J-RO'S ADAPTIVE XENON LIGHTS: THE PROJECT

[striker_1818]

yes sir

[truflip]

Originally Posted by J-Ro

Hey Karl, I had someone in TO who was interested, but I saw in his profile that he was looking at an s2k retro, so I don't know which way he's going. If he doesn't want them, though, they're all yours. Once I actually get this fat-ass project off the ground :)

Hahaha this was stickied a while ago I think. Anywho, I guess I'm second in line :) Btw, what projectors did you use? Thanks for replying Jason

[J-Ro]

Originally Posted by truflip

Hahaha this was stickied a while ago I think. Anywho, I guess I'm second in line :) Btw, what projectors did you use? Thanks for replying Jason

Haha, well I feel kind of dumb for not noticing... oh well :)
I used Audi projectors (off an A6 I believe). I can send you some pics, but seeing it in person is always better!

[Duce2k]

Great project J-Ro, I'll keep looking for the finished result

[striker_1818]

update!

[ethlar]

ive got solidworks files for approximately what you are looking for, there are free utilities you can download to view them

[J-Ro]

Hey ethlar, I finally got around to measuring the maximum diameter in the housing (amazing, I know )
I think 4.5" dia. is the maximum reasonable size... any bigger and I think I'd risk having to wedge it into the housing. Let me know if you have a chance to put the prototyper to work! Thanks!

[ethlar]

here are PDFs of the two parts, their thickness is approx .1 inch

let me know if there need to be any changes to the back hole to accommodate your projectors

front - Sheet1.pdf

back - Sheet1.pdf

[Cr8tive_leo]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to J-Ro again.

[atruhondagrl]

There aren't enough words in the english language for how impressed I am at this idea and the fact that you're putting words to actions and making it happen. Dude you are amazing.

[J-Ro]

^ Thanks!
But unfortunately it's been mostly words lately... other installs getting in the way, and the simple fact that it's now summer!
But I will get on it. Once I get some drawings made up for ethlar, I'm confident that these new parts will allow me to make some more progress on the mechanics aspect of it.

[J-Ro]

hey ethlar, I've got some drawings for you. I think it'll be easiest to go with the same design for front and back, then I'll modify them more later, since I want as close to a perfect fit as possible, since I plan on reinforcing the interior with a 2-part epoxy.
Also, I changed things around a bit since this is going on a rapid prototyper. I'm going to try an oval since that will fit the projector better I think.





Shoot me a PM regarding cost/payment/shipping and all that stuff, or if you think there are any improvements to be made.

Thanks!

[ethlar]

i will play with it tomorrow when im at work, lots of down time, and will get back to you

[rpm824]

That is hardcore... But its siiick... waaay to be inventive...

[csansom]

Originally Posted by J-Ro

gbae: ironically, the "extra" cost to go from a xenon retrofit to an adaptive xenon retrofit was only about $60-70. And I definitely don't have the cash for a Lexus... wish I did though :)

truflip: the difficulty level isn't huge... my diy should be fairly easy to follow once I come out with it. The problem is that some of the extra parts needed will require machining equipment, i.e. lathe, mill and finger brake. Luckily we have these at work and I'm allowed to use them for my own stuff on off-hours, but most people don't have access to that stuff. It might be possible without that equipment by changing some things around, but I'm not sure. It's hard to explain right now because everything's still in my head but not on paper :)

I'm only on pg3 of this thread, so I should probably read all the way through before posting, but the WHOLE idea of retro'ing the TSX's or S2K's projectors was that you were taking a 'known quantity' part and putting it into your existing housing. No one was having to machine and fabricate a projector from scratch, they only had to modify a bracket.

So my question would be this. Instead of machining and fabricating an entirely 'from scratch' actuator, why not simply retro in a Lexus projector WITH the Lexus actuator attached???

Seems like it would be WORLDS easier to customize an already existing projector actuator, then to try to design/fabricate/install one from scratch.

Don't get me wrong here, I LOVE the idea of adding adaptive Xenons, and completely am in awe that you have the ability to actually fabricate an actuator from scratch. I'm just trying to figure out a way that suits my more 'limited' abilities and facilities I have access too, and figured 'Why try to reinvent the wheel' (or the actuator in this case), when I can simply try and figure a way to retrofit an already existing one.

Just my 2 cents
Chris

[ethlar]

Originally Posted by csansom

I'm only on pg3 of this thread, so I should probably read all the way through before posting, but the WHOLE idea of retro'ing the TSX's or S2K's projectors was that you were taking a 'known quantity' part and putting it into your existing housing. No one was having to machine and fabricate a projector from scratch, they only had to modify a bracket.

So my question would be this. Instead of machining and fabricating an entirely 'from scratch' actuator, why not simply retro in a Lexus projector WITH the Lexus actuator attached???

Seems like it would be WORLDS easier to customize an already existing projector actuator, then to try to design/fabricate/install one from scratch.

Don't get me wrong here, I LOVE the idea of adding adaptive Xenons, and completely am in awe that you have the ability to actually fabricate an actuator from scratch. I'm just trying to figure out a way that suits my more 'limited' abilities and facilities I have access too, and figured 'Why try to reinvent the wheel' (or the actuator in this case), when I can simply try and figure a way to retrofit an already existing one.

Just my 2 cents
Chris

taking existing adaptive equipment would make sense, but heres the other side of it.

You have to figure out exactly how the Lexus in this case adaptive system works, what makes the servos move, what sort of signal is it etc... By designing his own system it may take more creative work, but he knows exactly how it all goes together and what signals it needs to be fed to work.


J-Ro, im still waiting to hear back from the person who runs the prototyper, they arent quite as on top of things since its summer and demand isnt high.

[Tim]

Those systems are connected to the car's ECU. It'd take a LOT of backwards engineering to try to approach it from that angle.

[J-Ro]

^ That and the fact that I'm pretty sure the Lexus adaptive units (or any others for that matter) won't fit. They're just too bulky. I definitely thought of that one before I started this... don't get me wrong, I like doing stuff like this, but not if there's a much easier way

Thanks for the update, ethlar! I'm anxious to see what we can get out of this :)

[J-Ro]

Update! The shells on post #132 are now done, thanks to ethlar!
Once I get them, I'll work on getting them to fit better than the spherical ones did.

[ethlar]

pictures of the shells on my TSX projectors






I called the prototyping shop about the gap around the projector, apparently they modified the part so the hole is 3 inches in diameter and not 2.75. It apparently was marked as a potential failure region when they checked the file before prototyping, they assure me that that is the only dimension they altered.