So you want brighter Angel Eyes you say?

[X5SND]

Originally Posted by pnoyako85

Bright as hell.......where is the link to get this done.....the halos...
where did you buy them.

Morimoto xB LED Angel Eyes - Accessories from The Retrofit Source Inc

You need a set of 120's and 140's. The two sets will set ya back $160 +shipping.

The only thing I'll caution is that the 120mm is actually a bit small....a 125mm ring would be perfect, howevver at the moment, is not offered. The 120mm JUST clears the inside edge of the angel eye.

[X5SND]

Finished late last night....took a few pics this morning, unfortunately it's overcast today. These could be used as a DRL as they do maintain their brightness in sun, however, the rings themselves are rather narrow so Im on the fence about using them my DRL. I'm most likely going to use the xenons instead.

Initial post project thoughts: IT WAS A PAIN IN THE ASS!! lol. Everything from getting the angel eyes to fit, to figuring out how to tuck the ballasts inside the housing was an uphill battle....and the worst part of all-----opening the housings.

As I stated earlier I only did the angel eyes because I was already opening the housings to do the projectors....So even though these knock all other led AE bulb upgrades and aftermarket AE's out of the park by far; if your sole purpose is to have an AE DRL, I would advise against going this route....

Now everyone is probably wondering how these housings were opened....and unfortunately there is no easy answer. They're permasealed housings, end of story. No baking or heating is going to have any effect on the sealant....you will melt the plastics before the sealant degrades. After stripping the housing down, I used the oven to warm and soften the plastic up to avoid it cracking. (It works best if you have another set of hands to pry open the lip, while you work the dental tools to poke/prod and cut the sealant). ITS A SLOW PROCESS!! It took hours to open one housing.... Once the lens comes off though, all the internals are all screws and clips, making it easy to disassemble.

Seeing as this thread has basically turned into a lighting upgrade thread, lets get to the best part....the projectors.

What I have to say: HOLY SH!T THESE THINGS ARE BRIGHT! I did a quick aim and went for a spin last night to test them out....they cut through every other vehicles beams with no problem! Halogen, Xenon, or LED; I outshine them all! The distance and width is unreal! If you could compare the factory projectors to these I'd say it's like night and day, but you cant compare them...These make the stockers look like candles. The high beams are equally impressive, throwing a ton of light forward. As I mentioned previously, swapping the projectors made changing the ballasts necessary as well. On top of that, this setup also requires the can-bus modules before the ballasts to prevent a bulb-out warning. The light these projectors throw down makes the whole project definitely worth all the hassle, without a doubt!

I used oci-butyl to reseal my headlamps, so now if I ever have to re-open them, its a simple procedure of popping the clips off, cooking in the oven for 5 mins.

Heres a couple pictures I took earlier.....They by no means do any justice to the lights, but its way too cold out right now to be dslr-ing it! The last two pics (sort of) show the flicker of color across the cutoff. As soon as it warms up ill take some dslr pics, and some night ones to show the cutoff and color transition as well.




Parts breakdown for those interested:

EvoX-R Projectors - $150
Morimoto 3Five SS Ballasts - $110
Morimoto Can-Bus Modules - $30
Morimoto 140mm xBA Led Angel Eyes - $85
Morimoto 120mm xBA Led Angel Eyes - $75
Oci-Butyl Headlamp Sealant (1 roll) - $15

I do need to apologize in advance though....when I started this, I promised a write up w/ pics. As the project progressed though, it became more about just getting everything done and not about planning it out as a DYI write-up.

[SlickGT1]

Damn nice work. Does seem like a total bitch. Deff worth it if you got the time.

[Ricky Bobby]

still in awe of your work. i may be a crazy man and try this on my 2003 in the summer, I can't stand the amber portion of the waffle anymore and would be great excuse to install angel eyes and "update" my 10 year old lights.

Ninja Edit: I see they sell true dental picks at harbor freight as well as other assorted thin pick sets, I would have to stock up for this job.


Yours look great but even knowing how you did it I still don't know if i'd have the balls to spend 4 hours per side opening one headlight and not crack it.

[X5SND]

Thanks! I'm not sure how the design of the 03 housing would change the difficulty level....

As far as picks, I was using ones that were almost straight ends, with 2 knurled sections along the shaft. The smooth handle ones are no good as you need to apply a significant amount of force to work the end back and fourth.

In all honesty though, the next set I do (yes, I've already got something else cooking, for a summer project ) I'm just going to cut open...you could have them open cleanly in 20 mins. Not to mention With the plethora of structural adhesives they have available now and a good butyl seal, there should be nothing to worry about...with the added bonus of being able to keep the skin on my thumb!!!

[Ricky Bobby]

Originally Posted by X5SND

Thanks! I'm not sure how the design of the 03 housing would change the difficulty level....

As far as picks, I was using ones that were almost straight ends, with 2 knurled sections along the shaft. The smooth handle ones are no good as you need to apply a significant amount of force to work the end back and fourth.

In all honesty though, the next set I do (yes, I've already got something else cooking, for a summer project ) I'm just going to cut open...you could have them open cleanly in 20 mins. Not to mention With the plethora of structural adhesives they have available now and a good butyl seal, there should be nothing to worry about...with the added bonus of being able to keep the skin on my thumb!!!

I'm really considering just cutting open with dremel lol, with butyl and a little heat sealing should be no problem. i've heard the pre-facelifts are easier to get open because of straighter runs around the headlight but i'd have to check them out off the car to be sure.

[X5SND]

I haven't really seen a PF housing...but just be careful when using butyl to seal it back up that it isn't the only thing holding the lens to the housing. The facelift housing uses clips with a couple of screws as well to secure the lens to the housing. Im saying this because while butyl is great for providing a water-tight seal, it does get quite soft on a hot summer day; when, coupled with a warm engine bay directly behind it...could potentially cause some issues. just a heads up!

[Ricky Bobby]

if you'd like me to be the tester for your cut open method i'd love to make my car sit for a month or so while you experiment on my headlights

[X5SND]

Lol I was just going to get another pair of facelifts from ebay...as I'm going to need them regardless.....I think Ill let someone else take the reins Of the pre-facelift premasealed housings!

[Ricky Bobby]

the way I see it as this if I get them all shitted up it's just a cool 500 dollar replacement DEPO set LOL......Good tips on leaving the clips intact, I guess you just cut around them?