Hey Jaguar Forums.


I've been working on a project for a little while now. I've been slowly upgrading my HID headlights and thought that I would share the project to others. I was not happy with the Light out from the factory system when compared to current headlights.


The first project I did about a year ago was to replace the factory fog light bulbs with an HID kit. I didn't take pictures at that time of that bulb upgrade but I bought a kit that uses the same size bulbs from TheRetrofitSource. The bulb change required a little customization but not much. I try to get a picture of the final assembly.


In the pic you can see the difference between the factory bulb and the HID retrofit. The difference was really quite surprising. Before I could barely notice the fog lights being on. After it was like having 2 sets of low beam headlights. The fog lights were actually almost brighter than the factory low beams.

 

After upgrading the fog lights, I had to do something with the dull headlights. The first step was to remove the housings from the car to work on. After taking the front bumper off, the headlights come out pretty easy. Once I had the headlights out I started by polishing the housings clear plastic. In the pictures you can see during the polish and after I finished. They were pretty bad and required some wet sanding to get through the worn out layer of UV coating. After I polished them I had a body shop spray a coat of clear over them to provide a little UV protection again in the future.

 

In the second finished picture you can see the dull HID projector lens. That was my next project to go after. I ordered a set of Clear Lens also from TheRetrofitSource, as well as a new set of Philips HID bulbs to start fresh because I didn't know how old the old bulbs were and they seemed a little dull.

In the first pic you can see the new clear lens I ordered. There was a slight issue with fitment at first because of a manufacture defect that made them slightly too small, but after talking with TheRetrofitSource, I was able to get the correct sizes sent to me. I ordered a set of these https://www.theretrofitsource.com/co...l#.VuBSeup0wdU
They were almost exactly the same size as the factory ones and the closest ones I could find.

 

Once you have the headlight housings removed from the car the projector housings come out from the back very easy. There is just 3 screws holding them in. After removing the projector housing, I disassembled them and removed the lens. Here is a comparison of the factory lens vs the clear lens using just a LED flashlight for testing. I think its obvious the factory lens is the first pic. I was surprised by the texture on the factory lenses.

 

Pay no attention to the beam pattern because it changed do to the way I held the flashlight, but the cut off line was nice and sharp with the clear lens. Also the clear lens were noticeably brighter.

 

In the first picture here you can see the projector housing back together with the clear lens installed. It took some work to mount the lens do to it not being exactly the same size as the factory lens. It was a tiny bit smaller and I had to make my own gaskets from some hard plastic to get them secured.


After I reinstalled the projectors I noticed that the beam pattern is off do to the lens shape and is spacing, so I had to refocus the lens. In the second pic you can see the adjusted projector with some spacer washers. I had to tap the housing and use screws to secure it now vs the metal clips that used to be there. I think I decided to go with 3 1MM thick washers to give me the focus results I wanted. But I may decide to readjust later. I will have to try them for a while and see.

 

Here's the final results for now. The definitely are brighter and give off more light now. I also replace the daytime running light with an white LED and a LED turn signal bulb to complete the look in the front. I will report back on how night driving is after I get the car pack on the road. As you can see in the picture I'm still working of the car. The water pump failed on me and I was in the middle of replacing that and got side track with my headlight project. Hopefully parts show up and I have her back on the road next week.

 

Very nice! I polished the headlights on mine also, but didn't remove them from the car as you did. Yours is a much more thorough job.

What's the source for your LED bulbs for the indicator and running lamp? Did they require any modification or just a straight swap out?

 

Yes! Can't wait to see the new beam pattern!

 

I have done HID upgrades in the past but what I think now that is the best is the new Vision X LED headlights. They are amazing and come with a lifetime guarantee.
Vision X 7" Round LED Headlight kit

 

I sourced my LEDs from Amazon. I tried to look for some quality so that hopefully the LEDs last for awhile. I think the daytime running lights were Philips T10s and signal indicators were from Amazon.

 

The Vision X headlights look pretty good but are a little pricey. Plus they would require a lot of modification to fit my application. They look good for a 7" round headlight replacement. They do look very bright and have a nice wide area coverage, but they also look a little short. There doesn't seem to be much on the low side. Their beam pattern seems more like a wide spot light. HID's seem to have a much better beam pattern. I think the Vision X would make a great fog light that compliment a main Low Beam.

 

Every possible accessory included to upgrade your X350 halogens.
Purchased From The Retrofit Source. Have receipt .
All New.
All Genuine with Hologram on Both Mini H1 Projector Boxes. Left Hand Drive
Includes
2 New in box Morimoto H1 LHD Projectors with Gatlin Shrouds

Morimoto H7 Elite System
morimoto Capicatator link
XB 55 Ballast x2 ( 50 W )
XB Igniter ( AMP) x 2
H7 XB 5500k Morimoto Bulbs x 2
H7 Canbus x2

Also Morimoto Ferrite Ring, Silica gel Moisture Packs, Dremel ez lock starter kit and Goretex patches.

Capacitor Link

Some additional Noise supressor cables and a couple of other application specific cables to assure Error free operation.
Al in was about $460.
Will sell for $275 Shipped
Thanks, Eric

 

Here are some current shots after focusing the Len spacing and adjusting the height. You can see the beams have a sharp cut off and wide dispersion. They are really a big improvement over the factory lens. For what is really a $40 lens change and some labor you get a big improvement.

To put it into perspective, when I started and first upgraded the fog lights to HIDs, they were much brighter than the factory low beams to the point where I'd turn off the fog lights and think that just the DRL were on. After replacing the lens, the low beams are so bright I hardly notice the fog lights adding much.

The first pic is about 6 feet from garage. The second pic is about 30 from the fence. As you can see the further you get the more the left and right overlap.

 

Here's another daytime shot. The lights look a little hazy because is was raining at the time. But you can see the color of the DRL and the fogs match the low beam well, they're a nice bright white.

 

nice look.

 

Muddybear, thank you for sharing this perfect mod. I just recently made the same mod and I confirm the difference in light is more than you switch from standard to +50% bulbs for example. Light feels much clearer and sharper like on fresh cars. This mod I made with help of my friendly electric. He focused lenses with a little color flicker effect with blue/violet border just for fun as perfect focus had a little orange border. Another thing for those who decide to make this mode to be prepared for some surprise like was in my case. One of my headlight was changed for some reason by previous owners and got newer edition (transparent headlight body instead of black on old one, see pics) as the lens module was not assembled by U-brackets which can be easily dismantled but was factory riveted. Though both of them are branded with Valeo sticker. Also the lens was secured differently in metal housing, it was rolled around completely. But we managed to disassemble it and place the new lens back securely. The next difference is lens itself has tighter Fresnel step and closer to clear surface than older one but still Fresnel. Also I noticed that quality of reflector was much better in new riveted lens module as it had no defects in chrome coating around working area - may be the technology of production upgraded. Nonetheless I'm more than happy with the result of "clear lens mod" on our cars and recommend this as bang for the buck deal. Thank you again for sharing it!