Hi everybody
I'd like to share the build log for my headlights.
The goal: Install HIDs in them. I could just drop 9004 HID bulbs in them and call it a day. But I wanted a proper beam pattern and no glare. I picked up a pair of projector lenses. Projectors have a "cutoff shield", which blocks light above a certain point. This is the reason that if you stand in front of a car with HIDs, it looks like the lights are dim, but if you duck and look under the shield, they're super bright.
I drive a 1997 Nissan Maxima. The stock headlights are a crappy 9004 single relector design. The beam pattern is terrible and if I'm driving through a place with streetlight, I can't even tell whether the lights are on or not. The 95-99 Maxima has two different headlights. 95-96 uses a fluted glass lenge, and 97-99 uses a clear plastic lens. I got a good deal on a pair of 95-96 headlights. I was told that the fluting on them would disrupt the beam pattern from my projectors, so I decided to install them on my car for spares, and do the retrofit on my stock 97-99 clears.
Here we see a comparison, 95-96 on bottom, 97-99 on top
So, with the fluted lights on my car, I got to work on the clears.
First thing first, I opened them up. Baked them at 250 for 10 minutes, pried them apart. Hint: It would have been a lot easier with another person helping hold them.
Next, the projectors. These are Stanley projectors, from a MDX or Camry. They're originally halogen, using a H11 bulb, rather than the D2S that a HID projector will use.
I test-fit them in the reflector bowls. Later on, I'll cut out the back of the headlights to let them sit deeper in, and allow me access to the bulbs after I seal the headlgihts back up.
