RetroFit, Painting Lenses, Mini H1/FX-R Projector Pre Build Questions...

[OnSale]

Retro'd my stock 14 projector headlights with FXR kit from retrofitsource. The bolts sucked ass. Took a weekend and getting the old permaseal out was a PItA. Take your time and be careful. There is a reason they have chrome shrouds, they went to black but then back to chrome bc of the warranty issues with the black paint bubbling and peeling on the inside of the chrome shroud. The heat from the bulb and the beam heats the black paint up and ruins it. Dodge will warranty this by replacing it with a chrome shrouded version. The chrome reflects the light and doesn't heat up. Jeremy at retro shop won't paint the inside of the shroud and he leaves them chrome now.

No need for the silicone on the outside. The butyl will be overkill if I use the morimoto retro rubber and it will ooze out more than the permaseal and you can heat it up with a heat gun and manipulate or add more later. As long as you do a continuous bead and press down hard when you heat it up to to soften the butyl and then press the lense in hard. That butyl is sticky as hell. I left my black stock internals alone and the chrome shroud as well.

I retro'd my vertical fogs with 7.0s and the TYC replacement was not easy to open up. The other one I got a cheap DEPO and that opened real easy. So don't think the TYC will open easier.

Yea I'm actually just going to order a set of tyc's from rock auto. By the time I drive either the 1 hour each way for the one set for $400 or the 2 1/2hrs each way for the other $400 set I'm going to use more in gas and the possibility of them being beat up once I get there.

So I figured f-it and just ordered a set of Black tyc's from rock auto .com

Once I'm done painting them and putting in the switchbacks and fx-r projector, my next project will be retrofitting the Morimoto Matchbox projector into the 09-12 fog lights. I'm going to buy a cheap set of the $60 lenses off ebay because they will most likely be super easy to open up. I'm going to paint the Fogs housing and Shrouds to match whatever I do with the headlights.

Can't wait... gonna be awesome!!

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[00R/T]

Yea I'm actually just going to order a set of tyc's from rock auto. By the time I drive either the 1 hour each way for the one set for $400 or the 2 1/2hrs each way for the other $400 set I'm going to use more in gas and the possibility of them being beat up once I get there.

So I figured f-it and just ordered a set of Black tyc's from rock auto .com

Once I'm done painting them and putting in the switchbacks and fx-r projector, my next project will be retrofitting the Morimoto Matchbox projector into the 09-12 fog lights. I'm going to buy a cheap set of the $60 lenses off ebay because they will most likely be super easy to open up. I'm going to paint the Fogs housing and Shrouds to match whatever I do with the headlights.

Can't wait... gonna be awesome!!

Sent from hell via TapATalk

That sounds like a good plan. I haven't decided what I'm going to do with my fogs yet. If I had the horizontal fogs I'd be all over the Morimoto LED ones. But, since I don't, I have to come up with something else.

 

[OnSale]

That sounds like a good plan. I haven't decided what I'm going to do with my fogs yet. If I had the horizontal fogs I'd be all over the Morimoto LED ones. But, since I don't, I have to come up with something else.

I like them... I was considering buying the morimoto led fogs and wiring up the Morimoto Switchback XSB Halo to them and then maybe messing around with some color on the black housing. Not sure.

It would be wayyyyy cheaper then the Retrofit I want to do. I forgot to add that if I do Retro the oem Fogs I will be adding a Morimoto Switchback halo to match my headlights.

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[Rzrman328]

, my next project will be retrofitting the Morimoto Matchbox projector into the 09-12 fog lights.

Where are you sourcing the matchbox projectors?

Retrofit source?

 

[cuttymcgavin]

Hello onsale, how did you ever make out with the headlight project? I am thinking of doing the same with my stock quads, adding projectors and halos. Let me know how yours went along with the baking instructions. Please!

 

[OnSale]

Hello onsale, how did you ever make out with the headlight project? I am thinking of doing the same with my stock quads, adding projectors and halos. Let me know how yours went along with the baking instructions. Please!

I'm actually selling them. Should be posted in the classifieds tomorrow. I want to build a new set, and go with Quads this time. Really want to put in the new Morimoto M-LED projectors.

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[cuttymcgavin]

I will check them out on the classifieds! Can you elaborate on what you liked or disliked about your first build and why you want to do a quad rebuild this time. I am hoping to learn from your experiences so I can make a good choice on how to attack my headlights. I am currently looking at just purchasing a complete set of spyder headlights with ccfl halos HID projectors and a 55w canbus ballast for around $300. But I have seen these headlights on a few rams already, looking to possibly customize my own to stand apart from the rest!

 

[OnSale]

I will check them out on the classifieds! Can you elaborate on what you liked or disliked about your first build and why you want to do a quad rebuild this time. I am hoping to learn from your experiences so I can make a good choice on how to attack my headlights. I am currently looking at just purchasing a complete set of spyder headlights with ccfl halos HID projectors and a 55w canbus ballast for around $300. But I have seen these headlights on a few rams already, looking to possibly customize my own to stand apart from the rest!

Lol you do NOT want to buy the Spyder headlights. It's a complete waste of money. All of the "projector" headlights on ebay are garbage unless it's the OEM projectors or the TYC OEM replica projectors. The Spyder "projectors" and all the other ebay aftermarket projector headlights use a $20 projector and they are specifically made for Halogen bulbs, not HID. Putting an hid kit in them won't help, almost every member on here regrets buying them afterwards because they can't see at night because they are pure garbage.

Do not waste your money. For an extra $150 ($450) you can buy a set of brand new tyc OEM projectors and you will actually get better lighting. I promise if you buy a set of those ebay projector headliggtst for $180 you will be downgrading you lighting and you won't be able to see at night while your driving.

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[Hemipower392]

Lol you do NOT want to buy the Spyder headlights. It's a complete waste of money. All of the "projector" headlights on ebay are garbage unless it's the OEM projectors or the TYC OEM replica projectors. The Spyder "projectors" and all the other ebay aftermarket projector headlights use a $20 projector and they are specifically made for Halogen bulbs, not HID. Putting an hid kit in them won't help, almost every member on here regrets buying them afterwards because they can't see at night because they are pure garbage.

Do not waste your money. For an extra $150 ($450) you can buy a set of brand new tyc OEM projectors and you will actually get better lighting. I promise if you buy a set of those ebay projector headliggtst for $180 you will be downgrading you lighting and you won't be able to see at night while your driving.

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Yeah don't buy ebay, I can't see **** and im in college and broke so idk wtf im gonna do, my old headlights got destroyed when I hit a deer so I'm stuck.

 

[cuttymcgavin]

Thank you for the heads up guys i will explore the higher end projector route. Is it just the projectors that are garbage or the whole headlight assembly? I wouldnt mind buying just the assemblies and baking them and installing my own projectors, halos etc..

 

[spdfrkaby]

I retrofitted some Mini H1s in my 04 Ram before some trees decided to get in my way and total it out. I now have FX-Rs retrofitted in the OEM projector housing. The OEM housings definately take a little more work/heat to get them open.

I know there are newer/updated versions of the Mini H1 but the ones I had were not even close to the output and beam width of the FX-Rs. Retrofitsource has pre-made brackets to help with the FX-Rs. Unfortunately I was sent the wrong bracks and me being impatient ended up just epoxing the crap out of them. The projectors have been in now just under 2 years with no issues.

A couple issues you might come across with cheaper/aftermarket housings.
One is the lens may start to flake/peel in a short amount of time.
Two, the bulb housing may not be as secure, meaning you'll see your lights jumping/shaking when driving down the highway.
Third, they may not be fully sealed causing condensation. A good preventative is to get some windshield silicone (flows better) and run it all the way around to get a 100% seal over the pre-installed sealant.