Maxima HID Retrofit Build
This is looking to be awesome!
02-01-2014, 10:59 PM
#603
Another setback
Here is lesson learned about the size of the 2.5" vs 3.0". At glance they look the same. The bowl, shields, cut off plates are the same, but the front end is different, which makes sense since the optic geometry is changed. The 3" FX-R is longer by about 1/2" (measured from bulb holder to the lens tangency curvature) than the 2.5" FX-R. This 1/2" different can make or break in term of shroud choice or overall clearance issue.
I designed my bracket using the 2.5" lens thinking that the 3.0" lens have identical geometry based on what people are saying, slapped the 3 incher in there and I lost tons of clearance since it is now sticking out too far. So, yes, have to redo my bracket which is not cool. 2.5" FX-R is 5.5" and 3.0" FX-R is 6.0"(measured from bulb holder to the lens tangency curvature).
Here is lesson learned about the size of the 2.5" vs 3.0". At glance they look the same. The bowl, shields, cut off plates are the same, but the front end is different, which makes sense since the optic geometry is changed. The 3" FX-R is longer by about 1/2" (measured from bulb holder to the lens tangency curvature) than the 2.5" FX-R. This 1/2" different can make or break in term of shroud choice or overall clearance issue.
I designed my bracket using the 2.5" lens thinking that the 3.0" lens have identical geometry based on what people are saying, slapped the 3 incher in there and I lost tons of clearance since it is now sticking out too far. So, yes, have to redo my bracket which is not cool. 2.5" FX-R is 5.5" and 3.0" FX-R is 6.0"(measured from bulb holder to the lens tangency curvature).
02-02-2014, 10:11 PM
#604
That sucks! Good part is, the actual performance between the 2.5 and the 3" is the same, the only reason to use the 3" is for aesthetic purposes (larger reflector, etc).
Also dude if you need, I have a fairly significant discount setup through TRS, email me for your future orders, I'd be happy to extend my discount to you. Just keep that on the low, don't post it on HIDplan.et.
v35glycerin@hotmail.com
Also dude if you need, I have a fairly significant discount setup through TRS, email me for your future orders, I'd be happy to extend my discount to you. Just keep that on the low, don't post it on HIDplan.et.
v35glycerin@hotmail.com
02-12-2014, 06:27 PM
#605
not much of a progress, 3 days of snow and rain thru out the week pretty much ruined the ability to be outside working on the lights.
Spacer for the shrouds, machined out of Black gloss acrylic
Spacer for the shrouds, machined out of Black gloss acrylic
02-14-2014, 02:02 PM
#607
So yes, bi-xenon are high and low. The reason of going with two sets is partly because I got carried away...okay mostly because I got carried away.
This is what is going in my head. The FX-R will be the primary projectors that I would use. These will run 55w 4300k bulbs. The Mini 6.0's have 35w 3000k with the bulb power source being on it's own switch/circuit. Both sets of projectors would share is the high beam signal for the solenoids.
What I really end up with is flexibility with the lights. I got a few combinations to work with when you factor both sets of projectors and my fog lights. This can be helpful depending on driving conditions.
At the end of the day, like any quad projector setup, this will be a ton of overkill. However I also do get the joy of having something that's will be a little more on the unique side. Granted the base setup is very similar to Genes1s' set he has on his car. It still is different configuration in terms of projectors, finish color, etc.
S
This is what is going in my head. The FX-R will be the primary projectors that I would use. These will run 55w 4300k bulbs. The Mini 6.0's have 35w 3000k with the bulb power source being on it's own switch/circuit. Both sets of projectors would share is the high beam signal for the solenoids.
What I really end up with is flexibility with the lights. I got a few combinations to work with when you factor both sets of projectors and my fog lights. This can be helpful depending on driving conditions.
At the end of the day, like any quad projector setup, this will be a ton of overkill. However I also do get the joy of having something that's will be a little more on the unique side. Granted the base setup is very similar to Genes1s' set he has on his car. It still is different configuration in terms of projectors, finish color, etc.
S
02-14-2014, 02:49 PM
#608
So yes, bi-xenon are high and low. The reason of going with two sets is partly because I got carried away...okay mostly because I got carried away.
This is what is going in my head. The FX-R will be the primary projectors that I would use. These will run 55w 4300k bulbs. The Mini 6.0's have 35w 3000k with the bulb power source being on it's own switch/circuit. Both sets of projectors would share is the high beam signal for the solenoids.
What I really end up with is flexibility with the lights. I got a few combinations to work with when you factor both sets of projectors and my fog lights. This can be helpful depending on driving conditions.
At the end of the day, like any quad projector setup, this will be a ton of overkill. However I also do get the joy of having something that's will be a little more on the unique side. Granted the base setup is very similar to Genes1s' set he has on his car. It still is different configuration in terms of projectors, finish color, etc.
S
This is what is going in my head. The FX-R will be the primary projectors that I would use. These will run 55w 4300k bulbs. The Mini 6.0's have 35w 3000k with the bulb power source being on it's own switch/circuit. Both sets of projectors would share is the high beam signal for the solenoids.
What I really end up with is flexibility with the lights. I got a few combinations to work with when you factor both sets of projectors and my fog lights. This can be helpful depending on driving conditions.
At the end of the day, like any quad projector setup, this will be a ton of overkill. However I also do get the joy of having something that's will be a little more on the unique side. Granted the base setup is very similar to Genes1s' set he has on his car. It still is different configuration in terms of projectors, finish color, etc.
S
I see. So you're planning on upgrading the wiring as well to accomodate the 55W ballasts?
So possibilities for low beams are the two FXrs, both FX-Rs and the minis, while high beams can be both as well? Interesting...and a hell of a lot of output
You planning on driving down there to pick them up when they're done?
02-14-2014, 02:50 PM
#609
They look phenominal, don't get me wrong. Just wasn't sure of the application.
I'm just starting to look into this stuff myself since I'm wanting to do something to my 4th gen (whether or not that's retro the stockers or get some R34's and retro those...but that's another discussion for another thread)
I'm just starting to look into this stuff myself since I'm wanting to do something to my 4th gen (whether or not that's retro the stockers or get some R34's and retro those...but that's another discussion for another thread)
02-14-2014, 04:27 PM
#610
I'll drive to Maximase86 place to check allignment next week. Once the allignment and all the fit are good I would then working on the shrouds and seal it. When he gets it it should be simply plug in the ballast and go since the allignments are already taken care off....that's the plan..
02-14-2014, 07:12 PM
#611
I'll drive to Maximase86 place to check allignment next week. Once the allignment and all the fit are good I would then working on the shrouds and seal it. When he gets it it should be simply plug in the ballast and go since the allignments are already taken care off....that's the plan..
02-18-2014, 10:03 PM
#615
Got 1/2 hour of weather break tonight and got the low beam projectors in the ball park.
Next would be the challenging part, aligning the Mini H1 projectors to the low beams FXRs. Weather isn't on my side right now.....
Next would be the challenging part, aligning the Mini H1 projectors to the low beams FXRs. Weather isn't on my side right now.....
Last edited by Genes1s; 02-18-2014 at 10:11 PM.
02-19-2014, 11:08 PM
#616
First time firing up the Mini H1 and FX-R together. It's raining outside, so I did what I could inside the garage.
Passenger side projectors at 100' range.
Zoom in for cut off step. They are seperate by 1-1.5" or so. You don't want too much seperation here.
Mini only
FX-R only
Driver side projectors.
Both projectors
FX-R ony
Showing the width right side
Showing width left side
Mini
Passenger side projectors at 100' range.
Zoom in for cut off step. They are seperate by 1-1.5" or so. You don't want too much seperation here.
Mini only
FX-R only
Driver side projectors.
Both projectors
FX-R ony
Showing the width right side
Showing width left side
Mini
Last edited by Genes1s; 02-19-2014 at 11:20 PM.
02-19-2014, 11:17 PM
#617
Mini only
Width right side. There is a slight bow at the end of the beam. I think this is due to the cut off shield play on the projectors. I don't think it'll be noticable at long distance range since the intensity is dimmer. You can really tell than FX-R outperform Mini in every category.
Width right side
100' range. It's a litte too much seperation. It needs to be between 1'-2'.
Width right side. There is a slight bow at the end of the beam. I think this is due to the cut off shield play on the projectors. I don't think it'll be noticable at long distance range since the intensity is dimmer. You can really tell than FX-R outperform Mini in every category.
Width right side
100' range. It's a litte too much seperation. It needs to be between 1'-2'.
Last edited by Genes1s; 02-19-2014 at 11:23 PM.
02-22-2014, 07:52 AM
#619
First time driving around with these lights, they are amazing! These FXRs are big improvement over the previous version. They are as good or better than most OEM IMO.
Even the Mini H1s are getting better too. It is mad how much lights you have with all 4 lit up.
Outdoor shots!
Mini
FXR. The driver side is good, but the passenger side has slight bow , I think this is due to shield curvature imperfection geometry. It wasn't too bad IMO and was not noticeable in the real driving condition
All 4!
Showing all 4 cut off steps
Even the Mini H1s are getting better too. It is mad how much lights you have with all 4 lit up.
Outdoor shots!
Mini
FXR. The driver side is good, but the passenger side has slight bow , I think this is due to shield curvature imperfection geometry. It wasn't too bad IMO and was not noticeable in the real driving condition
All 4!
Showing all 4 cut off steps
Last edited by Genes1s; 02-22-2014 at 08:14 AM.
02-23-2014, 07:10 PM
#621
So, I'm sure this is nothing new to you guys expert retrofitter out there, but I'd like to share why aiming a quad retro can be a challenging process.
This Maxima headlight has dual reflectors. The axis or center of the high beam reflector is actually lower than the axis of the low beam reflector. On top of that, there is already one piece bezel that covers both reflectors. Any projectors have to be inside this bezel and aligned with the bezel round openings.
Picture below shows the geometry of both projectors axis (cut off line) and its relation to the pivot rotation of the headlight for vertical aiming.
\
I picked my aiming distance at 45-50', so at this distance all 4 cut off steps are at the same height. Well, because the distance between the center low beam axis and pivot (Y2) is shorter than the center high beam axis and pivot (Y1), the high beam rotates at faster rate than low beam does. So, when you adjust the vertical aim, eventually the high beam projector will go higher/lower than the low beam projector.
Aimed at 50'
Adjusted up
Adjusted down
This Maxima headlight has dual reflectors. The axis or center of the high beam reflector is actually lower than the axis of the low beam reflector. On top of that, there is already one piece bezel that covers both reflectors. Any projectors have to be inside this bezel and aligned with the bezel round openings.
Picture below shows the geometry of both projectors axis (cut off line) and its relation to the pivot rotation of the headlight for vertical aiming.
\I picked my aiming distance at 45-50', so at this distance all 4 cut off steps are at the same height. Well, because the distance between the center low beam axis and pivot (Y2) is shorter than the center high beam axis and pivot (Y1), the high beam rotates at faster rate than low beam does. So, when you adjust the vertical aim, eventually the high beam projector will go higher/lower than the low beam projector.
Aimed at 50'
Adjusted up
Adjusted down
Last edited by Genes1s; 02-23-2014 at 07:32 PM.
02-23-2014, 09:05 PM
#622
OK, this another big finding...
FX-R 2.5" lens has wider beam width than FX-R 3.0" lens has. It's significant seeing it on the wall, but I'm not sure how it translates in the real road. The test drive on the FX-R 3.0" the other night was pretty good to me. This should be even better with 2.5" lens now that I know it has wider beam pattern. There are at least 3 of us who experienced this at HID Planet. I didn't know this before, I really thought the performance is identical.
Pardon the pics, it was hard holding one projector and camera at the same time. You can see the left side of lower beam is the FX-R 3" and the beam that keeps going to the left is the 2.5". The cut off step between the two are on the same spot. Now what.....
FX-R 2.5" lens has wider beam width than FX-R 3.0" lens has. It's significant seeing it on the wall, but I'm not sure how it translates in the real road. The test drive on the FX-R 3.0" the other night was pretty good to me. This should be even better with 2.5" lens now that I know it has wider beam pattern. There are at least 3 of us who experienced this at HID Planet. I didn't know this before, I really thought the performance is identical.
Pardon the pics, it was hard holding one projector and camera at the same time. You can see the left side of lower beam is the FX-R 3" and the beam that keeps going to the left is the 2.5". The cut off step between the two are on the same spot. Now what.....
03-09-2014, 06:36 PM
#623
Shroud needs an extension to clear the projector lens. The extension is made out of polycarbonate gloss black to add contrast. I was thinking of Mirror finish but couldn't find the thickness I need.
High beam shroud
What y'all think? does the high beam need the gloss black spacer too.....
High beam shroud
What y'all think? does the high beam need the gloss black spacer too.....
Last edited by Genes1s; 03-09-2014 at 06:45 PM.
03-10-2014, 07:50 PM
#625
That high beam shroud is a mock up, so it will be cleaned up and could be a little smaller diameter too.
03-13-2014, 11:51 PM
#628
Got a chance to tune RX330 Projectors.
Projectors and beam pattern as received.
That JB weld still soft! I don't think it was mixed well....
You are pretty brave to put LED with only epoxy in there. That lens holder gets pretty hot, did the LED still work? I didn't check
Bowls looks good but pretty dirty, cleaned it with low pressure compressed air
Your TSX-R lenses have some ripple defect, I've seen those before. I rotated them to the bottom where it won't effect any performance
Fired up as is no modification. I think you spaced the lens too far. The lens is sitting on the rubber O-Ring and that what makes the output went nuts!
Projector 1
Projector 2
I made the shield yesterday ( decided to make a step cut off since you seems to like step), curved it and lowered it. You can see I lowered it as low as I can without compromising the cut off. I overlaid them with the original shield so you can see.
Tuned it at 40 feet to produce purple/deep blue. Tuning projector takes hours tonight. If the position is changed just a bump it would change the cut off, it is very finicky.
I'll see if I can put more color in there tomorrow, but this might be as good as it gets. We'll take more pics as we go
Projectors and beam pattern as received.
That JB weld still soft! I don't think it was mixed well....
You are pretty brave to put LED with only epoxy in there. That lens holder gets pretty hot, did the LED still work? I didn't check
Bowls looks good but pretty dirty, cleaned it with low pressure compressed air
Your TSX-R lenses have some ripple defect, I've seen those before. I rotated them to the bottom where it won't effect any performance
Fired up as is no modification. I think you spaced the lens too far. The lens is sitting on the rubber O-Ring and that what makes the output went nuts!
Projector 1
Projector 2
I made the shield yesterday ( decided to make a step cut off since you seems to like step), curved it and lowered it. You can see I lowered it as low as I can without compromising the cut off. I overlaid them with the original shield so you can see.
Tuned it at 40 feet to produce purple/deep blue. Tuning projector takes hours tonight. If the position is changed just a bump it would change the cut off, it is very finicky.
I'll see if I can put more color in there tomorrow, but this might be as good as it gets. We'll take more pics as we go
Last edited by Genes1s; 03-14-2014 at 12:23 AM.
03-14-2014, 03:16 AM
#629
HOLY **** that looks amazing dude, the previous build was rushed and wasn't my finest work lol my buddy and I have improved since then. The leds worked fine, but one of them died. I'm going to replace both of them. Is there a way to remove the lens and replace the leds without compromising the tuning you've done?
03-14-2014, 08:44 AM
#630
HOLY **** that looks amazing dude, the previous build was rushed and wasn't my finest work lol my buddy and I have improved since then. The leds worked fine, but one of them died. I'm going to replace both of them. Is there a way to remove the lens and replace the leds without compromising the tuning you've done?
How long have u been using the O ring as spacer, that O-ring seems to be in good shape and I use it to fill the gap between the lens and the lens retainer.
When is the spacers supposed to be here?
03-14-2014, 09:00 AM
#631
Oh Okay, I was afraid that if you set the lens a certain way and I remove it, I might mess up the adjustments you made. But I can reinstall the leds without touching the shield. Is that o ring suppose to go there? I'm not even sure, those projectors were purchased black Friday weekend and shipped to me in December they are still fairly new. Spacers will be delievered tomorrow, did you get the tracking for it?
03-14-2014, 02:23 PM
#632
Oh Okay, I was afraid that if you set the lens a certain way and I remove it, I might mess up the adjustments you made. But I can reinstall the leds without touching the shield. Is that o ring suppose to go there? I'm not even sure, those projectors were purchased black Friday weekend and shipped to me in December they are still fairly new. Spacers will be delievered tomorrow, did you get the tracking for it?
You've been running the the projector since the December without issue then? I'm just afraid the O-ring would not withstand the heat, but then again I'm not sure how hot that lens retainer gets.
03-14-2014, 02:30 PM
#634
I'll put cooper wire to make the lens fits, without it is flopping around too much.
You've been running the the projector since the December without issue then? I'm just afraid the O-ring would not withstand the heat, but then again I'm not sure how hot that lens retainer gets.
You've been running the the projector since the December without issue then? I'm just afraid the O-ring would not withstand the heat, but then again I'm not sure how hot that lens retainer gets.
03-14-2014, 03:41 PM
#637
03-14-2014, 10:50 PM
#639
Was able to bring a little more deep purple/blue at 40'
Showing the streak of hot spot on the right due to lowered shield, this allows for better distance lighting
Both projectors
Right section
Projector 1 top, projector 2 bottom, showing the comparison beam profile between the 2
Shield close up
Done.
Showing the streak of hot spot on the right due to lowered shield, this allows for better distance lighting
Both projectors
Right section
Projector 1 top, projector 2 bottom, showing the comparison beam profile between the 2
Shield close up
Done.
Last edited by Genes1s; 03-14-2014 at 10:54 PM.