We were all young once, made a few wrong decisions in life, and just because you have a cheap HID kit in your headlights right now does not mean it is ever too late to make up for it and do it the right way. In this guide we walk through every component you need from The Retrofit Source to take that old, glaring HID setup and turn it into a proper projector retrofit. A good HID lights to projector retrofit concentrates all that scattered glare into a wide, sharp beam pattern so you can actually see the road and avoid blinding oncoming traffic. We have tested these parts, we have installed them, and we are going to break down exactly what goes into a complete kit.
Why Upgrade From a Cheap HID Kit to a Projector Retrofit
If you have been running a plug-and-play HID kit in a reflector housing, you already know the problem. The light goes everywhere except where you need it. Reflector housings were designed around a halogen filament, and when you drop in an HID bulb, all that extra output blasts out in every direction. That is the glare that annoys other drivers and, ironically, does not even help you see better. The fix is not to give up on HID entirely, it is to give that HID source a proper projector to focus through.
The best part is that this is a real upgrade path, not a throwaway. It is never too late to correct a bad HID kit upgrade and do it the right way. A projector takes the same light and shapes it into a controlled beam with a defined cutoff, so you get a bright, wide pattern in front of you without dumping light into everyone’s rearview mirror. Let us walk through the four core components you need to make that happen.
Step 1: Start With the Projector
The very first thing in any projector retrofit is, you guessed it, a projector. Something like the Morimoto Mini D2S bi-xenon projector is what we recommend, not only because it is an excellent performer, but because if you are new to this, it is very easy to install. That combination of output and simplicity is exactly what you want on your first build.
Being a bi-xenon projector, this unit handles both your low beam and high beam functions from a single bulb using an internal solenoid, so you do not need a separate high beam source. That is one of the reasons it stays so manageable for a first-time builder. It is a clean, self-contained light engine that you drop into your existing headlight housing.
How the Threaded Mounting Step Makes Install Easy
Here is the detail that makes this projector so beginner friendly. These projectors have a threaded mounting step on the back side that makes installation pretty straightforward. You do not need any elaborate brackets or custom fabrication to get it locked into place.
The basic sequence looks like this. First, take out your old HID kit bulb. Then open up the hole that is in the back of the housing a little bit wider so the shaft can pass through. Next, put the threaded shaft through that opening. Finally, lock it onto the housing with the included hardware. That is genuinely the core of the mechanical mount, and it is why a projector retrofit install is far more approachable than most people assume when they first look at it.
Step 2: Dress It Up With a Shroud
Once the projector is inside of the headlight, we have a variety of shrouds to finish the look. The shrouds are nothing more than decorative trim bezels that go over the front of the projector. Their whole job is aesthetic, but that does not make them optional if you care about the final result.
With a shroud in place, the projector looks like it was meant to be there from the factory rather than something you rigged up in your garage. It covers the exposed edges of the projector and blends it into the reflector bowl of your headlight so the whole assembly looks intentional and clean. This is the piece that separates a professional-looking retrofit from an obvious DIY job, and it is one of the easiest ways to elevate the finished product.
Step 3: Choose Your D2S Bulb
Now, you are probably not going to be able to reuse the HID bulbs that came with your HID kit once you put in the projector. That is because most projectors take D2S bulbs. D2S bulbs are very common when it comes to OEM HID systems, and because of that, there is a super wide variety of them available at a lot of different price points.
Pricing ranges from about 50 dollars for the Morimoto XB HID bulbs all the way up to around 200 dollars for something like the Philips XV bulbs. That spread gives you real flexibility depending on your budget and how much you care about premium color and output. If you want to browse the full range of options, you can look at a D2S bulb retrofit selection and compare the color temperatures and price tiers side by side.
Budget Versus Premium D2S Options
The Morimoto XB HID bulbs at the entry price are a solid, dependable choice that will get most people exactly what they want out of a retrofit. Stepping up to something like the Philips XV bulbs brings a premium option for those who want the best that the D2S standard has to offer. Because they all share the same D2S base, you can start with a budget bulb and swap up later without touching the rest of your retrofit. The projector, shroud, and wiring all stay in place, so the bulb is a flexible, upgradeable component down the road.
Step 4: Bridge the Gap With an HID-to-D2S Adapter
Here is a step a lot of first-timers overlook. Because your HID kit’s ballast will not be able to power this new bulb, since it cannot connect with the little D2S connectors on the back, you are going to need one last part. That part is an HID-to-D2S adapter, and it is what completes the electrical side of the retrofit.
What this adapter does is allow you to take the outputs from your cheap HID kit and connect them to the back of the new D2S bulb that your retrofit requires. It bridges the two so your existing ballasts can properly fire the new bulb. Without it, you simply cannot get power from your old kit to the new projector’s bulb. If you are still shopping ballasts or you need to replace a failing unit as part of the job, you can review an HID kit to make sure your power source is up to the task.
Putting the Complete Retrofit Kit Together
So basically, with a set of projectors, shrouds, bulbs, and adapters, you are going to have everything that you need to do a full high performance retrofit. That is the entire recipe. Four categories of parts, each one doing a specific job, coming together into a system that outperforms any drop-in HID kit in a reflector housing.
When you assemble all four, you get rid of that old HID kit, improve your light output, and cut the glare from your headlights. The projector focuses the beam, the shroud makes it look factory clean, the D2S bulb supplies the light, and the adapter ties it back into your existing wiring. That is the difference between throwing a bulb in and blinding people versus building a headlight that genuinely performs.
Recap of What You Need
To make it simple, here is the shopping list for anyone moving from a cheap HID kit to a proper projector retrofit. You need a projector, such as the Morimoto Mini D2S bi-xenon unit that installs with its threaded mounting step. You need a shroud to cover the front and make it look factory. You need a D2S bulb, anywhere from about 50 dollars for the Morimoto XB HID up to around 200 dollars for the Philips XV. And you need an HID-to-D2S adapter to connect your old ballast outputs to the new bulb. Get those four pieces and you have everything required for a clean, glare-cutting retrofit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the first part I need to upgrade from an HID kit to a projector retrofit?
A projector itself, such as the Morimoto Mini D2S bi-xenon projector, which the transcript recommends for both performance and ease of installation.
Why is the Morimoto Mini D2S projector recommended for someone new to retrofitting?
It has a threaded mounting step on the back that makes installation straightforward. You widen the existing hole in the headlight housing, push the threaded shaft through, and lock it on with the included hardware.
What do shrouds do in a projector retrofit?
Shrouds are decorative trim bezels that fit over the front of the projector so it looks like it was factory installed rather than rigged up in a garage.
What kind of bulb do these retrofit projectors use?
Most projectors take D2S bulbs, which are very common in OEM HID systems and are sold in a range of price points, from around $50 for Morimoto XB HID bulbs up to about $200 for Philips XV bulbs.
Why can’t I just reuse my old HID kit’s bulbs and wiring with the new projector?
Your existing HID kit’s ballast output connectors won’t connect to the back of the new D2S bulb, so you need an HID-to-D2S adapter to bridge the two and power the new bulb correctly.
Meet the Experts Behind The Retrofit Source
Tyler Jordan – Technical Writer
Tyler works directly with the TRS product R&D team, bringing over a decade of automotive aftermarket lighting experience to every article. An avid enthusiast with hundreds of personal installations under his belt, his content is built on hands-on knowledge from the workbench, not spec sheets.
Caleb Morgan – Marketing Manager
Caleb brings over a decade of automotive lighting industry experience and works with TRS customers daily on the front lines. With hundreds of personal lighting installations and a direct feedback loop from real buyers, his content addresses the questions and problems that actually matter.
