biglilsteve

iTrader: (2)

RX350 Projector Retrofit With Morimoto xbALed Angel Eyes

Before I go any further, I have to take the time to thank DigitalPro (Will) here on Scionlife for planting this seed and and hooking me up with Matt. Will...you're awesome...seriously. Also, Matt from TRS (as well as his entire support team...any time I have a question...their answers awesome and friendly). I challenge you to find another company who's owner/president will take the time to PERSONALLY assist you with everything you need. Matt, thank you, sir.

The Parts:
- Lexus RX350 Non-AFS projector with STI-R clear lens tuned in house by TRS
- Morimoto 3Five long cord D2S ballasts
- Morimoto XB35 5000k D2S bulbs
- 90mm Morimoto xbALed angel eyes in amber
- 90mm rubber housing caps

Tools And Items Needed:
- Dremel with circular sanding attachment
- Screw drivers
- Drill with assorted diameter bits
- Fine gauge floral wire (for mounting halos)
- Canned air
- Rubber butyl blue
- Electrical wire caps/taps

Here's a comparison of the OE projector (right) to the new RX350 Bi-Xenon projector (left) I'll be installing. The RX350 projector has extra bulk at the bottom of it due to the Bi-Xenon solenoid. You can see how it sits higher than the OE projector. I'll show how this comes into play later:



You can see that the OE projector (near) and the RX350 projector (far) have virtually identical depths.




Beware, this is very important. If you decide to do this, make sure you get the Non-AFS variant of this projector. It would take someone far braver than me to make the AFS version work with our housing. The AFS version (left) and Non-AFS version (right) don't share any of the same mounting holes!



Below, you'll see the OE projector in it's home:



Now, you'll see what the housing looks like without a projector:



Now you see what happens when we try to just stick the new RX350 projector into the housing with no modification. There is not enough room at the bottom of this housing because the new bi-xenon projector has a solenoid at the bottom used for activating it's high beam. It's in the way and doesn't allow for the projector to bolt in:



So...Dremel time!!! The following three pictures are the before, during, and after Dremelification. You don't have to be super neat with this job because that whole piece is going to be covered by the front shroud anyway. Just be sure not to take too much out and ruin the integrity of the housing.





Yeah...it gets dusty. Nothing canned air can't solve though. You'll use a lot of it, so consider this tip: Continuous use of the canned air will make it cold and it will lose its pressure. Once that happens, take it to the sink and run hot water over it for a minute. The can will immediately be good as new. You can do this whole project with just one can easily.

Now, here's the RX350 projector in the housing. Check the circle. Now that that extra housing is out of the way, it bolts right up...like it was meant to be!!



The factory rear rubber seals cannot be used with the new projector...I tried it. It doesn't completely seal the back of the new projector. That's why you need the 90mm rubber housing cap from TRS as well. The photo below shows how light is able to shine through between the projector and the factory rubber seal.



Since the RX350 projectors are bi-xenon, they have an extra connector that connects to our high-beam plug that is used to activate their solenoid for high-beam output. I chose to drill a hole through the rear of the headlight housing to run this through. I then installed the 9005 connector and epoxied around the hole to seal it back.




Now that the projectors are completely installed, time for the halos! I used the technique shown in TRS's video here to install them using floral wire. I recommend it. I installed my crappy Xtec halos using epoxy and it was a pain and kind of a mess. This floral wire method is MUCH less stressful and very effective.


Below, you'll see how I ran the wire from the halo through the shroud. I drilled a hole on the underside of the shroud to get the connector through. It's big, but completely invisible. This photo is shot from the back side of the shroud. Please ignore the black rope on the right...it's from my camera...didn't realize it was there.



Finished product up close. Yes, you can see the floral wire if you are staring at it...but in real life...it is not noticeable. And the power wire for the halo ring itself is completely hidden.



Here are two shots of the new lights on the car:




Here are some night shots of the halos. I'm sorry...it's really tough to get my non-SLR camera to get a good render of these:





Let me assure you...the halos are BRIGHT and MEAN looking in amber. Definitely a head turner and unlike pretty much anything else on the street. It's also cool that you can still see them when the headlights are on. My white ones would just get lost in the output of headlights.

Here is the output of the factory projectors with DDM 55w "4500k" bulbs. You can clearly see the glare above the cutoff caused by the squirrel finders. Also the cutoff is pretty soft.
Shot taken at 25 ft.



Here is the output of the new projectors. Regrettably, I did not check them for rotation prior to sealing them up. As a result, you'll see that the cutoffs of the two headlights do not completely blend. At first glance, it looks like I have my headlights aimed at different heights creating a two step effect. This isn't the case though since you can see each step is exactly the same distance from the line on the wall above them. Also, the cutoff is not completely horizontal.
These shots are all taken at 25 ft.



I did, however, achieve a nice color flicker effect with some nice blues and purples at the cutoff.



The sheer output of these RX350 projectors is phenomenal. This 35w setup destroys my old 55w DDM set. If you have good equipment, 35w is all you need. The beam is crazy wide in comparison to the factory setup as well. Having bi-xenon is awesome now. Having instant full HID brightness for your highs right when you need it is SWEET.

Let's not forget about the clear lenses...these bad boys are cleeeaaarrrrr. Besides their benefit to light output, they just look prettier inside the headlight housing. Check out KILLER's thread. He has the same clear lenses installed on his projectors and he made a direct comparison:
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sho....php?p=4132571

As for the Morimoto ballasts...they are SOLID. It was so crazy because when I took my old DDM Raptor ballasts out, they accidentally hit against each other as I was holding them by their cords and they literally sounded like cow bells...soooo cheaply made. Of course I didn't do this to my Morimoto's, but they would never do that. Also, the quality of the cords and connectors are top notch...very confidence inspiring. The quality of the relay that was included was the same and makes me feel good that the ballasts are getting the juice they need. I never used a relay on my previous set. The only thing I'm not blown away at is their warm-up time. They are about on par with my DDM set...maybe a hair faster. But at this point, with everything else being said, who gives a damn?

The Morimobo XB35 bulbs are great as well. They are well built and have an accurate, perfect white output when fully warm. 'nough said really.

In conclusion...I'm a total n00b. I have never modified a headlight before, and my only experience with opening headlights was when I installed Xtec halos last year. That's it. This job was painless. As tC2 owners, we are so lucky to have this as an option for those who are serious about their lighting. Again, make sure you get the Non-AFS version of the RX350 bi-xenon projector. The other versions will not be direct drop-in replacements. If you're ordering from TRS...just let them know what your application is. This was a learning experience for all of us and now they'll know exactly what you're talking about if you ask.

SkillFreeJake

Good stuff! It seems like you did everything right and it's definitely a clean install. This has definitely made me want to do this in the future

biglilsteve

iTrader: (2)

Absolutely, sir. For anyone considering running some proper HID projectors, this is the way to go. It supersedes TRS's Retro-Quik set which uses Morimoto Mini H1 projectors.

scottobahn

Nicely done sir!! I have a set of TL projectors I plan on retro fitting, need to find some time grrr. Kinda thinking about getting the RX's after seeing this though, looks great!

biglilsteve

iTrader: (2)

Honestly, you're better off trading the TL's in and going with the RX's. I know the TL projectors are OG bi-xenon legit-ness, but all the fabricating and modifying you'll need to do doesn't justify them. Get these with the STI-R clear lens and there's no looking back.

DigitalPro

iTrader: (17)

^^^ Agreed!! To make the TL fit would require removing most of the material just below the projector to fit the solenoid. Nothing better then the RX350 Bi-X for the TC2, save your self the trouble scottobahn.

scionchicop

So Steve, how much would you charge to do this?

fatty_gen2

He can use it for highs. quad bi i would suggest since he have it already.
And he's up to retro-ing theTL anyway...

KidJustin

soooo goood it stuck.

great job stephen

DigitalPro

iTrader: (17)

Check these out http://www.theretrofitsource.com/pro...ducts_id=56529

TL projectors will fit in the TC2 headlight will a little modding and aligning.

biglilsteve

iTrader: (2)

Whoooaaaa I wouldn't consider myself pro enough to be out here charging people to retrofit their lights. As you can see, my beam patterns are less than desirable since I didn't ensure proper rotation. I'd hate to send your lights back to you and you are disappointed...or you want your money back. Also, it's a terribly time consuming process...especially for a n00b like myself. The price I'd quote you would be for my time...and my time is worth more to me than it is worth to you :-p
my man!

DigitalPro

iTrader: (17)

^^^Exactly why I stopped retrofitting! Knowone wants to pay for time.

biglilsteve

iTrader: (2)

You were the first person who came to mind when I thought about that haha

TurtleTurtle_12

Quick question: How do you go about getting the alignment correct? I understand the vertical alignment can be with the factory alignment points once the headlight is sealed up, but what about the horizontal and rotational alignment of the projector itself?

biglilsteve

iTrader: (2)

There is no horizontal positioning possible with this setup. You could technically place washers under the two left or two right mounting points for the projector to make it point one way or the other, but then that make it not centered within the factory shroud. My horizontal alignment is fine with no adjustments.

Rotational alignment needs to happen prior to sealing the lights back up. You would need to screw the projectors in, leaving the screws a bit loose. Then mount the open headlight housing on your car facing at a good plain wall. Then cut on the headlights and take a look at how the rotation looks. Slightly rotate the projectors and then tighten the screws once you get them where you want them. <---- This is DigitalPro's advice to me when I was doing my retro.

I didn't bother messing with rotation because I live in an apartment and there wasn't a good wall where my car is parked to shine on prior to closing the lights back up. There isn't a ton of wiggle room when screwing the projectors in though. My rotational alignment isn't perfect...but not too far from it.

TurtleTurtle_12

That clears everything up man, Thanks! I'm in the same boat as you with the apartment situation, and I'll need to be able to get it done in one day. One of the ballast in the DDM kit I have now blew out, and since this seems like a relatively easy drop-in replacement I might as well upgrade.

How is the high beam 'addition' of the projector, in terms of light output? I may get a splitter so I retain the halogen high beam as well. It wouldn't hurt to have dual-highs lol

KILLER

"One of the ballast in the DDM kit I have now blew out"

...LOL, Im glad I never bought from them. Bad rep

biglilsteve

iTrader: (2)

I definitely understand the need to do it in one day! It's definitley possible. Mine took an entire Sunday but it definitely finished by the end of the night.

The high beam functionality of the bi-xenon projector is great and I think it's actually better than the halogens were. I disconnected my halogen high-beams and I strictly use the high-beam from the projectors. I just left the halogen bulbs in to keep the headlights sealed. Of course dual highs wouldn't hurt though lol.

biglilsteve

iTrader: (2)

You know, they have a bad rep but honestly mine served me well for the 2.5 years I had them. Although the driver side one began to have flickering issues when warming up, they never gave out on me.

I'm still glad I've got a full Morimoto system now though lol.

KILLER

I guess its a hit or miss with DDMTUNING. I actually had some DDM D2S 6000K bulbs on my old retrofit I had on my 2001 Mustang but the bulbs were so dim compared to the TRS 6000k.
Btw Steve, did you ever go for the amber turn signal on the hight beam reflector?
A while back when I first got the car I was using the hight beam as DRL with a cree hight power LED bulb like the one below until one of them burned out then I decided to just do the whole LED Halo instead: