Working on a headlight project

[KNG SNKE]

I have the guts for a passengers side headlight currently, looking to locate the guts for a drivers side headlight, most importantly I am looking for the plastic shroud on the inside. Before anyone asks no I am not installing halos.

Currently in the works

1.Removing the headlight level
2.Filling the headlight level hole
3.Painting the shroud black
4.Potentially retrofitting a better quality projector

 

[KingSnake97]

interesting keep me posted. l like new ideas.

 

[KDR83]

I retrofitted BMW projectors into my Supra, would be nice to do something similar in the Viper

 

[KNG SNKE]

At a minimum I plan on swapping the projector lens. The oem one is horrible and it blocks more light then it passes in my opinion.

 

[Timnineside]

I had an old RT that I painted black. Also pulled the lenses and painted inside black. I will see if I have any parts laying around.

Also has anyone done or seen someone paint the inside of the lens to match the car? Mine was subtle as it was a all black car but would love to see something in yellow or red????

This would kinda have that Corvette C6 look? IDK!

-Tim

 

[Hirkophoto]

I put hid in my Gts a few years ago. Direct fit bulbs, plug and play. The difference in the light was incredible , I also did the fog lights after that, you need extra light that is the way to go. You can pick up hid set up on eBay for about $40

 

[drlee50]

Are the headlights easy to disassemble? Mine are pretty dirty inside i sanded the outsides with 1000 and then 3000 and then polished em. outsides look good but the inside haze is quite noticable it wasnt a fun project, but i got brake parts cleaner on em.... REALLY not good thing to do. they were horribly damaged. so was the clear bra. both are restoring well, but very slow going. im going to bed now, just got one headlight done. second will have to wait til tomorrow.

 

[KNG SNKE]

I run HID's currently. The quality of the lense in the oem projector is substandard. You can swap the lens and get even more output from them.

The headlights are easy to disassemble and can be done in place. The one tricky part is removing the plastic shroud on the inside, the clear piece. With the headlight in place you will have to pull up on the headlight plastic to make clearance for it and not damage it.

 

[KNG SNKE]

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On a side note to paint your headlights the same color of your car will not be a good look in my opinion. Most of the Vipers are bright colors and the headlights would be overkill in my opinion. To each's own though.

Here is an extreme example of Viper headlights retrofitted. I am in no way doing anything close to this for the record. I may switch the actual projector out or at least change the lens to make it produce better light.

 

[drlee50]

I run HID's currently. The quality of the lense in the oem projector is substandard. You can swap the lens and get even more output from them.

The headlights are easy to disassemble and can be done in place. The one tricky part is removing the plastic shroud on the inside, the clear piece. With the headlight in place you will have to pull up on the headlight plastic to make clearance for it and not damage it.

Thanks for the info John-- I gotta pull mine apart and clean em out.

 

[KNG SNKE]

Once I'm done I will do a writeup.

 

[Jance GTS]

Best of luck! I'm a fan of all your subtle changes that you have been doing. I hope you come up with something better because I think the headlights are an eye sore...

I have HID's in mine and it still isn't as good as it could be.

What are you using to reseal the housing?

 

[KNG SNKE]

No need to reseal the housing, it is a 2 piece housing. Remember when you installed your HID's you removed the entire back of the housing? That being said the rear seals ****. LOL

 

[ZYellow01RT]

Hell, just take the easy way out and tint them...lol. I used Lamin-X film (http://www.lamin-x.com/):

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The look isn't for everybody, but it's just another option...

John - good luck with your project. Good to see that you have something new to keep you busy.

 

[KNG SNKE]

I like the look of tinted headlights but it ends there.

1.They are highly illegal in most states
2.Reduces the distance other drivers can see you from
3.Just plain unsafe
4.I want more light output with a cleaner looking headlight.

I have a black one mocked up with plastidip. I took photos of it and will post shortly.

 

[ZYellow01RT]

Fortunately, not illegal here, and only blocks 10% of the light, which is probably not even noticeable. Plus, adds protection to the lens from rocks, weathering, etc.

Please do post pics when you get a chance.

 

[Jance GTS]

No need to reseal the housing, it is a 2 piece housing. Remember when you installed your HID's you removed the entire back of the housing? That being said the rear seals ****. LOL

Got ya! So you're saying that the entire headlight lense is just held together by clips and the entire inside is easily unbolted?

 

[KNG SNKE]

Fortunately, not illegal here, and only blocks 10% of the light, which is probably not even noticeable. Plus, adds protection to the lens from rocks, weathering, etc.

Please do post pics when you get a chance.

10% may not sound like a lot but it most definitely is. Like I said, I am not knocking the look. I have been itching to tint my taillights but my better judgement has prevented me from doing so.

Got ya! So you're saying that the entire headlight lense is just held together by clips and the entire inside is easily unbolted?

If you pop your hood and look at the back of your headlight there are 3 hand nuts you remove and a 4th one you loosen, the same entrance to swap a bulb. While in there all of this stuff unscrews. The plastic shroud will required you to flex the headlight exterior a little bit so you don't scratch it (there is a riveted piece of metal in the headlight you have to clear)

Here are photos of a quick mock up I did with plastidip. I ONLY painted the shroud with plastidip black. I am digging the look. I am not a good enough painter to do a finalized painting on the shroud so I will most likely pay a shop to do that stuff. I will be retrofitting a new lens within the next 2 weeks and looking into swapping the actual projector if necessary. I am open to suggestions or ideas as well. The wife says it makes the headlights look more devious. I think I will like the black when its on the car. Definitely going to smooth out the lens though as well as fill the hole where the level was after I remove it.

I am also still searching for spare headlight components, specifically the drivers side headlight guts.

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[Jance GTS]

Pull the car outside in the light and get some distance shots of it.

 

[KNG SNKE]

Too dark out now, will do that when I get a headlight finished .

 

[KNG SNKE]

So after some digging I can't just swap the lens in the oem projector. I have contacted a company and they have a tsx-r projector swap for me to work with so I will be exploring this.

Some may ask why a projector swap
1.The oem gen 2 projectors were designed to run halogens
2.The oem lens is frosted which significantly reduces light output
3.The overall quality of the oem projector is horrible.

My goals are to achieve a nice color range as well as improve my light output. I currently run 10k or 8k hids, I forget which. Once I am done I will post photos of comparisons. I can tell you the tsx-r are the standard for high quality projectors and lenses.

 

[KDR83]

May want to switch to 4300k or 6000k bulbs, that alone will improve your light output, 8000 and 10000 are for ricers imo and actually reduce the amount of light, however I do agree, a oem designed hid projector will be the best option. Can you take a picture of the projector area? Curious how hard a retrofit would be...in the meantime i ordered some 4300k projectors for 30 bucks on ebay.

 

[Jance GTS]

I agree with KDR83 you should get a different HID if you want better light output but the OEM projectors still **** for the reasons you mentioned. I really hope you can get something to work but I would be interested in doing a swap.

 

[Jance GTS]

Also, I have Gen 3 fog lights with the same HID kit that I have installed in my projectors and they are different colors due to the frosted projector lense

Looks terrible in person! I just want everything to match! LOL

 

[KNG SNKE]

Even at lower K rated HID's the oem projectors light output *****.
I believe my car is set at 8K however due to the way the oem projectors are they do not show as blue as they would in a civic. The lens dictates a lot of the color.

 

[Kill-Zone]

Fortunately, not illegal here, and only blocks 10% of the light, which is probably not even noticeable. Plus, adds protection to the lens from rocks, weathering, etc.

Please do post pics when you get a chance.

Check you lenses in a few months, enjot the cracks from the heat

 

[KNG SNKE]

He will be fine. Tint blocks UV. The headlights have vents on them. Should be ok. If not then he will buy new headlights, no biggie.

 

[Jance GTS]

He will be fine. Tint blocks UV. The headlights have vents on them. Should be ok. If not then he will buy new headlights, no biggie.

I asked earlier about resealing the lenses. Does the front headlight lens come off easy? I would think that part is sealed to the housing to keep water out.

Still waiting on the outside pictures

 

[KNG SNKE]

I have a new trick up my sleeve. I have located some bezels to paint so when I get everything all painted and retrofit the new projectors I will take photos.

The back of the headlight is meant to be removed so you can change the bulbs. It's not like normal headlights. The back plate is meant to be removed and has its own seal.

No need to remove the front headlight lens nor the headlight itself, all of the guts are easily removable.

 

[Jance GTS]

I have a new trick up my sleeve. I have located some bezels to paint so when I get everything all painted and retrofit the new projectors I will take photos.

The back of the headlight is meant to be removed so you can change the bulbs. It's not like normal headlights. The back plate is meant to be removed and has its own seal.

No need to remove the front headlight lens nor the headlight itself, all of the guts are easily removable.

I can't wait to see what you have come up with. I was wondering about the headlight lense because I would like to sand it down and remove all the lettering on the inside. Yes I know its there for legal reasons blah blah.