[originalcyn]

Mythical Headlight HID Retrofit DIY - Part II

Mythical Headlight HID Retrofit DIY - Part II
03.04.16


Materials:
-The Retrofit Source H1 Mini Universal Kit-
Included in the following kit:
2 x Morimoto Mini H1 6.0 (LHD)
2 x 35W: Morimoto XB35 Computer Ballasts
2 x Morimoto XB Igniter (AMP)
2 x H1: XB 5500K Bulbs (Please pick a temperature of your preference)
2 x Mini Gatling Gun Shrouds (Please pick a shroud of your preference)
1 x MotoControl Bixenon H4/9003 Harness

A note on the bulbs, 5500k is VERY WHITE. While this may seem brighter, i believe 4500k actually puts out slightly more lumens. This means that 4500k is brighter and appears more OEM than 5500k. Going up in temperature will result in blueish tinge. Going down in temperature will result in a more yellow tinge.

A note on shrouds, there are many to choose from, but only some are included in the base cost of your projector kit.

-Morimoto Retrorubber Butyl Glue-
You are getting ready to spend potentially several hundred dollars on this project. Please don't skimp on glue because something is 5 dollars cheaper at the local automotive store. There are many options that people use in place of this. Some are very good quality. However, this kit has WAY more than enough for both headlights, and is already the correct width to fill the channels back in.

Note on the butyl, some people choose to reuse their butyl. Whatever floats your boat, but clean and new and darker colored (since the stock seems to be light gray or white), was the way to go for me.

-Spare Headlight Buckets-
I'll say this right off the bat, you can save some serious time and still have a car to drive around AND be less stressed, if you buy a set of spare headlights. This means that you can do part of the retrofit before you even take out your headlights. This is especially handy if you plan on painting the buckets.

-Bulbs-
I CANNOT stress this enough. Go to the store or whatever and buy replacement bulbs for ALL of the bulbs in the headlight bucket minus the main headlamp bulb. Seriously, do this. DO THIS. Nothing is worse than having a near conniption fit when everything is back in place but the signals and the side markers and the running lights don't work. Especially when coincidentally they ALL don't work. This is terrifying.

You need:
4 x 168
2 x 992 (7440A)

-Paint-
This is an optional material.

A note on paint, i used Rust-Oleum High Temperature Paint. It's got a grill on the front since bbqs are the standard symbology for "hot" apparently. For whatever reason, the can of flat black i had was actually more like gray (you'll see, oh you'll see). So i don't know if that was just my can, or if it was a reaction, or if it was just the color that that paint is. I painted over the top with gloss black afterwards, which actually wasn't as bad as i thought it would be.

I have no confirmation on this, but high temperature is probably safer. Many people commented that the bucket shouldn't get hot enough to matter, but it just seemed like a good choice.


Tools:
An assortment of flathead screwdrivers
An assortment of philips screwdrivers
10MM socket (Standard and Deep would be best)
Ratchet Extension if you don't have a Deep 10MM socket

Rotary Tool with Metal Cutting Disk
Body Clip Plier

Channel Locks
Drill & Bits
Sharp Scissors or perhaps a Razor
Needle Nosed Pliers

Something to mask with (Tape and Newspaper)
Super Glue
Oven Cookie Sheet
Oven Mitts or a bunch of cloth towels
Nitrile Gloves (Lots of them because your headlights are a pile of sticky filth)
Zip Ties
An Assortment of spare Screws & Bolts & Nuts
Rubbing Alcohol
Compressed Air

 

[originalcyn]

Mythical Headlight HID Retrofit DIY - Part III

Mythical Headlight HID Retrofit DIY - Part III
03.04.16

If you've opted to use this guide, i'm going to assume that you've purchased spare buckets. So we'll start with disassembling the buckets rather than disassembling the front end to get the buckets out.

So let's familiarize ourselves with the bucket assembly.

This is the front of the bucket.

A are the clips that the head light surround attaches to. The part number for these is 57160FC010. I would purchase a few of these to have spare. There are 3 per bucket. They are not very expensive. I removed them before the baking process just in case. They can be removed using the body clip pliers, or with some patience, a screw driver. If they're detached now, later you can attach them to the headlight surround to make it easier to reassemble later.

B is the hole where the bottom retaining clip for the grille goes. This should be removed before the baking process. Like with the surround clips, the grille reassembly is much easier with the clip attached to the grille rather than the headlight bucket.

This is hard to see, but basically it's a Subaru branding. This is on the bottom of the front of the buckets. It's how i confirmed if the buckets were OEM or a 3rd party replacement.

Depo replacement buckets will look like this on the bottom front.

Top view of the bucket.

A shows two clips that will need to be removed. They can be taken off using a flathead screw driver.

Back view of the bucket. Kind of messy.

A - 5 screws that will need to be removed. They are keyed for a specific security bit. The easiest solution for me was to use the rotary tool to notch them into flathead screws (Thanks @snackers!)

B - These are the turn signal, side marker, and driving light. These can be removed simply by twisting them 90 degrees or so.

C - Bolt holes to mount the bucket to the car body.

D - Bucket main lamp sans rubber boot. This should be removed before the baking process. There is one screw holding in a retaining spring and a reflector of some sort. Of course, the bulb should come out as well.

E - Vertical Aiming Adjustment

Close up of notched screw. Unless you are extraordinarily talented or precise, you will probably end up cutting the bucket a little while notching the screws. @tallazzPilipino opted to create a bit instead to get them out.

Top of bucket.

A shows 4 clips that after baking will need to be released to get the lens off. More on this later.

Bottom of bucket.

A shows 5 clips that after baking will need to be released to get the lens off. More on this later.

Disassemble. You may want little containers to keep bits and bobs in.

PREHEAT PREHEAT PREHEAT PREHEAT

So yeah, preheat your oven. I opted for 250°F. Snackers calls out 200°F to 220°F. Honestly, either should work, but if you're worried at all, you should stay as low as possible. In any case, the most important thing here is making sure that your oven is the temperature you specified in the preheat BEFORE you put the bucket in.

Once the oven reaches temperature put the bucket on a cookie sheet like so.

I don't know if it matters or not, but i tired to use an angle where the bucket would not be touching the walls of the oven at all. Once it's in put on a timer for 4 minutes and sit and watch that thing. SIT AND WATCH THE OVEN AND DO NOTHING ELSE.

The timer goes off, get that bucket out of there with expeditiousness. Like, you'll be fine if it takes you 30 or 40 or 50 or 60 seconds to get it out of there, so don't stress. Just get it out as quickly as possible without hurting yourself or it.

Here's where the fun starts. I was kinda busy at this part, so unfortunately no pictures, but essentially you need to split the halves. According to snackers i'm a panzy, but get your mitts and go to town on this thing. I think i actually used mechanic gloves, does that make me more manly? You only need one flathead screw driver, but two can make it easier, depending on how you work. Remember the clips from earlier? 4 on top, 5 on bottom? Use your screw driver to pop these open. Two screw drivers will allow you to hold it open if you need to while you work on another clip.

Do this all the way around the bucket until you have the lens and housing separate.

It'll make sense when you do it. It's not too bad, though it seems terrifying at first. A note though, be careful with the clips. I ended up cracking one as seen here:

They're slightly fragile, but if you're even remotely careful you'll be fine. Even cracking this one didn't seem to make too much of a difference.

When everything is separated, you'll end up with this:

Now's your chance to (if you opted to use new butyl) remove the old butyl while it's still warm.

If you pull slowly and readjust your position on the butyl strand, you'll be able to pull it up in a single piece (or maybe two). It's disgusting by the way, and i kept wrapping it around my hand as i was going and it started to cut off circulation. So be careful of that i guess.

TADA!! Kind of like really melty string cheese. Don't eat it though.

Now you have this:

Let's talk about this for a second. Basically at this juncture, you can go multiple ways, all depending on what you want to do. First and foremost, DO NOT TOUCH THE INSIDE OF THE LENS. If you're not going to modify the lens half in any fashion, you might consider putting it in a sealed garbage bag so dust doesn't get inside. I cannot confirm this, but supposedly it's difficult to even clean the inside of the lens. So definitely try to avoid touching it, and try to keep dust out of it.

There are two primary modifications to be done in here. They are 1) Removal of the amber side marker and 2) Painting of the chrome reflectors and trim.

If you are absolutely hellbent on doing either of these, here's some information.

Remove these three screws.

Along the top edge of the insert, you'll find a clip. Pretty easy to get out.

Once the screws are out and the clip is undone, you have this:

AND

If you do not like the amber side marker, this is your chance to take it out. I did not do that. Correction, i did not do that on the final set. Here's why. Getting the marker out is a pain. The lens has a raised shaped that is a frame the same size as the amber marker. The amber marker sits VERY tightly inside this frame but it has a lip that goes over the top of the raised frame. Using pliers to get this things out was a nightmare. I finally managed to get it out, but it cracked the raised part of the lens. Even when i was done, the raised frame was still there on the lens, so it looked like a freaking GHOST SQUARE~~~OOOOOOOOooooooOOO. Anyways, with the frame still there, i thought it looked ridiculous, so i opted to leave the amber marker in.

This is where i will say that i had a broken lens on a bucket that i had before hand. So i was able to do some test runs first. If you can get your hands on a test bucket, you will be happier.

Also, removing the reflector is illegal, i believe. Or, rather, the amber reflector is required by the DOT. So, you might want to leave it in just in case.

The other modification is painting the chrome in the lens half. It's pretty simple. Take out the circular lens with a screw driver (from the back side) and then mask. Or don't, and paint the whole insert. Either way. Snackers indicated that with the reflectors blacked out, the lights were still very clearly visible. I opted to not black them out purely on aesthetics. With all the chrome blacked out, it looked very....dead inside the headlight bucket.

 

[originalcyn]

Mythical Headlight HID Retrofit DIY - Part IV

Mythical Headlight HID Retrofit DIY - Part IV
03.04.16

Now let's talk about the other half of the bucket.

If you're going to paint, now's your chance. I want to take this opportunity to note that if you DO paint, you should probably let the paint dry for several days before you bake the lens back on. Hence, the usefulness of purchasing new buckets to do the work on first.

So i masked.

And sprayed with my FLAT BLACK high temperature paint...

Wait, what...?

*DOUBLE TAKE*

So then, i went to Gloss Black, which actually appears to be black.

Some notes. I scuffed the reflector a little with sand paper. Not much, but a bit, and then used rubbing alcohol to wipe everything down. I didn't use any adhesion promoter or anything like that. I probably should have, but i didn't, so there.

Also, the reflector dish is made up of ONE HUNDRED MILLION ANGLES. If you're going to paint in here, make sure you move it around so that you get all the angles. You'll be unhappy if you spray from the exact same angle every time.

Paint, being paint, requires drying time and all that jazz, so read your specific can of paint to see what it suggests for drying times, curing times, time times, or whatever. I STILL suggest that you wait several days before putting the lens back on. Apparently paints can release gas for a while. If you seal that gas in a mostly air tight container, it might not be so great for the inside of your lens.

 

[originalcyn]

Mythical Headlight HID Retrofit DIY - Part V

Mythical Headlight HID Retrofit DIY - Part V
03.04.16

ALRIGHT. ASSEMBLY TIME.

H1 Mini Projector & Gatling Gun Shroud

Included hardware

You will need all of these things EXCEPT the smaller silicon washer and the metal ring at the far right of the image.

Attached the shroud to the projector using the 4 longer screws.

I don't know if i'm just a dolt, or what, but as far as i can tell, the shroud only seemed to fit on in one direction, so it's pretty easy to fit on.

Place the large silicon ring on the back.

Here's where it goes into the bucket. Ready?

The two wires of the projector feed through a hole in the side of the bucket housing. The projector only fits in one way, so don't stress about it getting it wrong. Once the projector is in the bucket, put in the keyed adapter that is shown at the bottom of the picture above. Don't worry, it also only goes in one way.

This part is the worst. Tighten down the giant nut that came with the kit. BUT DON'T TIGHTEN IT DOWN TOO MUCH! You want it some what loose so we can aim it horizontally later.

I used a set of channel locks for this. There must be a better way. The metal is pretty soft and scarred something fierce. I didn't even think about using a socket until the end, which probably would have been a better choice.

Now attach the lock bracket.

Alright, this next part is not necessary. I was just copying my hero snackers. If you're following this guide, snackers is your hero too now. Deal with it.

Essentially what we are making is an additional security clip holding the projector in.

Take the shroud you removed before the baking process and make a cut on the mounting end.

As is implicitly implied from the picture, i made my cut too long the first time. Try to cut at about the red line.

Once you have a piece that is short enough, reinstall the small bit of shroud and the retaining spring as they were originally installed.

Now for bulbs.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT TOUCH THE BULB PART OF THE BULB. I mean, don't touch the glass.

I would draw a red circle, but it's basically the entire thing. So, yeah, don't touch.

The bulbs inserts into the projector with the white plastic tube down. Kind of like a key. When they are properly inserted, the base will lay flat against the projector back. You'll notice that the bulbs have a couple plastic nubs on them. These correspond to slots in the back of the projectors. Sometimes the fit is really tight, and you have to push pretty hard to get them in. If they do not sit flush you will end up with a really terrible beam pattern. Just sayin'.

AND DONE (with this part)

We'll go into greater depth on how to connect the wiring, but if you're attempting this, you're probably pretty comfortable with just attaching a few wires. So, attach your wires and make sure that your projectors light up and switch between high and low beam.

 

[originalcyn]

Mythical Headlight HID Retrofit DIY - Part VI

Mythical Headlight HID Retrofit DIY - Part VI
03.04.16

STOP​

Regardless of what step you think comes next, do yourself a HUGE favor and aim your projectors horizontally.

What i mean is, if you bake the lens back on now, you will have the worst time trying to make your cut off horizontally level. It really sucks, take it from me. I spent like 4 extra days trying to fix this when i could have easily just dealt with it right now.

And, this seems out of place, but, do yourself another huge favor and figure out the height of your current headlight beam now as well. The Retrofit Source specifies that there is not a "standard" height that your cut off beam should be, and that the best way to know how high it should be is to trace the outline of the current beam and then match it with the projectors. If this is not possible, the next best option to try and make the cut off LOWER than the bottom of the door mirrors on a normal sedan.

However, since you'll be aiming your projectors now, you'll have to start disassembling the front end. So let's go into that.

Alright, so both snackers and tallazzPilipino deal with this very well, but i guess one more can't hurt.

First step is...open you hood! Hey-o!

But seriously, open you hood.

Ultimately, the grille, plastic ducting dohickey, headlight surrounds, and headlights need to come out.

So first, remove the grille.

Using a flathead screw driver, loosen the clips in the 4 indicated areas.

There are two more clips lower down, but pulling the grille up and out will remove it from those two clips, leaving the clip behind on the headlight assembly. I haven't had an issue with this, but please be gentle just in case.

With all that empty space that's been created, we can now remove the headlight surrounds using a Plastic Fastener Remover.

I know the picture only shows one side, try to do to both please. There will be 4 fasteners total. Also, please ignore that the picture still has the grille in. I don't know why. Please excuse this oversight.

The headlight surrounds are awful, but surprisingly flexible.

In any case, when you take off the surrounds, you're pushing them to the outside. Like so:

Of course the edge of the surround has to clear the headlight lens when you push out.

Underneath the lens, the surround is connected to the clips mentioned earlier, 57160FC010.

The clip on the corner of the car is a 57160FC000. You may consider purchasing a couple of these as well.

Like the plastic fasteners in the surround, this clip is composed of two pieces. One piece is inside the fender, the other piece is a stem and a clip that attaches to the headlight surround.

Once the surround is off, two bolts will be exposed.

These use the 10MM socket to get out, however the upper one is deeper than the other, requiring either a deep socket or an extension.

One final bolt is on the upper part of the frame of the car.

While you're up there, you might as well take the plastic ducting out as well, as it will be in the way later.

I guess at this point, i'm assuming you've already disconnected the connector for the main lamp. If you haven't go ahead and do that.

Also you might want to put down towels underneath the headlight buckets so that when they come out they don't scratch the bumper shell.

Be careful taking out the buckets though, they're connected to three wires and there's a metal peg on the back of the bucket that plugs into the fender that holds the bucket in place.

And that's it! Buckets out, ready for the wiring harness.

Running the wire harness on this is not fun. It's not terrible, it's just not great. I strongly suggest you lay it out to get an idea of where you want to mount everything to see if it will reach.

I decided to mount the control box next to the battery. Of course, the battery had to come out to do this.

I believe that i used a preexisting hole here, but i can't remember. But i remember i chose this spot for two reasons. One i wanted to see the gold box in the engine bay ('cause i'm vain) and two, it was a place where i could easily get around to the other side to put a nut on the bolt that was holding in the box.

The box plugs into the signal and power from the preexisting headlight system. It is strongly suggested that the box be plugged into the H4 plug on the driver's side. It also supplies power to the projector ballasts and the signal to the projectors for the high beams.

I wish i had taken pictures of this, but don't worry, the kit will come with a diagram. There's also a great diagram on the Retrofit Source's website.

Laying out your wire is really a personal choice after all, so don't stress too much if it doesn't fit exactly like someone else's.

I opted to run the connection from the control box underneath my radiator cooling panel to hide it.

There's plenty of places to run zip ties here to make it look nicer, you know, if that's your thing.

In the bumper support, i drilled a couple small holes on each side to mount the ballasts into. I can't say whether or not this is a good idea. If you don't like the idea, i guess you could always use double stick tape.

At this point, finish plugging stuff in. The wire that comes from the control box plugs into the ballast and also must be grounded. The other side of the ballast plugs into the igniters.

The logical place to ground for me was the radiator bolts (pictured on the right). Though, i did use the rotary tool to grind out a little paint to make the connection for the ground better.

I haven't really mentioned the wires from the back of the projector yet, but this is kind of a weird thing. You basically have to make the plug using the hardware included with the projector kit. It's easy, but i delayed in doing it because i wasn't certain how it would handle the re-baking process. This is really your call, i can't offer any good advice on it unfortunately. But if you're going to aim the projectors right now with the lenses off, you'll have to put the plug together. I mean, you can put the wires in without the plug being built, but you'll be pushing in the pins individually, so at least verify which wire goes where. Before you do anything though, read a head a bit.

Anyhow, included in the kit is an extension of sorts. It runs between the bulb and the igniter and ballast.

It comes with a little waterproof grommet. BEFORE you make the plug for the extensions, MAKE CERTAIN TO RUN THE WIRES FROM THE BUCKET THROUGH THE WATER PROOF GROMMET. I can guarantee you will be less than thrilled if you make the plug before you do this.

We can worry about the modified boot a little later, but make certain that the projector is plugged in. Two cables run to the igniter and one runs to the cable coming from the control box. This cable controls the high beam signal.

You may consider waterproofing the left over h4 plug that isn't in use on the passenger side.

Get your newly created buckets back in to place. Don't hook up the turn signals or anything like that, and don't tighten everything down real well as you'll have to take it back out. Just make certain that the bucket is pretty much in the correct, permanent, position.

You did get the height of your current headlights beams before you took them out right? Cause, bad news...

 

[originalcyn]

Mythical Headlight HID Retrofit DIY - Part VII

Mythical Headlight HID Retrofit DIY - Part VII
03.04.16

So yeah, aiming. All that work for aiming. Aiming aiming aiming.

About aiming, it's not too bad, it just takes patience (and for me, the realization that it will not be perfect). The cut offs you see on the Retrofit Source site are most likely from slightly higher end projectors. Projectors that require a lot more work and modification. Projectors i opted not to buy.

Anyways, aiming. Ideally, you want the cut off to be parallel to the ground. I wish i had taken pictures before my first attempts at aiming, but mine were more of a V shape. Needless to say, oncoming drivers weren't real thrilled about that. But on the plus side i could light up signs on the side of the road like 7 intersections down.

According to the Retrofit Source, the best way to aim is to park about 20 feet away from a wall or flat surface.

They also included this video:

If you're finding that, even after measuring the height of your previous beam cutoff, that it is not quite the right height, one Retrofit Source representative recommended "to adjust the cutoff line about 1.5 inches lower than what [the] headlights are from the ground and go for a drive to see how it is."

Also, consider checking out this thread on HID Planet.

Anyways, here's some gradual aiming shots:

First adjustment

Suggestions from The Retrofit Source suggested that my bulbs may not be lined up correctly. They provided this chart for comparison:

After fiddling with the bulbs, i got this:

This was considerably better, but still high and misaligned slightly. A little more fiddling and i produced this:

Lowbeam pano

Highbeam pano

This is pretty much where i wanted to be. Not perfect, but sufficient. It may even be slightly too high, but that's easily adjustable using the vertical aiming adjustment on the back of the buckets. While facing the bucket, turning the lever clockwise with a crescent wrench will lower the beam, while (obviously) turning the lever counter clockwise will raise the beam.

In any case, it was enough to move forward since the vertical adjustment is accessible any time by simply opening the hood.

Take the buckets out of the front end and tighten down the nut on the back of the projector that we didn't tighten down too tightly many many steps ago. Make sure the bulb is out and stored nicely. DON'T TOUCH THE GLASS! GOD!

A note, i'm not sure how great it is to drive around a bunch with the buckets open. If possible, try to do this as close to home as possible. I feel as though driving around with the buckets open will get a bunch of dust in the buckets, and might run the risk of scratching the projector. I mean, projectors usually focus in the back, so it shouldn't matter, but no need to tempt fate.

Time to be baked again! (It is Washington after all).

First and foremost, make sure there's no dust or finger prints on the inside of the lens. I didn't do this, so now i have a smudge right in the middle. I rarely notice it, but when i do it's infuriating. On that note, i don't know how to clean the inside of the lens. I read that it's dangerous to clean, and you could end up scratching the lens like crazy. I would start with compressed air, and then, maybe rubbing alcohol and a microfiber cloth? I don't know. Try not to rub a lot. You're taking a risk on this. While you're at it, make sure the projector lens doesn't have prints on it either.

Now, prep your buckets with that new butyl you got (you got it right?).

The Retrorubber is really nice because it's the correct diameter for the channel on the buckets. When it is being applied, you may consider stretching it EVER so slightly, but that might not even be necessary.

Run the butyl all the way around the bucket. Don't put in too much, or it will ooze all over everything. As mentioned, simply running it along the channel worked best for me. I didn't pack it in.

Then press the lens in as much as possible. It's not going to go in all the way. The butyl is too hard for that. Just push it in enough that it's ready to be pushed in after baking.

Depending on how you feel about it, you may want to try to disassemble the plug on the back of the projector since it seems to be made of somewhat soft plastic and little rubber majigs. Your call, i didn't have to deal with this at this point since i screwed up earlier.

PREHEAT PREHEAT PREHEAT PREHEAT

The box for the butyl calls out 265°F which is a world of difference from the 220°F that we did earlier. You can interpret this however you want. I won't imply anything here.

Once the oven reaches the temperature it's supposed to be, get the bucket on a cookie sheet and get it in the oven. The box for the butyl calls out SEVEN minutes, which again, is very different from the four we did earlier. Put on a timer. SIT AND WATCH THE OVEN AND DO NOTHING ELSE.

Once the bucket is out of the oven, start pressing the lens into the butyl. I had to use mitts cause i'm a wuss, but, push the lens in really well. I didn't have any problems pushing in the middle of the lens, but be careful just in case.

Start putting your bucket assembly back together. 5 screws, which you notched (right?) 2 clips.

As a side note, i went everywhere looking for replacement screws that were philips or flathead. They don't seem to exist anywhere, which is kind of obnoxious.

Reinstall the bulbs. DO NOT TOUCH THE GLASS! How many times do i have to say it??

Rubber boot time. Essentially the length of the new bulbs is...much less convenient the the standard bulbs. As such, the boot doesn't fit on so hot.

Anyways, cut the rubber boot slightly at the narrow point where the bulb's back is supposed to stick out. Like, reduce the height of the boot slightly. Or don't. Do whatever you want. Gees.

I actually can't remember how much i cut it. But the point is to bring it down to the point where the grommet that came with the projector kit kind of acts like a top for it, like so:

It's not really waterproof at this point, so i super glued it down as well.

Is there a better adhesive for this? Probably. Do i know what it is? Not even remotely.

Remember to put in the new bulbs you bought for the turn signal, Driving lights, and side marker on both sides before you reinsert the housings into the headlight bucket. Remember, or be very very sad later when you have to take the housing out of the car another 3 times.

Time to button everything up. Put down towels. "Any man that can hitch the length and breadth of the Galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through and still know where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with."

Reassembly of the front end is pretty much the reverse of taking it apart. Makes sense. However, you can save yourself some trouble by doing the following:

1) Instead of putting the white clips (57160FC010) that go into the bottom edge of the front of the headlight buckets into the buckets, consider putting them in the headlight surround.

2) Instead of putting the black clips (57160FC000) that go into the corner of the fender into the corner of the fender, consider separating the long stem piece from the surrounding and putting it on the headlight surround.

3) Make certain that the clips for the bottom of the grille are out of the headlight buckets and are put into the grille.

Honestly, putting the surrounds on is the hardest part of doing anything with the front end.

Anyways, put the bucket down on the towels you laid out, and then plug the bulb into the igniter and the projector into the ballast. Then make certain to connect the wires for the turn signal, driving light, and side markers before you push the bucket's metal peg back into the fender. YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY TEST ALL LIGHTS AT THIS POINT. HIGH, LOW, SIDE MARKER, TURN SIGNALS, DRIVING LIGHT.

If everything seems to be in working order, continue assembly.

3 bolts for each headlight bucket.
1 bolt for the plastic ducting.
Put the surrounds back in.

If you've put the clips into the surrounds, there should be no real sliding, just put it in straight on. If any of those clips come out, you'll have to do it the hard way, so be very precise when setting it in place.

The grille goes in last and is super easy. It clips into place. Two clips on the bottom, four clips on top.

All back together! WOOO.

 

[originalcyn]

Mythical Headlight HID Retrofit DIY - Part VIII
03.04.16

Closing thoughts.

If you're concerned about running the bulbs out, consider disabling the DRL. I didn't care, so i didn't do it, but snackers has a section devoted to it here.

I immediately went and got a headlight restoration done. These don't really seem to last too many years unfortunately, but it was something to do.

You may consider investing in some rock shields for your newly restored lenses.

Lamin-x makes a cover for 03-05 foresters. I believe it's S008. It comes in several colors, but that seems silly honestly, after going through all that trouble to make your headlights brighter, why would you run them through a filter that necessarily blocks some of the light?

Embarrassingly, i ordered a set of clear ones and tried to apply the passenger side. It went very VERY poorly. Not through any fault of the product mind you, it's just that i suck at laying down vinyl. I immediately gave up, and didn't even try to apply the driver's side. So, on that note, if for some reason you need a driver's side and only the driver's side, let me know.

Additionally, if you opt to buy spare buckets, try to verify that the lens is in pretty good shape. Even professionally restored, my lenses had some pretty deep scratches in them.

I know the thought of it sucks, but keep in mind that there's the chance that the buckets aren't sealed well. You will need to keep an eye out for moisture inside the lens for the next few weeks. If you see some, you might have to disassemble the buckets again. UGH. The Retrofit Sources sells little gortex patches that can help you with leaks. So you may look into that if you run into issues with moisture.

Finally, i hold these truths to be self-evident, that all retrofits are not created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable issues and benefits, that among these are poor cut off, difficulty of install and the pursuit of greater illumination. — That to secure these rights, modifiers are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the forum members, — That whenever any Form of retrofit becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the forum members to alter or to criticize it, and to institute new a retrofit, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

So yeah, let me know if something's wrong in these several giant walls of text i wrote. kthxbye.

Anyways this concludes our happy fun time DIY for the Morimoto H1 Mini Version 6 retrofit. Have fun blinding everyone in oncoming traffic!

 

[originalcyn]

Blerg. Washed Saturday and it's been raining since. I mean, i had to get the winter off the car, and i understand that in Washington, if you always put off the wash 'cause it's gonna rain tomorrow, then you'll never be able to wash your car, but seriously, at least one day of being clean would have been nice.

 

[Brock Strongo]

RIGHT? drives me nuts

 

[originalcyn]

At least your silver xt hides dirt better.

 

[originalcyn]

Finally got around to updating the current appearance photo at the beginning of the thread. It's only been like, what? two years?

 

[FXTrev]

Finally got around to updating the current appearance photo at the beginning of the thread. It's only been like, what? two years?

Looking good! Ive been debating about getting another set of BBS. Had some goldies and sold them before I installed them.

 

[originalcyn]

I've wanted a set since forever. I originally was going to put them on my 93 legacy, but never had the time to look for a set. Finally, when i got the forester, it was pretty much always my intention to have a set of goldies on. I think they're the perfect size honestly. 18 is a bit big for my taste. Plus, with 17s, i can have slightly more meaty tires and get the speedometer back to almost correct, which i like a lot.

 

[FXTrev]

I've wanted a set since forever. I originally was going to put them on my 93 legacy, but never had the time to look for a set. Finally, when i got the forester, it was pretty much always my intention to have a set of goldies on. I think they're the perfect size honestly. 18 is a bit big for my taste. Plus, with 17s, i can have slightly more meaty tires and get the speedometer back to almost correct, which i like a lot.

They're sharp wheels for sure. I just wish they were a tad bit wider. The 05-07 models would be nice, but I don't want to mess with adapters.

 

[originalcyn]

Blarg, yeah. Adapters and spacers seem like a disaster waiting to happen. I know a ton of people who run them, but they give me the willies!

 

[FXTrev]

Blarg, yeah. Adapters and spacers seem like a disaster waiting to happen. I know a ton of people who run them, but they give me the willies!

Haha, the willies. I feel the same way

 

[originalcyn]

Automotive Touchup Paint
04.01.16


I ordered some paint from automotivetouchup.com. The match was fairly decent considering i am not a skilled painter and that it's hard to match JBP. There's probably too much flake, but that's most likely an issue with me laying the basecoat on too thick. For now, only the test card is painted to see how close of a match it is.

 

[FXTrev]

Automotive Touchup Paint
04.01.16


I ordered some paint from automotivetouchup.com. The match was fairly decent considering i am not a skilled painter and that it's hard to match JBP. There's probably too much flake, but that's most likely an issue with me laying the basecoat on too thick. For now, only the test card is painted to see how close of a match it is.

Just looks a little darker than the OEM. I'm always scared to paint things

 

[originalcyn]

Yar, i know exactly what you mean. I probably would never try actual touch up. You basically pick and choose what you're going to paint. In light i think that the paint may actually be lighter than the oem because of the amount of flake. Or rather, it looks more gray.

 

[originalcyn]

Importology Eyelids
04.05.16


I managed to get my hands on a set of Importology eyelids, so i was thrilled about that. But painting sucks. It really does. Especially as @FXTrev pointed out, trying to match any colors that are faded or pearl or anything.

So did my own paint to try and save a few bucks.

Apparently i missed a bunch of shots, but here's what i have.

Primer down. But in reality, the steps are scuff with a scuff pad, wash with soap and water, then use prep solvent to clean the scuffed surface. After that, lay down a few coats of adhesion promoter. THEN primer....

After primer, hit it with a couple coats of base coat. Finally clear coat.

I was told to lay it on pretty thick to avoid getting a grainy look. This lead to orange peel, which is i guess preferable.

Preferable because you can wet sand down the clear coat.

Using 1500 grit sandpaper i knocked down a lot of the orange peel leaving a pretty dull looking surface.

After the wet sanding, i used Fine-Cut Cleaner to polish followed by a rubbing compound.

As i mentioned earlier, probably too much flake.

Double stick tape the crap out of it!

I used 3M 06382 Automotive Acrylic Plus Attachment Tape. It was what was recommended to me. I wish I had used the adhesion promoter for the tape, but didn't order it.

As a side note, there's some confusion of what promoter to use with this tape. The answer, according to 3M is as follows:

"There is no functional difference among these products. They are packaged and numbered differently for sale in different markets. The 3M™ Automotive Adhesion Promoter, PN06396 is packaged for and sold to Automotive Aftermarkets, 3M™ Automotive Adhesion Promoter 4298 is sold to OEMs and Pro Markets and Primer 94 is sold in industrial markets.

All of these products are liquid primers used for most low surface energy plastics (TPO, PPO, PP, PC, PC + ABS, etc.)

There is also a product called Adhesion Promoter 4298UV, which is the same as 4298, but includes a UV indicator to help determine the presence of promoter (via black light)."

So get whatever you please.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Color is as close as i can probably get it. Someone who is skilled could probably do better. I'm hoping there will be a bit of fade.

At night it does kind of cover up the running light a bit, but i kind of like that.