If I retrofit a raw projector........how much light should I be worried about escaping between the shield and the lense?

i guess would be... it would depend on the projector...

which projector did you have in mind?

Xenon E39 from a '99 BMW 540i

E39's have a pretty large gap in front.





as you can see.. it does give out a significant amount of stray light. the light above has a "fluted" material that helps to filter out a lot of that stray light and is significantly worst without.

Well check out my next post I'm about to make.....I just got the projectors in.

Its nothing uncommon with stray light from the sides. All projectors have that. Thats why they are not 100% effetive... Well... all light fixtures has a lot of loss. And projector units are one of the best, atually. What u can do to make it more OEM looking is to add a vertical textured lens matrial.

Here's the finished product........I ended up just adding some sheet metal around it.

picture:

we're not just talking about regular stray light here herman... as you know, without a front cover, the bulb is actually visible from the outside, which is not how it is suppose to be. if you can see the bulb directly, from the outside, you'll have unnecessary glare.

Well I tested it out after I put the shroud around it, and there is no access light. I could'nt determine how the beam was yet because I had some bolts that needed to be shaved before I could fit it in my lamp.

DJ,

I have similar style ones only in Hella Bi-Xenon version. I tested them without a cover, but thought the amount of stray light is too much. So, what I did is got a 1.5" to 3" black plastic connector pipe for household plumbing from my local hardware store. Cut off the narrow end to length and it covers most of the length. Also fits snugly. I had to do a lot dremelling though. I figure that if it is good for boiling water, it shoulg be good for HID. If you need pictures, email me.

Thanks.........but I already finished it, the picture is about 4 posts back. I just used some sheet metal. The projector's reflector comes almost flush to the back of the lense.....so the gap is around the lense, not behind it. So I was able to make a plate out of sheet metal with a hole a little bit smaller then the lense, then I made little cuts so that it would have a snug fit.