FULL GALLERY: Prelude - morimoto projectors — Postimages Prelude - morimoto update — Postimages
These little projectors are great. They're small and fit perfectly in the reflector bowl with minimal cutting. They can be installed in a day and maybe even less.
They still need the headlights to be opened up, but dont need the reflector bowl removed from the housing. Refer to JLUDE's write-up in using the oven method to open up your lights: Projector Retrofit Write-Up (Valeo H7) 5G Prelude
This is what the little guys look like.
First you want to setup the stock lights and mark off the cutoff.
Mark off the corners with tape.
It's so you can bring back the housing with the projector and adjust if need be.
Use a 12v power supply or a battery with jumper cables.
One side of the light need to be propped up to get the cutoff as level as possible. Then mark it off on a wall with tape.
Now look at the rear of the bowl. A round hole has to be removed for these projectors to slide through.
It needs to be about 2cm wide. So I found a 2cm wide washer and traced the outline. Remember, this hole has to be centered as much as possible.
You can also use the securing nut that comes with the projectors to trace the hole.
You will end up with something like this.
Back shot.
From the front.
This is the back of the projector sticking through the hole. Notice how the notch on the projector is parallel with the screw hole on the reflector bowl. Try to get this as close to parallel as possible as it will save you headache.
Here is the assembled mounting side. Just a few screws; very simple.
Problem comes in the form of the shroud. Inside you should be able to see three tabs. One is directly in the top center and the other two are at one-third spreads from the top one.
Here's the top one.
This is a bottom one. One of these should be broken off because the shroud doesn't come off easily when you snap it back on. Trying to pry it off you'll eventually break one off. You'll have to take the shroud on and off to be able to know how to trim it anyway.
This is how I trimmed it for the passenger side.
Here's a more contrasting picture of shroud and where it was trimmed.
And how it looks mounted.
After you have everything mounted, pull the wires through under the projector. They're a little short so I extended them with some standard 22 gauge wire. I also poked a hole into the headlight grommet to run them through that. Then I tapped into the high beam harness using T-taps. This way you don't need to solder the wires to the stock white H1 adapter thing, and you can retain stock high beams.
Rotate the grommet a little else that little nub will get in the way of the wires.
Bring the light back outside and test it against the cutoff mark you made. You might need a little bit of rotation to get it just right, and once its adjusted you have to hold the projector in place and tighter the nut as much as possible. It's a complete PAIN IN THE ASS due to space and you cant get a good hold on it.
Heed my warnings though. The nut is made from soft aluminum. Make ABSOLUTELY SURE its threaded properly else you will strip the thread. You have to be careful and use very thin-nosed pliers that are carbon-hardened to tighten the nut. Again, because of space issues.
I've been driving with them just mounted with the nut and havent had any issues. What is not pictured is a rubber crush washer. This goes between the projector and reflector bowl (on the chrome side) and gives extra hold against rotation. I also used some crazy glue all over the nut and in the thread. DO NOT use thread locker. I tried to and it spilled onto the chrome because it's so runny, which removed some of the chrome when I tried to wipe it off.
When sealing your lights back up, I recommend using butyl rope. RTV silicone works best when pressure is applied to it and still allows water vapor to permeate through it. Butyl rope remains tacky under all conditions and will never leak.
Here they are on the car. Taken with a cellphone mind you.
Mounted shots
Cutoff shots
Here are the videos:
Review of Morimoto H1 Generation 4.0
They come in cute little boxes now
Among other projectors
They have "Morimoto" molded into the reflector
The solenoid wires come with pins attached
You slip the pins into that black connector which accepts 9006 plugs. The projectors come with two small harnesses already. Basically theyre the same as the harnesses that plug into your ballast. But in the case of the Prelude the wires coming off the solenoid are already long enough so there's no need for the connector.
Standard accessories
New stuff comes with
Included that's new are fatter silicon washers, screws to attach the shroud to the projector, little rubber grommets for the solenoid wires, and an extra screw for the bulb mount should you happen to lose one.
Hub centric rings
These rings are meant to easily mount larger shrouds
My simple mind still can't figure out how they work since they make the opening too big.
These are the transparent graphite shrouds
Pretty cool
I have no idea how they mount because the hub centric adapter doesn't work and they sit too loosely on the projector, the screw holes on the shroud do not line up with the holes on the projector.
This is the end result of my third time using these
First time on my Prelude, second time on my friends E90 (2007 BMW 3), and third time being a second set for my Prelude.
More info courtesy of OaTmeal:
I just want to add a few things that I figured out during and after this...
1. If you get the Mini Gatling Gun Shroud that you will not have to cut the shroud to fit like he did and it will save you time.
2. I had to cut the posts on my headlight housing in the back that held the stock bulbs in place since the clip that holds the HID bulb is taller and wider than the stock clip.
3. I had to widen the inside of the headlight piece since the nut that tighten to hold the projector in place is wider and would sit right/flush against the back of the stock bowl.
4. ONLY use glass cleaner and newspaper to clean the inside of the headlight lens. I used a microfiber towel that I thought was clean but after I put it up to the light it was streaked. That would have been a disaster if I installed it without checking and noticed it after the projector was on.
5. I cut and modified everything in one room in my place and assembled/test fitted everything after cutting in another room that wasn’t full of dust after.
6. Buy a can of canned air and DO NOT SHAKE IT! It isn’t paint and doesn’t need to be shaken… This will come in handy when cleaning the inside and outside of the projector lens. I ALSO used the small little towel that came with my Oakleys to clean them after and to cover while holding the projector to test fit the lens.
7. DON’T RUSH AND DOUBLE CHECK EVERYTHING! You will not be happy if you have to take everything back apart to fix something you missed.
These little projectors are great. They're small and fit perfectly in the reflector bowl with minimal cutting. They can be installed in a day and maybe even less.
They still need the headlights to be opened up, but dont need the reflector bowl removed from the housing. Refer to JLUDE's write-up in using the oven method to open up your lights: Projector Retrofit Write-Up (Valeo H7) 5G Prelude
This is what the little guys look like.
First you want to setup the stock lights and mark off the cutoff.
Mark off the corners with tape.
It's so you can bring back the housing with the projector and adjust if need be.
Use a 12v power supply or a battery with jumper cables.
One side of the light need to be propped up to get the cutoff as level as possible. Then mark it off on a wall with tape.
Now look at the rear of the bowl. A round hole has to be removed for these projectors to slide through.
It needs to be about 2cm wide. So I found a 2cm wide washer and traced the outline. Remember, this hole has to be centered as much as possible.
You can also use the securing nut that comes with the projectors to trace the hole.
You will end up with something like this.
Back shot.
From the front.
This is the back of the projector sticking through the hole. Notice how the notch on the projector is parallel with the screw hole on the reflector bowl. Try to get this as close to parallel as possible as it will save you headache.
Here is the assembled mounting side. Just a few screws; very simple.
Problem comes in the form of the shroud. Inside you should be able to see three tabs. One is directly in the top center and the other two are at one-third spreads from the top one.
Here's the top one.
This is a bottom one. One of these should be broken off because the shroud doesn't come off easily when you snap it back on. Trying to pry it off you'll eventually break one off. You'll have to take the shroud on and off to be able to know how to trim it anyway.
This is how I trimmed it for the passenger side.
Here's a more contrasting picture of shroud and where it was trimmed.
And how it looks mounted.
After you have everything mounted, pull the wires through under the projector. They're a little short so I extended them with some standard 22 gauge wire. I also poked a hole into the headlight grommet to run them through that. Then I tapped into the high beam harness using T-taps. This way you don't need to solder the wires to the stock white H1 adapter thing, and you can retain stock high beams.
Rotate the grommet a little else that little nub will get in the way of the wires.
Bring the light back outside and test it against the cutoff mark you made. You might need a little bit of rotation to get it just right, and once its adjusted you have to hold the projector in place and tighter the nut as much as possible. It's a complete PAIN IN THE ASS due to space and you cant get a good hold on it.
Heed my warnings though. The nut is made from soft aluminum. Make ABSOLUTELY SURE its threaded properly else you will strip the thread. You have to be careful and use very thin-nosed pliers that are carbon-hardened to tighten the nut. Again, because of space issues.
I've been driving with them just mounted with the nut and havent had any issues. What is not pictured is a rubber crush washer. This goes between the projector and reflector bowl (on the chrome side) and gives extra hold against rotation. I also used some crazy glue all over the nut and in the thread. DO NOT use thread locker. I tried to and it spilled onto the chrome because it's so runny, which removed some of the chrome when I tried to wipe it off.
When sealing your lights back up, I recommend using butyl rope. RTV silicone works best when pressure is applied to it and still allows water vapor to permeate through it. Butyl rope remains tacky under all conditions and will never leak.
Here they are on the car. Taken with a cellphone mind you.
Mounted shots
Cutoff shots
Here are the videos:
Review of Morimoto H1 Generation 4.0
They come in cute little boxes now
Among other projectors
They have "Morimoto" molded into the reflector
The solenoid wires come with pins attached
You slip the pins into that black connector which accepts 9006 plugs. The projectors come with two small harnesses already. Basically theyre the same as the harnesses that plug into your ballast. But in the case of the Prelude the wires coming off the solenoid are already long enough so there's no need for the connector.
Standard accessories
New stuff comes with
Included that's new are fatter silicon washers, screws to attach the shroud to the projector, little rubber grommets for the solenoid wires, and an extra screw for the bulb mount should you happen to lose one.
Hub centric rings
These rings are meant to easily mount larger shrouds
My simple mind still can't figure out how they work since they make the opening too big.
These are the transparent graphite shrouds
Pretty cool
I have no idea how they mount because the hub centric adapter doesn't work and they sit too loosely on the projector, the screw holes on the shroud do not line up with the holes on the projector.
This is the end result of my third time using these
First time on my Prelude, second time on my friends E90 (2007 BMW 3), and third time being a second set for my Prelude.
More info courtesy of OaTmeal:
I just want to add a few things that I figured out during and after this...
1. If you get the Mini Gatling Gun Shroud that you will not have to cut the shroud to fit like he did and it will save you time.
2. I had to cut the posts on my headlight housing in the back that held the stock bulbs in place since the clip that holds the HID bulb is taller and wider than the stock clip.
3. I had to widen the inside of the headlight piece since the nut that tighten to hold the projector in place is wider and would sit right/flush against the back of the stock bowl.
4. ONLY use glass cleaner and newspaper to clean the inside of the headlight lens. I used a microfiber towel that I thought was clean but after I put it up to the light it was streaked. That would have been a disaster if I installed it without checking and noticed it after the projector was on.
5. I cut and modified everything in one room in my place and assembled/test fitted everything after cutting in another room that wasn’t full of dust after.
6. Buy a can of canned air and DO NOT SHAKE IT! It isn’t paint and doesn’t need to be shaken… This will come in handy when cleaning the inside and outside of the projector lens. I ALSO used the small little towel that came with my Oakleys to clean them after and to cover while holding the projector to test fit the lens.
7. DON’T RUSH AND DOUBLE CHECK EVERYTHING! You will not be happy if you have to take everything back apart to fix something you missed.
I will be doing this sometime in the near future. I've been afraid to attempt a retrofit on my own because of all the cutting and retrofit-ness required. But this does not intimidate me lol. Thank you for being so awesome!
