Well, late last fall I decided I needed a project to keep my busy over the winter. I knew I wanted to upgrade the lighting on my LS, because although the stock output isn't bad for halogen, it's still halogen. :D So, I started researching HID lighting and the various options. I did come across a thread on LVC about a $125 kit, but I wanted to do more research before I bought it. From there I came across the forums on HiDPlanet.com (http://www.hidplanet.com/forums), the best place for information on HID lighting. Although, they do have a "kit" forum, I would not go there asking anything about kits. That is, unless you are prepared to hear about how bad they are. :) And, after reading up on it, you can see why they take that stance.

Now, I know that there's at least one vendor on LVC that sells such kits, so I'm not going to sit here and knock kits. I just hope that after seeing this thread, especially the output pictures below, people will venture to retrofit HID projectors instead of buying kits, as even the cheapest, bottom of the totem pole, HID projectors (Bosch E46) still outshine them (not to mention safer for the '00-'02 LS's that didn't come with reflectors designed for HID.

So, that's exactly what I decided to do - retrofit some projectors into my LS headlight housings. This was my first retro, and even though I'm pretty good with my hands, it was still no easy task. I easily have over 100 hours in the project including design, engineering, etc. since I started in November of last year, and finished in February. It was a pretty tedious project given that I had virtually no room everywhere I turned; everything had to be setup within a few mm tolerance to work correctly. Now you might ask yourself, why is this guy suggesting that people retrofit if it's so time-consuming and difficult? Well, the projectors I chose are some of the largest ones out there, and the LS headlights are pretty small, so that made the whole process tougher than it would be for most. You don't have to retrofit the same projectors as I did; I just chose these because they are regarded as the best projectors out there in terms of performance (you should be able to tell why from the output pictures below :)).


I would like to give a huge thanks to the helpful people on the HiDPlanet forums (http://www.hidplanet.com/forums).


Component Information:

Retrofit Vehicle: 2002 Lincoln LS V8
Projectors: Projectors from a 2006 Lexus LS430
Ballasts: Denso Slim ballasts from the same 2006 Lexus LS430
Harness: Custom 9005/9006 relay harness for my ground-switched LS

Projector Information:

The '04-'06 Lexus LS430 projector headlights have the widest beam of any projector out there. They accomplish this with a lower reflector bowl (all other projectors are completely enclosed). Light from the upper/inner bowl shines down through a hole and hits the lower reflector bowl giving the projector its extra width. The light coming from the lower bowl meets with the light coming from the projector lens to create the seamless beam. Hats off to the optical engineers at Toyota for this one, as they really knew what they were doing when they designed this projector. Here are some pictures of it disassembled:

Projector Bowl:

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3076-2/100_3027.jpg

Foreground Limiter:

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3089-2/100_3031.jpg

Fresnel lens and part of projector. Fresnel lenses distribute the light a lot more evenly than clear lenses, but clear lenses seem to be the big thing with retrofitters as you can get a razor-sharp cut-off with them, as opposed to the blurrier cut-off with the fresnel. Personally, I'd rather have the light distributed more evenly, than have a sharp cut-off. Also, with sharp cut-offs, it makes it hard for your eyes to adjust to what's above the cut-off, since there's no blending of light and dark areas.

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3107-2/100_3037.jpg

Cut-off shield:

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3110-2/100_3038.jpg

Shroud:
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3116-2/100_3040.jpg

Projector completely assembled:

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3149-2/100_3051.jpg


On to the project pictures!


Here's one of my headlights before baking. Notice the two cans of retrofitter's fuel in the background. :)

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2335-2/100_2589.jpg


One of the Lexus LS430 donor headlights.

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2639-2/100_2798.jpg


Comparison of stock Lincoln LS driver-side headlight and Lexus LS430 driver-side headlight. Notice the huge size difference.

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2669-2/100_2808.jpg
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2672-2/100_2809.jpg


Headlight components after opening.

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2348-2/100_2593.jpg


Let the dirty work begin!

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2357-2/100_2596.jpg


Initial aiming / alignment in the garage.

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2450-2/100_2648.jpg
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2456-2/100_2650.jpg
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2438-5/100_2644.jpg

Just pulled back in from some testing outside in the driveway:

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2774-5/100_2859.jpg

Shroud fitment. I had to cut quite a bit of the LS430 shroud in order to get things to fit. Don't mind the rough edges, those were smoothed out. :) There was also no gap after the shroud was actually screwed into the projector.

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2687-2/100_2815.jpg
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2693-2/100_2817.jpg


Because I wasn't able to mount the ballasts in a sealed location as they were when mounted inside the LS430 stock headlights, I decided to pot them using MG Chemicals Thermally Conductive epoxy.

Here's a link to the HowTo I wrote on potting Denso Slim ballasts: http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=14008

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2795-2/100_2866.jpg
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2822-2/100_2875.jpg


Once I finished potting the ballasts I had to find a good place to mount them under the hood. The Denso's have a very short bulb wire, so finding that location was a pain. I used 2 L-brackets per ballast and drilled and tapped holes on the frame of the car.

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2744-2/100_2849.jpg
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2753-2/100_2852.jpg


I built a custom 9005/9006 wire harness for my ground-switched LS. The diode is there to keep the low beams on when the high beams are switched on. The capacitor is there because when the high beams are triggered, there is a very small amount of time where there's no power to either high or low beam stock plugs. So, what would end up happening is that the power would be cut to the ballasts for about 400-500 ms while the highs turned on, and then they'd both have power again. That very quick re-strike is definitely not good for the HID bulbs (and probably not the ballasts either). So, I've put the 4700 uF capacitor across the low beam relay coil, so that during that intermittent power outage, the low beam relay stays closed and continues to draw power from the battery.

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2858-2/100_2887.jpg
http://skizot.com/images/ls430/9006-9005_Harness_final.jpg


To show how far these things stuck out in the back, and that I had to cut the stock housing a little to get them to fit. I ended up cutting a bit more on the top to allow for a bit more adjusment. I used a rubber 3" to 4" PVC adapter (I cut it to fit), PVC pipe (also cut to fit), and 3" knock-out caps to seal the rear housing. I ended up painting the PVC pipe and knock-out caps black.

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2714-2/100_2824.jpg
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2873-2/100_2892.jpg
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2882-2/100_2898.jpg
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2909-2/100_2908.jpg
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2915-2/100_2911.jpg


Both projectors w/shrouds mounted to the stock reflector and ready for assembly.

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2933-2/100_2976.jpg
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2936-2/100_2977.jpg
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2948-2/100_2981.jpg


Headlights re-assembled.

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3053-2/100_3018.jpg

Here's a shot showing the beam from the lens and the bottom reflector bowl (what I was talking about earlier). They meet and the extra width is added seamlessly:

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3359-6/DSC_0020.JPG


Now, these following pictures will give you an idea of the *very* limited amount of room (practically no room at all) I had. Because of it, I really had to engineer a clever design for sealing the back of the headlights up. What I did was cut the PVC tube just enough to cover everything up, but at the same time it had to be short enough to slide back towards the headlight housing in the 3" to 4" rubber adapter so that I could get one of the headlight mounting bolts in. The area is so confined I had to use a long grabber tool to put the mounting bolt in place, as there was no way I could get my hand down to put the bolt in place. Once I had the bolt in place and tightened, I would slide the PVC pipe back away from the housing and slip in the 3" knock-out cap; I had to slide it all the way back to the frame to get it to cover completely. It does just that, and they are sealed completely in the back. :) I have yet to have a problem with condensation/moisture, and the car was power-washed several times towards the end of winter.

The first picture here shows the mounting bolt below the PVC pipe on the right. The PVC pipe is slid in all the way.
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3068-2/100_3023.jpg

Here's the PVC pipe slid all the way out with 3" knock-out cap in place on the end.
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3071-2/100_3024.jpg
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3167-1/100_3062.jpg

And the grabber tool I used to put the rear mounting bolts in place.
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3161-1/100_3059.jpg
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3164-1/100_3061.jpg


Some pictures of the final product installed. :)

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3170-2/DSC_0043.JPG
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3176-2/DSC_0045.JPG
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3188-2/DSC_0049.JPG
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3191-2/DSC_0050.JPG
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3194-2/DSC_0051.JPG
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3203-2/DSC_0054.JPG
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3206-2/DSC_0057.JPG
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3218-2/DSC_0078.JPG
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3224-2/DSC_0102.JPG
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3245-2/DSC_0109.JPG
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3239-2/DSC_0107.JPG
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3236-2/DSC_0106.JPG
http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3251-2/DSC_0111.JPG



And now the money shot output pictures:


Just a normal driveway shot:

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3436-4/DSC_0045.JPG


The following shots were underexposed to show the perfect alignment between low beam and high beam.

Low Beam:

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3460-4/DSC_0053.JPG

Low Beam and High Beam perfectly aligned:

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3457-4/DSC_0052.JPG


Now for the awesome shots. :P

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3469-2/DSC_0056.JPG

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3499-2/DSC_0066.JPG

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3520-2/DSC_0073.JPG

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3541-2/DSC_0080.JPG


I couldn't be happier with the results; both the looks and the output. I think they turned out very stock looking, and that's what I was after. Patience and hard work does pay off! And hopefully this just might convince a few of you to retrofit your LS with HID projectors.

Thanks for looking. :)

Holy S**T... that's a lot of output! Nice job! Helluva lot of work involved. On those output pics, I didn't realize what I was looking at at first...

You've got the patience of a saint. I couldn't be bothered with all that lol Looks awesome!

Speechless..... That is amazing.

sweeeeeeet! kudos to you for a fine project and fine result!

You picked the Lexus lights because they're both LS models so they're compatible right? :D

wow, flawless. those pictures at the end look to be extremely far away and the output is ridiculous. awesome work

Wow! That looks perfect!


I am looking into these....http://www.hidtech.com/retros.html

Its the Type E-Class to be exact. They seem to be the same shape and size as the factory reflector.

Those LS 430's are sick cars! How much did the lights run?

Very nice work as I have told you before. I am still going to take on the project, trying to get all my parts together now.

Thats too cool! Very nice work

Excellent work! They look fantastic, it took a few seconds to really comprehend the field being lit.

Excellent job on the retrofit!!! If you ever decide to do a 2nd one it will be much easier than the first! The light output is on the ls430's look great and it looks like you did everything like you should...from projector alignment, to the newspapers that protect the bumeper from being scratched from the repeated install and removal of the lights. You even put the third bolt back in the headlight housing too!

and yes, HIDPLANET is great! I gathered a lot of my info from there before I started too. However I did use "the cheapest, bottom of the totem pole, HID projectors;) ", E46's, in my LS a few years ago but I have been very pleased. I have my ballasts boosted to 55watt though as well as the "color mod" for them and it makes a big big difference. No bulb failure on the boosted ballasts either:D


If you ever decide to put projectors in the foglights as well there is a ton of room. Well you probably don't need any fog lights since you have 430s in the headlights! Congrats on it! Wish I could see it in person!

Hey let us know if you want to do more.... Im sure there are people out here who would pay alot of money to get them... I might be one of them. :)

Great work!!Too much work for me though. I would rather go buy a 06 LS430:joke

All I have to say is WOW!!

Thanks for all the compliments guys!

Holy S**T... that's a lot of output! Nice job! Helluva lot of work involved. On those output pics, I didn't realize what I was looking at at first...

:) Yeah, I should have put up a warning that said "Yes, that little red dot is my car." LOL

You picked the Lexus lights because they're both LS models so they're compatible right? :D

Haha. I wish!

I am looking into these....http://www.hidtech.com/retros.html

Its the Type E-Class to be exact. They seem to be the same shape and size as the factory reflector.

So what projectors are you thinking about using with those E-Class shrouds? I bet a pair of S2000 projectors would fit nicely. :D

Those LS 430's are sick cars! How much did the lights run?

For the projectors and ballasts I paid $450 ($300 for the projectors and $150 for the ballasts).

and yes, HIDPLANET is great! I gathered a lot of my info from there before I started too. However I did use "the cheapest, bottom of the totem pole, HID projectors;) ", E46's, in my LS a few years ago but I have been very pleased. I have my ballasts boosted to 55watt though as well as the "color mod" for them and it makes a big big difference. No bulb failure on the boosted ballasts either:D

LOL - I didn't mean anything bad by describing the E46's. They work out great for people. Wow, boosted ballasts. I've been thinking about that, but I'm too afraid of the extra heat damaging the chrome on the bowls. Have you had yours apart since you've boosted to see if the chrome is taking a hit? Also, are you using regular 35 watt Philips 85122 burners with the boosted ballasts? It looks like Philips has a DL50, which is a 50 watt burner. I remember hearing people say that the DL50 runs cooler than the 85122 boosted to 50-55 watts. Either way, I'm sure you got a grin on your face the first time you fired them up with the boosted ballasts. :D BTW, nice work on your fog retrofit.

Hey let us know if you want to do more.... Im sure there are people out here who would pay alot of money to get them... I might be one of them. :)

Hrmm, I might have to take you up on that offer. :)

It's a shame I can't really see the detail in the wiring harness you built. Is that the same as I had asked you about previously?

It's a shame I can't really see the detail in the wiring harness you built. Is that the same as I had asked you about previously?

Yes, that's the same you'd asked about. Here's a couple more pictures of the harness:

In this picture you can see the red 10 gauge wire with the ring terminal at the end, and the 30-amp inline fuse on the far right. The wire to the left of that is the male 9005 connector, and the wire on the left of that is the male 9006 connector. The two male connectors (9005 and 9006) plug into the stock wiring, and are used as the triggers for the relays in the harness.

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2861-5/100_2888.jpg

In this picture you can see the driver-side wires. The wire on the far left is the driver-side ground (with ring terminal at the end of it). In the middle you can see the 9005 female connector (for the high beam bulb). To the right of that are the positive and negative female spade connectors for the driver-side ballast.

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2864-5/100_2889.jpg

This is a picture similar to the last picture, but showing the passenger-side wires.

http://skizot.com/gallery/d/2867-4/100_2890.jpg

Good god thats one expensive project!

Anyway, my measurements are off. I just got around to measuring the factory chrome reflector and it is 5" T x 5 & 1/25" W.


I may still keep those in mind. I want something that will look very factory and fill in the factory measurements. Those ones I linked are just a bit smaller and instead of sitting on the reflector like I want it will drop inside a bit but I could paint the reflector black to match the bezel and keep a factory look.


I hear those S2000 projectors are killer for this stuff?



Are you going to leave the rest of the light stock?

Have you thought about a high beam and then Angel eyes?

Yup, they're the second best if you can't fit the LS430s. :) They are about the same price for a pair as the LS430s. The beam from them is not as wide as the LS430, but the intensity is more center-focused.

I think I'll probably leave the rest of the light stock. I'm not really sure if I like angel eyes, or not. I've seen some LVC member's pictures of them installed, and they look good, I just don't think they're my "style". :D

As for the high-beams, I think I'll leave them stock for now as I don't use them much. However, when I was doing this project, I almost bought some LS460 high-beam projectors for my highs. I kind of wish I'd given that a shot, but I wasn't sure what it'd look like with 4 projectors.

OK, I was just thinking that the high beams would help the aesthetic flow of things.

I like angel eyes but I only seen one install that I actually liked and I think that seeing on how you did projectors the Angel eyes would fit perfectly instead of having those gaps.

This is very inspiring and it is a great write up on the work also!