HID Conversion

Last time we did a high intensity discharge lighting story, which was in the June '05 issue, we illustrated doing a headlight retrofit for the first time. We don't mean it was a first for Honda Tuning-it was literally the first we'd ever done, period. With one projector install under our belt, we figured it was a good time to retro Project RL.

For those who don't know, the RL is Dr's ongoing VIP project car. The reason the RL is a perfect candidate for this story is every luxury car since the beginning of this decade comes stock with some sort of xenon headlights, but Dru's luxo happens to be from 1996, hence no xenons. The vehicle was an obvious candidate.

Here is our headlight and our makeshift workstation. Anyone for stovetop mac & cheese?

We intend to keep any tech stories about the RL directly relatable to the more popular Hondas that we're used to. Indeed, the same style of headlights we're using can be found in performance cars as well (think NSX or S2000). The enhanced light output can be an invaluable in any low/zero-light situations. Additionally, the parts we're employing can be used to easily install high intensity discharge projector headlights in a great many applications.

Speaking of parts, we sourced the ones for this article from our friends at The Retrofit Source (theretrofitsource.com). The modifications to the projectors were even done by Matt Kossoff, RS's proprietor. Here's how it went.

First things first...	...pull all rubber seals and bulb plugs from the headlight housing.	See, we're by the range for a reason. To start this project we need to melt the glue that holds the headlight's lens to its housing. Preheat the oven to 260 degrees.
Using a cookie sheet and some foil, place the headlight in the oven, as far away from the heat source as possible, for six minutes.	Make sure to use your cool guy Mugen potholder to take the parts out of the oven.	Use a screwdriver or two to pry the lens away from the housing.