FD2R Headlight Conversion

I’m going to start this off by saying this blog post is a bit wordy as I get a bit nerdy about OEM headlights. Nothing special or groundbreaking here, but I wanted to share some of the things I found. If you’re into the nerdiness, hopefully you learn something (none of it will be useful), otherwise skip through the text and enjoy some boring photos, or whatever.

After changing out the body kit on my Acura CSX for the JDM Civic FD2 Type R variants, I was still missing one critical piece which would have completed the front end for me - the headlights. When I first ordered the JDM bumpers and skirts, I didn’t opt on set of JDM headlights, even though I knew I really wanted a set. At the time, I just couldn’t justify spending the money (nor had it) on a brand new set.

While a new set wasn’t exactly out of the question, I knew the original CSX headlights would have worked for the conversion and that kept me content for the time being. Since the only part I was really after was to get rid of the amber markers for clear ones, it just didn’t make sense to replace good working headlights for another pair with a “minor” cosmetic change. Being JDM also meant that the light pattern and cutoff would have been designed for RHD vehicles, it arguably would have been a “downgrade” or been a modification that would’ve worsened light performance - but I still wanted a set eventually.

Cue in Croooober. For those who don’t know, Croooober was Up Garage’s online auction site (think eBay or Yahoo Auctions). I believe it’s been rebranded now and is simply called Up Garage and they’ve stopped the use of the name Crooober. Anyways, I thought maybe I could get lucky with a used pair and restore them rather than getting a brand new set so that I could try and save some money. I spent a few months browsing, but nothing ever caught my eye. Either they were selling singles, or the price didn’t seem right… that wasn’t until I found this set listed as junk…

So why a set of junk headlights you might ask. Well, my idea was that since I only really needed the trim bezel inside the headlight, I thought maybe I’d be able to simply swap that bezel over into my OEM CSX headlights and then I’d have a cheap set of JDM headlights. For this price, it couldn’t hurt to at least try. My OEM headlights are still in great condition, and this way, I could keep the proper LHD light projection by keeping the reflectors the same within the CSX headlights.

I went back through my email and found the link to the original post. This was the exact item I purchased. Note the warning and label they gave these headlights. After shipping and other fees I paid a grand total of ¥14,615 - approximately an equivalent of $140 CAD at the time of ordering. I actually had ordered and received these over a year ago since this time of posting, but only got around to doing the swap and install now.

After about two months, my highly anticipated package arrived. I didn’t really know what to fully expect, but the listing ended up being quite accurate. It mentioned that the headlights had deep scratches, broken tabs, and lens discolouration, as well as being in un-useable condition. For the price, it was a low risk to take.

Props to the Japanese Up Garage worker(s) who packaged these… both headlights were fully covered and wrapped in multiple layers of bubblewrap. Even for something they consider to be literal trash, they still put in maximum effort and care to package them extremely well. There was probably more packaging used to package these than what Honda would have used to ship a brand new OEM set.

Honestly, I was pretty happy with what I ended up receiving. I mean, in the condition they arrived, they definitely aren’t something I’d install onto my car, but I do think the condition of these were much better than I had anticipated and what I think the listing suggested. The right hand side lens had some minor scuffing on the lens and a broken tab. The left hand side headlight did show more damage with the lens being hazed. I don’t think these are actually that bad and could be restored to a useable state. While these had already exceeded my expectations, what I really needed to find out is the condition of the inside bezel trim and I’d only find out what they really looked like only after I open them up.

This headlight mounts with 3 bolts. Here along the bottom was the broken tab that attaches the headlight to the fender and headlight support bracket.

You can see that they even included the broken tab with the headlight. Could have very well plastic welded these tabs back on to be useable. Again, not something I’d want to put on my car, but for someone who wouldn’t mind - these would have been a great project to restore and then you’d have Type R headlights for dirt cheap. All it needs is some tab repairs and a really good polishing of the lens.

Fast forward, I finally get around to opening up the headlights to do the swap. Left is the JDM Civic Type R headlight and on the right is my stock Acura CSX Type S headlight. These photos do not capture the real state of these headlights (I think they photograph better than they are) but it may give you a slight idea of what I was dealing with.

Another side by side comparison of the Canadian CSX Type S headlight vs JDM Civic Type R. Minor changes, but most notable is the gloss black vs black chrome trim, and the amber vs clear corner reflector.

Upon inspection, I started finding some of the differences between the two variants. Here in the JDM lamp, there is some “steps” in the very corner of the lens, and also steps in the plastic cover for the turn signal.

Looking at the low beam reflector bowl, there are also differences in the design. The JDM one has a pattern of thicker sections that span across the lower floor of the bowl, and along the inside of the bowl, there is a larger area without a break in the reflector.

The Canadian spec headlight has an even thin serration pattern spanning across the entire lower floor and has more sections on the inside of the bowl. There’s also a small peak or dip on the top side of the bowl, whereas the JDM version has this feature missing.

I’m not a light doctor, so I don’t know exactly what the positioning or design within the bowl does for light refraction. I can only assume that people much smarter than me designed these reflectors to stay in accordance with traffic safety laws and regulations in their destined countries.

All I know is the factory light output is trash and a cutoff is non-existent in my CSX headlights. Even though these are HIDs, the halogen style reflector is ass. I was interested to see if there would be any difference in the output pattern between the two, but I didn’t have enough equipment at home to do any bench testing.

Looking on the backside of the headlight, there are also some differences. On the JDM headlight, the light adjustment knob is located along the top edge pictured here. The JDM headlights also do have auto-leveling. Something the CAN market never got.

I did get the motors included with the JDM lights, but I’m missing the wiring, controller unit, and all the necessary hardware required to make it work. Would have been cool to have, but really a small luxury that I’d probably never notice.

Here is the CSX headlight. Notice how the provision for the adjustment screw used on the JDM light is blocked off here. Also, notice how there is a bulb socket apparent here, but not on the JDM one, which is blocked off instead.

Flipping the JDM housing around, you can see the adjustment screw which pivots the reflect bowl.

On the CSX one, there is an additional reflector trim piece here and absent from the JDM one. The CAD spec actually requires that section of the light to be illuminated by a lightbulb, whereas the JDM spec only acts as a reflector.

The clear reflector. Notice how this one is completely sealed off on the back side.

The amber lens. This section sits infront of the reflector pictured above.

Both headlights opened up now and ready for some swapping around. CSX on top, JDM below.

The JDM turn signal section has a lens with steps in it. Again, I’m guessing it’s for light refraction and/or diffusion.

Behind the housing lens, I initially thought there was nothing infront of the turn signal bulb when I looked through the lens. It’s a clear piece of plastic without any steps or markings in it.

After a bit of going back and forth with which reflector bowl I wanted to go with, I ultimately chose to stick with the stock CSX reflector. It really came down to the fact that the ones from my CSX were cleaner. It’s hard to tell from a photo but the chrome on the JDM reflector showed signs of hazing. This typically happens from excessive heat, and there’s no way (that I know of) that can restore the brightness and shine to the chrome. Staying with the CSX reflector also ensures I maintain the proper light projection for LHD vs RHD roads. Not that it really matters in this case cause these headlights have shit output.

The stock CSX reflector bowl. Much better condition than the JDM ones I got. The high beam/day-time light between the two are identical and do not have any differences that I could see.

A bezel/trim comparison. Gloss black and amber 👎, black chrome and clear 👌.

Another interesting difference is that the JDM HID sits at an angle, while the CSX HID sits perpendicular to the bottom edge. I don’t know what affect or significance this has. Otherwise, the rear side of the reflector bowl looks identical in all other aspects.

Sealed and all back together. Canadian spec reflectors and headlights with JDM Type R bezel and clear corner. This probably is the best combo of light performance and cosmetics I could ask for with what I had.

A before photo of the stock CSX headlight.

An after with the new headlight installed… The weather wasn’t too nice the day I installed these so I didn’t take the car out that day, so no photos of the entire car yet. It’s really a small change, but it makes a whole ton of difference to me and in some ways completes and cleans up the front end. A mod that only a very few will ever notice, but it’s the minor details that really make things special to me.

Now the last part from the front end missing is a hood, and then the exterior will really be complete…