How To Shim A HID Bulb For Proper Alignment

[InfiniteReality]

Dang I didn't consider having to twist the bulb. I'm going to have to rethink possibly a way to readjust them... Ummm

[ileopard]

Yea but your alignment isn't actually off, it's just the projector design is flawed. Lol Plus think of how much fun it was playing with those shield legs to get the perfect amount of hotspot while still making sure the shield doesn't stick. Lol

Yeah screw that lol, not my type of fun.

[Hank3]

Thank you for posting this thread.

[06BlkMax]

I thought it was shavings down the bulb base itself all this time o_O
didn't think it was that easy.

[BOO5TED]

I really need to do this to mine.

[HK45]

I really need to do this to mine.

Such a shame the 7.0s are plagued by the H1 shit bulb

[BOO5TED]

Funny thing is I ordered 6500K XB when I ordered the projectors and those are the ones I have alignment issues with. My previous 5K $15 amazon bulbs have one issue with them and it's the color. Way too yellow with the FB ballasts.

[Pklemm]

Such a shame the 7.0s are plagued by the H1 shit bulb

I have a new XB H1 bulbs(with the the new smaller connector to the bulb) and I have a set from a year ago (with the bigger connector to the bulb). The newer XB H1 aligned with way less shimming than the year old bulbs. I had to drastically shim the older bulb compared to the newer H1 bulb. Maybe they are getting closer to a perfectly aligned H1 bulb??!

[HK45]

A rebased bulb will never have the alignment nor the QC of OEM and even most aftermarket Dx bulbs

[sovan781]

woohoo, all these time when people say add shims im like what where use what , then they say use cereal box (huh???? scratching head) now i know ,
i have a mixture of oem to ebay to trs projectors , looks like im going to be busy this week modding some projectors i have sitting collecting dust
thank you

[nolan]

This is a great post. I just finished my second retrofit (mini h1 7.0, xb bulbs kit from TRS). Everything went well, except the cutoffs are just not right. One is smiling and the other is severely bowed. Im really hoping shimming the bulbs will help. I actually had no idea the h1 bulbs are notoriously bad.

In any case, I have a question.

In the 4th picture showing mildly low hotspot, it appears the cutoff is bowed up or smiling a bit. However, in the 5th picture showing extremely low hotspot, the cutoff is now bowed down or frowning. It seems like moving the hotspot even lower should cause more of a smile? Maybe there's some nontrivial optics going on? Either way, I'm planning on trying this method to straighten out my cutoffs without dealing with shield mods

[HK45]

This is a great post. I just finished my second retrofit (mini h1 7.0, xb bulbs kit from TRS). Everything went well, except the cutoffs are just not right. One is smiling and the other is severely bowed. Im really hoping shimming the bulbs will help. I actually had no idea the h1 bulbs are notoriously bad. In any case, I have a question. In the 4th picture showing mildly low hotspot, it appears the cutoff is bowed up or smiling a bit. However, in the 5th picture showing extremely low hotspot, the cutoff is now bowed down or frowning. It seems like moving the hotspot even lower should cause more of a smile? Maybe there's some nontrivial optics going on? Either way, I'm planning on trying this method to straighten out my cutoffs without dealing with shield mods

Thanks for bringing this up again. Made me remember to add something to this thread. I've done quite a few of the MH1s now and realized another problem which I will update the first post with the first response to your questions.



The 4th pic is of a Morimoto MH1 7.0 with a slightly low hotspot causing the bowing. The 5th pic is a H1 Generic with severely low hotspots. Same H1 type projector, but two different designs and optics. The bowing can be caused by 1 of 2 things or possibly both:

1) The bulb holder is not seated correctly. This can be caused by either the wrong bulb holder or the projector locking nut is not far enough down to accommodate the bulb holder screw retainers. If the latter is the case, this will then throw the bulb holder off kilter and chang the bulb's specified capsule location creating differences in output due to changes in optics. So then changes need to be made in order to get the bulb holder to sit in it's correct position. If the bulb holder is seated flush, the hotspot is still off and the cutoff isn't straight, then it's a bulb alignment issue which H1s are notorious for. So.....

2) The bulb needs to be shimmed to move the capsule back to it's specified location(or at least getting it closer)

[qoloR]

in your initial post you say the alignment will never be perfect because of the angle of the bulb. what is the solution to this? just replace the bulb, or some other solution? one of my generic MH1 is having this problem and I am just curious if there is a way to fix it.

[BozickA]

Great post with pictures never would have thought of shimming a bulb myself.

[Drewski32]

HK45 How common is it to need to shim a morimoto d2s bulb?