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This is something I am working on and I just wanted to share with the group to see if anyone might be interested if I were to produce more of them.
This project started when I was looking upgrade my headlights to projectors and didn't want to pony up the $1215 for the SBG kit. I also thought it would be cool to use the (relatively) new Morimoto M-LED projector assemblies instead of HID.
As with all other retrofits, these use the Sonar headlight housing. Typically you would remove the lenses from a headlight like these by baking them in the oven to soften the glue. However that apparently is not the case with the Sonar housings - several sources I have found say that they are "perma glued" and baking them will not soften it like you would hope. Knowing this I set out to design a three piece assembly that mounts from the back, meaning that the lens never needs to be removed. A rear-mounted design also means that the projector assembly can be removed at any time without baking the whole assembly in an oven! The two-piece housing screws together with four screws and a rubber o-ring seals the two halves of the housing together. The prototypes are 3D printed ABS, and I am considering whether or not this would be a viable production method. Each pair of headlights would require approximately 24 hours of priting time! Cast urenthane may be another option, but I am not going to spend the time making molds unless there is sufficient interest.
Unlike HID systems, LED lights produce very little heat so there is no worry of melting or burning the housing or lens. They are also easier on your electrical system and do not require any relays or heavier gauge fused circuits. These will not match the output of a 55W xenon, but they will be equal to or better than a 35W xenon setup. They also have a full-size 3" projector lens.
Target price is $850 for a complete plug-and-play set.
It does look nice. How would you go about aiming them? I'm not familiar with the exact shape of the stock headlights, will this require any cutting or trimming to fit in the OEM popups?
It does look nice. How would you go about aiming them? I'm not familiar with the exact shape of the stock headlights, will this require any cutting or trimming to fit in the OEM popups?
it looks like a direct swap for the stock housing. It would aim just the same as stock. There are adjustment screws that are built into the actual headlight housing that allow aiming of the lens. So long as the retrofit is done perfectly square and symmetrical then it will aim just the same.
I have not done any heat testing yet but I can certainly do so. I have a heated chamber that I can regulate to within a degree, so I will put the whole assembly inside that and keep it at 100F while the headlight is on.
I just retrofitted a pair of sonar headlights, they came apart really easy with a heat gun.
Interesting. Maybe they changed again? I can cite at least two posts on this forum that refer to the glue as being very difficult to soften. I have not attempted it myself, but there is no reason to, aside from maybe painting the reflector black.
I was for a ling time debating if i should go for the M-LED or Bi-Xenon. But having to glue them together i opted for the later. Now that i see your i cant stop thinking that this is a brilliantly creative solution!
I know these aren't "proper" headlight comparison pics but my car is immobile right now so its the best I can do! Low-beam LED on the right, stock halogen low-beam on the right, dirty *** windshield. The second pic shows how these fit without any modification to the headlight bucket/bracket.
I sprayed one black to see how that would look. I will see if I can get some comparison shots with both mounted in the car and in daylight. The black is really hard to take a picture of!!!
I believe I am interested in this as well. I like the small detail of the "RX-7 " inlay and I agree that it would look great in black with a little paint to make it pop just a bit more.
If these have (or can have) a low beam pattern for RHD vehicles and might be released in the first half of the year, I'd be down for a set.
Lower temps and easier install than the SBG set for at least on-par with the 35w variant? I think that's a win.
