own thread.

Here's what I have already:

- New set of OEM headlights

- RX330 non-AFS projectors w/ lens + holder, no shield

- Phillips 85122+ Bulbs (new)

- TRS 9006 Relay Harness

- AMP>D2S adapter (probably not needed)

My plan was to buy ballasts (probably Morimoto 3Five) and a set of clear lenses and just put in the swap as usual. However, now that TRS has posted up their bi-xenon kits I am reconsidering.

I really like the idea of having the hi-beam projector in tandem with the OEM reflector. I also really like the spread and fill of the FX-R projectors as shown on the TRS website (pic). I don't know how the FX-R compares to the RX330 non-AFS as far as low-beam performance, but from the pics I've seen the FX-R cutoff is far sharper and the fill seems more consistent. I would imagine this is because the shield on the FX-R is superior to the Legacy shield in the RX330 projector.

So the question as it stands now: is it worth selling off my RX330s and replacing with the FX-R (or other)? Will the FX-R work with the stock shroud?

Another question: How the heck do you guys get the connectors through the grommets? It looks like the only way is to cut the HV wire, feed them through and re-solder. I'd be very hesitant to cut the HV wires due to possible arcing.

I'm also looking at the Blazer 3000K Fog Light Kit. I'm not sure if anyone has any experience with those, but figured I'd throw it out there.

i'm almost sure mr_luv integrated those Blazer fog light kit into his headlight

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/guess-whos-bizack-156288.html

The FX-Rs are what I used in my retrofit and I absolutely love them. I think they are worth it especially if you are going to use the highbeam function of them. They are fine by themselves but I also installed HIR bulbs in my stock highbeams and the combination of the 2 really lights up the road. I feel bad for anyone on the other side of my highbeams.

The FX-Rs fit perfectly fine behind the stock shroud but you will have to do a lot of hacking to the projector bracket in the headlight itself (whereas the RX330s bolt right in) so keep that in mind when considering which projectors.

It took a decent amount of time and effort, although I am a bit of a perfectionist, but I definitely think they're worth it.

Thanks for the input. I am not really looking to do a ton of hacking, although I'm not scared to do a bit of cutting/drilling if necessary. Can you explain a bit what the hacking entails?

Has anyone run the HV and/or bi-xenon trigger through the existing grommet on the headlight body?

Okay, I looked at some pics of Drew's swap and saw this:

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c132/Drew_Jones/08%20LGT%20Spec-B/Headlight%20Retrofit/IMGP2368.jpg

So the piece that the projector mounts to is what allows you to aim the headlights. Clearly the Morimoto Mini projector has no problem fitting in there, but the FX-R does. Can the piece ("frame"?) be removed from the housing for rework? Sorry for the noob questions, I haven't spent much time in the headlight.

Ah I was looking for a good pic of that bracket to show what needs to be cut away. Unfortunately I didn't take many pics of the process so that will have to do.

Yes it can be completely removed so that you can modify it.

On the bottom of the bracket for the projector (Left side of pic) You have to notch the bottom middle of the projector bracket pretty far down, almost to the point of cutting it all the way through, for the solenoid for the Bi-Xenon to fit.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c132/Drew_Jones/08%20LGT%20Spec-B/Headlight%20Retrofit/IMGP2368.jpg

This is the only pic I have of the inside of the headlight but there is a little lip that goes up both sides of the projector bracket (I circled it in red) that needs to be cut away so that the larger FX-R bowl can fit and be pushed further back in the housing.

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q267/300zx2g35/Subaru%20Legacy/Headlights/SAM_0143-1.jpg

Another thing to consider is that Drew and I have the 08-09 headlight housings which are different from the 05-07. For reference here's an 05-07:

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/5958/dsc3577jo4.jpg

I plan on going back and putting the wires through the grommet but I didn't this time because I already had a hole in the bottom of my caps for the amp>D2S adapter.

So after talking with Mr_Luv and Matt@TRS I decided to go with the Morimoto Mini H1 bi-xenon kit. As a low beam it will be comparable to the RX330 setup but I liked the added functionality of the hi-beam even though it means splicing into some wires.

Therefore I am ordering a whole new kit and selling the partial kit I have in hand. Stay tuned for pics.

Good luck man, I know your gonna love them your making a great choice...

So after talking with Mr_Luv and Matt@TRS I decided to go with the Morimoto Mini H1 bi-xenon kit. As a low beam it will be comparable to the RX330 setup but I liked the added functionality of the hi-beam even though it means splicing into some wires.

 

Therefore I am ordering a whole new kit and selling the partial kit I have in hand. Stay tuned for pics.

Thanks man. I may go with the Mini D2S setup rather than the H1. After looking at a bunch of stuff on HIDPlanet I decided that I like the uniformity of the D2S even if it is slightly less wide than the H1. Being able to use OEM bulbs is a plus as well. Of course, if TRS doesn't make the bolt in kit for the D2S (still waiting to hear from Matt) then I am back to square one.

Now I am thinking of what to do with the stock high beam reflector and foglights... Bulb upgrade for the highs seems like a diminishing return. Maybe I could use them at 1/2 power as DRL? Maybe the quad bi-xenon isn't so crazy... was it tough to get them leveled with the primaries? For the fogs I want to make them independent and put in a 3K bulb. I will have to look into options.

Okay, so you can't get the retro-quik kit in D2S for the Legacy. Decided that the awesomeness/ease ratio of the H1 retro-quik kit offset the "con" of using aftermarket bulbs. Also, I came across this post which covers how to further improve the H1 projector through minor tweaks.

Hopefully I'll have the kit in hand for next weekend.