pdyebrasil

UPDATE: 2/21/2011

I just installed 50w ballasts and bulbs and the difference is huge! Much brighter. Light output seems more even as well. I'm very pleased with the results. I'll be putting some HID fogs in soon, so stay tuned...
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It's been a while, but I started looking back into some HID related stuff, mainly just to see what was new and what had changed in the 3 years that I've had my retrofit in. Well it turns out that it is A LOT easier and CHEAPER to do a retro nowadays! I was looking around and there are quite a few options for shrouds that will cover up the projector, and seeing as I have never been super crazy about how mine looked (w/ the garden light covers) I decided to grab some new shrouds and switch them out.

After looking around a bit I decided on what are called the "Gatling Gun shrouds", and they have these cool "vents" that you can put CCFL halos in for a different look. I've never thought doing the typical BMW angel eyes in a 4Runner would look very good, but seeing them inside these shrouds I thought would be pretty cool.

All in all, it was a pretty easy upgrade, albeit not quite as easy as expected. I had to shave my projectors down quite a bit in order to get the shrouds to fit over them, and I ended up busting one of the CCFLs when mounting it to the projector. While I was at it I re-mounted my driver side projector in the headlight housing because I originally mounted it pointed down more than it should have been. I also replaced the stock fresnel lenses w/ some clear lenses, which sharpens up the cutoff and improves the intensity. Anyway, I'm pleased with the results.

I bought the shrouds and CCFLs from Matt at The Retrofit Source. They have tons of products, all aimed at retrofitters. I originally bought my projectors from him years ago. Really easy to work with and super fast shipping. And NO, I'm not affiliated with him or his company at all

Shrouds: $40

Clear Lenses: $25

CCFL halos (100mm): $30


YouTube HD Video

What the old garden light shrouds looked like:




New shrouds and clear lenses:




Mounted in the headlight:




All done:






CCFLs on:






Headlights on:






And here is a comparison between the stock lenses and new clear lenses.

Single projector, stock lens:




Single projector, clear lens:





Here is the link to the first thread on my retrofit. Lots of good info there. I was recently informed that if you do a google search on "xenon retrofit" it is the first result! Pretty cool.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/h...w-pics-133563/

Texas_Ace

So you are still using the old projectors, you just upgraded the lens and shroud?

pdyebrasil

Yep, same projectors. I just upgraded the lenses from the stock fresnel lenses to clear ones. So as far as performance goes things are slightly more intense and the cutoff is sharper. Otherwise it's all aesthetics

Texas_Ace

Nice, I still want to do this to my truck, just don't have the money. lol

J2F42C

I passed on a set of Porsche projectors two years ago, been kicking myself ever since.

In fact I don't think that Intermatic makes those Malibu lights anymore...at least I have not seen them in HD for some time.

Looks good..

pdyebrasil

Haha I know the feeling... There's always something else to mod Good news is that it's actually a lot cheaper to do this now than back when I did it.

pdyebrasil

Hey thanks man. When I was in Home Depot over the weekend I didn't see those lights either... It seems like Porsche projectors are a lot rarer these days, but there are some newer options out there.

pfdaxe

pdyebrasil:

Looks Great!. I like the new shrouds! Very clean looking. I don't think they would fit my Acura TL projectors since the solenoid sits underneath in the front. I had to purchase my Malibu solar light covers directly through Intermatics website since HD stopped selling the light. And....I did the clear lens & CCFL along time ago....so don't take all the credit.... LOL


https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/m...roject-192572/

pdyebrasil

Thanks! I never did see your thread with the CCFLs. You definitely beat me to it. I had to shave my Porsches down to the bare minimum I could to get these shrouds to fit, and I'm glad I did. You're right though, probably wouldn't work with the TLs. The solenoid on mine is underneath, but it's pushed pretty far back. There are quite a few options that could work, so here's the link, just in case:

The Retrofit Source: Projector Shrouds

pfdaxe

That's where I purchased my 55 watt ballast and CCFLs...

Jason B

OK, that's awesome, and this post needs to be bumped up. Are you still running these? How about you Pfdaxe? Long time.

pdyebrasil

Yep still running these as you see here. I've done quite a few mods to my truck, but my headlights were probably the best thing I've done. Definitely worth the time and money.

When we bought our new car ('12 Chrysler 300) I had to pull apart it's headlights and upgrade the internals because my 16 year old 4Runner has way better lights!

Jason B

Wow, cool. Would you be willing to build a pair of led bumpers for me?