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LX470 Retrofit + Boosted Ballast

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Old Oct 26, 2006 | 09:55 PM
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Talking LX470 Retrofit + Boosted Ballast

Ok, I've been working on this for about 2 days and I finally finished.
TSX projectors with 2.5 crystal clear lenses were used for this retrofit. Also, for those of you guys with LX470's you will notice that the front end is a little different . I'm doing a 03+ front end conversion. I'm chroming the grille right now so thats why it's missing

I also have a modified ballast. You can easily see the difference in light output

Anyways....on with the pix!


View of half complete setup


Close up


Even Closer


Only left headlight is on, but running at standard/street legal output (35W)


Same left headlight, but with boosted ballast running at not so legal output
Note: Camera was set at same shutter/ISO/apeture settings for both of these pictures. The light was so bright that it overexposed the picture!


Parent's LX on the left and my GS on the right
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Old Oct 26, 2006 | 09:56 PM
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More Pix!


Lights powered on. No glare at all, the cutoff on these projectors are freakin AWESOME!!!


Cutoff shot. Note the picture is a bit overexposed so you can't see the blue at the cutoff. I modified it so its got a pretty thick line there.


Pic from outside the car. The beam looks kind of crooked, but it's not. It's just the camera angle.


Completed headlight with glass lens rebonded.


Cutoff pic. Both projectors at standard output.


Another cutoff pic. This time the left headlight is boosted, and the right is at standard output. The output is quite noticable. Also, both pictures were taken at the same ISO/Apeture/Shutter.

Last edited by JeffTsai; Oct 26, 2006 at 10:00 PM.
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Old Oct 26, 2006 | 10:37 PM
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nice upgrade for the LX...
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Old Oct 26, 2006 | 10:42 PM
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Very nice, I think that xenons are a must for this truck (but no factory option!! )
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Old Oct 27, 2006 | 02:49 AM
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very nice! I'm guessing this is the 50w ballast mod?

What ballast are you using?
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Old Oct 27, 2006 | 05:46 AM
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great looking retrofit
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Old Oct 27, 2006 | 12:17 PM
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more info on the boosted ballast. denso? did you have to add a fan to cool the ballast? how can i get some?
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Old Oct 27, 2006 | 12:39 PM
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The ballast I used is a Bosch AL Gen 2 unit. I have a variable resistor wired to the ballast to adjust the power output higher/lower. The output is pretty freakin insane lol. It's safe to say that the boosted output is about 2x of stock. As for cooling, I don't run anything extra because I only crank the ballast up occasionally. For other drivers it will be like looking into the sun when I have the ballast at full power!

If you guys want to know how to do the ballast mod. Please PM me or talk to me on AIM about it. I'm not going to post it here because I don't want any liability if someone blows up a ballast, if it catches on fire, or you shock the hell out of yourself.
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Old Oct 27, 2006 | 09:44 PM
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Wish you were my next door neighbor. I'd come over and steal both sets of retrofits on both cars
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Old Nov 2, 2006 | 03:47 PM
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question...how much did you spend in the end on this and how much better is it over a plug and play kit for the standard headlights?
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Old Nov 4, 2006 | 02:06 PM
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ah yes the bosch gen 2 ballasts. I've been looking for a set of my own to replace the OEM GS400's ballast. supercharged bosch ballasts + LS430 projectors =
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Old Nov 4, 2006 | 02:22 PM
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i might have to steal the LS430s headlights and use em in my truck...lol!
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Old Nov 6, 2006 | 06:30 PM
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Originally Posted by 1loudLX
question...how much did you spend in the end on this and how much better is it over a plug and play kit for the standard headlights?
TSX Projectors + Two D2S bulbs = $165 ebay
Hella Gen 2 Ballasts on ebay = $135
I did the retrofit myself so no labor cost there

So it cost me a total of $300. Cost me less than some of the plug and play HID kits out there

Originally Posted by 1loudLX
i might have to steal the LS430s headlights and use em in my truck...lol!
Actually, the LS430 projectors are a little too big to fit in the LX headlights. The rear bowl is freakin big on the LS unit. For anyone that wants to do a retrofit on the LX...the TSX is probably your best bet.
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Old Nov 6, 2006 | 06:41 PM
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oh well. I was just curious.
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Old Nov 14, 2006 | 01:18 PM
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Need more info on how to do retrofit on LXs
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