Thread: What makes one projector better than another?

I'd really like to know. With all of the projector and projector retrofit threads floating around I think we'd benefit from knowing what makes one projector better than another. By "better" I mean the intensity of the the light and the cutoffs as well as other things I may not be aware of. Info please...

There's a lot of factors that go into what makes a projector better. As far as what affects projector quality, there's the shape of the reflector bowl and how reflective the chrome is. There's the spacing between the bowl, the cutoff shield, and lens which affects cutoff sharpness and color, the spacing of the bulb in the projector, the clarity and shape of the lens. A clear lens will produce a sharper and more colorful cutoff. Changing the spacing between the cutoff shield and lens affects cutoff sharpness and color. There are many other factors that infulence the quality of a projector, but these are what I can think of off the top of my head.

The quality of the bulb and ballast makes a big difference too. An OEM bulb and ballast will outlast, and outshine a kit by miles and last YEARS longer. A kit bulb is only expected to last something like 200hrs before losing brightness and color shifting. An OEM bulb will last for thousands of hours.

As far as what makes a projector good? That's somewhat subjective. Some people want a very smooth beam, which often isn't as bright. Some projectors have a streaky beam, but have a much more intense light. The wider a projector is, the better obviously. Some people like having a sharp cutoff, which usually isn't very colorful. Some people like having a thick colorband. The higher quality the projector, the better it will focus the light from the bulb and put the maximum amount of light on the road.

Anything I missed?


I'm glad to see the sudden interest in retrofits on this site, it doesn't seem to be something that's very big in the GP world, while it's huge in the Cobalt world and in many hondas and such.

Typically, an OEM projector from some random car (G35, TSX, RSX, BMW) will be of very good quality. Some come as bi-xenon, and some don't. The Morimoto projectors are decent, but do not have as nice of a beam pattern as say a FX-35 or FX-R, which have a nice, uniform, wide beam. The Mori's are, however, more compact and a hair cheaper which makes them very attractive for people like us who have very short, squatty headlights and don't want to spend $500+ doing a retro. One of the major differences between the smaller projectors and the nicer ones is the type of bulb used. The nice ones typically use a D2S bulb, where a cheaper projector usually takes a H1 or H3 size bulb.

I put a set of FX-R's in my car and absolutely love the look and light output. It took a lot of cutting and fiberglass work to create, but well worth it IMO. With 55W ballasts and some nice, OEM bulbs, my headlights will put a new Acura or BMW's lights to shame.

im surprised this retro revalation is coming so late. with the ****ty ass lights we got. im loving the idea...................................... and will have an extra se of headlights soon

Originally Posted by DanGTP

Typically, an OEM projector from some random car (G35, TSX, RSX, BMW) will be of very good quality. Some come as bi-xenon, and some don't. The Morimoto projectors are decent, but do not have as nice of a beam pattern as say a FX-35 or FX-R, which have a nice, uniform, wide beam. The Mori's are, however, more compact and a hair cheaper which makes them very attractive for people like us who have very short, squatty headlights and don't want to spend $500+ doing a retro. One of the major differences between the smaller projectors and the nicer ones is the type of bulb used. The nice ones typically use a D2S bulb, where a cheaper projector usually takes a H1 or H3 size bulb.

I put a set of FX-R's in my car and absolutely love the look and light output. It took a lot of cutting and fiberglass work to create, but well worth it IMO. With 55W ballasts and some nice, OEM bulbs, my headlights will put a new Acura or BMW's lights to shame.

See I disagree with this. Again this is part of the subjective part. I hate the "lasers" that the FX-Rs have and the "mountain" in the middle of the FX35s. The FXs are a little brighter though. I do agree with the retro being better than the OEM setup, but that's mainly because the engineers don't spend as much time and money as they can on designing the lights. Us retrofitters have more time and less restrictions to build the best setup possible.

aftermarket projectors have ****ty plastic brackets that crack and break and also bounce. That is all I have to say about that.

Originally Posted by Tommyp2010

See I disagree with this. Again this is part of the subjective part. I hate the "lasers" that the FX-Rs have and the "mountain" in the middle of the FX35s. The FXs are a little brighter though.

At least we agree on 1/3 of what I said...

But you're right. What looks 'good' is subjective. I like mine, you like yours. Either way, the light on the road is a million times better than stock.

Originally Posted by FoSHO99

aftermarket projectors have ****ty plastic brackets that crack and break and also bounce. That is all I have to say about that.

I bought the aftermarket OEM replacement lights to work on my retro with. I kinda hacked them up too much and am now just using them to test fit the projectors and figure out how to do it correctly. The point is, I used the brackets from those aftermarkets to replace my broken bouncing OEM ones, and they fit perfectly with 0 bounce.

eww those are gross lol...all of em.

^^

patiently awaiting for long life led's to finally reach super-high light output at a cheap price.

http://www.tempgp.com/projects/LED/h...led_headlight/

http://exoticcars.about.com/od/guide...-headlight.htm