HIDs Upgrade

[CDsDontBurn]

I did this a few days ago. It's been a LONG time since I last made a new thread, so I thought this would be a good way to come back, lol.

Lights on. Another crappy Sylvania Silverstars I've been buying went out. This was the last straw with them and me still buying them.

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/9968/dsc00072ui.jpg

Bumper off

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/6199/dsc00073q.jpg

HID Kit

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/2544/dsc00075l.jpg

First attempt at ballast install.

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/471/dsc00076br.jpg

Close up of first ballast install attempt. The wire harness does not reach the ballast so I had to figure out where else to install the ballast.

Figuring this part is what took me the longest of the whole install.

http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/7333/dsc00077n.jpg

Another angle of my first ballast install attempt.

http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/527/dsc00078ez.jpg

The OEM intake resonator. I was thinking about leaving it off. I decided against it though.

http://img808.imageshack.us/img808/6941/dsc00079zh.jpg

Figured out the driver's side. Wire harness reached after cutting off some tape.

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/4896/dsc00080wo.jpg

Both ballasts installed =)

http://img864.imageshack.us/img864/263/dsc00082ief.jpg

Lights on, camera flash on.

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/6460/dsc00083i.jpg

Lights on, camera flash off.

http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/1273/dsc00084dt.jpg

6000k

http://img862.imageshack.us/img862/8752/dsc00085sq.jpg

[CDsDontBurn]

Ballast going stealth status.

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/7379/dsc00088wb.jpg

Ballast going stealth status, part 2.

http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/422/dsc00089ph.jpg

Passenger wires from HID bulbs plugging into their harnesses.

http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/3751/dsc00092ln.jpg

Drivers side.

http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/4941/dsc00093pm.jpg

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/8076/dsc00094v.jpg

http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/6664/dsc00095e.jpg

Seriously, you have to know what you're looking for here.

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/1113/dsc00096is.jpg

[Blacksmith1]

just keep your high beams off when behind me, or i'm break-checkin' ya.
wow! those are way brighter than stock for that model....

[CDsDontBurn]

My HIDs are brighter than my high beams now :-p. These border on the "gray" area for legal on my car, haha. I gotta adjust them still (point down a little) and then take some night time pictures.

I'm extremely happy with these as they are much more brighter than stock like you said. I can actually SEE the road now!

[Pablo 54]

Wow. Reminds of those lights on the spacecraft in Close Encounters. How bright is too bright, might I ask?

[CDsDontBurn]

"too bright" would be having lows, highs, and fogs all on 55w HIDs....

[Joshua_Mahr]

I just reciently did the same conversion on my Dodge Ram 1500. So much better. I did lights and fogs. Makes me wonder how I drove at night before I had these things. I will throw up a pic later.

[James86]

looks very nice now get some dirt on the wire tubing so they don't look so clean and shiny
and how much did that kit run ya?

[CDsDontBurn]

The kit ran me $55 for everything.

I want to get some fogs for my car and then put those on 35w HIDs as well from the same company. I'm thinking 3500k color for the fogs though.

[Blacksmith1]

stay away from anything in the blue range for fog. it will blind you. amber, not yellow, is best. if you are going to mount them at leat make sure they can do the job. otherwise they will ljust be aux driving lights.
as you might surmise i haven't the foggiest idea ( ;) )what those XXXXk color range #'s mean

[James86]

wow thats a really good price

[borschtBomber[SS]]

I've been thinking about doing HIDs on my car. Need to look around at prices cause like you guys said I have heard its a huge difference at night.

[CDsDontBurn]

stay away from anything in the blue range for fog. it will blind you. amber, not yellow, is best. if you are going to mount them at leat make sure they can do the job. otherwise they will ljust be aux driving lights.
as you might surmise i haven't the foggiest idea ( ;) )what those XXXXk color range #'s mean

The color spectrum starts at 2200k all the way up to 12000k. Basically, the lower the color, the more yellow it'll be. The 3500k I mentioned earlier is an amber type color. Most cars out there right now have a bulb color between 4000k and 4500k in color which is why they are a bit yellow and not white. There are higher colors, but sometimes they don't list them with a number and instead just give them a name. Here's a link for you to reference. :)

http://www.ioffer.com/i/hid-xenon-light-05-06-07-conversion-headlight-2-carbulb-156675195

This will only give you an idea of what it'll look like, but an image on a screen does not compare to what the light output will actually be ;).


;237700']
wow thats a really good priceI've been thinking about doing HIDs on my car. Need to look around at prices cause like you guys said I have heard its a huge difference at night.

lol, $55 is a good price. Here is where I bought my HIDs from. I bought the Advanced HID kit towards the lower side of the bar on the left.

http://www.thirdgp.com/

The "Slim HID" kit is by the same company, Advanced HID. The difference is that the ballasts are much slimmer, probably about 0.5in thick. The ones I got are the regular ones which are about 1.5in. thick. Cost was a deciding factor in as to why I got the standard ones.

The JDL brand HIDs are supposed to be one of the best in the industry. As a result, they're also like $200, lol. I'd have to compare some of those JDL ones to my Advanced HID brand to see how much better those are and if they are worth $200.

[James86]

those might be overkill for my civic hybrid but for 55 bucks I might be able to convince the wife

[coxmaster]

Just keep in mind everybody, these are likely going to be illegal unless you properly retrofit them with projector headlights..

[CDsDontBurn]

Just keep in mind everybody, these are likely going to be illegal unless you properly retrofit them with projector headlights..

It'll only be illegal if it's the wrong color, and the wrong color is typically 7000k and higher. 6000k though is a gray area as there is still some white in it and not enough blue to make one think of its legality.

And why do you say they need to be retro'ed when they're plug and play? The OEM harness plugs into the ballast, the ballast plugs into the new bulbs, and the new bulbs plug into the OEM bulb socket of the headlamp.

[coxmaster]

Actually in most cases its not the color that makes it illegal. Projector headlights (the ones with the glass orb to project the light) are used in all OEM applications of HIDs for a reason. HIDs without a projector throw very erratic light patterns due to the way the light is created and dissipated. The resulting erratic light patterns turns into glare which can temporarily blind others.

Each state has their own laws on light pattern for headlights (aka, how high they can be aimed) but in every single application of non-projected HIDs I've ever seenn this light pattern has not been met. I love the look of HIDs but without projectors you are risking a ticket. It might not be common in your area, but just keep in mind that it is infact possible to get a ticket

[James86]

knowing my luck I'd get a ticket first day

[PP Mguire]

Actually you can get all the way up to 15k. 8k is a yellow type color, 10k is a diamond white, 12k is a light blue, and 15k is a very bright deeper blue. Technically, any car outfitted with aftermarket HID's is illegal but since so many people have been putting kits in cops typically ignore it. If you are a car coming at me in my truck with HID's on low I will turn my brights on. I absolutely hate HID's and think they should be outlawed because they blind oncoming traffic on smaller roads. I figured since we got a truck it wouldn't bother me since I'm higher up but it still does and we even have a slight 2" lift. I'm putting HID's in my Mustang and they will be the 10k Diamond White package. The difference will be these will be my extra lights that you see on a Shelby package (the 2 fogs in the lower center and the 4 "eye" type lights). If anyone with HIDs comes at me on these back roads I'm turning all 6 on lol. My main lights will have a Xenon white convert kit. Legal, and not annoying but still better than the typical yellow dim stock lights.

[CDsDontBurn]

Actually in most cases its not the color that makes it illegal. Projector headlights (the ones with the glass orb to project the light) are used in all OEM applications of HIDs for a reason. HIDs without a projector throw very erratic light patterns due to the way the light is created and dissipated. The resulting erratic light patterns turns into glare which can temporarily blind others.

Each state has their own laws on light pattern for headlights (aka, how high they can be aimed) but in every single application of non-projected HIDs I've ever seenn this light pattern has not been met. I love the look of HIDs but without projectors you are risking a ticket. It might not be common in your area, but just keep in mind that it is infact possible to get a ticket

I'm sure that there are cars out there that come right off the lot with HIDs w/o projectors straight from the lot. One example I can think of is the Nissan Maxima. The current models have no projectors but their bulbs are significantly brighter than most other cars straight off the lot.

The HID bulb itself does not create an erratic light pattern. That would have to depend on the condition of the headlamp housing itself, particularly the reflective surface of the housing. If the housing has been sun damaged, cracked, or anything of the sort would be what causes the erratic light patterns, not the bulb itself.

You are right about the laws being different from state to state or region to region, but I do not think it's in regards to the angle of the light, but rather the color of the light. I know that here in California they could care less about how you point them but they do care about the color of the light being emitted.


Actually you can get all the way up to 15k. 8k is a yellow type color, 10k is a diamond white, 12k is a light blue, and 15k is a very bright deeper blue. Technically, any car outfitted with aftermarket HID's is illegal but since so many people have been putting kits in cops typically ignore it. If you are a car coming at me in my truck with HID's on low I will turn my brights on. I absolutely hate HID's and think they should be outlawed because they blind oncoming traffic on smaller roads. I figured since we got a truck it wouldn't bother me since I'm higher up but it still does and we even have a slight 2" lift. I'm putting HID's in my Mustang and they will be the 10k Diamond White package. The difference will be these will be my extra lights that you see on a Shelby package (the 2 fogs in the lower center and the 4 "eye" type lights). If anyone with HIDs comes at me on these back roads I'm turning all 6 on lol. My main lights will have a Xenon white convert kit. Legal, and not annoying but still better than the typical yellow dim stock lights.

You have your color temps wrong. Did you look at the link I provided two posts ago? Temps start at 2200k which is a dark orange, then 3000k, 3500k, (the 3,000k temps are less orange and more yellow such as amber), 4000k, 4,300k, 4,500k (the 4000k range temps are typical OEM bulb colors) 5,000k (bright/diamond white), 6,000k (white with a small amount of blue in it), 7,000k (blue), 8,000k (light purple), 9,000k - 12,000k (these colors are different shades of purple).

If a car can shine in on you that's in the oncoming traffic lane, then they have the lights pointed wrong. Especially if you're in a truck.

6 sets of lights is a bit overkill, but so awesome when you'd have them all on at the same time, lol.

[PP Mguire]

Anything under 4000 is considered Halogen colors. 6000+ is HID colors. 10k would be Daimond white with a very light blue tint. 15k is a blueish purpleish color and 12k is blue according to this HID Xenon chart.

http://www.bfxenon.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/colortemp.jpg

Thing is, resellers often mix up the colors and the place for the conversion kit for my Mustang marks them as 10k so I'll be buying "10k" when in reality they are more like 6k. 8k is a yellow, 10k white, 12k light blue, and 15k deep blue purple like I said lol. (This is an HID conversion website btw so sorry if what I said made no sense earlier)

HIDs have a wider area of lighting so one car going down their side of the road on a back road in the country will light up the whole road without brights. Funny thing though is I get bad glare even if I'm on US 287 and there is a good 20ft median in between going and coming. Aiming really has nothing to do with it when you are dealing with lights this bright which is why I don't like them. Take a 100lumen LED flash light and aim the light in a dark room to the left or right of someones head. They will still get glare directly in their eyes even if the thing isn't aimed right at them and squint. HID's have this same effect for oncoming traffic on the roads. What's worse, is if an HID equipped car is behind you all of your mirrors get glare in them making seeing behind you impossible at night.

Basically, the only reason anybody I know is getting HIDs is cause they want to blind other drivers that have HIDs as well. Just to be clear though, I have the same opinion for Texas sized trucks with a mass amount of fog lights turned on so I'm not just biased against HIDs. I just like driving safe, and being blinded by someones ridiculous need for extremely bright lights is not safe IMO.

Yea I know it's overkill, but it is to make a point. I wont ever use them unless I'm shining HIDs back at someone with HIDs on my back roads. Regular Xenon white lights will be fine, 2 of them.

[coxmaster]

I'm sure that there are cars out there that come right off the lot with HIDs w/o projectors straight from the lot. One example I can think of is the Nissan Maxima. The current models have no projectors but their bulbs are significantly brighter than most other cars straight off the lot.

The HID bulb itself does not create an erratic light pattern. That would have to depend on the condition of the headlamp housing itself, particularly the reflective surface of the housing. If the housing has been sun damaged, cracked, or anything of the sort would be what causes the erratic light patterns, not the bulb itself.

You are right about the laws being different from state to state or region to region, but I do not think it's in regards to the angle of the light, but rather the color of the light. I know that here in California they could care less about how you point them but they do care about the color of the light being emitted.



California actually does have laws regarding the aiming and orientation of high/low beam lights. The CA DMV site explains most of it. Once again though, it all just depends on the cops in your area. Certain cops are more likely to ticket you for it than others. As for the Maxima, IIRC the ones that come with Xenon bulbs do in fact come with projectors..

[Joshua_Mahr]

You have your color temps wrong. Did you look at the link I provided two posts ago? Temps start at 2200k which is a dark orange, then 3000k, 3500k, (the 3,000k temps are less orange and more yellow such as amber), 4000k, 4,300k, 4,500k (the 4000k range temps are typical OEM bulb colors) 5,000k (bright/diamond white), 6,000k (white with a small amount of blue in it), 7,000k (blue), 8,000k (light purple), 9,000k - 12,000k (these colors are different shades of purple).

If a car can shine in on you that's in the oncoming traffic lane, then they have the lights pointed wrong. Especially if you're in a truck.

6 sets of lights is a bit overkill, but so awesome when you'd have them all on at the same time, lol.

This is the correct color charting. I have 6000K HID in my headlights and fogs. They a pure white with a ever so slight tinge of blue. I would reccomend no other.

[Aughera]

I did this a few days ago. It's been a LONG time since I last made a new thread, so I thought this would be a good way to come back, lol.

Lights on. Another crappy Sylvania Silverstars I've been buying went out. This was the last straw with them and me still buying them.



Bumper off


HID Kit


First attempt at ballast install.


Close up of first ballast install attempt. The wire harness does not reach the ballast so I had to figure out where else to install the ballast.

Figuring this part is what took me the longest of the whole install.


Another angle of my first ballast install attempt.


The OEM intake resonator. I was thinking about leaving it off. I decided against it though.


Figured out the driver's side. Wire harness reched after cutting off some tape.


Both ballasts installed =)


Lights on, camera flash on.


Lights on, camera flash off.


6000k


Nice job done. But what is your thought about led lights

[CDsDontBurn]

Nice job done. But what is your thought about led lights

completely missed this post, my bad.

LED lights where? for the parking lights up front, or tail lights? If for parking lights up front, I think they'll be pretty sweet as long as the LEDs are pretty close together, otherwise, no.

If for the tail lights, then no. Not really a fan of them, especially for my car as I've seen other people with modded tail lights on a 6th gen Accord coupe like mine. IMO, they're not that nice looking.

[PP Mguire]

It's funny this post was brought up. I've been considering some legal projected HID with halo light and smoked for my 2000 Mustang. Projectors make all the difference in HID lighting I've noticed.