General HID projector questions

[mirage83]

Is there a particular advantage for using either the 3" or 2.5" oem projectors floating around? I figure the 2.5" are easier to deal with size-wise when trying to retrofit them into our housing, but was wondering if the 3" are appreciably better in some practical way.

Also, for those who have done such OEM retrofits, how much room do we really have to work with in our housings? I'm trying to rule out certain projectors from my wish-list due to their size.

I'm mostly asking these questions for general knowledge, as my refit (if I decide to go that route) is some way off still. TIA.

 

[GrimJack]

We have enough room for the shortest projectors out there. Haven't seen anything else that will fit without a bunch of cutting and some prayer.

 

[shaeff]

Generally, the larger the projector/bowl/lens, the wider and more intense the light spread will be. You're going to end up using 2.5" projectors. I recommend the Infiniti FX35's. They're bixenon, and if you swap some Acura TSX lenses on there, cut the second shield, and paint it black, you'll have a fantastic spread, wicked sharp cutoff, and intense beam all in one small unit.

 

[mirage83]

Thanks guys. I came across an Infinity J20 (no FX35's on the lot, I checked :3d_frown with small projectors that I could pick up and was thinking about playing around with them, but I realized that there was still too much I didn't know about the projector sizes and how they'd fit in our stock housings.

There's a lot of good write-ups on the forum about this conversion, but the relative benefits of the 3" over 2.5" wasn't really covered in any of them that I could find.

 

[BorHor]

+2 on finding some FX. I am told they are short enough so you do not need to cut the radiator support.

 

[viper92086]

i'm running the mazda millenias.. they are around 7.5" from tip to tip (including the HID bulbs. I did not have to cut the radiator support, but i did have to cut the headlight buckets. i have a thread on this forums about it