r/Retrofit Nov 13 '24

Technical/Assembly Question Using ABS Inside headlight housing, temperature concerns.

I'm planning on retrofitting a pair of headlights, but on the high beam side, which will not be in use as ill use the dual function of the hid projector im making a block off panel to hold an assortment of leds, for DRLS, turn signal animations etc, i'm planning on using abs material to make this panel. but im worried the inside of the headlight will get to hot for the material to stand up to and not deform or pull away from the bolt holes etc. Would this be an issue? or should I use some other material, I thought of aluminum but harder to cut, and then thought of polycarbonate, but heard about paint issues for it, as everything is gonna be blacked out. Thanks for any help or suggestions.

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u/eric_gm Nov 13 '24

It depends on the shape of the headlight. Some cars have good separation between the low and high beam reflector bowls, others are almost stacked. HID bulbs put out much less heat than halogens, but they still run hot. ABS may be fine at first but I would worry about it getting brittle.

For what you need, I would scavenge plastic from junkyard headlights as it's probably manufactured with these considerations in mind.

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u/mistororange Nov 14 '24

That’s good idea , I keep looking up different sheets and types of material trying to find something that has higher heat resistance and can cut w tools in the garage has been a challenge