Builds Hokie's 2003 LX470

[DirtDawg]

Yup, I'm aware. I gave up on the SC's. Looking at the TSX, RX350 and morimoto d2s 4.0s right now. Just need to decide which I want to go with and if I want bixenon or not. Hoping to order from TRS's sale either tonight or tomorrow.

The RX350 and the d2s 4.0 won't work on our LX's due to them having a 3" lens. That's why the TSX is the best option because it is still a 2.5" lens, which is what our factory size is. Not saying you can't fit a 3.0 in there, but it would require trimming of the shroud.

Also I am not a fan of bixenon projectors. Especially since our LX already has a dedicated high beam, it's really not needed and you would need to add another circuit. Bixenon is a last resort if you only have room for one projector.

 

[Hokie LX]

The RX350 and the d2s 4.0 won't work on our LX's due to them having a 3" lens. That's why the TSX is the best option because it is still a 2.5" lens, which is what our factory size is. Not saying you can't fit a 3.0 in there, but it would require trimming of the shroud.

Also I am not a fan of bixenon projectors. Especially since our LX already has a dedicated high beam, it's really not needed and you would need to add another circuit. Bixenon is a last resort if you only have room for one projector.

Okay, thanks for the info. I didn't realize the 350s were 3 inch. I'll just go with the TSX's with the clear lens upgrade. For your retrofit which ballasts and wiring harness did you use? I am planning to order from TRS.

 

[DirtDawg]

Okay, thanks for the info. I didn't realize the 350s were 3 inch. I'll just go with the TSX's with the clear lens upgrade. For your retrofit which ballasts and wiring harness did you use? I am planning to order from TRS.

I wouldn't waste the money on the clear lens, I bought both and after comparing side to side, I left the original lens in the projector. I just wasn't impressed, it made a crisper cutoff, but I feel like it didn't "fill out" the light as much.

I used TRS's morimoto elite D2S system with the following upgrades/selections:
-35W ballasts
-H1 HD Relay
-Phillips Xtreme Vision Bulbs

More pics of the retrofit in my build:
Lexie the Comfort Cruiser

 

[Hokie LX]

I wouldn't waste the money on the clear lens, I bought both and after comparing side to side, I left the original lens in the projector. I just wasn't impressed, it made a crisper cutoff, but I feel like it didn't "fill out" the light as much.

I used TRS's morimoto elite D2S system with the following upgrades/selections:
-35W ballasts
-H1 HD Relay
-Phillips Xtreme Vision Bulbs

More pics of the retrofit in my build:
Lexie the Comfort Cruiser

Thanks for the help. Just placed my order!

 

[DirtDawg]

Thanks for the help. Just placed my order!

Dang man you should have waited til their cyber Monday sale tomorrow!!! Just call up TRS in the morning and I'm sure they'll still give you the discount.

 

[Hokie LX]

Dang man you should have waited til their cyber Monday sale tomorrow!!! Just call up TRS in the morning and I'm sure they'll still give you the discount.

I got my 25% off! The cyber Monday is the same discount as their Black Friday sale. Saved $163!!

 

[Hokie LX]

Scored today! Got a hitch insert, hardware, hitch with pin all new and all for $25! Thank you Craigslist!

 

[charlesrg]

What did you do with your old running boards ? If you don't have space in the garage I'm looking for one to replace my wife's bent one.

 

[Hokie LX]

What did you do with your old running boards ? If you don't have space in the garage I'm looking for one to replace my wife's bent one.

I'm going to keep them. I always keep my stock parts just in case. Depending on where you're located, I've seen quite a few on Craigslist along the east coast.

 

[redman333]

I've got mine and would sell them but I'm down in NC. I know I can ship them but it could be expensive. I've done stuff similar in size through greyhound and that's not too expensive but you ha e to be near a terminal as they won't deliver to your house.

 

[Couvi]

Not too much of a ride change honestly. Still a very quiet tire for an AT tire and comfortable. I love the KO2 tires. Had them on my 2011 Tahoe Z71 as well.

How much of a mpg loss going to the Ko2s? I know we didn't get these trucks to save on gas, but just curious. Thanks.

 

[Hokie LX]

How much of a mpg loss going to the Ko2s? I know we didn't get these trucks to save on gas, but just curious. Thanks.

Well I know our mileage computer isn't very accurate but I'll use it as a comparison because I usually don't actually calculate my mileage at the pump. When I picked it up and drove it from ATL to NY on the stock size Michelin LTX tires, I got 18.8mpg (summer weather). Now I just drove it from NY to NC and back on the KO2's and got ~16mpg (winter weather).

 

[Couvi]

Well I know our mileage computer isn't very accurate but I'll use it as a comparison because I usually don't actually calculate my mileage at the pump. When I picked it up and drove it from ATL to NY on the stock size Michelin LTX tires, I got 18.8mpg (summer weather). Now I just drove it from NY to NC and back on the KO2's and got ~16mpg (winter weather).

Thanks for sharing, I appreciate it. I've been getting about 350/375 miles per tank, stock street tires. Looking to upgrade eventually.

 

[charlesrg]

I'm going to keep them. I always keep my stock parts just in case. Depending on where you're located, I've seen quite a few on Craigslist along the east coast.

Nice, I will look for it. I'm NYC area. Truck is now at Milspray doing undercarriage protection.

 

[Hokie LX]

Thanks for sharing, I appreciate it. I've been getting about 350/375 miles per tank, stock street tires. Looking to upgrade eventually.

I've never run my tank dry but in town driving (35-55mph) I usually fill up around 300-330miles and the computer says I have ~50 miles left. I'm not all that concerned with MPG though as I knew it would be terrible when I bought this truck haha

However, I think either the computer is way off or we have a big reserve because when my computer hit "0 miles left" on my last trip to NC, I filled up a few miles later and only fit 23 gallons in...out of a 25.4 gallon tank so I still had a few gallons left.

 

[Couvi]

I've never run my tank dry but in town driving (35-55mph) I usually fill up around 300-330miles and the computer says I have ~50 miles left. I'm not all that concerned with MPG though as I knew it would be terrible when I bought this truck haha

However, I think either the computer is way off or we have a big reserve because when my computer hit "0 miles left" on my last trip to NC, I filled up a few miles later and only fit 23 gallons in...out of a 25.4 gallon tank so I still had a few gallons left.

I agree. Even when I've pushed it, never put more than 23 gallons in.

 

[Hokie LX]

This weekend's project was to retrofit my headlights and foglights with HID units. I used the following parts, all from TheRetrofitSource!

Headlights:
-Acura TSX projectors
-TSX-R/FX-R clear lenses
-Morimoto D2S Elite Kit with 35W XB ballasts, HD relay
-Osram Xenarc 66240 Nightbreaker (4200K)
-Morimoto Retrorubber Butyl Glue
-2x 80mm Housing caps

Foglights:
-Morimoto H3C Elite Kit with 35W XB ballasts, XB 3000K bulbs and HD relay

I was able to use TRS's 25% off code so the above order cost me ~$500 shipped to my door.

The project took me roughly 8 hours of work over 2 days. The majority of the time was spent trying to center the new TSX projectors into the cut stock mounting plate.

I began by removing and opening up the stock projectors. 7 minutes in the oven at 270* was perfect for opening them up. The lens came off pretty easily.


Then I disassembled the headlight and cut the stock projector. You need to cut the housing in order to use the stock mounting points. Try and cut it as flush as possible. I cut it from the outside but if I were to do it again, I would cut it from the inside of the projector. I used a dremel with a metal cutting disc.


I mocked up the TSX projectors and used double sided tape and such to tack the projector in place to test alignment and to level them. I tested with the stock TSX projector lenses in case I got them smudged or chipped since I was mounting and unmounting them on the truck with no lens on.


Then once I was happy with the alignment, I drilled holes in the mounting plate to attach the projector housing. Then I placed the new Retrorubber butyl glue and baked the new lens back on. Once again, I did 7 minutes at 270*. Then I cut the 80mm rubber caps to pass the wires through and mounted them up. I had to cut the bottom of the cap because the D2S bulbs use the ignitor on the back of the bulb and the wire points straight down.



Output shots! I need the bulbs to break in and I need to work on aligning the bulbs some more. They are aligned well vertically but need to work on aligning them horizontally. The pictures are taken with different exposures to capture the light differently. I'll try and get some foglight only output shots tomorrow night.

The left projector got a little tilted somehow during final mounting so I'll need to go in and fix it another time.






Next up is to clean up my hideous headlight lenses and ceramic coat them to prevent further oxidation. Thinking I'll tackle this next weekend.

 

[DirtDawg]

Dude awesome! I'm excited to see more people commit to this retrofit. I passed the igniter wire through the cap in the same way.

Maybe it's just your pic, but your cutoff looks a little blurry, any issues seating the bulb? Also did you compare output between the stock lenses and the clear? When I did, the stock lenses actually won my opinion, so would like to hear your feedback.

Once again awesome retrofit man! Post up in the headlight thread so you can show off!

 

[Hokie LX]

Dude awesome! I'm excited to see more people commit to this retrofit. I passed the igniter wire through the cap in the same way.

Maybe it's just your pic, but your cutoff looks a little blurry, any issues seating the bulb? Also did you compare output between the stock lenses and the clear? When I did, the stock lenses actually won my opinion, so would like to hear your feedback.

Once again awesome retrofit man! Post up in the headlight thread so you can show off!

Thanks! It was my first retrofit so I learned a lot. The cutoff is a little blurry right now due to the projectors not being exactly aimed at the same height. The bulb seating is good but the projector seating in relation to the shroud was a little off in my opinion. Also, the slight tilt on the left projector is causing it to look odd. I'm going to try and align them a little better side to side to get a better cutoff but my hands froze tonight before I was able to finish aligning them so I just focused on getting them down so I wasn't blinding anyone.

TBH, a nice clean and crisp cutoff isn't all that important to me, besides looking cool. As for the lenses, I test fitted with the stock lenses and then mounted the FX-R lenese. I didn't notice a huge difference, but I did think it was a little more crisp with the clear lens. I'd like to open the headlights up again and work on them a little more, but it won't be for a while...maybe in the spring.

 

[bamabrock]

Looks good and I bet removing the oxidation on the housing lenses will make a big difference