Write-Up: HID Conversion

deekster_caddy wrote:

Anything altering the OEM headlights can be determined illegal. It's not like the old H4065 bulb where it didn't really matter what it was installed in, the light pattern was the same. Today every headlight housing gives off a different pattern of light. Many of these HID replacement fit kits do not aim the bulb or light pattern, so the end result is you blind oncoming drivers, which by all means should be illegal and you should be run off the road into a fucking tree for it. If you have taken the care to redesign the reflector so the light pattern does not blind oncoming drivers, good for you you don't need to be run off the road. But the rest of these assholes do.

Take a look at a car that came with OEM HIDs and look at the light output. I'll be happy to show you our Passat anytime Rick, the light pattern has a very clear cut line cutting off the upper left portion of light so it doesn't shine into oncoming traffic.

Oh I agree with you as you have put it so delicately. I can't stand the cars that scatter light all over blinding me at night. It sucks. I made sure I aimed them a little down and also shined them on the garage door to observe the pattern. It is a little scattered but nothing horrible. Light output is def improved.

I know what you mean with cars that came with OEM HID. My other car has OEM HIDs and the cut off line and focus are great because of the projectors on it. They are also self leveling.



If I could get projectors for the Riv I would in a heartbeat. Didn't someone say on here that the Euro Rivs came with projector headlights?

In the UK and i think in Europe when the car goes for an inspection our light pattern and aim is one of the items that are tested. If the aim or pattern is off it fails and corrective action has to be done.

"" Last but certainly not least are the headlamps which have the same basic requirements as the other lights, security, condition etc but also have a requirement regarding aim. Basically, this is checked with the headlamp aligner which when correctly positioned in front of each headlamp in turn will, with the lamp on, display the projected beam image which has the following requirements: flat horizontal illumination just below the “straight ahead��?, a “kick up��? image rising above the horizontal and away to the left, the point at which the image kicks up must be just to the left of the vertical centre line. Any deviation from the above will result in a fail unless it can be corrected via the “height adjuster control��? by the driver or by simple adjustment which is now permitted to be carried out during the test. The other variation from the norm is that headlamps are permitted to show either a yellow or substantially white light, anything else will fail. ""

The UK dipped lamps dip to the left (cos we drive on the wrong side of the road) USA headlights generally have a flat horizontal illumination pattern.

Just my two cents worth

Off topic (not really), but I like the new Enclave with the HID's that turn the corner with you. They also have a little door inside the headlight which covers half the outlet to just light up the street. When you hit the high beams, the "door" opens and blinds everybody

Believe it or not, directional headlamps are an old idea. The center lamp on the '40s Tucker was coupled to the steering.

More recently, BMW has been using this idea over the past 5-10 years.

I know that......was just sayin

Thanks for sayin', cause I had no idea the Enclave had them!

lol.....it's actually an option.

Doesnt Mercedes S-Class models have that active cornering feature as well? Where the lights turn the direction of the steering wheel?

Ordered my kit this morning. Spoiler, HID lights, now I need to find a stereo and some exhaust tips!

I got a friend in the stereo industry too You need to get a hold of me......

KillaKeninaRiv wrote:

Ordered my kit this morning.

Where and who did you order the kit from.
Can you provide a link.?

I really tried to like this HID thing - spent a couple days looking for the best deal, but sadly I opted out. I like the idea of brighter headlamps, and I do like the cooler color range. The thing that got me right off the bat was the price difference between the Phillips kit $350+ and the Chinese versions ~$50. That just doesn't sit right with me.

Especially with the problems reported in this thread and others out there, it seems quality is a troubling issue. I looked for a Phillips adapter kit to fit our OEM lamp housings - doesn't exist. They don't make them. I wondered why that was the case.

Then I researched the way the HID bulbs are supposed to work with projectors, and I understand how someone could be blinded by an HID bulb in a halogen lens. The projectors create a sharper edge to the beam, keeping the light from blinding other drivers. Makes sense.

If I ever have time to build a set of projectors, I'll try the HIDs. If not, I'm happy with my high output halogens. I can see very well by them, and I actually prefer the gradual fade over the sharp edge you get with projectors.

what is the adapter kit for? My HID bulbs plug right into the factory slots.
As for the quality issues, there is no refuting that. HID's will not have the lifespan that an oem halogen does. With that said, the difference between the $350 kit vs the $50 kt may be the warranty period, R&D costs or name.
i see brand new BMWs, caddys, MB's etc with factory projectors with one light out all the time. i would be willing to bet the auto mfg are using the top shelf ballasts to keep from replacing them as often, but it seems like no one has perfected the ballasts to keep them from failing entirely.

End result, i guess this may be one of those "you have to try it" things b/c even with the inconvenience of having to swap out a bad ballast once a year i still would not go back to silverstars or any other halogen i've seen.

An "adapter kit" is what I call a pair of HID bulbs that's retrofitted to be mounted in a factory halogen housing - practically every plug & play HID kit on ebay falls into this category. But Phillips doesn't make one, and they're clearly the leaders in this area. To use the best technology, you must use a projector-type set-up specifically made for HIDs.

I'm not knocking anyone who's tried and liked it. It's just not for me, unless I can fab a reflector set-up. I agree a ballast going out is a minor inconvenience. If I ever have an HID set-up, I'll have a back-up spare ready to go.

I have a feeling that Vinny is going to be getting flashed a lot... The Web is full of the same thing that AA and others have said on here a lot: the reflector-type headlight modules that come in cars with "normal" bulbs don't contain/control the light of HID bulbs like the projector-type assemblies that HID's are equipped with from the factory.

More importantly, and closer to home, those photos on page 16 sure make it look like there is a lot of light spillage all around the lenses, when is should be tightly pointed forward that close to the car.

Mark,

I hardly think the photos on page 16 reflect the illumination pattern of the car! the lens of the camera was probably fogged up!

to properly show what the lamp light pattern looks like park the car on a flat surface that is perpendicular to a wall. Drive the car as close to the wall as poss without hitting the wall. Now draw a white line across the wall at the height of the head lamps making a cross where the center of the lamps are. now reverse away in a straight line and at 20 feet put the head lights on (in the dark of course) now photograph the pattern on the wall. At 20 feet the illumination should be 6 inches to a foot below the horizontal line and when the brights are on they should illuminate centered on the line. You can cover the dipped lights to check the brights. Until i see a pattern that clearly demonstrates poor alignment i am keeping my HID's. i will try and take some pictures of both the car and my UK goldwing light patterns...i get flashed on the wing if i don't turn the lamps down at night! they dip to the left!!!

NIgel,

I'm all for your coherent photo method.
But a fogged-up lens? Why then isn't the rest of the photo foggy?
The steering wheel, right behind the glare, is quite clear...

Nothing against the leaders in HID's like Philips and so fourth but there's no reason to spend 4x more money on a HID system. If it turns on and off and looks the way you need it to, it's doing it's job. You can get warranty's from these lower price kits too. Mine came with a 3yr warranty through the vendor on ebay. I bought them actually a little over 3 years ago and had no problems. Granted, there is a lot more out there now with more potential for junky stuff.

For the price, the convenience of installation, the longevity and the sharp cut-off of the beam,
I'd still recommend the Philips HIR bulbs that I installed recently...

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/exterior-f12/silverstars-eurolights-x-treme-power-other-halogen-bulbs-t172-180.htm#101594

Quote :

Nothing against the leaders in HID's like Philips and so fourth but there's no reason to spend 4x more money on a HID system.

Unless you think the Chinese stuff is low quality, like I do. I've read around many forums, and the Philips stuff doesn't break down as much - likely because it's built to better standards. And there are ethical reasons not to buy Chinese product that is just a copy of the originals from HELA and Philips. At these low prices, they didn't do the R&D, and have very little knowledge of the product they are manufacturing and selling. Sometimes you don't even get the product that's advertised. This means you could order the product once and then order it again and receive something very different. Maybe it lights up and seems to work, but there's no guarantee someone else will have the same experience.

My HIDs from DDM arrived yesterday. Got around to hooking up all the harnesses so the only thing left to do is mount the ballast and plug the factory harness in. The weather here is crud so the actual unvealing of these bad boys will have to wait until tomorrow. I'm excited though. If this goes well, the Regal will be getting a projector retrofit along with HIDs.

See page 9 of this thread.

HIDs are in! Easy as hell with the writeup on this site (thanks to IBx1 for that ). I plan on getting some pics tonight. Only hangup was the plug that goes to the existing headlight harness. It needed to be flipped - which I've heard happens sometimes.

I have a question for the guy that's been running these lights for three years with no problems. Are you running any type of voltage booster? I know that flouroscent ballasts are sensitive to voltage, and if others are running a high accessory load (ie defrost, seat heater, ect) it could be causing the ballast to burn out early due to insufficient voltage.

Nope, no problem on my other cars. They are going strong.

Rick, the lights look great!