My Retro is done!

[mitchigan]

So I was part of the HID Illusionz Accord group buy started way back in September. I have dearly missed HID's proj.'s ever since my B5 Audi A4 was totalled two years ago. Rich finally got them done today and they'll be on their way to me Monday. I wanted to keep a low profile so I kept everything OEM-ish. Got the whole 'ready to go' package with wiring harnesses, matsushita gen 3 ballasts, 4300K phillips d2s bulbs, and TYC housings for ~$930 USD. I don't have time to research outsourcing or getting the best parts or build my own retro so don't troll on that. Just wanted to share or see if $930 from a retrofitter was a reasonable price.

link:http://hidillusionz.blogspot.com/2009/11/honda-accord-sc430-minigun-hid.html

Perfect week to receive them since the past week was hell, and I will happily skip school all of thxgiving week to install these retros, clean, wax, and shoot photos. Then off to BLACK FRIDAY!!! The wifey says that these retros were my black friday already.... yeah right.  

[Abailey4]

Rich does good work, he had done my S2k projectors. $930 seems to be a good price cuz I had bought mine for $900 used for about a month but I dont know anything the projectors or shrouds you got.

[mitchigan]

...but I dont know anything the projectors or shrouds you got.

The spec were in the link... SC430 color modded projectors in minigun shrouds.

[CrackerTeg]

Pics or ban.

[mitchigan]

Pics or ban.

sheesh I haven't even received them yet... they just got shipped out today

[CrackerTeg]

lol. Just busting your balls dude. Once you receive them, pics or ban!

[thisaznboi88]

900 is good, but make sure you dont get TSX projector. Get either FX, s2k, LS430, or TL *if possible* Projectors price can range from 100-300. As for shrouds pretty much anything will look good. The shroud can range from 30-50 bucks. headlights are ~100 for bothside if your lucky. D2S bulbs 40-70 for philips 85122+, ballast 100 for both side, but yeah labor is the hardest part of the retro. I think alex is charging 140 a side? Not sure, my friend Ross is having Alex do the retro for him and they look BOSS!!

[CrackerTeg]

He didn't get TSX. He got SC430s.

[slipkord]

Just busting your balls dude

You like doing that too much  :thumbup:

[mitchigan]

Okay I got them in, but I have a few concerns that I have addressed to Rich and Ashley at HID Illusionz and that hopefully you guys can help me with. And yes I have looked around to see if someone has already answered them - no. I'd be lying if I said I was completely satisfied with this retro from someone of Rich's and HID illusionz' reputation. Let's see how they respond and how things turn out.

Concern 1. It might be because of the rain, but my retros are easily collecting condensation on the the inside. Is this normal or signs of a problem? Some people told me that its natural for the housing to equalize pressure.

Concern 2. Is the rubber grommet (second to last picture) that holds the HID bulb, and prevents leakage, supposed to keep the bulb/reflector housing snug and tight? I made sure the grommet was fully seated because it didnt come to me that way and the bulb/reflector housing wiggled up and down a lot, but only a little now. The otherside was snug and tight. Is that normal?

Concern 3. I received the left headlight with some broken plastic pieces inside and now one of them is stuck between the lens and the reflector housing. See 4th picture down, you can see it being reflected.

And here are some pictures, not the best since I'm new to DSLR photography and HID retrofitting. I didn't align them yet either. Still trying to look around for a good DIY with pictures.

[CrackerTeg]

Condensation shouldn't be happening unless they weren't sealed properly. As for the broken shit in the housings, you've already contacted him. The play could very well be because the projector wasn't secured properly in the reflector. If it were me, I'd open them up and check everything over then reseal with Nissan butyl sealant. I'd wait and see what Rich says regarding the fucked up shit in these housings but I'd be pissed if I paid that much and didn't get a nearly perfect product.

[thisaznboi88]

your headlights are aim way too low. You shouldn't be able to see the cut off on the floor like that. I have no idea what that plastic piece in 4 is. Also you should not have an condensation what so ever. I baked my headlights 5 times and never had to use extra glue to seal them. The OEM one should be enough. I am sure he used a heat gun to open the headlights. I bake the headlights because it helps equal out the heat inside and outside of the headlights. Sure its takes 15-20 mins a side but it does the job.

[mitchigan]

Condensation shouldn't be happening unless they weren't sealed properly. As for the broken shit in the housings, you've already contacted him. The play could very well be because the projector wasn't secured properly in the reflector. If it were me, I'd open them up and check everything over then reseal with Nissan butyl sealant. I'd wait and see what Rich says regarding the fucked up shit in these housings but I'd be pissed if I paid that much and didn't get a nearly perfect product.

your headlights are aim way too low. You shouldn't be able to see the cut off on the floor like that. I have no idea what that plastic piece in 4 is. Also you should not have an condensation what so ever. I baked my headlights 5 times and never had to use extra glue to seal them. The OEM one should be enough. I am sure he used a heat gun to open the headlights. I bake the headlights because it helps equal out the heat inside and outside of the headlights. Sure its takes 15-20 mins a side but it does the job.

One, I was at first POed but I didn't have much of a case since I cheaped out, UNKNOWINGLY, and used aftermarket TYC's. I didn't know how bad the quality of those things were since I had TYC's before in other cars and thought they were highly dependable. The plastic thing that broke off was the cheapy plastic ball joint from the reflector housing. It must have broke off during shipping or during his work. Who knows??? The Honda/Stanley OEM's and TYC are very different inside, that ball joint is molded in the OEM and a cheap plactic attachment in the TYC. Again I didn't think it would have made that much of a difference. My huge mistake and I have already learned from it.
[size=50]
Two, the projector beam is not exactly centered (first and second pic). Rich says it may be due to the aftermarket quality... whatever that means because they should be exactly horizontal (‘x’) and centered in the 'z' direction no matter aftermarket or OEM since that is a hand made adjustment. Once again I have no case because the lights were aftermarket.

Three, I have adjusted the beams as well as I could but the step pattern is obviously off and the two beams do not blend in the center well  and I can't aim the right beam as high up as I'd like to see street signs fully. When I hit the max on the left hand side the cheap a$$ TYC reflector housing ‘square-ish’ bracket broke that holds the adjusting screw.I didn’t even feel a point where there was resistance. I just took it apart and used some superglue at this point because I didn’t give a eff anymore and quickly put it back together. On top of that, I compared a 2G TL and 1G TSX and my lights still aim too low.

Four, the condensation can or cannot be attributed to the aftermarket quality, but I just don’t see how even new aftermarket lights having fog inside so who knows if it’s a workmanship error or not. I'm not too horrible working on projects like these, but I just don't have the time. When I took it apart and  look at other retro DIY's, it doesnt look too hard. I might just fix this myself. Rich is still willing to fix these things to his best ability for me, however.

Bottom line, I didn’t have time to look around for a good clean used set of OEM’s so I subbed in new TYC’s. Bad choice, I now have no argument, and will be spending more dough to fix it correctly. I also couldn’t use my original because one was TYC (hence my decision to use TYC) and the other was a cracked OEM.

[timot_one]

Have you contacted Rich about the problems?

[mitchigan]

Have you contacted Rich about the problems?

yeah I contacted him about it, we agreed it was both party's fault, and that shipping was also responsible. I'm gonna send them back when I have time, and when I get some good OEM's. He said he can scrap the parts off the old retro into OEM's for a discounted price. I might have to get new shrouds plus the discounted labor charge. I might just do this myself though during my winter break, seems like there is a good base of information in forums like this one to guide me.