Wow!
So anyone that's been to my shop (both locations) within the past 11 months has seen this build ongoing and in different stages. Yup...you read that right.....11 months! It's not that it took 11 full months to complete this build...I just didn't want to rush this job...I wanted this to be the best RLX Retro done. In total, I think I have somewhere around 75-80 hours into these lights alone....where most guys would just throw these in and call it a day...I hand fabricated multiple panels and parts to make these look as OEM as possible....not to mention all the wiring that needed to happen to make these truly unique.
Here is what was done to #ProjectMonaLiSia (LiSia....Civic Si.....get it?):
Acura RLX Quad-LED Pod Retrofit (yeah, there is 8 lenses..but only 4 main leds behind)
Baja Designs S2 LED Pod High Beam Retro
RGB Demon Eye Accent Lighting
Customized Internal Panels/Pieces for OEM look/Fit
Multi-Section Sequential LED Turn Signal Strip behind a Smoked Diffusor Lens
Two-Tone OEM Matched Internal Paint
LED 'DRL' Strips on Inner and Outer Section of Shroud
Ghozt Module for Start-up/Turn-off, Show Mode, Parking and Sequential Turn Signal Mode
Morimoto LED Fog Pods
So, the retrofit started out normal......CUT EVERYTHING OUT and start with an outer frame....reconsider life and regret everything you've ever done! Drink Coffee, calm down...start modding!
Mounted the RLX pods with a custom adjustable height adjustment bolt to maintain OEM adjustments.
From there, I figured out that the OEM RLX High Beam pod would not fit without throwing off the low beam pattern...due to the OEM Honda Civic Si Outer Lens having a bump out to it...the last set of pods would have been RIGHT behind it, causing distortion. So, the client upgraded to Baja S2 LED Pods for even MORE brightness and a smaller housing to retrofit.
After that was done, I needed to start modding ALL the internal Civic shrouds to fit around the RLX shrouds...so I created multiple removable panels to cover the internal guts (most would skip this step). The hardest part was the High Beam LED pod....I hand fabricated that out of left over parts from the Civic Reflector shroud and ABS plastic.....it covers everything and looks very OEM.
After all the internal parts were fabricated and ready for paint, I custom fit the smoked diffusor tube to the Civic shroud and mounted multiple led strips to them. They are wired up to the ghozt module for full control. I also install 2 strips behind the custom clear lens above the high beam spot and hidden on the far outside portion of the Civic shroud for running lights.
Everything got a good coat of Matte Black, except the RLX inner shrouds..which got the OEM Red/Orange that the Si has.
I also crammed RGB LEDs into each RLX pod for the Demon eye accents....this was a VERY tight fit...tight tight tight!
Next came the issue of what to do with the MASSIVE holes on the backside that were cut to provide clearance of everything. I taped off what was needed and made custom fiberglass patch panels...then bonded everything with epoxy that can kinda sorta come off if needed. Everything was painted black so you couldn't tell much was done...but once on the car, all that work is hidden.
From there...everything carefully went back together like a giant puzzle.
I had 12 hours of custom re-wiring to do on the car itself just to make these as plug-n-play and troubleshoot-easy as possible....but it's all worth it once the lights can come out within seconds and you'll never confuse which plug goes where.
I did my signature RGB Demon Eye Display Interior Vent lighting as well...so client can see what his headlights are doing just by looking at his HVAC vent
The client was suuuuper stoked with the final outcome...."Better than I could ever Imagine" was dropped at least a few times.....which makes ALL the hours of work and lost sleep totally worth it.
I have a feeling you'll be seeing more of this car in the future...since this is his first exterior mod to the car....we've got tons planned already!
So anyone that's been to my shop (both locations) within the past 11 months has seen this build ongoing and in different stages. Yup...you read that right.....11 months! It's not that it took 11 full months to complete this build...I just didn't want to rush this job...I wanted this to be the best RLX Retro done. In total, I think I have somewhere around 75-80 hours into these lights alone....where most guys would just throw these in and call it a day...I hand fabricated multiple panels and parts to make these look as OEM as possible....not to mention all the wiring that needed to happen to make these truly unique.
Here is what was done to #ProjectMonaLiSia (LiSia....Civic Si.....get it?):
Acura RLX Quad-LED Pod Retrofit (yeah, there is 8 lenses..but only 4 main leds behind)
Baja Designs S2 LED Pod High Beam Retro
RGB Demon Eye Accent Lighting
Customized Internal Panels/Pieces for OEM look/Fit
Multi-Section Sequential LED Turn Signal Strip behind a Smoked Diffusor Lens
Two-Tone OEM Matched Internal Paint
LED 'DRL' Strips on Inner and Outer Section of Shroud
Ghozt Module for Start-up/Turn-off, Show Mode, Parking and Sequential Turn Signal Mode
Morimoto LED Fog Pods
So, the retrofit started out normal......CUT EVERYTHING OUT and start with an outer frame....reconsider life and regret everything you've ever done! Drink Coffee, calm down...start modding!
Mounted the RLX pods with a custom adjustable height adjustment bolt to maintain OEM adjustments.
From there, I figured out that the OEM RLX High Beam pod would not fit without throwing off the low beam pattern...due to the OEM Honda Civic Si Outer Lens having a bump out to it...the last set of pods would have been RIGHT behind it, causing distortion. So, the client upgraded to Baja S2 LED Pods for even MORE brightness and a smaller housing to retrofit.
After that was done, I needed to start modding ALL the internal Civic shrouds to fit around the RLX shrouds...so I created multiple removable panels to cover the internal guts (most would skip this step). The hardest part was the High Beam LED pod....I hand fabricated that out of left over parts from the Civic Reflector shroud and ABS plastic.....it covers everything and looks very OEM.
After all the internal parts were fabricated and ready for paint, I custom fit the smoked diffusor tube to the Civic shroud and mounted multiple led strips to them. They are wired up to the ghozt module for full control. I also install 2 strips behind the custom clear lens above the high beam spot and hidden on the far outside portion of the Civic shroud for running lights.
Everything got a good coat of Matte Black, except the RLX inner shrouds..which got the OEM Red/Orange that the Si has.
I also crammed RGB LEDs into each RLX pod for the Demon eye accents....this was a VERY tight fit...tight tight tight!
Next came the issue of what to do with the MASSIVE holes on the backside that were cut to provide clearance of everything. I taped off what was needed and made custom fiberglass patch panels...then bonded everything with epoxy that can kinda sorta come off if needed. Everything was painted black so you couldn't tell much was done...but once on the car, all that work is hidden.
From there...everything carefully went back together like a giant puzzle.
I had 12 hours of custom re-wiring to do on the car itself just to make these as plug-n-play and troubleshoot-easy as possible....but it's all worth it once the lights can come out within seconds and you'll never confuse which plug goes where.
I did my signature RGB Demon Eye Display Interior Vent lighting as well...so client can see what his headlights are doing just by looking at his HVAC vent
The client was suuuuper stoked with the final outcome...."Better than I could ever Imagine" was dropped at least a few times.....which makes ALL the hours of work and lost sleep totally worth it.
I have a feeling you'll be seeing more of this car in the future...since this is his first exterior mod to the car....we've got tons planned already!
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