Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Hey everyone, today I finished installing my TSX HID headlights. When I was building the system, one headlight produces more light then both my Silverstar 6054 headlights!!:-laf Yes this is the same system you see on Porches, Mercedes, Acuras, BMWs, and other higher end cars.
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What is it:
HID(High Intensity Discharge) Headlights use an arc of electricity between two electrodes instead of electricity passed through a filament. They produce 2. 5 times the light that a normal headlight produces. This arc of electricity takes a ballast/igniter combo to establish the arc, and keep it going while you drive. While I wont go into the details of how the bulbs work here, you can get all that information easily enough though google. HID systems use usually 35 watts of power each. You can get higher wattage HIDs, but there are frigging bright! The sharp cutoff is produced by the Projector. Without this curved peice of glass, light would go everywhere. This is what makes these systems desirable. Without this cutoff, it would be illegal, and BLIND on coming drivers.
Parts:
There are 5 main parts you'll need: The ballast, the igniter, the bulb, the projector, and the headlamp adapter for the projector.
-The Ballast and Igniter are usually packaged together, so no worry's there. What you do have to worry about is the brand. If the ballast was used in a OEM application(Bosch, Hella, Valeo, Matsu****a, Denso, Sylvania) then it is what you want to use. They are very stable, have a very long life, provide better output, and they are usually waterproofed. The alternative ballasts, as seen in my conversion(Made in China, Mculloch, Bohmen, etc). They cost about the same price, so dont get fooled!
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-The Bulbs are a little confusing. There are D1S, D2R, and D2S bulbs. The D1S bulbs have a square ignitor on the bakc of the bulb. If your conversion housings come with these, run them I guess. They seem a harder bulb to come buy, and they are more expensive. D2R bulbs were manufactured for Mercedes so the base is different then almost every other car using a D2S bulb. More the likley you will need a D2S bulb.
About bulb color. Don't get fooled into the blue or any other color is better then white. A white bulb is around 4500 Kelvin. Buy a bulb in that color range. The more color, the less lumens out of the bulb on the road ahead. Think about this, the sun is around 5800 Kelvin, so anything between 5800 and 4500 is a good color IMO. If you want blue, green. purple, or UV headlights go ahead. You will have less light then you have now, and you can always just switch the bulbs later when your not happy.
Color 35 watt Lumens
3000k Yellow 3200 Lumens
4500k Pure white 3400 Lumens
5000k White with a tiny hint of blue 3300 Lumens
6000k White with a violet hue 3200 Lumens
8000k Sky blue 3100 Lumens
-The Projector. There are many different brands/types of projector housings. I am going to use Acura TSX projectors in this project. There are two types, high and low beams(bi-xenons), and just lows(single xenons). In this write up I am just using Low Beam Only headlights and they are smaller, and I wanted to see how they did. So you will need a separate high beam if you choose to use these exact model housings. The Porsche and BMW high/low projectors are next on my list, and they actually cost less then these doOo. . The TSX Housings in this conversion are LOW BEAM ONLY. You will need to use a secondary high beam, light the lights I have on the front of my truck in the pictures.
#ad
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-The Adapter takes the TSX projector, and fits it into our 6054 headlight buckets. The way I choose to do it is simple, ads some adjustments, and is cheap
Parts you need for out adapter include clear lenses, 4mm machine screws, springs, and thats about it. I will update this tommrow with exact lengths etc.
The Procedure:
See Below
#adWhat is it:
HID(High Intensity Discharge) Headlights use an arc of electricity between two electrodes instead of electricity passed through a filament. They produce 2. 5 times the light that a normal headlight produces. This arc of electricity takes a ballast/igniter combo to establish the arc, and keep it going while you drive. While I wont go into the details of how the bulbs work here, you can get all that information easily enough though google. HID systems use usually 35 watts of power each. You can get higher wattage HIDs, but there are frigging bright! The sharp cutoff is produced by the Projector. Without this curved peice of glass, light would go everywhere. This is what makes these systems desirable. Without this cutoff, it would be illegal, and BLIND on coming drivers.
Parts:
There are 5 main parts you'll need: The ballast, the igniter, the bulb, the projector, and the headlamp adapter for the projector.
-The Ballast and Igniter are usually packaged together, so no worry's there. What you do have to worry about is the brand. If the ballast was used in a OEM application(Bosch, Hella, Valeo, Matsu****a, Denso, Sylvania) then it is what you want to use. They are very stable, have a very long life, provide better output, and they are usually waterproofed. The alternative ballasts, as seen in my conversion(Made in China, Mculloch, Bohmen, etc). They cost about the same price, so dont get fooled!
#ad-The Bulbs are a little confusing. There are D1S, D2R, and D2S bulbs. The D1S bulbs have a square ignitor on the bakc of the bulb. If your conversion housings come with these, run them I guess. They seem a harder bulb to come buy, and they are more expensive. D2R bulbs were manufactured for Mercedes so the base is different then almost every other car using a D2S bulb. More the likley you will need a D2S bulb.
About bulb color. Don't get fooled into the blue or any other color is better then white. A white bulb is around 4500 Kelvin. Buy a bulb in that color range. The more color, the less lumens out of the bulb on the road ahead. Think about this, the sun is around 5800 Kelvin, so anything between 5800 and 4500 is a good color IMO. If you want blue, green. purple, or UV headlights go ahead. You will have less light then you have now, and you can always just switch the bulbs later when your not happy.
Color 35 watt Lumens
3000k Yellow 3200 Lumens
4500k Pure white 3400 Lumens
5000k White with a tiny hint of blue 3300 Lumens
6000k White with a violet hue 3200 Lumens
8000k Sky blue 3100 Lumens
-The Projector. There are many different brands/types of projector housings. I am going to use Acura TSX projectors in this project. There are two types, high and low beams(bi-xenons), and just lows(single xenons). In this write up I am just using Low Beam Only headlights and they are smaller, and I wanted to see how they did. So you will need a separate high beam if you choose to use these exact model housings. The Porsche and BMW high/low projectors are next on my list, and they actually cost less then these doOo. . The TSX Housings in this conversion are LOW BEAM ONLY. You will need to use a secondary high beam, light the lights I have on the front of my truck in the pictures.
#ad#ad-The Adapter takes the TSX projector, and fits it into our 6054 headlight buckets. The way I choose to do it is simple, ads some adjustments, and is cheap
Parts you need for out adapter include clear lenses, 4mm machine screws, springs, and thats about it. I will update this tommrow with exact lengths etc. The Procedure:
See Below
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