HAHAHAHA That fozz looks evil now! Nice!

 

HA! Thanks!

craigr

 

Also, for whatever reason it looks much nicer in person... I noticed after looking at these pics.

craigr

 

Every thought about blacking out everything around the xenon?

 

Yeah, but I think chrome looks more OEM and I like the OEM look to things. The shrouds I used, the e46's, are really hard to find, but I wanted them because they are the widest shrouds and have lots of chrome for covering the internals. The shape of them also matched the subi headlight and profile the best IMHO.

I thought it still might have looked good with the shroud being chrome and blacking out the original Subi chrome... I was even going to check it out with the donor headlight, but I wanted to get done and skipped it.

BTW, that shroud is chrome, but it's really thin and on clear plastic. When the lights are on, you can see through the shroud and actually look at the xenon bulb and projector internals. I had to cut the projectors to let the light out, but it was worth it.

craigr

 

Nice! That's actually what I was trying to say, black out the original subi chrome... Leaving the Xenon bulb and housing chrome. Definitely wouldn't be an OEM look tho!

 

Well, this is what I did...


I retrofitted my stock 05 headlights to hold FX35 bi-xenon projectors. The parts I used include Phillips 85122+ bulbs, Hella gen 3 ballasts, and BMW E46 shrouds.

Before I sawed up my headlights I made a prototype thanks to the smashed up headlight that "zee lee" donated to me. Here are the remains zl.


I'll post more info and some procedure if folks are interested.

craigr

Thanks Craig for the kind word and I glad it was helpful!

BTW:
Anyone interest in a spare passenger side headlight?

 

wow that looks amazing. how much did everything cost you?

 

sick retrofit. would love to know price as well!

 

I would love to see a night shot with them on, great job !

 

no leaks?

got pictures of the beam pattern at night?

_taF

 

no leaks?

got pictures of the beam pattern at night?

_taF

BTW I've been driving in the rain for two days with no leaks :woohoo:

craigr

 

Thanks guys :banana:

I'll post some output and night shots in a few days or less. I got to drive it at night for the first time last evening and I was quite please. I had already spent much time aiming the projectors (especially rotation) so they were decently placed, but I still have some work to do.

Here is the money towards the project break down as I remember it...

FX bi-xenon projector headlights = $60
New Hella Gen 3 ballasts = $190
Clear lenses = $60
Two new Phillips 85122+ bulbs = $40
Smashed up practice headlight = $23
Misc wires, screws... = $50
E46 shrouds = story (-$20 ~ -$45)
Total for project = $378 ~ $405

Like I said, the shrouds are hard to find. What I wound up doing was buying two complete e46 headlights to harvest the shrouds myself. I paid $262 total for the two headlights including shipping and everything. I will resell the e46 projectors, bulbs, and ballasts as a hid retrofit "kit" and should get between $285 ~ $325 on eBay. So I will probably actually make money on the shrouds in the end.

I also bought a pair of Porsche projectors first to use, but wound up deciding to go FX instead due to size. I paid $115 for the Porsche projectors and will have to sell them again.

And I also wasted some money on mistakes. I screwed up one of my fx projector cutoffs and had to buy a new one for $18. I fried (and my stomach turns every time I think about this) my first two Hella ballasts and had to buy two more. They guy I bought them from gave me a break on the second pair because he felt bad and sold them to me for $160. He is also going to try and send one of the two I fried back to the vendor to see if I can get it covered. So the ballast mistake will cost me between $80 ~ $160. I am also trying to fix the ballast, and I have a line on another guy who thinks he can fix the one I have left. Let's see, I also am buying a 3rd fx projector for $25 today to try and work out some new mods for it...

Speaking of which, I also did some heavy color mods to my retro. I modded the cutoffs so that there is a purple and blue transition. I want a third to play around with to see if I can make the mods better.

If anyone is thinking of doing this as well and needs parts, I have a great vendor who works off eBay. He sold me the bulbs, ballasts, and projectors at those really good prices. He's brought the stuff by my house as well, because he's semi-local to me and he's super nice. And the fact that he's trying to get me at least one new ballast after I fried it is so nice.

Check out this forum's "university" section for retro info http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/

craigr

 

thats awesome. makes me feel like i got ripped off paying a LOT more than that to have lightwerkz.net do my S2000 projector retrofit in my WRX, and when I say a LOT, I mean so much more that I'm too embarrassed to post it.... I will definitely be giving this a crack at some point.

 

Well, lightwerkz has to make a living and he does great work from what I've seen. And I searched high and low to get good prices. My cost could easily have been %75 more than I paid. After all, a projector option from factory cars is usually more than $1500.

I'm out doing the final wiring now. They say you should use a relay harness rather than get power from the factory headlight wires, but we are wired for 15 amp fuses already and the car can be had in Canada with HID reflectors so I tend to think the stock wire system will suffice.

craigr

 

whoa! total write up instructions req'd man! you deserve a gold star!

and we need to find an alternative to the E46 shrouds.

 

Thanks :biggrin:

I don't know if I can do a "full" write up, but I will post pertinent info and answer any questions. If you are interested in trying this, check out http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/ and also http://www.theretrofitsource.com/forum/ but not that RetrofitSource does employ a key logger so if you are running security software it might get set off. To my knowledge, there is no virus, just a key logger so don't enter personal info in a browser while viewing the RS forums.

So basically you need to do a lot of things that are not in any book of what's correct procedure. This is a retrofit project so your imagination is the limit and everyones project can come out totally different. As far as e46 shrouds go, no problem. You can use anything you want for a shroud, and you can even choose to not use a shroud at all. Other popular "shrouds" that would probably work well on a 03~05 Forester include stove top burner covers available at the hardware store, chrome or polished dog food bowls from a pet shop, custom fiberglass molds, custom heated ABS plastic shrouds... again sky is the limit. I chose e46 shrouds because in my mind I thought I could create the most OEM looking result and that's what I was after. If you decide to black out the chrome than a big chrome shroud isn't what you are going to want anyway.

Here are some basic rules:

1) If you want a chrome reflector never touch it. The chrome inside headlights is very soft and as soon as you touch it it will scratch. Generally, any chrome parts inside a headlight will scratch very easily if touched or if you try and clean or polish them. If you must handle the chrome, be sure to wear clean cotton gloves and be sure the chrome is clean. When cutting and working you must always remain aware NOT to touch the chrome. If you are going to go black than it doesn't matter.

2) To clean the chrome when finished use a degreaser and water. Then pat dry the chrome with a microfiber cloth. Do not scrub or touch the chrome even when cleaning.

Tools and stuff required:

- Dremel with cutting and grinding bits.
- JB Weld (quick set and normal).
- Clear silicone.
- 4mm metric screws (at least 3" long) to extend the stock FX screws.
- 4mm metric locking nuts (I used the ones with plastic locks).
- Lots of wires and electric supplies
- More misc things...

So once your headlights are out you will have to take them apart. These headlights weren't designed to ever be taken apart so... The first thing you'll notice is that the headlights are held together with clips, tabs, and screws. The screws are of a variety with a head that's designed to drive the screw in and never allow it to be taken out. Get a screw extractor (a small one) and use it to remove the "pre-rounded" screws. Next remove the metal clips.

Remove all removable parts from the headlights including bulbs, bulb holders, rubber bits, and small rubber cover over the horizontal adjusting screw. Preheat your oven to 180 ~ 200 degrees F and put one headlight in at a time for about 6 ~ 8 minutes. This will soften the glue between the acrylic lens and the housing.

Put on some gloves and pull your headlight out of the oven; you have time so don't rush. Now take a large screw driver or brute force and just pull the lens off the headlight. The remaining plastic tabs will be warm so you probably don't even need to pry them out, they should unhook as you simply pull off the lens.

Now, inside the headlight you will notice the large reflector's horizontal and vertical adjusting screws, and also a third pivot point holding on the main reflector. Let out the adjusting screws all the way to release them from the reflector and then pull the reflector out of the pivot point with force. Be extremely careful when pulling the reflector out of the pivot because to mush sheer force will cause you to literally tear the reflector in half (I did this on the 5th or 6th time with the prototype and had to JB weld it back together).

Now the reflector is out...

craigr

 

Now look at your projector and think how it might fit in the reflector. I used FX projectors, but again this is a retrofit so use what you like. I chose FX's because they are cheap, have excellent output once modified for color and sharpness, and are one of the smallest bi-xenon projectors out there.

Here is a photo of a stock FX next to a BMW fog light bulb (slightly smaller than H4 bulb). As you can see, some changes will be needed as the FX is much larger than your stock H4.

To start, what I did was cut all the stock mounting tabs off the FX projector as well as the top or the projector. Below are photos I just created.

Once you have an FX in your hand, where to cut is more obvious. I basically followed a straight line from screw to screw on both sides, and then cut off the top along the same plane.

I used my dremel for the trimming, but some folks prefer a hack saw. Be sure to use a sharpie marker to draw out where you want to cut; you need a solid straight reference otherwise your cut will come out poorly. I took a sturdy cutting blade and made several passes over my dotted lines instead of trying to cut through the metal in one go. In other words, I "sketched" the cut out with the dremel going over the line several times with the blade until it was all cut off. These projectors are aluminum so they are pretty easy to cut.

Now you can see how large your trimmed down FX is and can start to think about cutting your reflector. On the back of the reflector, you will see a square traced (cast) into the plastic around where the H4 bulb goes. This square gives a decent reference on where to cut. Start by making the cut in the reflector smaller than what you will need and then by trial and error, slowly increase the size of you hole until you get the projector to fit. Below is a photo of the first piece I removed from my passenger reflector. Also below is a photo of the back of my prototype reflector. Please not, that the hole for the FX is too large on my prototype and should be smaller. There are also some practice cuts as well as extra holes for practice and to play with mounting arrangements.

Spend time on this step, because the closer you get the shape of the cutout to the actual shape of the FX the cleaner the final product will look from up close. On my retro, the FX actually touches the reflector all the way around.

craigr

► Edit - moderator's note - the images on this post are not recoverable. :frown:

Bobby...

 

Now to pre-mount the projector. While cutting and testing the projector keep in mind that it needs to project light along the same path as the original H4 halogen. You will notice that in the reflector in the chrome on the bottom in front of the H4 that there are flutes pointing from front to back of the reflector. The center chrome flute is approximately pointing in the direction of the OEM H4 bulb so try and point the projector along that line. You will still be able to fine tune the aim using the factory adjustment screws too.

So remove the top two 4mm screws from the FX projector.

Now start your long 4mm screws into the top two that you just removed. Only thread them in enough to hold the FX together. Now carefully (not to scratch the chrome) inset the FX into the hole in your reflector. Once it is where you want it, hold the FX tightly in place inside the reflector. Now tighten the long screws until they start to hit the chrome at the back of the reflector. Hold the FX and reflector tight and tighten the screws until they scratch the chrome a little. These scratches will tell you where to drill your mounting holes.

Use your dremel with a small grinding bit to cut the screw holes through the reflector. Notice that in the photo above of the reflector back, that one of my mounting holes is larger and elongated. This is to allow for rotation adjustment and you should do it too.

Now tighten the long screws all the way down to the FX projector. Insert the FX into the reflector with the long screws going through the new holes you just dremelled. Once through, I took a couple fender washers and bent and cut them to match the reflector as closely as I could where the screws came through. Tighten down a couple locking nuts over your new screws and fender washers. They don't have to be super tight as this will crack your reflector, but they have to be solid enough to hold the projector steady. Once the nuts are tightened down, take your dremel and cut off the excess screw lengths.

When the projector is properly placed, you will notice that the bottom "feet" of the FX projector will sit about half way on and half way off (past) the cut along the bottom of the OEM reflector. In the photo below, the circled "feet" sit about half way on the bottom of the reflector.

Also, the large front solenoid screw should sit on the reflector. Make cuts in the reflector as needed to try and get this, but you will probably need to do aiming tests...

After that, reinstall your new retrofitted projector / reflector back into the headlight and take it out for an aiming test.

craigr

► Edit - moderator's note - the images on this post are not recoverable. :frown:

Bobby...

 

If both FX feet are sitting on the reflector bottom cut you will probably find that your rotation is not correct and is off by between 4~8 degrees. Drive up to a wall and park 25' ~ 30' back and look. Check your rotation aim, as well as left right and up down. Try and use the factor OEM horizontal and vertical adjustments to get the projector pointing straight. If you can't get it straight then you'll need to make more cuts in the reflector to move the projector around so that the factory adjustments are within the needed range.

To adjust rotation, remove the reflector from the headlight again. Loosen your two mounting nuts and rotate the projector ever so slightly (it won't need much). One FX foot should remain on the reflector bottom and the foot under the large hole should get raised about 1~4 mm (about the thickness of a dime or less). Tighten your mounting bolts back down, reinstall the reflector, and check rotation again...

Once you are satisfied with the rotation, and you are sure that the factory horizontal and vertical adjustments will be able to compensate you can permanently mount the projector. Make sure your nuts are tight (heheheheh...) to where they should be and then mix up some JB weld. I applied JB weld under the the fender washers of my mounting nuts, on each side of the projector to connect the projector and reflector, and at the bottom two feet of the FX to reflector junction, and some JB weld at the top between the FX and reflector. Below in the photo I circled where I JB welded the projector to the reflector. Again, remember that this is my prototype reflector and that your FX cut out should be smaller.

I recommend the slow setting JB weld for this because it's stronger and will flow out better. The slow setting JB weld will gradually flow over the course of several hours and will make better contact over the joints. PLEASE NOTE! that after you apply the JB weld you should position the projector for drying by making sure it is placed with the reflector pointing upwards. Otherwise, as the JB weld dries it will drip into your reflector and ruin it.

Once the JB weld is dried the next day you can either install a shroud to cover the projector, or you can leave the projector showing. I used e46 shrouds that I cut the bottoms on. To dress things up, I took black gaffer's tape and covered the bottom part of the projector that can be seen if you peer under the shroud at the bottom. Also, the chrome on e46 shrouds is very delicate so handling or cutting it can literally cause a chain reaction that results in all the chrome falling off the e46 shroud (it's happened to lots of folks). So before I cut the e46 shroud to fit around the bottom of the FX I also covered the bottom of the e46 with black gaffers tape. I did this so the tape would hold the chrome to the shroud along the seems where I cut it. After that, I just took a small bead of clear silicone and put a dab on tow adjacent parts of the FX projector bezel and just set the 4e6 shroud on and level. Then I let the silicone dry overnight.

Once that's done, clean your headlight acrylic lens on the inside with an acrylic cleaner (do not use windex or anything with ammonia in it). I used a mixture of water with 50% denatured alcohol to clean my headlight acrylic. Put the acrylic lens back on the headlight and press it down firm. Rehook all the black plastic tabs, and reinstall the two metal retaining clips. Now get some #8 stainless screws and replace the extracted OEM screws with these tightening down pretty firm, but not too hard. Put the headlight back in the oven for 6~8 minutes at 180 degrees F to re-flow the glue and make things water tight.

Once the headlight are cool, put them back in the car.

craigr

 

Now take your H4 rubber boot and get your ballast. Put some silicone grease on the rubber boot where the H4 bulb would have gone through it. Also, I later turned my H4 rubber inside out (so the ribs are on the outside) because I think that the fit and finish is better.

Siliconed up, place the rubber boots in the oven at about 180 degrees F for 3~4 minutes to soften the rubber. Wearing rubber gloves (that rubber is hot) stretch the H4 rubber hole around the bulb plug leading off your ballast. The heat and silicone grease will allow the rubber to be forced over the plug.

Again, most retrofitters suggest that you should always use a wiring harness with relays that draw power direct from the battery. This is the safer way to do things so if you want this, either buy a prefabbed harness or make one up. What you need to know is that the 03~05 Foresters use a "ground switched" H4 plug. This means that when the headlights are on (high, low, or running) there is always a +12 volts at a common hot. The way high / low / DRL beams are switched is by supplying ground not hot.

I decided that since this car can be had in Canada with hid reflectors, and since we already have 15 amp headlight fuses (most cars have 10 amp) that it is probably ok to use factory wiring to power the bulb and bi-xenon solenoid. Below is a wiring diagram of what I did... The H4 plug is as it looks with the OEM plug in your had looking at it.

I also liked using the stock wires because that way there aren't two fuses for the headlights and an additional relay to fail.

So I am sure I've left a lot out, but that's the gist of it...

craigr

► Edit - moderator's note - the images on this post are not recoverable. :frown:

Bobby...

 

Sorry about the rather rough grammar, spelling, etc... I was pressed for time and spent more than I had on this write up!

craigr

 

Wow, great write-up, thanks! i have been wanting to do this, but i'm afraid i'll screw it up.

 

Yeah, I know what you mean. I don't think anyone has done a Forester before me (that I know of anyway). Lots of Imprezas have had hid projector retrofits, but not any other Subaru's.

The Forester headlights are particularly challenging because they are not very deep. IMHO the further back the projector sits in the factory reflector the better it looks. I wasn't sure how it would all come out when it was done so I just went for it. I used the smallest bi-xenon projectors I could find that I thought I'd be happy with. I measured out from the front of the headlight acrylic lens to the back of the OEM H4 and hoped that the FX would fit. Incidentally, the FX projector's back sits our about 1.5 inches further than the OEM H4 bulb. I still have just enough room to install the driver side bulb plug even with the battery in the car. The ABS side is no issue.

The e46 bi-xenon projectors are actually a bit smaller and I am sure would be easier to work with, but they are considered very poor projectors. They are dated, have soft cut-offs, and have a lower light output than FX projectors.

craigr

 

Just a note... this entire project was waaaaaay easier than it looks and than I thought it would be before I started. Just don't fry a set of ballasts and you will be doing better than I did :huh:

Also, I forgot to mention that if you use my wiring method, and if you don't want your HID's on all the time (like DRLs), then you need to disable the DLRs. You can't just pull the plug on the resistor under the hood either. You have to pull the plug on the DRL control module behind the glove box inside the car. The resistor pull method doesn't work because the resistor is bypassed when you ground the ballast to the chassis.

My next project is to swap out the 6 watt marker bulbs for a higher wattage flavor and then to run my marker lights as DRLs. I am not sure it can be done though. If anyone has the SUBARU 05 headlight schematics I'd be grateful to a poster. I have the crappy Haynes schematics but they don't have enough info or wire colors.


craigr

 

wow, I was expecting this project to cost at lease 1k.

no angel eye? hehe..

 

When I started looking at costs I was happy at what I found for the money. Even so, it's all so silly though... I mean none of this hardware should cost this much. The high prices are due to what it is, not what it costs to make :icon_evil:

I have been flip flopping with angel eyes. Honestly, I think they really only look great on BMW's. But on the Forester they could be used to fill more space inside the large reflector, and could possibly be used as running lights if CCF eyes are used. Here are some photos of a Honda with angel eyes. I think it looks really good and the headlight is kinda the same shape and size as the forester.

I read a bit on making your own custom angel eyes and I might give that a whirl if I get a wild hair.

craigr

► Edit - moderator's note - the images on this post are not recoverable. :frown:

Bobby...

 

We have got to see some night shots. Nice work!

 

Here are some shots of the back so you guys can see what's going on there. It's hard to find back shots on the internet for some reason.

craigr

► Edit - moderator's note - the images on this post are not recoverable. :frown:

Bobby...

 

This is a fabulous post. I will be doing this at some point and this is a great guide.

Can you give some reputable sources for the parts that you used? Or maybe PM me your ebay vendor. I've spent some time on HID planet and sources for parts are hard to figure out. At this point in my life I'm kinda a one stop shopping guy

Do you think the FX35 projectors are better than some others available (like the acura TL's) for this application?

I looked in your post and can't quite figure out your explanation about how you aim the projectors and if they be easily adjusted with the oem screws?

Heck, I think this should be a sticky.

Thanks,
Justin Wade
2004 FXTi

 

Thanks :rock:

I got a lot of stuff from a guy who goes by djsmokie86 and he's got more Hella gen 3's for sale now http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HELL...QcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ36476QQihZ022QQitemZ350036020666QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
I got both sets of ballasts from him, three FX projectors, and my bulbs. I've met him in person twice and he's supper cool.

Shrouds, well if you follow hid planet then you know e46 shrouds are hard to come by so... Like I said, I just bought two e46 headlights off ebay and harvested the shrouds myself.

Honestly, I don't know much about different projectors. I went with FX because they were recommended to my by some long time members and mods on hid planet. FX's are plentiful at the moment due to the headlight recall so the market is saturated with these projectors. They are really cheap right now because there are so many available. I'm sure that based on reviews the TL's are great, but I figured $50 for projectors verses a lot more for something else.

The projectors are adjustable with the oem screws. However, you must be sure that the rotation of the projector is correct, that the projector points as close to parallel to the original halogen as possible, and that the pitch is within range of the adjustment. If you line the projector up with the chrome flute in the reflector, and you have the FX "feet" and solenoid screw on the bottom of the reflector, you should be good with these two. Rotation as I explained will be some trial and error.

craigr