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With many aftermarket HID products on the market, one of the biggest issues is bulb alignment. Improper bulb alignment means your hotspot is not in its proper location. For the vast majority of bulb alignment issues, the bulbs themselves are to blame for the most part. The overwhelming culprit is the H series bulb(the most popular being the H1). These H1 bulbs are a rebased HID bulb inside a plastic base. They are cheap and work great to a certain degree, but quality control is extremely low and perfect bulb alignment is a chance you have to take. There are a few aftermarket projectors that just dislike aftermarket bulbs as well. Some of the most popular projectors being the Morimoto FX-Rs and the Generic MH1s. But just because the bulb alignment is off, doesn't mean you are stuck with bad output. The way the bulb seats in the bulb holder can be adjusted so the alignment is how it should be. You can also adjust the bulb itself to fix alignment, but this is an option only on most D2S bulbs.
Let's go into depth of how that alignment can be fixed with a few easy steps and an hour's work at most. I'll be using a Morimoto MH1 7.0 for demonstration since the most common issues are with the MH1 projector and H1 bulb. But the same steps to fix bulb alignment work with a D2S projector as well. The following steps will only work with a H1 or D series bulb in a HID projector. PnP applications in a halogen projector are untested in this thread.
So let's start off with what proper bulb alignment looks like:
bulb shim-6 by Sam Colt, on Flickr
The center circle represents the hotspot and proper alignment. It's location is centered on the step(except for a handful of OEM projectors) with about 2/3 below the cutoff and 1/3 above the cutoff. On bi-xenon projectors, the 1/3 above portion is reserved for high beams. Also, the cutoff is perfectly straight on each side of the step.
bulb shim-5 by Sam Colt, on Flickr
So let's see what happens when the hotspot is off
bulb shim-15 by Sam Colt, on Flickr
Although not a drastic example, you can see what starts to happen when the alignment is off. The hotspot is low creating a weird double step and the cutoff starts to get distorted and bent.
bulb shim-14 by Sam Colt, on Flickr
Here is an extreme case where the hotspot is low. Notice how much the cutoff drastically slopes down and a massive amount of foreground is present.
memebers low hotspot_1 by Sam Colt, on Flickr
In order to move that hotspot up, you will need to shim the bulb. I like to use cereal box cardboard but aluminum tape can be used as well.
bulb shim-4 by Sam Colt, on Flickr
bulb shim by Sam Colt, on Flickr
So what you want to do is cut a sliver of your material of choice and place it in the appropriate position on the projector's bulb holder or the bulb itself. The placement of the material depends on the direction the hotspot needs to go. So if it needs to go up, the shim is placed at 12 o'clock. if the hotspot needs to go down, you place the shim at 6 o'clock. And so on. You can use the pic below for position reference.
bulb shim-11 by Sam Colt, on Flickr
So in the case of the hotspot being low, you would need to place the shim at 12 o'clock. This can be done on the projector bulb holder or the bulb.
bulb shim-13 by Sam Colt, on Flickr
bulb shim-12 by Sam Colt, on Flickr
bulb shim-17 by Sam Colt, on Flickr
You might need to add more or less material depending on the severity of the hotspot being off. Remember that pic with the hotspots being extremely low causing major bowing of the cutoff? Well this is what it looked like after shimming. It's not perfect, and it never will be due to the angle of the bulb now, but it is much much better than what it started out as.
memebers low hotspot fixed by Sam Colt, on Flickr
The same principle is used if the hotspot is in other locations as well. Take for example the hotspot is to the left.
bulb shim-8 by Sam Colt, on Flickr
bulb shim-10 by Sam Colt, on Flickr
You may be okay with that because it doesn't look too bad 25ft away from a wall. Well let's take it back to 50ft and see what happens.
bulb shim-7 by Sam Colt, on Flickr
You will be losing width on the right side and creating a rather skewed cutoff as shown
bulb shim-9 by Sam Colt, on Flickr
So in this case, you will need to place the shim at the 3 o'clock position in order to move the hotspot over to the right. A problem that can occur is that some bulbs have nubs on the base that will get in the way of the shim. This can easily be fixed by shaving off the nub.
bulb shim-3 by Sam Colt, on Flickr
bulb shim-2 by Sam Colt, on Flickr
All this information can be applied to a D2S setup as well. You can either use a shim in the bulb holder.
bulb shim-1 by Sam Colt, on Flickr
Or you can adjust the bulb by bending the prongs on the bulb thereby moving the capsule location on the bulb itself. Warning: this process can damage the bulb if too much force is exerted. If you do not feel comfortable doing this process, using a shim will work just as well.
bulb shim-16 by Sam Colt, on Flickr
I hope this helped you understand how to shim a bulb so you can get the best output from your setup. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Also, if you would like to share your before and after shim pics, please post them. Have fun and good luck!
Let's go into depth of how that alignment can be fixed with a few easy steps and an hour's work at most. I'll be using a Morimoto MH1 7.0 for demonstration since the most common issues are with the MH1 projector and H1 bulb. But the same steps to fix bulb alignment work with a D2S projector as well. The following steps will only work with a H1 or D series bulb in a HID projector. PnP applications in a halogen projector are untested in this thread.
So let's start off with what proper bulb alignment looks like:
bulb shim-6 by Sam Colt, on FlickrThe center circle represents the hotspot and proper alignment. It's location is centered on the step(except for a handful of OEM projectors) with about 2/3 below the cutoff and 1/3 above the cutoff. On bi-xenon projectors, the 1/3 above portion is reserved for high beams. Also, the cutoff is perfectly straight on each side of the step.
bulb shim-5 by Sam Colt, on FlickrSo let's see what happens when the hotspot is off
bulb shim-15 by Sam Colt, on FlickrAlthough not a drastic example, you can see what starts to happen when the alignment is off. The hotspot is low creating a weird double step and the cutoff starts to get distorted and bent.
bulb shim-14 by Sam Colt, on FlickrHere is an extreme case where the hotspot is low. Notice how much the cutoff drastically slopes down and a massive amount of foreground is present.
memebers low hotspot_1 by Sam Colt, on FlickrIn order to move that hotspot up, you will need to shim the bulb. I like to use cereal box cardboard but aluminum tape can be used as well.
bulb shim-4 by Sam Colt, on Flickrbulb shim by Sam Colt, on FlickrSo what you want to do is cut a sliver of your material of choice and place it in the appropriate position on the projector's bulb holder or the bulb itself. The placement of the material depends on the direction the hotspot needs to go. So if it needs to go up, the shim is placed at 12 o'clock. if the hotspot needs to go down, you place the shim at 6 o'clock. And so on. You can use the pic below for position reference.
bulb shim-11 by Sam Colt, on FlickrSo in the case of the hotspot being low, you would need to place the shim at 12 o'clock. This can be done on the projector bulb holder or the bulb.
bulb shim-13 by Sam Colt, on Flickrbulb shim-12 by Sam Colt, on Flickrbulb shim-17 by Sam Colt, on FlickrYou might need to add more or less material depending on the severity of the hotspot being off. Remember that pic with the hotspots being extremely low causing major bowing of the cutoff? Well this is what it looked like after shimming. It's not perfect, and it never will be due to the angle of the bulb now, but it is much much better than what it started out as.
memebers low hotspot fixed by Sam Colt, on FlickrThe same principle is used if the hotspot is in other locations as well. Take for example the hotspot is to the left.
bulb shim-8 by Sam Colt, on Flickrbulb shim-10 by Sam Colt, on FlickrYou may be okay with that because it doesn't look too bad 25ft away from a wall. Well let's take it back to 50ft and see what happens.
bulb shim-7 by Sam Colt, on FlickrYou will be losing width on the right side and creating a rather skewed cutoff as shown
bulb shim-9 by Sam Colt, on FlickrSo in this case, you will need to place the shim at the 3 o'clock position in order to move the hotspot over to the right. A problem that can occur is that some bulbs have nubs on the base that will get in the way of the shim. This can easily be fixed by shaving off the nub.
bulb shim-3 by Sam Colt, on Flickrbulb shim-2 by Sam Colt, on FlickrAll this information can be applied to a D2S setup as well. You can either use a shim in the bulb holder.
bulb shim-1 by Sam Colt, on FlickrOr you can adjust the bulb by bending the prongs on the bulb thereby moving the capsule location on the bulb itself. Warning: this process can damage the bulb if too much force is exerted. If you do not feel comfortable doing this process, using a shim will work just as well.
bulb shim-16 by Sam Colt, on FlickrI hope this helped you understand how to shim a bulb so you can get the best output from your setup. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Also, if you would like to share your before and after shim pics, please post them. Have fun and good luck!
Ya I bullshietted long enough. Thanks buddy!
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