Qwik01

Looks great! I will eventually go back to pop ups with these like I should have the first time.

algZO6

great work!!!! i would love a plug and play, pop up, cost effective option like this. i have hid's in my stock housing and they are no bueno. also hate the fact that on occasion i have to turn them on off on to get both of them to come on.

chasboy

So what was the total cost? OR what would it cost to someone who wants to duplicate this mod?

matthewlfd

Ahh, that must have been before ACA sold off their molds to the current supplier. Good to know, maybe I can find a good home for the projectors I pulled out of these then, or retrofit them into someone elses car. I still like the beam pattern of the FX-R and having bi-xenons though.

Yea, I know. Michigan has tons of critters both big and small that love to jump out in front of cars, so I like to have my PS light just a touch higher so I can see a bit farther out into the trees when I can't use my high beams.

Thanks! Sounds like you either have bad wiring, bad bulb, or need a new ballast. Try swapping bulbs and see if the same sided has issues turning on

Costs for me were posted in one of my earlier posts. As I mentioned, you can save money by going to aftermarket brand bulbs.

Toque

Matthew:

Concerning the holes you drilled in the projector, to mount in the housing...... Are they the Phillips screws I can see in there ? I can only see two screws in this pic at this angle. I assume you made a template of the 4 ACA mounting holes, and transferred that to the new projector to drill ? Id hate to make a mistake at this part of the procedure.

Thanks again.... I have all your pics and details saved to an Excel file... Got me stoked for a new Mod....

Toque

Mr.Bill

Mark, You crack me up....
Mr.Bill

Toque

Woops.... Thanks Bill.... Fixed it.

It was not meant to be a personal question Matthew...

Toque

matthewlfd

Yup, those are the two hidden phillips screws. I meant to take a pictures of the uppers, but must have missed that. The uppers will require you to grind out a step in the cut off shield support as well to clear the head of the screw. A simple pass with a dremel will accomplish this. But honestly, the projector was in there solid enough with just the two holes it probably would have been fine.

I more eyeballed the holes with a little larger drill bit since I wanted to have some rotational adjustment after I was done.

Hahaha...no, I was alone when I did this. I think the wife would have some issues with my DIYs if that was one of the steps.

mickey_7106

damn you! i want now lol

jrprich

Yes I am very aware of how ACAs work having run them since 2006. I have driven my vette with ACAs in over 25 states in all types of weather and never needed high beams to see well. I also run 55 Watt HIDs in my fogs.

Toque

At higher speeds I like to have the light really shining as far out as possible. I dont want to over drive my lights.

Toque

99MALLETT396

Are the new projectors sealed from any foreign objects just like the oreginal ones?

matthewlfd

No, they aren't 100% weatherproof. I've had them mounted like this (open in the back) in my old Talon, but they were fixed headlights.

I was thinking about either getting some rubber PVC reducers to cap off the back and protect the solenoid, but haven't messed with it. I don't see myself driving through torrential rainstorms in this car so I doubt it'll be a major issue.

Either that or cut the inside bladder of a football in half and seal the projectors that way. Haven't decided yet. When it gets nicer outside, I'll take them out and play with some ideas.

kingrobby25

I saw on theretrosource sight that they had a new version of your projectors. FRX 3.0 instead of 1.1. Not sure what the difference is though.

mtndv8

Nice retro-fit, well done man!!
I'm currently using a set of the FX-R for bi-xenon r/d with my headlights.
I still need to find a simple way to seal the solenoid area to finish that setup.
Here's a thread worth sharing from kindred spirit mcgilles that address' the FX-R solenoid...
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...and-video.html
Check out post #28, might help you with ideas.

Again, nice work!

nvusgt

I'm a fan of flip lights and a big fan of the lower opening versions currently in production by members of this forum. However, I'm not a fan of exposed dual projectors without a lens in front. My ideal headlight would be very similar to the ACA's actually but instead of a round halogen section, I'd like it to be a bit more rectangular.

To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, I started looking around for any headlights that looked similar to what I had in mind. I found these Nissan R31 headlights with the overall look of what I'd like, a lens with both halogen and projector. Though these are a bit dated and I knew I'd want them much narrower.



So I kept poking around and found a set that were a bit closer to what I like and began my first attempt at photoshopping. Now please keep in mind that I'm not that great but here's what I came up with



And I'd like to thank JRC27 for his photo from the "Lower Opening Projector" thread because I then shopped my work in progress to get a better idea of what they would look like on the C5



A bit rough I know, but that's about it and yes I would have a plastic shroud around the light assembly like the stock setup. It's going to be a long time before I can get the funds together to even start this project, but perhaps by then someone will have made a set similar to these that I could end up buying.

George, let me know what you think.

matthewlfd

Thanks! I'm more worried about fogging on the inside of the lens than the solenoid, so I'd like to seal up everything. Plus, I would never run a bare lens...that's just asking for trouble. A few drops of rain and those lenses could crack in half.

I don't drive the car in rain, but I'd like to know that if I had to drive through a rainstorm, I could.

That is 100 % exactly what I was looking for when I was thinking about the retrofit. I wanted a sealed, clear lens, low opening headlight that I can install good HID projector in. Sadly, nobody offered this, so I had to work with what was offered.

I might play around with headlights for other cars that I can adapt to the 'vette if I get bored enough, but for now I'm more than happy with the output, and since the lights are hidden during the day, I am less inclined to mess with it.

If anyone were to offer such a light (even without a D2S projector) I would be very interested.

mtndv8

Interesting photoshop.
If you move the bi-xenon projector(s) in-board and fit a slightly smaller rectangular driving light out-board, you'd have an approximation of the headlight system I've been working on this winter.
I have been able to lower the opening height even more than jrc27's picture shows.


"matthewlfd"; I'm truly interested in whether or not you experience any lens fogging. Especially if you decide to seal it completely...



* edit * Forgot to mention I've been running the Hella projector lens' exposed for nearly 30k miles and through most all weather conditions with lots of bugz but no chips, cracks or blemishes to date.

nvusgt

Since making the photoshop I've been looking online and irl at all sorts of headlights and even some taillights as a base platform for this project. Even thought of the C6 fog/bumper light (modified of course) for the halogen section.

Not being able to start this project is slightly bothersome.

mcgilles

wow nice work! I've been away from the forum for a little while being busy, I missed a few great projects.

excellent choice on the FX-R also, I'm using them on my C5 and my other car as well, the performance of them still amazes me.