Hey to all the HID enthusiast out there! Third project completed in 3rd week. Here's the link to my project:

http://vuehaongoy.com/charlieddeccls2k.html

I really like the blacked out look.
May I ask what is your plans for high beams?

What made you decide to use steel wire to retain projector unit. Its great for aiming, but long term stability is another question?

Herman...you've got some sharp eyes!! lol. Anyway, the low beams are located right under the projectors which they guy didn't want any chrome reflector or any reflector at all, so the high beam bulbs are reflecting all in the black housing. I showed the guy an Adobe Photoshoped pic if I was to place a custom chrome reflector below but neither him and I likes the looked. He simply wanted the DDE CCFL w/ the S2000 to be centered so it can stand out and look OEM. Normally the headlight has the low beams on top and the high beams on the bottom split into 2 reflectors. What I did was move the low beam's location lower so it looks centered overall which I had to cut a new hole in between the two back caps and had them sealed w/ rubber caps after. The low beam bulb and cap is still in its original location so it is really close to the S2000's projector, almost touching. I told the guy if that's what he wants, his high beam would be usedles. Well he will have some high beam but it will be dim and non-reflective. It will act more like a low beam just to give some glare on top of the cut-off(like miniscule lighting outout). Well, he was okay with is since no one really uses their high beams in Northern California or maybe to flash others to move or something. Yeah!

The reason why I used the steel wire was basically to hold the projectors in place as well as adjust the horizontallity of the Z-Line in case it's crooked since my garage is uneven and I can't really tell whether or not the beam will be perfectly even so I can always tweak the projectors after. It gives me a second chance. Also, another reason for using the steel wires is so I don't have to JB-Weld it which may take a day to completely dry and hardened. using the steel wire, I can position the projectors anyway I like instantly without having to wait hours or a whole day waiting. It's my way to cutting down time. Also I think the Wiring holds better than the JB-Weld somehows and is not as messy for my hands. This is the third time I'm using steel wires on a retrofit. Using JB-Weld may also increase the chance that the projector unit might pop after gluing it since the S2000 projectors has some unknowm metal which I tried welding it and it didn't weld but rather go thru the projector. Also I used a magnet to see if it was aluminum but isn't. So I think it's either cast iron or bronze or something. The magnet was to give me a cluw of what the projector was made of so I can weld it so that's not possible. Steel wire is still the most efficient and quick way for me to mount the projectors. JB-Weld and Epoxy were what I used to put but time is precious and I found a way to cheat. lol. Alright thanks for noticing and your concern!


HID guy,
Victor

Yea that really is a different approach to the whole process. I have had my Valeo ECE D2S' in my 2000 Honda Prelude for about 3 years now and I have never seen a retrofit like that. I'm not sure if I dig the DDE eyes or not. Why did you do it this way as opposed to blacking out the reflector and mounting it on that so you could retain the stock aiming adjustment?

I didn't want to paint the chrome reflector black simply because it was a waster of time and space. When you have a projector inserted, there is no need for any kinds of reflectors. I don't see a point in having them except for the fact that it might be easier to mount the projectors, and use the reflectors as a cover so you don't see the back. The S2000, Audi TT, Cadillac CTS, and Saleen S7 don't have any reflectors so I didn't see point except that they have a black cover around the projectors so you can't see the back of it. Also, the projectors are mounted to the OEM adjustment screws so the headlight owner can still use the factory adjustement mechanism. Anyways, I liked the idea of not putting anything inside the headlight because it will make the headlight look like it has depth and details inside. It actually makes the headlight look bigger and defines the boxy shape of the body. I've added to DDE CCFL angel eyes so the car looks mysterious,dark, and evil(notice the sligltly crooked/slanted halos purposely done)just to make it look mean. It's almost like two raised eyebrows. Also, I've added the DDE CCFL because it makes the projector look like they are bigger. From far away, the Angel Eyes surrounding the projectors makes the headlight look bigger and it won't look like empty space in there. Since the angel eyes are wired to the parking and I've replaced the orange bulb inside the headlights to nothing, the Angel eyes definetly gives a new facelift and appearance of the car. No one at night will think it's a Prelude. You will be surprised how many compliments he got by simply getting others to mistake for a luxury sports car.

Thanks for your concern
HID guy,
Vue-Hao Ngoy aka Victor

very creative retrofit!! and naked too!

for high beam.. it is not a matter of you use it or not.. I would be interested to know what does a police think of it.

This Prelude headlamp still has high beams. I don't think cops will even care if you have high beam or not. Why would they pull you over for not having high beam in the first place? Do they want me to turn on my high beams while driving at night or day? I don't they think they care or have the time to even think about lights. Cops in the city and smaller counties got much more important things to do such as numerous domestic crimes, theft, etc...over here. They don't even have the time to take get some coffee breaks. lol. Why pull over a car w/ headlights that doesn't blind, is not disturbing, and is DOT spec? Cops here are more scared of being filed for harrasment and complaints. Anyways, my headlamps produce a nice luxurious DOT output unlike just simply sticking an aftermarket HID bulb into a stock halogen reflector. I think all those Acura TL's w/ their HID halogen reflector system should be banned because they have way too much glare and sometimes I feel like those can cause other dirvers to have an accident. Having projectors is much safer is you leverl your beam correctly.

Thanks for your concern

HID guy,
Vue-Hao Ngoy ak Victor

Very, very interesting retrofit indeed. I like what you have done. Nice work. Only one small thing I would change, I would make the DDE's amber so they have a legal color.. other than that I think it really looks nice.

Danny

Nah...no amber. Theres isn't any amber even in the stock housing. This is a pure white color. No blue, purple or whatsover. I've ask many cops here in the city and tried other counties and they've taken a close-up look at my work and they say it's perfectly fine and legal. Just don't level them to high or put cheap colored bulbs and clear side markers or clear hyper white bulbs. All bulbs I use all orange and OEM. I have the orange signal lights bulbs on too. Even the Prelude has the orange side markers, and his orange signals are on top of his foglights and NOT on the headlights. So there's no way of getting pulled over.

Yea I know that it's just personal preference for me. I'm not a fan of the extreme "white" look besides headlamps. I also think amber is a nice contrast with the HID projectors color.

Just for comparison purposes for people who are not familiar with the Prelude housing here is my retro:

[IMG][/IMG]

you are lucky guy! our cops have nothing to do but pull people over for their so called illegal mods.

Nice Prelude lights! AHah. Cops here don't have time to pull people over here for lights. Cops in the city have an overwhelmingly amount of cases unsolved. I've even spoken with many of them either suburbs and city, and they tell me city is the worst since there's not enough detectives to perform investigation. Even my case hasn't been resolver for almost a year when I got assaulted by 4 guys at once. 4 vs 1??? wtf is that? I could of taken on two of them! damn I wish I could play that scene back and kick the shiet out of at least two of them!! at least I'm still alive and didn't get stabbed.

I don't know Victor...As a means to an end, I think you have achieved the minimum desired result of mounting a functional HID system, but it looks wholely unfinished. I don't mean disrespect. The skill is certainly there, but I happen to like investing time into something. Tossing the OEM reflector housing is certainly thinking outside the box, but hanging angel-eyes to distract from the unfinished look doesn't do it for me. As a for-sale solution, wire would make it profitable and easy to do. I think you found the NASA solution on this one, and I can certainly respect resourcefulness and making the most of the materials.
Interesting.

I think that the wire is an intresting touch. Kind of an industrial look, which is very cool, but if you do it again, I would think about some sort of aesthetic trim (satin/brushed/machined, polished would be too shiny) ring around the projector with the angel eyes on the outside of the ring. Would add just the right amount of 'bright' into an otherwise black housing. If it was flat enough, you will still see the mounting method too.

But, IMHO, it works, and looks good as is.

-Jon

Yeah, this was more like a shortcut compared to using JB-WELD and/or Epoxy which may take a full day to cure. Using the steel metal was extremely quick, easy, and industrial look to it. Took only minutes. The good thing is that, at least now I know that JB-Weld can become loose after extensive vibrations. JB-Weld can also be messy since the beginning it drips and runs. Yeah, right now, I use a combo or all three: Epoxy, JB-Weld, and Steel Wire. They act as a back-up in case one or the other fails so the mounting will always be stable regardless of the conditions. I figured out JB-Weld can break and fly off loose in car accidents while as if you had steel wires, the projectors will stay intact and prevent popping off the mounts. Happened to one of my customers which the the headlights broke, and the angeles became glass but the projectors were still perfectly intact. Everything else was on the floor shattered. Even the high beams were came off. Hmm...maybe it was luck but I doubt it. I think it was also due to the idea that wires kept the projectors hanging in there; saved costly parts. = )

This is a moot point with the Prelude if you use the stock reflector housing. The projector will either be sandwiched between the interior reflector and the exterior housing, or it's screwed into it from the front. In a collision something inside it will need to be repaired as you stated, but the projector should survive in a Prelude from a jolt or shock.

Yeah, that's correct. I wanted the projector so remain stable in its position if it ever encountered harsh vibrations such as hitting a pothole or going over a railroad track at high speed.

shrug I've had my ECE valeo's attached to the reflector for 3 years and have had no problems.

I see. It takes about a full day for the JB-Weld to cure while using steel-wires takes only minutes. My goal was to retrofit the projector quickly, and efficiently without having to wait hours or days for the compound to harden. Overall the project came out beyond words. My customer is overwhelmingly happy and it's gotten high ratings and page hits. Even though I've used Epoxy and JB-Weld for years, I'd use steel-wire all over again. No doubt about that. Everyone has their technique...I'm comfortable with mine.

Thanks for your concern!

HID guy,
Victor