Are oem hid projector replacements frowned upon?

[Csmith]

My car has an oem hid system but since it has started to age the output has diminished a lot.
New bulbs helped a little but I think the projector bowl itself has started to lose its reflectivity.
I was thinking about swapping it out with either a bolt-on replacement HID unit reusing my D3S bulbs and ballast or a new LED unit.

Would there be any issues with doing this?

 

[-Virgil-]

Projectors really aren't interchangeably swappable items; please read about why not here. Many or most of the "OEM" projectors offered for sale on the various headlamp "upgrade" websites are fake/counterfeit (the only possible explanation for them having a seemingly endless, infinite supply of a bunch of different "new OEM" projectors that are not actually sold by their makers as separate parts).

If your reflectors are no longer reflective, you can have them re-reflectorized.

 

[Csmith]

Projectors really aren't interchangeably swappable items; please read about why not here. Many or most of the "OEM" projectors offered for sale on the various headlamp "upgrade" websites are fake/counterfeit (the only possible explanation for them having a seemingly endless, infinite supply of a bunch of different "new OEM" projectors that are not actually sold by their makers as separate parts).

If your reflectors are no longer reflective, you can have them re-reflectorized.

That makes sense in the context of a halogen reflector to hid/led projector retrofit but I don't understand why that would be an issue with a housing already designed for hid use.

Perhaps I am wrong but when I think of issues regarding outer lens refraction what comes to mind is upwards light for illumination of road signs.

Since the lens on my unit is already designed to minimize stray light shouldn't the light output with a replacement projector still be compliant?

The one I am looking at is almost identical in output to my current projector with the small exception of having slightly wider output.

I should also note that I can access the projector unit without breaking open the lamp assembly.

Do you think this would be an acceptable solution?
The website you linked was in German and I am not located in Europe.

 

[lightfooted]

My car has an oem hid system but since it has started to age the output has diminished a lot.
New bulbs helped a little but I think the projector bowl itself has started to lose its reflectivity.
I was thinking about swapping it out with either a bolt-on replacement HID unit reusing my D3S bulbs and ballast or a new LED unit.

Would there be any issues with doing this?

Perhaps it just needs a good cleaning. With water and a microfiber towel.

 

[-Virgil-]

That makes sense in the context of a halogen reflector to hid/led projector retrofit but I don't understand why that would be an issue with a housing already designed for hid use.

The issue isn't limited to halogen replaced by HID or LED, it also applies to replacing one HID/LED projector with another, different HID/LED projector. It would be OK if you were swapping in another set of exactly the same projectors -- real ones, not counterfeit knockoffs -- and if you don't have to take apart the headlamp to do so (no "baking" the lens off, etc).

Perhaps I am wrong but when I think of issues regarding outer lens refraction what comes to mind is upwards light for illumination of road signs.

The issue is more with glare and seeing as well as the physical issues (center of gravity, etc) described at the link.

The one I am looking at is almost identical in output to my current projector with the small exception of having slightly wider output.

So not an exact replacement (and again, good odds not a legitimate projector). How are you determining that it's "almost identical in output"? It probably is not, and even if it were, different projectors can arrive at similar beams via very different optics, which means all bets are off with regard to compliance once installed.

The website you linked was in German and I am not located in Europe.

Neither am I, and that hasn't stopped me from sending them lamps and parts for refurbishment and receiving them back in like-new (sometimes better!) condition. This is the internet...we have tools like Google Translate to help us, and even without that, they speak English just fine.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

That makes sense in the context of a halogen reflector to hid/led projector retrofit but I don't understand why that would be an issue with a housing already designed for hid use.

If I change the reflector in my Corolla's headlamps with NOT a genuine Toyota reflector for that model number headlamp, that's a problem. If you're going to change the projector in your headlamp, use the exact one the lamp assembly was designed for.

Perhaps I am wrong

Yes.

Since the lens on my unit is already designed to minimize stray light shouldn't the light output with a replacement projector still be compliant?

If it is a genuine part designed to replace the projector you have. eBay specials and "HID-Litez-R-Us" specials (including "Morimoto") are not that. The lens was designed to work with one specific projector design.

The one I am looking at is almost identical in output to my current projector with the small exception of having slightly wider output.

And you have instrumented tests to prove this?

I should also note that I can access the projector unit without breaking open the lamp assembly.

Which will be great for swapping a genuine part in.

Do you think this would be an acceptable solution?

Getting your existing projectors fixed by a competent company? Yes.

The website you linked was in German and I am not located in Europe.

Yes, but you can use a variety of translator apps and typically Germans have the education level to be bilingual or multilingual. (Heck, a great many schoolchildren in America speak both Spanish and English without issue, and those aren't even in the same language family like German and English are.)

 

[XeRay]

Why not go to a junk yard and find identical ones in better condition ?