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HID kit....which one is perfect?

10K views 34 replies 16 participants last post by  The_Ghost 
#1 · (Edited)
Alright, been reading posts from inception of the forums about HIDs. I want to add HIDs to both my normal headlights and my fog lights and I'm extremely confused!!! I have several questions:

1) Will I need anything other then the kit itself? In other words, is there any special resistors that I need to make sure the lights don't blink?
2) Will I have to re-aim my headlights?
3) Do I want HIDs or Xenon bi-directional?
4) I want a slight blueish tint...is that the 8000k?
5) Since many of the websites are no longer available, which brand do you recommend? I saw what looks like a great kit on hidheadlightkit.com, but are there cheaper, just as good kits?
6) Can I use the same kits for both headlights and fog lights?

I know these questions have been answered, but many answers are 2+ years old now and I just figured maybe there were better processes and products out there... Thanks!
 
#2 ·
You are talking replacement bulbs, right? Not projector retrofit?

Must everyone I know says don't do it. The bulbs are not correct for reflectors designed for filament (Xenon) bulbs - the light source is far more extended in a HID bulb than a filament and so the light disperses in completely different directions causing dangerous glare to on comers and reduced intensities for you.

If you want blue, (which I would argue against, too, by the way) then go with blue-tinted xenon bulbs.
 
#3 ·
I am talking about doing an HID kit or a Xenon bulb. I guess I'm leaning HID. Is there issues with HID? Do the lights project further then they should since this will be my daily driver for the next 6 months or so...
 
#4 ·
Its not the bulbs, its the headlight housings, without projector housings, the glare to on coming traffic will not only be unbearable, but in some states illegal

Sent from my IdeaTabA2109A using AutoGuide App
 
#5 · (Edited)
The only kit out there that truly works with our car is the kit sold by GM Roadster.com The kit is the only true plug and play with both high and low beans that still work and are still HID. They are brighter than our stock lights and do not require replacing the stock housings. They are not projectors, but are bi-zenon HID headlights. Here is a direct link. They sell fog lights too. Don't buy any you see sold on ebay, they may work but the hi/lows never work correctly, and they are not real plug and play. Ask me how I know. ;)
http://www.gmroadster.com/index.php...category_id=6&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=68
 
#6 ·
hmmm....interesting. I pass another Solstice on the way to work every morning and he has HID/Xenon in a blue hue....very easy on the eyes compared to many other OEM headlights. I guess I may have to flag him down one morning and find out what he's done that's different from everyone else then.....he even has them in his fog lights. Like I said, very easy to look at compared to some of the OEM headlights!
 
#7 · (Edited)
You are obviously confused as to HIDs and Xenons and headlight colors.

HIDs (High Intensity Discharge) are actually arc lamps - the light is produced by a very high voltage electrical discharge across two electrodes. They need a driver circuit (usually called a 'ballast') to pump up the car's 12V to many thousand V, as well as kick start the arc at turn on. They don't turn on as fast as regular bulbs, so the high-beam/low-beam effect is usually just a single bulb that is moved by a solenoid to be in roughly the correct reflector position to suit the beam pattern.

'Xenon' bulbs are regular filament bulbs, just like the ones you already have. The 'Xenon' part refers to the halogen gas inside the bulb surrounding the filament. The Xenon idea is that it improves the longevity of the bulb, or allows a hotter filament (brighter light) with the same intensity as regular halogen gas mixtures in OEM bulbs. Jury's out for that though. All regular bulbs nowadays use halogen gas with different percentages of Xenon. The high/low bean effect is two separate filaments in the bulb, positioned at specific points in the reflector to provide the appropriately focused beam.

In both of the above cases, the color of the light is down to physics and roughly the same for all bulbs in the class. The FAKE "8000K" figures are completely bogus, the colors being produced simply by adding colored paint/tint (filter) on the outside of the bulb envelope (glass). As such ANY of the stupid colors actually REDUCE the intensity of the light you get out by filtering some of the light wavelengths out. Thus for blue lights, some of the red and orange wavelengths are simply stopped/removed, leaving a (dimmer) blue effect.

The lights you've seen on your way to work are probably cheap eBay blue bulbs (regular filaments), not HIDs at all. You can get those yourself, but I warn you they are NOT long lasting and blow fairly quickly. You can also get brand name blue-er bulbs, like Silverstar for example. Much better quality, though expensive. But even they quote shorter lifetimes (on the packet) because they run brighter filaments, with the resulting shorter life.

Here for example, SilverStar Ultras (note the blue-tinted glass, and the "Xenon" on the package): Sylvania H13 SZ SilverStar zXe High Performance Halogen Headlight Bulb (Low/High Beam), (Pack of 2) : Amazon.com : Automotive
 
#20 ·
HID's

You are obviously confused as to HIDs and Xenons and headlight colors.

HIDs (High Intensity Discharge) are actually arc lamps - the light is produced by a very high voltage electrical discharge across two electrodes. They need a driver circuit (usually called a 'ballast') to pump up the car's 12V to many thousand V, as well as kick start the arc at turn on. They don't turn on as fast as regular bulbs, so the high-beam/low-beam effect is usually just a single bulb that is moved by a solenoid to be in roughly the correct reflector position to suit the beam pattern.

'Xenon' bulbs are regular filament bulbs, just like the ones you already have. The 'Xenon' part refers to the halogen gas inside the bulb surrounding the filament. The Xenon idea is that it improves the longevity of the bulb, or allows a hotter filament (brighter light) with the same intensity as regular halogen gas mixtures in OEM bulbs. Jury's out for that though. All regular bulbs nowadays use halogen gas with different percentages of Xenon. The high/low bean effect is two separate filaments in the bulb, positioned at specific points in the reflector to provide the appropriately focused beam.

In both of the above cases, the color of the light is down to physics and roughly the same for all bulbs in the class. The FAKE "8000K" figures are completely bogus, the colors being produced simply by adding colored paint/tint (filter) on the outside of the bulb envelope (glass). As such ANY of the stupid colors actually REDUCE the intensity of the light you get out by filtering some of the light wavelengths out. Thus for blue lights, some of the red and orange wavelengths are simply stopped/removed, leaving a (dimmer) blue effect.

The lights you've seen on your way to work are probably cheap eBay blue bulbs (regular filaments), not HIDs at all. You can get those yourself, but I warn you they are NOT long lasting and blow fairly quickly. You can also get brand name blue-er bulbs, like Silverstar for example. Much better quality, though expensive. But even they quote shorter lifetimes (on the packet) because they run brighter filaments, with the resulting shorter life.

Here for example, SilverStar Ultras (note the blue-tinted glass, and the "Xenon" on the package): Sylvania H13 SZ SilverStar zXe High Performance Halogen Headlight Bulb (Low/High Beam), (Pack of 2) : Amazon.com : Automotive
I"ve had HIDs in my headlights and foglights now for three years. I have never had to go to Highbeam with the fog's on. Nor have I had anay problems with burnout. I'm not sure now, but I believe I purchased them both from HID Nation???......:chill::cool:
 
#9 · (Edited)
I appreciate all the help!!! I was a little confused. I originally thought that I could just replace my bulbs with xenon bulbs, but then I found websites selling "xenon kits" that showed ballasts with them. So I thought maybe there were 2 different types of xenon bulbs. But you have cleared that up Tomato....thanks!! I will look at GM roadster and look at xenon bulbs as well. I really don't want to wire anything, so I will probably go with the xenon bulb. But I want foglights too no matter which route I go. I've always thought it looked stupid to have HIDs or xenon and then OEM fog lights.... Just my $0.02..... :lol:
 
#10 ·
But I want foglights too no matter which route I go. I've always thought it looked stupid to have HIDs or xenon and then OEM fog lights.... Just my $0.02..... :lol:
If you go the SilverStar (or similar) route, you can also get the matching bulbs for the fog lights (type 898 bulbs).

It sounds like you want to drive around with your fogs on all the time, which is another of my pet peeves (fog lights are for fog - not showing off). But that's your democratic choice.
 
#11 ·
Yes, I do drive with my fog lights on because I can see more of the road. It's for safety reasons for me....not showing off.... Thus being in a suburb (rather rural) where we don't have many bright street lights it allows me to see the people that walk in the road because of lack of sidewalks. You probably don't do much driving in the dark, where 95% of my driving (about 20k/year) is done in the dark. The fog lights help a lot.
 
#12 · (Edited)
We can agree to disagree... I found hardly any difference in lighting with fogs turned on rather than off with the OEM lights. Now I fitted HID projectors, though. I cannot even tell if the fogs are on at night.



The downside with these - as all projector HIDs - is the sharp cutoff in lowbeam mode, that necessarily limits the 'throw' to avoid blinding oncomers. This is because the lowbeam uses a shutter to cut off the top half of the light (not a moving bulb like HID bulbs in reflectors have to use).

This is the high beam throw with the shutter out of the way:

 
#13 · (Edited)
So I wasn't confused....The xenon do need a ballast and to be wired into the exhisting headlight system. The Sylvania ZXE are halogen with a touch of xenon in them (by the way, the only OEM fittable bulb I was able to find that said it had xenon in it), but still work with the OEM plugs. It appears that there are many more xenon kits out there then HID nowadays....am I wrong? And the color of the light (in ballast bulbs) is controlled by the amount of other gases, not painting it or molding it out of colored glass like halogen bulbs. Correct me if I'm wrong....

Explain this:

The ones above at GMroadster are HID, no xenon
http://www.tunersdepot.com/Pontiac_Solstice_HID_Kit.htm - these are xenon and require a ballast
http://www.pegasuslighting.com/xenon-light-bulbs.html - these are xenon and don't require a ballast

AAAUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
#14 ·
OK, just IGNORE the word Xenon.

Xenon is a gas, used in both types of bulbs (I didn't go that deep before). Usually I've seen Xenon used as a flash marketing term when talking about filament (or incandescent) bulbs, but it's true that Xenon is used as the 'filler' in HID bulbs too. Thus don't base anything on the term Xenon.

Bottom line:
  • Filament (AKA incandescent) bulbs run at 12V, are the same type of bulbs the car came with and are a direct replacement for what you have.
  • HID bulbs use a high voltage electrical arc and need the ballast to produce that high voltage and require re-wiring and or adapters to work in your car. If used in projectors (the ONLY way you SHOULD use them) they also require physical and mechanical changes to the headlamps to mount the projectors.
  • In both cases, the weird and wonderful colors that are available are produced by tints on the outside of the bulbs and REDUCE the light output.
Buy SilverStars (or similar) and call it good. Otherwise, spend $350 (if you DIY) up to $1000-1200 (if you have someone else convert them) and go to HID projector retrofits.

There's your clear choice. DO NOT USE HID BULBS IN YOUR STANDARD REFLECTORS!
 
#15 ·
TS is correct again! NO ONE makes a HID bulb replacement kit that will work correctly in our headlights without modification to the headlight assembly, TS did it, it not an easy task. To simplify things look at an HID bulb, it is very long much longer than a standard bulb, this places the filament in the wrong place in the reflector it is way to far forward, that's why it is so blinding, it is not in the "focal point" of the reflector. I you have ever used a Mag Lite and turned the head to see the shape of the beam change what you are doing is moving the bulb in relation to the focal point of the reflector, pretty easy to see how the shape of the beam changes. You don't want to do this with your headlights. The Hi/Lo HID kits actually move the bulb to change from hi to lo.

I have the Sylvania Silverstar Ultras and have tried lots of others, I can actually see improvement in visibility with these new bulbs as opposed to even the regular Silverstars. By the way there is a difference between a fog light bulb and a driving light bulb, they have different focal points, fog lights light more to the side (they have a short fat pattern) than driving lights which emit a longer narrower beam.
 
#16 ·
Interesting topic.

Speaking for my own experience,
Martin installed the GMR kit on my car at the 2009 nationals. Since I am not an expert nor necessarily understand what I thought I knew before TS started educating us . .. I have lights that are considerably brighter and reach farther in high beams than my stock lights. I have high and low beam. There is a black box for each "light" that he installed under the hood.
It works great and I have been happy with the results. I have been told by friends that the lights appear blue tinted and are visibly brighter to oncoming traffic but not painfully so.
 

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#17 ·
To each their own and for their own reasons. All I know is there is a major "delta bravo" in a 4x4 with a major lift kit on it that has blazing bs lights in both his headlamps and foglamps which are both on every morning - fog or not - that are !#$#!@#$ blinding when I'M IN MY 3/4 TON PICKUP!

(I think it might be better when I'm in the Solstice because I'm under the beams. lol!)
 
#19 ·
Have you considered contacting a vendor that would make the lights the way you want them, and do it right? It would probably cost more, but you would surely be satisfied with the outcome, and not end up with some sort of compromise. I had the headlights on my solstice converted to HID projectors by Travis at Trax Customs-and couldn't have asked for better service or results. He asked what I wanted, gave me different options, and delivered a first class product that was basically plug and play.
 
#21 ·
Did a YT search, watched some Solstice HID installation vids, but wasn't sure if it was the GM Roadster product or a different vendor. Regardless, be nice to know product name and before and after retrofitted results vids.
 
#22 ·
#23 ·
I can say from experience, after trying some of the "xenon" tinted bulbs on the gxp, they do not produce any greater light output and do not truly replicate the color or clarity of an hid setup. I was partially trying to avoid having to do a projector retrofit because once I get going my addiction to modding doesnt stop! Needless to say, I gave in and went with a full retrofit and the difference over stock or the crappy drop in hid kits is astounding!

For those unsure about tackling this job or are concerned about the complexity as I was, check out the mini h1 projectors from the retrofit source. They fit through the existing holes in the headlights where the stock bulbs mount and have a threaded post that secures them easily with a nut. Absolutely no cutting or other modifications to the headlights are necessary other than splitting them apart to install the projectors. Of course this would be the time to black out the inside like the coupe lights. Another member mentioned a product and I just want to bring it back up because it worked so well. It's called Easy Off oven cleaner, I sprayed the chrome parts and let it sit for 10 min, wiped it off and the light bezels are perfect gloss black, without the hassles of painting.

One more thing about the fog lights. Hids are not ideal becsuse they take some time to fire up, plus the glare will be even more annoying to other drivers. I have the same pet peeve as others about people driving with fogs constantly, it's all too common here and really pisses me off. Our fogs are worthless and I see no difference with them on, especially with the hid retrofit. I just installed yellow bulbs and converted them to drls so my hids aren't always on.
 
#25 ·
Given the feedback I've read here, I've decided to put in HIDs in my 2k7. I'm going with the retrofit source with the below parts. What do you guys think?

1 x Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III Kit (H1) (MiniH1III) = $280.00
Shrouds 1) Mini Gatling Gun (standard model)
Ballasts Morimoto 3Five (35w)
Wire Harness Relay: H13/9008
Re-sealing Glue Yes please
Projectors LHD (North American Standard)
Halos No Thanks
Bulbs H1: Morimoto 3Five 4300K

I have a spare set of headlights I'm going to be working on over the next few weeks (I'll also have to take a look at TomatoSoup's DRL mod link too).
 
#27 ·
Good choice! Those parts are correct. I used silicone I had to reseal the lights, but regardless of what you use, make sure to do it well. The DRL mod is very easy and makes good use of our useless fog lights. One caveat, when performing the method outlined in Soup's DIY, when you are ready to test the results be sure the parking brake is off. I found this out the hard way and spent much time backtracking my work because I thought I had gone wrong somewhere. Luckily Soup passed along the information that the DRLs will not come on when the parking brake is engaged.
 
#28 ·
Can the chrome bezel that goes around the HIDs be blacked out to? I was thinking an extra benefit of HIDs was not just brighter headlamps but smaller [/SIZE]looking headlamps?

As I've posted many times in the past I just wished GM would have gone with slim concept headlamps. (. .)
http://david.sickmiller.com/picture...olstice_Concept_soon-to-be_production_car.jpg

Instead the huge stock ones make it look like someone is goosing it. (O O)

Maybe the Kappa II will correct that.:devil:
 
#29 ·
Can the chrome bezel that goes around the HIDs be blacked out to?
They could, but it's difficult. First, they are stainless steel, which presents it's own challenges. Second you'd really have to mask the lens and paint them in place, because a) they're a bugger to get off, and b) even more of a bugger to get back on (which you probably wouldn't be able to do without scratching the paint)!

I know all this 'cos I had to take one of mine off to straighten a dent on the face.
 
#30 ·
Since I started this post, and was told not to do an HID conversion because it blinds on-coming traffic. I must admit, I have watched all on-coming traffic with HID, be it projectors or HID and I (from my personal experience) have noticed that the factory HIDs are WAY more blinding then aftermarket. How do I know the difference? Because I know my cars. And I can say from my experiences that the factory HID is blinding compared to aftermarket. Does that mean I'm going to install them? No..... Just adding my $0.02 like other people have done here......
 
#32 ·
I appreciate your opinion but it's a tough call. Were the aftermarket installations done more recently and thus better adjusted? When you say aftermarket, are you only talking about HIDs in reflector housings, right? (where the entire housing is lit up like a ricer?)

It's not a subjective detail though, the housing for the bulb is specific to the kind of bulb. I only have 2.5 inches of ground clearance so even factory projectors are directly in my face but the fact remains that there are functional differences between the two.

Here's a highly detailed thread with diagrams and everything

This thread even suggests the Lord himself removes the testicles of those that break this holy decree.

As you can tell, this is a hotly-debated topic between those run HIDs in halogen housings and the rest :)
 
#34 ·
I read a very informative article written by an engineer that basically said the concept of a conversion kit to HID was wrong. To oversimplify it,he stated that the reflective surfaces in our stock light housings were not in proper alignment with the filament of an HID bulb. So even though there are many kits that fit, the concept will not work as intended. Having had one of these kits( dealer installed prior to my purchase) I thought it would be better, but it just annoyed oncoming traffic. Visability was no better than a good halogen.
 
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