OK, first things first... yes, I have returned from my posting slumber. For those of you who don't check out the off-topic forum, my main hard drive began having errors and caused my entire computer to be completely unstable. Once a hard drive starts having errors, it's not long before the hard drive becomes a paperweight. So I backed everything up and built an entirely new computer. Now that I've got the internet running and firefox protecting me, it's time to share what has happened!
Now, let's cut to the chase... what WAS Willy's Mod Gone Wrong?!?
(IMG:http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i289/willyspace/Lancer/th_IMG_5441.jpg)
(IMG:http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i289/willyspace/Lancer/th_IMG_5443.jpg)
Yes my friends... OEM Lancer Projectors... on my carpeted floor. These things were very not cheap. I got sick and tired of the ugly glare that my reflector housing was causing from my HIDs, so I finally cracked and picked up a set of these suckers. How? I called up my dealership and asked them how much it would cost for the EVOLUTION X projector housing without bulbs or ballasts? They quoted me with $549 each plus taxes ($1,210 give or take), but since it's a custom request, there is NO return policy on it. Normally, you need the VIN to order any parts for a car from the dealership, so I just stole an Evo X VIN off of autotrader :grin: I was so confident that the housing would fit that I went ahead and told them to put the order while I came down and charged it on my MC. About 4 days later, I get a call from the dealership telling me that the housings are available for pick up. Grab them and get straight away to work!
So, around 5pm I start attempting to remove the right housing from my car only to realize that one of the screws holding the housing to my car is hidden behind my bumper. Having no choice, I begin removing enough of my bumper to access this screw (See: Trying hard not to break anything for 30 minutes). Once the housing popped out, I figured it would be easier for me to fit the bulbs in now rather than after installing the housing. So, I try to fit my 9006 HID bulb in the projector housing... and I try... and I try... and I keep trying... but the SOB won't fit! WTF?!? Upon closer inspection, the projector housing reads "D2S"... meaning my 9006 bulb will NOT fit in the housing!
...
Yep... my square peg won't fit this circular hole. Furthermore, my 9005 highbeams don't fit either. The highbeams are H11. But fear not friends! This is not the end of my horrid tale! Oh no, it gets WORSE. I figured that since the base of my HID bulbs are just plastic, I can trim the tabs off and shave the base down enough to mimic a D2S bulb and it will fit then. Unfortunately, since I never removed my bumper before, I had already wasted so much time doing this project that I didn't have enough time to complete, so I reassembled my car and kept the projectors in a safe place.
2 days later (my next available early shift), I park up in my garage and get to work. This time, I get the entire bumper off in 20 minutes (it's actually much easier than you think) and begin taking out the right housing. But as I grab my heavy duty file and clippers, I realize that if I can ghetto fit my 9006 bulbs, I can just get some replacement D2S bulbs from MobileHID and sell the 9006 to somebody else. So, I jump on my phone and snag a pair of the D2S bulbs in 5000K and I transfer all my current bulbs over (using my old halogen fogs for the high beams) and plug everything up. I click the city lights on and they light up. Then I click on the lows and they fire up. Wow... purdy. Finally, I hit my turn signals and high beams... and the turn signals work, but my high beams don't. Turns out, the wiring on the housing doesn't match the car.
... Yeah, it doesn't match. I can't use the housings on my car at all. Why did my HIDs fire up you ask? Well, I use MobileHID HID kits, so they have a separate wiring harness that only uses one OEM plug to fire up BOTH bulbs. My HIDs turned on because I didn't swap out my LEFT housing yet (which still has the OEM plug). My heart
broke... $1,200 of non-returnable goodness. What's worse was that my car was completely disassembled, so I was just shattered putting my car back together.
A day later, I realized... Wait... Can't I just use the reflector housing wiring on the projector housing? Everything just plugs right off and the wiring is only held in place by a screw! ZOMG!!! I R A JEENEEUZ! HOPE HAS BEEN REKINDLED! ... Except, the next day I get my new bulbs in the mail. I had e-mailed Clifford to cancel my order (and explained the shorter version of my ordeal), but they had already shipped my order by the time he got to the message. He heard my ordeal and he sent me a pair of D2S connectors for a MobileHID kit for FREE! WOW! MobileHID has, is, and always will be FULL OF WIN!!!
So now I am waiting the arrival of the new connectors so I can fit everything up. I've spent about $1,300 for a projector conversion on my 9G Lancer. Then... I thought about the cost and other available options. I could get a pair of S2000 projectors for $400 and a pair of E86 shrouds for about $80. Plus, I've always wanted Angel Eyes so I could grab a good set for about $100. Adding everything up, I could have done a custom retrofit WITH Angel Eyes for under $600... the same cost for ONE projector housing.
What have I learned from all this? DIY is always better... and cheaper. Save yourselves the headache I just incurred and D.I.Y!
Long story short: Evolution X projectors DO fit on the 9G Lancer. The wiring DOES NOT match up the 9G Lancer. You will need to take a 9G Lancers housing wiring and transfer it over to the projector housing to make it work. It is MUCH cheaper to do a custom retrofit.
END!
2008 Lancer w/OEM Projectors!!!, You might want to think twice...
Sep 21 2008, 02:00 PM
