i'm from san gabriel. i was looking for someone to do my retrofit locally because i didn't want to deal with shipping, but i couldn't find anyone.

 

There are more differences:

* CT9A Halogen headlights use a rubber grommet to "seal" around the projector. The low beam wiring is situated "outside" of the headlight.

* CT9A HID headlights use a round plastic cap to "seal" the projector and low beam wiring inside the headlight. Full water tight configuration.


Projector choices in a CT9A headlight:

* TSX is one of the better choices to use. Requires minimal trimming / cutting to fit. Only down side is that the lens is only 2.5" (OEM = 3")... You can notice about a 5mm gap around the projector opening. I have done this retrofit before.

* Morimoto D2S or H1 BiXenon projector:
I havent done this retro before but it will require little to no trimming to make it fit. Just brackets / nuts / bolts to line up D2S / H1 projector holes to CT9A projector holes. These are fairly small projectors that will give you little worries.

* TL BiXenons:
I doubt this will fit.. You'll definitely have to hack into the turn signal housing + the OEM projector opening... Youll need to use a suitable shroud to cover up that opening coz the projector will protrude forward compared to OEM.

* S2K
I tried fitting this projector way back in the day when I first got into retrofitting. I wasn't successful. With the 4 years of knowledge I have now I think if I had a 2nd crack I could make it fit... It would be tight though..

* EvoX-R BiXenon:
I haven't retrofitted one, only played around with one in a CT9A housing. I think I could make one fit... Will definitely require:
** trimming of the projector to clear the OEM bracket
** trimming of the OEM projector opening coz the projector will protrude forward compared to the CT9A projector
** a new shroud to cover up the opening. An OEM E46 / E46-R shroud could work.
** custom brackets / nuts / bolts


* FX-R BiXenon:
This is the projector ive been using for my last 9 CT9A retrofits... It's quite involved..
Requires:
** hacking into the turn signal housing. Patch work to hide the hacking
** trimming of the OEM projector opening coz the projector will protrude forward compared to the CT9A projector
** a new shroud to cover up the opening. An OEM E46 / E46-R shroud works very well.

 

^ do you have a "finished" picture of a ct9a housing retrofitted for fx-r without the projector housing installed so we can see what all you had to "hack-and-patch" to get it to fit?

 

nice good info

 

Turn signal housing hack & patch work:








Patch work using paper template. Trial & Error cutting for perfect fitment



Aluminium soda can cut from paper template



Aluminium patch held in by tape. Final fixing is held in by thin wire. Holes are drilled to insert wire



Aluminium can painted silver. I didn't have any chrome paint on hand





OEM shroud hacked away to make room for an OEM E46 shroud







End result

 

Wow, thank you very much for those that definitely clarifies what you were saying!

 

Nice work. Even I had to trim the the edge of the tsx projector to fit the turn signal housing, but you had to do a lot more lol. I wish I had an extra set of headlights that I didn't need on my car lol

 

^^ it's fine to trim a TSX projector around the turn signal housing but you can't trim an FX-R around the same area. You will interfere with the cutoff shield.

For those wanting a simple retro I suggest you go for the following projectors:
* TSX
* Morimoto Mini H1

All the others I've mentioned above will require more work to fit..

 

have any fabrication shots of the tsx like you do of the fx-r? those help a lot for us thinking of doing this ourselves

 

^^ geez you ppl don't ask for much :P






Notice the gap around the projector going from OEM 3" to TSX 2.5"



Owner decided he wanted to use a halo to close that gap



And incase if any noobs ask coz I know they will:

* Yes, you can still use the OEM ballast with a TSX projector coz they also use D2S bulbs.
* Yes, you will still retain factory adjustment from the back of the headlight
* Yes, you can still use the incabin switch to adjust your lights UP or DOWN

 

Excellent info! I've been doing retrofits for the DSM guys for a few years now. I agree that the TSX projectors are by far the easiest to work with but there are a couple of others out there that I've been experimenting with as well that do have the 3" lens.
Headlights look great though!!

 

Bumping this thread. I received an Acura RL projector instead of a TSX. I tried my best to make it fit (without cutting it because it may not have worked) and couldn't get it to fit right without some kind of serious modification.

If I can get TSX replacements I'm going to go that route. I'm curious though, if using the Morimoto lenses, what it would take to install them.

 

^^ where abouts doesn't it fit inside the housing?? You should take pix..

Just buy TSX projectors from TRS...

"Morimoto lenses"... I think you may have got your terminology wrong..

Are you talking about a Morimoto "Projector" or just a 2.5" or 3" clear lense?? If so, what projector do you want to install it on??

 

has anyone tried fitting s2k projectors on the evo?

 

you have to trim S2K projectors a lot to fit them on the Evo. They have very awkward shaped housings