The uptick is from the passenger projector right? If you can fix the alignment on the bowl it should help, I would aim to try and match the drivers side since that looks spot on.

As well, I wouldn't mess with bending the shield too much, I don't feel it's your issue.

My theories?

1) the passenger side lens holder got slightly skewed in rotation to the bowl when swapping lenses

2) the passenger bowl needs to be shifted down to expose more hotspot

3) lens seating/spacing on passenger side

4) shield stop on passenger side


As well, I probably don't have to say this, but you really should be running a Philips bulb especially for tuning. I'd venture to say your issues might also be aftermarket bulb issues.

74 bucks for 85122 Philips pair if you need a link I can get you genuine.

When you swapped the lens' did you split the projector, or sneak the lens out through the sides?

Your cutoff shield on the passenger side has too much of a clockwise rotation, that's why you get the portion above the drivers side projector cutoff on the tail (left) end. I would actually disagree with what RB said with regards to it NOT being your shield because if you look at the high beam pics, they're both more or less level to each other, in terms of being level across the top. It's when you switch back to low beam that you have a cutoff crooked clockwise. There should be a stop that you can adjust to bring the cutoff back up to horizontal.

Anything little adjustment on a projector can have HUGE benefits/consequences as it gets hugely magnified out on the road....so you really have to be careful and take your time when it comes to touching anything on these things.

Im not overly familiar with the rs6 (looks like a gen1 hella to me) but for example on my evo's "shifting the bowl down" means like literally half a mm to go from a dim-non hot spot exposed output to a bright one.

Are you planning to pull the projectors out anytime soon?

I split the projectors to remove the lens. It is just 4 torx screws holding the lens holder to the bowl, from what I recall. Whenever I look at the EvoX-R projector, I see a remarkable resemblance between it and my RS6, just with a different type of bulb holder. I have the plastic Hella type and Bosch type holders, since my pair isn't matched.

The projectors will be pulled in 2 months when I am done with school. Just brainstorming now since I started reading up on HIDPlanet again.

And yes, it is pretty hard for me to visualize everything right now since I don't have the projectors out in front of me. These were popular roughly 10 years ago and I was already late to the party retrofitting them back in 2011. My output is still miles better than the original halogens, I just want to tinker more.

Spencer (X5SND) has much more time spent with the E55 tinkering than I do so I would heed any advice he gives as its probably spot on, him and I have spent countless hours talking lighting, and he has approx 3 or more retrofits under his belt whereas I have only 1, so I would give him props to being resident guru.

I don't necessarily think the shield needs bending as much, I should have been more specific, its most likely the stop on low beam which needs to be brought down to make the low beam level.

As well, in my experience on the genuine E55 (and its related siblings) projectors that you can't just swap a ZKW-R lens and expect it to be exactly the same on reinstall. The sharpness and color across the cutoff should be relatively the same for both when tuned, but if not, you may need a small spacer on the lens etc (which is why TRS sells paper spacers for 5 bucks to tune the freshly installed clear lenses) in order to even them out. I don't personally ever space a bulb, I would much prefer to space the lens to achieve my results.


The RS6 is a good projector! Just a few minor tweaks could yield a HUGE difference, and you're right, you already have 10x better output than halogen.

+1 to what Ricky said. You can't just install a new set of lens' and slap it back together. The thing with replica (that's what the "-R" means) pieces in lighting is that they don't ever conform to the same specifications as the oem bits. The focal point may be slightly different and as such will require a lens spacer to bring everything back. The fact that you say "the pair isn't matched" makes me a bit uneasy, as for best results & least amount of headaches, you really want the hardware to be as close to identical as possible. Otherwise you're already off to an uphill battle.

The pics below illustrate what Ricky and I are saying about the projector stops. Keep in mind in my case it was the drivers projector that was the issue (counterclockwise-wise)...it was remedied by bringing the stop further up, thus lowering the cutoff to horizontal like the passenger side.

Can you guys explain in detail how to raise or lower the shield stop? Do you have any pictures that can show it a little better?

I will also try and play around with lens spacing. I have gasket paper that I could use to shim the bulb holder. Would you guys recommend also bending the shield back and forth to get focus also, or should I just play with lens spacing instead?

Not having matched projectors is another problem, I agree. That is why I'm still considering going to FX-Rs. Maybe if I find another projector I like on HIDP I will use them. If I could find Muranos for less than $100, I would definitely pick them up.

Custom Lightz - E55 Projector Modification - YouTube

By "bend the shield" we're talking like fractions of a mm here, same with "raising/lowering" the shield stop.

Literally a decent press with your finger will make an adjustment, make too much of an adjustmenet and the bi-xenon won't open properly.

e55 clear lens swap

:thumbup: I just saw that video on HIDP too and was about to post it.

When I press, am I pressing on the cutoff shield that pivots, or do I press on the shield for the high beam cutoff?

Still unsure how to raise/lower the shield stop too. Do you have a picture of it when you did your retrofit?

Referencing attached picture. Keep in mind this is the front half of an evoX viewed from the rear.

Green arrow is the shield stop we're referencing. bending this this either up or down will change where the shield stops in relation to the horizon.

Red arrows is the portion of the shield that defines your high beam.

I would try to refrain from bending the shield as it's REALLY EASY to botch them up. If you need to re-focus the cutoff you can usually give it a slight twist; either pulling the top of the shield towards the bowl or pushing it forward. Playing with the curvature of the shield isn't something you need to worry about with your current output.

How a bi-xenon projector works (on Hella E55 example) - YouTube

So I found this video too. Now I have a good visual of what I'm doing.

The curved cutoff shield is what I need to bend back slightly, correct?

Also, look at the lip that the cutoff shield hits when it is in the low beam position. Should I bend that lip down to get my rotation turned counter clockwise or is the beam inverted, so I should be bending it up? Or am I looking at it the wrong way and that black "nut" on the pivot end what I'm supposed to adjust?


And a very off topic question that I want to ask.
I want my LEDs to turn on when I have my ACC on with the car. When I turn on my headlights, I want my LEDs to power off. How can I wire a relay to do that?

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/imag...8755a545f7.bmp
So it looks like I need a 5-pin relay. I hook up pin 86 and 85 in series with ballasts. I would hook up pin 30 and 87a in series with my LED wiring. I don't connect pin 87 to anything, so that is my open circuit when my ballasts are powered.

Does this circuit make sense to you guys?