2nd bugeye wrx retrofit. Goodbye oem look. Hello sheet metal & acrylic. (progress pics)

[satrya]

Edit: completed pictures on post #113 (link)
Thanks to gold94corolla, rbimxde, TrakTuned, branheitz, truckstang67, Kuraijay, rollinmyda, Stock_em1, adamj27, wireless, serega12, for the feedback and suggestions.



One of the light source units in my 1st retrofit was a fully sealed Hella Optilux projector unit. I've used various Optilux models mounted as intended in various vehicles without issue, and is comparable in size to the Matchbox Mini or the Bosch H3 units. What I didn't realize was how hot the outer housing gets when sealed into a headlight housing. Time for a 2nd retrofit. The picture above is more or less where it's currently heading to.

Starting point: Subaru (bugeye) wrx + Junyan headlights (H1 projector low beams on the lower opening, H1 reflector high beams on the upper opening) + Morimoto Mini D2S + Hella Optilux H3 halogen projectors (2" lens).


Version 1: (build thread here)


Version 1 can still pass as an OEM unit, with its predominantly chrome appearance.

[satrya]

EvoX-R (e55r) mounting & foreground limiter mod

Each e55r replaces the Mini D2S in taking the main (lower) position. The e55r is mounted using most of the brackets fabricated for the Mini D2S to take advantage of the yaw and pitch adjustment screws from the Junyan housing. Details of the modification of the brackets were posted on this link. In addition, a foreground limiter shield was added to each e55r (details here).

[satrya]

Mini D2S relocation

The upper position (of the Junyan headlight) is rather shallow, and is not designed for a 2.5" lens like the Mini D2S. Regardless, I wanted to have a secondary unit that can provide a wide enough beam coverage plus a squirrel finder like feature for twisty / hilly roads. A squirrel finder feature is added (reverse squirrel finder mod here) by adding a simple reflector that doubles as a solenoid cover.


The Minis are directly mounted to the Junyan housing via a series of adapter (pictures here) that allows for rotational (tilt) and minor pitch + yaw.


With less than 1cm spacing between the Mini's lens and the headlight's lens/cover, there's even less space margin at the back before other hardware interferes with it:

[satrya]

Quad output circuit, anyone?


A quick sanity check to make sure the output is close enough for final adjustment later.

Reasonable space margin on the back of the e55r (EvoX-R). Need to find space for 2 pairs of ballast.


I plan to connect both pairs to the OEM headlight switch via a custom router. The router will allow either the e55r or the Mini D2S pairs to be activated by the OEM switch. My plan is the e55r for everyday use, and the Mini D2S for hilly/twisty backroads / backup. Since it takes a few seconds for the HIDs to light up, I wanted the custom routing switch to allow both to be turned on before turning off the other. The following is what I'm planning to do.

Suggestions welcome, especially if you've worked on a custom circuitry for quad projectors.

Each of the e55r and Mini D2S pairs are connected to the battery via Morimoto harness. Let's say the e55r's are connected to Harness #1 ("H1", lower diagram), and the Mini D2Ses are connected to Harness #2 ("H2"). Where H1 and H2 would normally be connected to the left hand side (LHS) & RHS OEM headlight connectors, an intermediary connector is placed, with a relay interrupting the power connection (the bugeye uses switched ground). A single pole dual throw (SPDT) relay closes or opens the circuit. Instead of the common "normally open" relay, this one needs a "normally closed" relay.

Both of the relays are connected to a Single Pole Triple Throw switch (left most on lower diagram). If I'm not mistaken, this will give me the desired results:

• If OEM light stalk is off, both pairs are off
• If OEM light stalk is on the low beam position, and the SPTT switch connects the upper pin, then the Mini D2S (lower circuit) are on, and the e55r (upper circuit) are off
• If OEM light stalk is on the low beam position, and the SPTT switch is at the center position, then both pairs are on
• If OEM light stalk is on the low beam position, and the SPTT switch connects the lower pin, then the e55r are on, and the Mini D2S are off

High beam behavior (in relation to the switch) is the same as low beam. I decided not to use a timed relay to minimize complexity. Otherwise, I can enforce a time limit when both pairs are on (for HID warmup purposes).

[satrya]

Trimming down the shroud / reflector housing


The shroud/reflector openings around the original low & high beam units need to be enlarged to make room for the 3" e55r & 2.5" Mini D2S. A drum sander on a drill press comes in handy, as you practically get an extra steady hand holding the drum sander. Here's a test fit after removing ~2mm of the inner lip for the acrylic halo piece that came with the Junyan headlights:


If beam alignment wasn't an issue, then the enlargement above would be sufficient. The challenge with enlarging the holes is that there are 3 pre existing holes related to the halo attachment. So, enlarging an additional 2-3mm would make the opening uneven due to the 3 holes.

The easiest way is to trim the halo attachment area altogether, and worry about the consequences later. Like so:


The gap is rather large.

[satrya]

Test fill the gap with acrylic halos

The acrylic halos that came with the headlight were originally mounted on the shroud / reflector piece. Here's a test where the halos wrap around the projectors, set further back than it originally was.

[satrya]

Mini D2S is too big for the shroud

3 areas of the shroud that interfere with the 4 extreme corners of the Mini D2S' mounting area need to be trimmed. The holes and scuff marks need to be dealt with later.



See where one of the Mini D2S' mounting holes peek out of the shroud?

[satrya]

Curved metal around the LEDs

Test fit a cardboard template for a curved piece that frames the LED city lights:


The LED openings will be covered by diffusers:


The black cylinders that mount the diffusers in the picture above will be adhered to the reflectors. To accommodate for them, circular grooves are cut into the reflector, but not deep enough to cut a hole through. Picture below shows the grooves cut around the LED openings. Also, 2 notches (green arrows) are cut into the reflector to mount the curved piece that frames the LEDs.

[satrya]

Curved metal for LED frame

Here's a test fit of the curved metal (cut from thin sheet of aluminum), and one of the LED diffuser cylinders placed frontside-back to test their interference fit.

[satrya]

More flowing theme...

After seeing how the flowing metal piece frames the area around the 3 city light LEDs, I experimented with the same concept to break the 2 dominant circles (from the 2 projectors). Here's a prototype in painter's tape.


Some test shots, primarily to see how the low & high beams out of the e55r (lower area) is affected. Pictures below show the LED city lights without the diffuser. Looks promising imho. Low and high beam output (as tested from ~2.5 car lengths away) seem unaffected.

[satrya]

Doesn't fit!

Test fitting the new curved piece shows interference with the headlight lens. Note the creased painters tape area.


Mark the interfering areas


Transfer the trimmed painter's tape to a piece of cardboard (with the blue tape still on). Interference is no longer an issue, but the look is considerably altered. Need an alternative plan.

[TrakTuned]

Oh gosh I hate the face of the bugeye....blechhh.....

Nice progress on the lights though!

[satrya]

Oh gosh I hate the face of the bugeye....blechhh.....

Nice progress on the lights though!

Thanks. Hopefully this 2nd retrofit doesn't present anymore issues.

[satrya]

time to eviscerate the shroud some more....

Looks like portions above the lower light unit must be removed to allow for the flowing cover to tilt some more. Hopefully, this will provide more space for the flowing cover to retain the look of the prototype without interfering with the headlight lens. Another point of no return...


And then a 2nd cardboard prototype transferred from before:


Copy the template to sheet aluminum, bend around in 3 primary locations, and this is how it looks:

[rbimdxe]

I'm liking the work on this 'fit. Giving me some thoughts for mine. (MY00 WRX - same colour). Need to buy some aftermarket lights () though because factory are glass lens and it reduces the output so much it's ridiculous