HID's in projector housing (not retro)
- Thread starter chris4851
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So I took everyone’s advice here and decided to do a retro. I ordered the Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III Kit (H1 5000) from TRS.
I ordered a cheap OEM headlight off eBay to hack up and see how easy this install would be. To my surprise baking the headlight and opening it up was fairly easy. The rest I’m afraid was not as simple as people make it seem. You need to be somewhat knowledgeable at fabrication to take something like this on. Personally I do not do a lot of fabrication work so I did not have all the required tools, epoxy, fiberglass, bondo, etc. Also reading up at HID planet in regards to leveling, painting, sealing, fabricating, securing and anything else needed to do a retro correctly I decided it’s better leave this up to someone who specializes in this. I spent enough money on the parts that I did not want a half ass the install.
At that point I decided to contact Black Flame Customs to do this install. I had BFC order a set of replica headlights instead of the OEM headlights to save some $$ there. The install was quick and they look amazing. I had some initial issues with epoxy buildup which was not allowing one of the headlights to fully adjust with the adjustment screws. BFC has been very helpful with this issue and fixed the problem. I had them paint the inside of the headlights black to match the color of my Yukon.
The only regret I have is using replica headlights. In my opinion these are replica for a reason, the build quality is nothing compared to the OEM. The headlight adjustment screw assembly is made of cheap plastic and they do not bolt onto the car and fit like a glove like the OEM ones do. If your spending the money on a retro I would look for OEM headlights, I’m sure you can get a good used set on eBay for the same price as a new set of replica’s.
The headlights should arrive today and I will install them. I’ll take some pics and post them back up here. Total cost of the retro was just over $1,000 which includes parts & labor.
I ordered a cheap OEM headlight off eBay to hack up and see how easy this install would be. To my surprise baking the headlight and opening it up was fairly easy. The rest I’m afraid was not as simple as people make it seem. You need to be somewhat knowledgeable at fabrication to take something like this on. Personally I do not do a lot of fabrication work so I did not have all the required tools, epoxy, fiberglass, bondo, etc. Also reading up at HID planet in regards to leveling, painting, sealing, fabricating, securing and anything else needed to do a retro correctly I decided it’s better leave this up to someone who specializes in this. I spent enough money on the parts that I did not want a half ass the install.
At that point I decided to contact Black Flame Customs to do this install. I had BFC order a set of replica headlights instead of the OEM headlights to save some $$ there. The install was quick and they look amazing. I had some initial issues with epoxy buildup which was not allowing one of the headlights to fully adjust with the adjustment screws. BFC has been very helpful with this issue and fixed the problem. I had them paint the inside of the headlights black to match the color of my Yukon.
The only regret I have is using replica headlights. In my opinion these are replica for a reason, the build quality is nothing compared to the OEM. The headlight adjustment screw assembly is made of cheap plastic and they do not bolt onto the car and fit like a glove like the OEM ones do. If your spending the money on a retro I would look for OEM headlights, I’m sure you can get a good used set on eBay for the same price as a new set of replica’s.
The headlights should arrive today and I will install them. I’ll take some pics and post them back up here. Total cost of the retro was just over $1,000 which includes parts & labor.
Aschoeppner
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I am looking into doing a retro on my 07 tahoe with just low beams. I was looking at the headlights on blackflamecustoms that have the exact set up I am looking at doing. Ive been reading all the threads on it and still have a bit of a dilemma.
The morimoto mini full kit from TRS is $270. New headlight housings that you can actually get open are around $150. Blackflame gets $949 for the whole thing all finished.
My question is....is it worth over $500 in labor to do the work? Everybody is saying that its a pain but is it worth spending the extra $500 to have someone else do it? $949 for the whole thing seems a little steep when theres only around $420 in parts into it.
The morimoto mini full kit from TRS is $270. New headlight housings that you can actually get open are around $150. Blackflame gets $949 for the whole thing all finished.
My question is....is it worth over $500 in labor to do the work? Everybody is saying that its a pain but is it worth spending the extra $500 to have someone else do it? $949 for the whole thing seems a little steep when theres only around $420 in parts into it.
Well ... a 50/50 ratio parts to labor cost seems to be where a professional retrofit usually ends up, give or take a few percentage points.
Undoubtably you pay a premium with BFC for the ease of a pre-retrofitted PnP setup as they are the only ones (that I know of) that offer it.
BFC is usually the only option for those who don't have a qualified retrofitter near them and who don't want/aren't able to tackle the build themselves.
It's always best to have retrofits done custom to one's vehicle to ensure perfect alignment ... but some folks don't have the option.
So it's probably $100 more than you could get an in person retrofit, but it also could be less. Keep in mind that this is a pretty small community of qualified installers, and depending on demand for their services at any particular time, they can add more premium on their labor. There's no set industry standard that one can use to shop and compare prices.
Undoubtably you pay a premium with BFC for the ease of a pre-retrofitted PnP setup as they are the only ones (that I know of) that offer it.
BFC is usually the only option for those who don't have a qualified retrofitter near them and who don't want/aren't able to tackle the build themselves.
It's always best to have retrofits done custom to one's vehicle to ensure perfect alignment ... but some folks don't have the option.
So it's probably $100 more than you could get an in person retrofit, but it also could be less. Keep in mind that this is a pretty small community of qualified installers, and depending on demand for their services at any particular time, they can add more premium on their labor. There's no set industry standard that one can use to shop and compare prices.
clayp
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does anyone know of a Houston area retrofitter?
Some bad news. Looks like UPS decided to have a field day with my one of the headlights that got shipped back yesterday. The reflector housing which the projector is mounted to broke off as well as several headlight mounting tabs.
In any event BFC is going to purchase and rebuild a new headlight. BFC has been very helpful this whole process. I highly recommend them for anyone who is looking for a retrofitter. Yes you pay a premium for the labor however they are very professional.
Once I receive the new headlight, hopefully by the weekend, I will take some pictures.
In any event BFC is going to purchase and rebuild a new headlight. BFC has been very helpful this whole process. I highly recommend them for anyone who is looking for a retrofitter. Yes you pay a premium for the labor however they are very professional.
Once I receive the new headlight, hopefully by the weekend, I will take some pictures.
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