Projectors - Firebird - My Install
My install of Hella 90mm H9 Projectors:
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EDIT: FULLTHROTTLEV6 MUST HAVE GONE THROUGH AN UPGRADE. ALL THESE LINKS ARE NOW INVALID.
I read through the threads on Full Throttle V6 and got started.
http://www.fullthrottlev6.com/forums...ad.php?t=22874 http://www.fullthrottlev6.com/forums...ad.php?t=23020 http://www.fullthrottlev6.com/forums...ad.php?t=23217 http://www.fullthrottlev6.com/forums...ad.php?t=23289 http://www.fullthrottlev6.com/forums...ad.php?t=23782
EDIT: FULLTHROTTLEV6 MUST HAVE GONE THROUGH AN UPGRADE. ALL THESE LINKS ARE NOW INVALID.
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My install was slightly different and involved plenty of fitting, adjustment, and manually raising and lowering the headlights (to facilitate said fitting and adjustment). I tried to avoid removing the headlight lids, but in the end, I had to to gain access the back of the housings. I used 4 #8 1.5" stainless machine screws/bolts and three nuts stacked to space the Hella adapter in front of the headlight frame for each projector. So, in total: 8 bolts, 24 regular nuts (for spacing), 4 nylock nuts to attach the Hella adapter to the bolts that were sticking out like studs. I'm probably not explaining to well and a picture is worth a thousands words. I'll try to take pics later in the day. The head light frame is cast aluminum. It cuts (and cracks) easily. A drill and dremel (I used a Black & Decker RTX) will cut through it fine. I cut mine pretty much like in the pictures, but after all the adjustment, I realized that I didn't need to cut quite so much. I'd say, mount the adapter ring, then the projector in the ring and see where it makes contact and needs to be clearanced before cutting or drilling extra holes. Pull the headlight motor fuse and manually raise and lower the headlights to check for clearance in front and behind the projectors to make sure the glass doesn't hit the bumper and that the bulb connector doesn't hit the frame behind the headlights. Make adjustments to the new mounting assembly and projector adjuster screws as necessary. Its a tight fit, but they do fit.
Here are the pics of my installation:
http://www.fadingarrow.net/images/HellaH9Projectors.zip
(Warning: 23.8MB)
Here are some additional fitment pictures:
http://www.fadingarrow.net/images/He...orsFitment.zip
(Warning: 6.4MB)
Here are the night pictures:
(There is about 1/4" clearance between the projector front glass and the bumper.)
http://www.fadingarrow.net/images/He...ctorsNight.zip
(Warning: 10MB)
Here are a couple pics of the modified shroud:
http://www.fadingarrow.com/images/headlightshroud01.jpg http://www.fadingarrow.com/images/headlightshroud02.jpg
BTW, those are the standard Osram H9 bulbs that came with the projectors
UPDATE (11/12/2007)
Here are night pictures of the light output and beam pattern.
Enclosed in the zip file are the following pictures:
- No Lights
- Fog Light Only
- Low Beam Only
- Low Beam and Fog Light
- Low Beam and High Beam (Fog Light auto-off)
http://www.fadingarrow.com/images/Ha...htPictures.zip
(Warning: 7.12MB)
UPDATE (12/22/2007)
My brother and I modified the cut-off.
It still needs adjustment though.
The driver-side is square-stepped and the passenger side is straight.
Here is a preview.
No Lights, for reference:
(The white stuff on the ground is snow
)
http://www.fadingarrow.com/images/Ne...1_NoLights.jpg
Low Beam Only:
http://www.fadingarrow.com/images/Ne...wBea0mOnly.jpg
The passenger-side can be made sharper (I could have sworn I had it sharper than that before I installed it on the car). I'll have to disassemble it again to adjust.
I did test before closing it up, but I guess it moved before I tightened it all down or maybe I hit it. Oh well. Maybe I'll tackle it tomorrow.
BTW, the black bit on the wall appears to be a scorch mark.
UPDATE (01/12/2008)
I installed a 4300K H9 HID kit that I bought from
www.ledgauges.com (a sponsor).
Enclosed in the zip file are the following pictures:
- No Lights
- Fog Light Only
- Low Beam Only
- Low Beam and Fog Light
- Low Beam and High Beam (Fog Light auto-off)
http://www.fadingarrow.com/images/43...htPictures.zip
(Warning: 8.12MB)
Here is a pre-view (low beam only):
http://www.fadingarrow.com/images/43...es-Preview.jpg
Sorry about the pic being a bit blurry. The camera is on the roof set to full auto. It appears to have focused on the roof and I didn't notice until I reviewed the pics on my pc.
UPDATE (12/28/2008)
Tonight, I just made new curved shields and also adjusted them to sit a little higher than stock (the bulb is covered a little more). This widened the beam a little, sharpened the cut-off, and made them more uniform.
For some reason I couldn't get the driver side as sharp as the passenger side, but that projector was always a little fuzzier even stock.
Sorry, I didn't take pics of the process. I'll take pics of the new beam pattern when I get a chance. I still need to do some final aiming.
Basically I made the new shields similar to the stock ones but with a shorter square step to more resemble a HID projector. I also used flashing and cut it using a utility knife and several overlapping cuts (instead of trying to cut through all at once). I also cut the bottom mounting hole as a slot instead of just a hole and didn't cut the side mounting holes.
The overall shape is still a triangle with tabs just like the stock shields, but they are now curved. The center curves towards the bulb and the sides curve away. Its a fairly uniform curve (I think I bet the sides a little more though). The final shape puts the side tabs about a quarter inch or so away from their stock mount. As a result, the side screws are no longer used to secure the sides of the shield. Only the bottom screw is used to secure the shields. Hopefully this is enough. Time will tell. So as not to lose any of the screws, I still installed the side screws in their original location (they just aren't being used to secure anything).
The new flashing shield is thinner than the stock shield so to make up the depth difference for the retaining screw to sit at the proper depth in the hole, I used a washer. So its , screw, washer, shield, housing. The washer went between the screw and shield. The shield still sits directly in contact with the housing.
It was a lot of trial-and-error with cutting and adjusting to get them right. I had to make sure the curve and tilt of the new shield (towards or away from the lens) was just right to produce the best cut-off. I also tried a few different height positions to get the best beam. I also made sure that the resulting cut-off was still parallel in the housing (in other words, not crooked). The step is a smaller square step that stars in the center of the curve of the stock shield. The step is a half (probably less) than the height of the original. I didn't measure (its tough to measure that small). I just eye-balled it and used a straight-edge when cutting.
It took me a few hours (including removing them from the car, re-installing them, and doing a quick height aim).
I tested using the stock H9 bulbs (which are in there right now on the vehicle) and a battery pack aimed at a projector screen (about 19ft away) and a (unfortunately) narrower area of wall over 20ft away.
To make sure the shield produced a level line, I used masking tape and a level to make a level line on the wall. Then I sat the projector on a level surface with the front housing attached. Since it doesn't quote sit flat, I made sure I held it with the lower mounting tabs the same height off the level surface. This meant that the housing was level and if the cut-off was also level, then the shield is properly mounted producing a line that parallel to the housing.
Sorry I didn't take picturess.... I tend to work right through and not think of it.
Hopefully I was descriptive enough. If not, please ask.
If you want more info on curved shields and HID in general (including retrofits), check out
http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/.
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