In response to the deletion of a TSX Retrofit DIY. I hope this doesn't affect your business in any way because I don't think it will. I really support caveman and also customlightz works because their retrofit are awesome, but I believe all the 8th civic members should have a DIY for the retrofit. I am going to write a HID Retrofit DIY tutorial for all the 8th civic member. Caveman and customlightz.com have their own signature for their retrofit (shroud, colormod, etc.) and they have much more experience in doing so. Remember going this route will take alot of work and TIME!!!. If there are any errors please PM me.
Right now I dont have alot of pictures to post in showing some detail. You can send me some pictures if you want me to put it up.
Here is a link to my first retrofit. The shrouds right now doesn't look that great, but can easily be fix.
http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39575
Key:
Difficulty scale:
E - easy : easily done with minimal time
M - medium difficulty : will take a few hours
H - Hard : will take alot of time, maybe even a day
Before you work on your cars make sure you have an extra pair headlights housing or you won't be able to drive your car for a while. Especially when you are in the middle of working on your headlights and don't have a car to go buy parts. For some, this will take at least a few days or even a week to finish.
This tutorial focus solely on headlight retrofit so there will be very minimal tutoral on wiring it up. If I have the time, I will add a few more tutorial on wiring up the ballast and bulbs.
WARNING: This DIY is only for people that know what they are doing. The following is for informational purposes only. I will take no responsibility for what you do with this knowledge. Modifying Headlights is illegal to use on the street.
------------------
Difficulty: E
STEP 1: Choosing your HID Ballast.
I would highly recommend getting an OEM ballast. There are many out there and some of the common one are: Phillips Hella Gen3 (bmw,mercedes) , Denso (toyota), and Matsuhita (infinity, nissan).
![Image]()
All OEM ballast are usually the same so they shouldn't affect the lighting in any way. However, personally I prefer the Phillips Hella Gen 3.
Quantity: x2
So you need to buy 2 ballast, one for each headlight.
------------------
Difficulty: E
STEP 2: Buying your D2S bulbs.
These bulbs run on ebay for about maybe 60 bucks a piece. For those that don't know the difference between D2S and D2R, D2R have a cover on the bulb which main purpose is for cars that have HID with a HID reflector (no projector) to not blind oncoming cars. The D2S doesn't have that cover so therefore produce more light output.
D2s
![Image]()
D2R
![Image]()
Quantity: x2
------------------
Difficulty: E
STEP 3: Buying
Wire Harness: This harness is needed on most vehicle to power up the ballast. There is a debate on if the 8th civic needs it, but I would highly recommend on getting the harness. I will not go into detail on how the wire is made or why we need it, just buy one! You can find one on ebay if you look up HID harness.
![Image]()
Quantity: x1
------------------
Difficulty: E
STEP 4: Choosing your Projector.
There are many projectors to choose from out there, but the most common one that will fit in the 8th civic are S2k and TSX Projector lens. S2k have a much sharper and more colorful cutoff than of the TSX. However S2k has a high price, probably about 400-600 a pair. TSX however are the next best and probably only cost about average $100-$150 a pair. In this tutorial I will be using a TSX projector.
TSX projectors
![Image]()
When choosing a projector, you can either choose clear lens or fresnel lens. Clear lens have better output so it is recommended. (Fresnel might be cheaper than clear lens).
------------------
Difficulty: M/H
STEP 5: Opening up your headlights.
Now that you have all the parts, we can continue with this next step. Before we continue, I would like to warn you that doing this step incorrectly can fry/melt your headlight.
You have two way of doing this, this first way is highly recommend and you will less likely melt your headlight.
Option 1: Buy a heating gun (about $20-$60). Use your heating gun to melt the glue of the headlight.
Option 2: Bake your headlight in the oven. WARNING: Do not leave the oven on when the headlight is in there. The best way is Preheat your oven and then put your headlight in there for 5 minutes then remove and pry.
Since there are a few article on how to open headlights already, I decided not to go into detail.
Check The link belows:
http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22818
-----------------
Difficulty: M
STEP 6: Cutting your headlight reflector to fit your Projector.
First you need to remove the reflector from the back housing. First you need to remove the rubber boots on the back of the housing, this will require you to unscrew some of the bulbs holder. Next detach the reflector from the back housing, do this carefully because there is a plastic clamp that can be easily rip out. Also there is a socket which require a great amount of force to pry open. Picture of the location below. (Sorry I dont have a better picture to show where these location is located).
![Image]()
Next you will need to cut the hole. You will need a dremmel to do this. Make sure you are cutting the lower beam side. Some people might cut the highbeam instead of the low beam reflector on accident. Form a hole to be about the size in the picture below, this is big enough for the TSX projector.
NOTE: Since I dont have my headlight open to take picture at the moment, these picture shows the reflector still on the back housing cover. When cutting the hole you can't leave the back cover on.
![Image]()
![Image]()
Continue this step for your other headlight.
-----------------
Difficulty: H
STEP 6: Aiming and making holes to mount the projector. Optional: Colormoding
This process will take the longest. In order for you to get a nice balance cutoff you need take some time to do this.
Note: Before actually mounting the ballast if you want any colormoding you should do it now. See Step 7 for colormoding.
Mounting Projector)
Again you have two option of how you want to mount the projector.
Option 1: This route is the easier route however not adjustable. I had to find it the hard way when doing my first retrofit. However luckily for you, you get to learn from my mistake. On tsx projector you should buy about 8 long bolts and nuts so that it can mount the projector on like this:
![Image]()
Before you go drilling any hole yet, read carefully. This is the critcial step of actually aiming your projector. As you can see once the projector is bolt on, there is no way to rotate the projector to adjust the aiming, therefore you have to get this step right the first time. Don't worry about the V axis
because you can adjust it later with the stock housing Vertical adjustable screw. What you need to worry about right now is making the cutoff of the projector balance horizontally. What I found out is that our projector balance out with the line on the reflector (which i didnt't know the first time i did my retrofit). If you can see on the picture below if you balance out the projector according to this line you should have a straight cutoff.
![Image]()
So where do you drill the holes?
Somewhere around here. Make sure the holes align with the lines.
WARNING: The picture below might not be accurate to where exactly to where your holes should be. So make sure you measure where the bolt on the projector touch the reflector. Just keep in mind that you should make the projector align with the lines!
![Image]()
Option 2:
So here is your second option of mounting projector. I havn't really done this with my retrofit, but It should work. This option can be harder but you can adjust the rotation of the projector for aiming. What you need is some kind of bracket mount that can hold your projector to the bottom of the reflector with 2 bolts and springs. I dont have any actual picture, but this is an illustration.
![Image]()
I Also found this on hidplanet.
![Image]()
Since I havn't done this option myself, I will leave it to you guys to figure this one out.
Cutoff adjusting and balancing)
This step requires you to actually mount your headlight onto your car. Make sure your car is on a balance ground at about 12 feet from the test wall. What also helps is a white wall of some sort.
![Image]()
![Image]()
Your cutoff should look something like this. If it doesn't, make corrections and try again.
![Image]()
I will not go into detail of balancing cutoff.
-----------------
Difficulty: H
STEP 7: Colormodding.
Colormoding is a step requiring you to bend the shield of the projector, thus creating a rainbow prism effects. I will not go into detail. For TSX projector, a common way of colormoding is adding washer to the the tsx projector nipple like below.
I borrowed this picture from a retroffiter.
![Image]()
The more you bend it the more color, however it will result in the loss of the sharp cutoff line.
Enough said about colormodding you just have to figure the rest for yourself.
----------------
Difficulty: H
STEP 8: Shroud
Now that you have your projector mounted and balanced. The last step to this retrofit requires that you add some sort of shroud to cover the projector bowl. Thus some creativity is needed. A common shroud which people like are the MDX shrouds. I would have to leave you guys to figure this out on your own.
![Image]()
---------------
Difficulty: M
STEP 9: Mounting Ballast on 8th civic
There are alot of ways to mount the ballast, you can figure this out on your own. For my setup I mounted to the following location with double sided tape and zip ties. I know it's not the best way, but you can always find a place that you can bolt it onto the frame. I just didn't want to drill any holes.
![Image]()
![Image]()
--------------
Finished!
![Image]()
Right now I dont have alot of pictures to post in showing some detail. You can send me some pictures if you want me to put it up.
Here is a link to my first retrofit. The shrouds right now doesn't look that great, but can easily be fix.
http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39575
Key:
Difficulty scale:
E - easy : easily done with minimal time
M - medium difficulty : will take a few hours
H - Hard : will take alot of time, maybe even a day
Before you work on your cars make sure you have an extra pair headlights housing or you won't be able to drive your car for a while. Especially when you are in the middle of working on your headlights and don't have a car to go buy parts. For some, this will take at least a few days or even a week to finish.
This tutorial focus solely on headlight retrofit so there will be very minimal tutoral on wiring it up. If I have the time, I will add a few more tutorial on wiring up the ballast and bulbs.
WARNING: This DIY is only for people that know what they are doing. The following is for informational purposes only. I will take no responsibility for what you do with this knowledge. Modifying Headlights is illegal to use on the street.
------------------
Difficulty: E
STEP 1: Choosing your HID Ballast.
I would highly recommend getting an OEM ballast. There are many out there and some of the common one are: Phillips Hella Gen3 (bmw,mercedes) , Denso (toyota), and Matsuhita (infinity, nissan).
All OEM ballast are usually the same so they shouldn't affect the lighting in any way. However, personally I prefer the Phillips Hella Gen 3.
Quantity: x2
So you need to buy 2 ballast, one for each headlight.
------------------
Difficulty: E
STEP 2: Buying your D2S bulbs.
These bulbs run on ebay for about maybe 60 bucks a piece. For those that don't know the difference between D2S and D2R, D2R have a cover on the bulb which main purpose is for cars that have HID with a HID reflector (no projector) to not blind oncoming cars. The D2S doesn't have that cover so therefore produce more light output.
D2s
D2R
Quantity: x2
------------------
Difficulty: E
STEP 3: Buying
Wire Harness: This harness is needed on most vehicle to power up the ballast. There is a debate on if the 8th civic needs it, but I would highly recommend on getting the harness. I will not go into detail on how the wire is made or why we need it, just buy one! You can find one on ebay if you look up HID harness.
Quantity: x1
------------------
Difficulty: E
STEP 4: Choosing your Projector.
There are many projectors to choose from out there, but the most common one that will fit in the 8th civic are S2k and TSX Projector lens. S2k have a much sharper and more colorful cutoff than of the TSX. However S2k has a high price, probably about 400-600 a pair. TSX however are the next best and probably only cost about average $100-$150 a pair. In this tutorial I will be using a TSX projector.
TSX projectors
When choosing a projector, you can either choose clear lens or fresnel lens. Clear lens have better output so it is recommended. (Fresnel might be cheaper than clear lens).
------------------
Difficulty: M/H
STEP 5: Opening up your headlights.
Now that you have all the parts, we can continue with this next step. Before we continue, I would like to warn you that doing this step incorrectly can fry/melt your headlight.
You have two way of doing this, this first way is highly recommend and you will less likely melt your headlight.
Option 1: Buy a heating gun (about $20-$60). Use your heating gun to melt the glue of the headlight.
Option 2: Bake your headlight in the oven. WARNING: Do not leave the oven on when the headlight is in there. The best way is Preheat your oven and then put your headlight in there for 5 minutes then remove and pry.
Since there are a few article on how to open headlights already, I decided not to go into detail.
Check The link belows:
http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22818
-----------------
Difficulty: M
STEP 6: Cutting your headlight reflector to fit your Projector.
First you need to remove the reflector from the back housing. First you need to remove the rubber boots on the back of the housing, this will require you to unscrew some of the bulbs holder. Next detach the reflector from the back housing, do this carefully because there is a plastic clamp that can be easily rip out. Also there is a socket which require a great amount of force to pry open. Picture of the location below. (Sorry I dont have a better picture to show where these location is located).
Next you will need to cut the hole. You will need a dremmel to do this. Make sure you are cutting the lower beam side. Some people might cut the highbeam instead of the low beam reflector on accident. Form a hole to be about the size in the picture below, this is big enough for the TSX projector.
NOTE: Since I dont have my headlight open to take picture at the moment, these picture shows the reflector still on the back housing cover. When cutting the hole you can't leave the back cover on.
Continue this step for your other headlight.
-----------------
Difficulty: H
STEP 6: Aiming and making holes to mount the projector. Optional: Colormoding
This process will take the longest. In order for you to get a nice balance cutoff you need take some time to do this.
Note: Before actually mounting the ballast if you want any colormoding you should do it now. See Step 7 for colormoding.
Mounting Projector)
Again you have two option of how you want to mount the projector.
Option 1: This route is the easier route however not adjustable. I had to find it the hard way when doing my first retrofit. However luckily for you, you get to learn from my mistake. On tsx projector you should buy about 8 long bolts and nuts so that it can mount the projector on like this:
Before you go drilling any hole yet, read carefully. This is the critcial step of actually aiming your projector. As you can see once the projector is bolt on, there is no way to rotate the projector to adjust the aiming, therefore you have to get this step right the first time. Don't worry about the V axis
because you can adjust it later with the stock housing Vertical adjustable screw. What you need to worry about right now is making the cutoff of the projector balance horizontally. What I found out is that our projector balance out with the line on the reflector (which i didnt't know the first time i did my retrofit). If you can see on the picture below if you balance out the projector according to this line you should have a straight cutoff.
So where do you drill the holes?
Somewhere around here. Make sure the holes align with the lines.
WARNING: The picture below might not be accurate to where exactly to where your holes should be. So make sure you measure where the bolt on the projector touch the reflector. Just keep in mind that you should make the projector align with the lines!
Option 2:
So here is your second option of mounting projector. I havn't really done this with my retrofit, but It should work. This option can be harder but you can adjust the rotation of the projector for aiming. What you need is some kind of bracket mount that can hold your projector to the bottom of the reflector with 2 bolts and springs. I dont have any actual picture, but this is an illustration.
I Also found this on hidplanet.
Since I havn't done this option myself, I will leave it to you guys to figure this one out.
Cutoff adjusting and balancing)
This step requires you to actually mount your headlight onto your car. Make sure your car is on a balance ground at about 12 feet from the test wall. What also helps is a white wall of some sort.
Your cutoff should look something like this. If it doesn't, make corrections and try again.
I will not go into detail of balancing cutoff.
-----------------
Difficulty: H
STEP 7: Colormodding.
Colormoding is a step requiring you to bend the shield of the projector, thus creating a rainbow prism effects. I will not go into detail. For TSX projector, a common way of colormoding is adding washer to the the tsx projector nipple like below.
I borrowed this picture from a retroffiter.
The more you bend it the more color, however it will result in the loss of the sharp cutoff line.
Enough said about colormodding you just have to figure the rest for yourself.
----------------
Difficulty: H
STEP 8: Shroud
Now that you have your projector mounted and balanced. The last step to this retrofit requires that you add some sort of shroud to cover the projector bowl. Thus some creativity is needed. A common shroud which people like are the MDX shrouds. I would have to leave you guys to figure this out on your own.
---------------
Difficulty: M
STEP 9: Mounting Ballast on 8th civic
There are alot of ways to mount the ballast, you can figure this out on your own. For my setup I mounted to the following location with double sided tape and zip ties. I know it's not the best way, but you can always find a place that you can bolt it onto the frame. I just didn't want to drill any holes.
--------------
Finished!
at:
