DIY Land Cruiser Projector Retrofit (5 Viewers)

[Cman]

Thank you VERY much @Gnarwgn ! I'll give them a call soon and maybe wait till black Friday to order everything just in time for holiday cruising!

I've been very disappointed with the headlight performance so far. This should be a significant upgrade. Thanks again!

 

[Gnarwgn]

@Cman of course!

I meant to mention - the only thing I wonder about is 35W vs. 55W ballasts/corresponding HID bulbs. I went with 35W, and its pretty bright, infinitely brighter than OEM output.

Folks say 55W run hot enough that it could be a concern for the housing plastic holding up. Seems like nobody really knows, and I decided to play it safe.

But its still tempting. Not to make the decision harder, but in case you were wondering...

Thank you VERY much @Gnarwgn ! I'll give them a call soon and maybe wait till black Friday to order everything just in time for holiday cruising!

I've been very disappointed with the headlight performance so far. This should be a significant upgrade. Thanks again!

 

[ibrahim83]

Thanks for the tutorial. I've been toying with the idea of going to projectors vs the HID/LED combo i have now. Any reason you picked the mini H1 vs the mini D2S?

Also, can you rotate the projector for adjustment after closing up the headlight?

 

[TorchRedTulsan]

Quick question. How did anyone route the long "Ballast" cord to the other side of the engine bay? I don't know if the sheath is heat resistant, but the only 2 ways I see to get it across are on top of the radiator or in front of it behind the grill

 

[Cman]

@Gnarwgn I picked up the whole kit for$300 out the door with a 25% off and free shipping! Can't wait to light up the night!

Code TRSGIVING25

 

[gungriffin]

@Gnarwgn I picked up the whole kit for$300 out the door with a 25% off and free shipping! Can't wait to light up the night!

Code TRSGIVING25

This is definitely the best deal that you will find all year long.

 

[bamabrock]

Quick question. How did anyone route the long "Ballast" cord to the other side of the engine bay? I don't know if the sheath is heat resistant, but the only 2 ways I see to get it across are on top of the radiator or in front of it behind the grill

I've run it on top of the radiator for seven years without a problem. I also picked up a 9006 extension cord from ebay/amazon to have more length to the cable.

 

[gungriffin]

Quick question. How did anyone route the long "Ballast" cord to the other side of the engine bay? I don't know if the sheath is heat resistant, but the only 2 ways I see to get it across are on top of the radiator or in front of it behind the grill

I believe that mine is routed in front of the radiator grille. I will check and see if I can grab photos.

 

[TorchRedTulsan]

I believe that mine is routed in front of the radiator grille. I will check and see if I can grab photos.

I called them yesterday and they said I could run it over the top

 

[wsudu]

Deleted

 

[Ager Venator]

Very unfortunate for me that I happened to be looking at this last night and then today there is a 25% off code.

Will the LEDs cram into a lx470 or am I "stuck" with the HID?

 

[ibrahim83]

Did you all go with the mini H1 kit? i'm really looking into the D2S because of it's cleaner light pattern.

 

[bamabrock]

Did you all go with the mini H1 kit? i'm really looking into the D2S because of it's cleaner light pattern.

I used the Mini H1 on my 2000 LC because of space issues with the top of the light. I haven't done a retro on 03-07 lights, but I bet they have more space. I'm running the Mini H1 in my current 04 LX.

 

[ibrahim83]

I used the Mini H1 on my 2000 LC because of space issues with the top of the light. I haven't done a retro on 03-07 lights, but I bet they have more space. I'm running the Mini H1 in my current 04 LX.

hmm, never knew there were differences until the 06-07 plastic housings.

I'll have to look into that. Thanks for the info.

 

[SierraWheeler]

Planning my first retrofit. Ordered 1 piece clear depot headlights (same style as 06-07) for my 2001 LC. Going with the morimoto mini D2S with iris shroud in low beam spot. Have seen it done elsewhere on here.

That 25% off sale is great! Total for D2S kit was $240 including headlight sealant and upgraded bulb holders.

 

[Captndcoke]

@Gnarwgn I picked up the whole kit for$300 out the door with a 25% off and free shipping! Can't wait to light up the night!

Code TRSGIVING25

Would you know what whole kit would fit my '00 LX?

 

[gungriffin]

hmm, never knew there were differences until the 06-07 plastic housings.

I'll have to look into that. Thanks for the info.

If you are willing to go all out (or at least your budget is), buy the Depo 1 piece headlights from Ranma21 and then you can definitely fit the D2S headlights.

*The ULTIMATE solution* is Depo 1 piece with D2S in the low slot and H1 in the high beam slot. Then wire them to both run as BiXenon (both high and low beams). With this combo you I cannot foresee how you would ever even need a light bar. It has been done and it is difficult to describe how bright it is and it will not blind oncoming traffic.

 

[gungriffin]

Planning my first retrofit. Ordered 1 piece clear depot headlights (same style as 06-07) for my 2001 LC. Going with the morimoto mini D2S with iris shroud in low beam spot. Have seen it done elsewhere on here.

That 25% off sale is great! Total for D2S kit was $240 including headlight sealant and upgraded bulb holders.

That is what I have in my 100 and it is top notch.

 

[krom]

Late to the game on this, but @bamabrock is 100% correct -

Used a Dremel to notch out a moon shape into the trim/reflective housing directly above the Gatling shroud. I also vertically adjusted the lights all the way up to make sure I had room to cover all adjustment settings. If you don't do this, you probably will come up short and your lights will aim down too far.

Completed my retro in January, and have been meaning to give a shout out to @bamabrock , @yuselneim , @2000UZJ , @reznunt and many more who have contributed great input and info into this project. The results are fantastic, and as many others have already said, my favorite upgrade for the $ by far to date. The following ran me just under $500 and approx 10-15 hours:

* Morimoto Mini H1 Stage III (low beam/high beam)
* 9005: Morimoto 2Stroke (DRL/high beam)
* T10/194: XB LED (White) - removed the stock shroud between low/high housing and side marker

Additionally the harness that @bamabrock mentions above made for a seamless plug and play solution to get the projector solenoids to coordinate with the high beams. Someone commented on some string that this combination of open-solenoid projector + 2Stroke firing at the same time is like unleashing the power of 1,000 suns (was that you @bamabrock ?) and indeed, it is and its amazing!

View attachment 1700962 View attachment 1700963 View attachment 1700964

Did you go with 5500k HID to match the 5700k 2strokes? Thanks

 

[ibrahim83]

If you are willing to go all out (or at least your budget is), buy the Depo 1 piece headlights from Ranma21 and then you can definitely fit the D2S headlights.

*The ULTIMATE solution* is Depo 1 piece with D2S in the low slot and H1 in the high beam slot. Then wire them to both run as BiXenon (both high and low beams). With this combo you I cannot foresee how you would ever even need a light bar. It has been done and it is difficult to describe how bright it is and it will not blind oncoming traffic.

My personal problem with that is i dislike the 06 07 look headlights so much i might end up doing the h1 mini instead.

Thanks for the heads up.