Write-Up: HID Conversion

Eldo wrote:

GMFreak8 wrote:

Eldo wrote:

We understand that you're using them as DRLs "only", but you're still talking about HID intensity in place of 1/2-power, series-wired halogen DRLs. The Kelvin number is indicative of color, not lumens/brightness...

The higher the kelvin number the brightness does decrease. Either perceived or real it doesn't matter. All I know is they seem about the same as the half powered lights in brightness and definitely are not as bright as my 4300K "dims" that don't get me flashed at night much less the day.

Yet these units are sold as legitimate low-beam replacements?

Yeah. The 4300K is what most OEMs use. Albeit in a projector style housing and not reflective, but a lower aim pretty much takes care of that.

Rickw wrote:

Which bulbs do you plan on using for the DRL's once you get the relay part figured out.

What rating on the HID's, just so we can compare to the halogens, if possible.

I'm using 12K bulbs in the DRLs with 35 watt ballasts.

Not the exact thing to show it, but it'll help. As you can see the 12K bulb through either perceived or real results puts out a much softer less blinding light than what a 4300K bulb does.

AA wrote:

Here is the big concern a lot of us have about HIDs being used in a conventional lens. If you are able to see further with HIDs in the standard lens, it means the light is bright enough to blind oncoming traffic. You don't have this problem with projectors, because they have a sharp beam edge cut-off.

I know what you mean. Which is why I adjusted my lights to aim to the right and down away from any oncoming traffic. I've found that mitigates a lot of the tradeoffs. Not to mention the Riviera light housing seems to do a pretty good job with the "clouded" scatter type lens versus the clear see through lens (excuse my lack of technical terms) at blending the light output and making it less harsh to oncoming drivers..

So if you've aimed the lenses down, how will you have brights (long-range) when you need them? I'm a little confused on how you can aim an HID so that you don't blind people, yet don't have a need for brights.

AA wrote:

Kelvin DOES indicate brightness for a given wattage level.

I've had no interest/research in HID's, but since wattage between bulb-types isn't strictly comparable, don't they also give a lumen-rating?

AA wrote:

So if you've aimed the lenses down, how will you have brights (long-range) when you need them?

The lights are still aimed to give me plenty of long range vision but not enough to irritate others. I haven't been flashed once since I finished my month long realignment. But for super dark roads, I use my fogs for longer range visibility. I have them aimed more as supplemental driving lights than fogs. Works great for that, and I flick them on and off like brights.

Quote :

I've had no interest/research in HID's, but since wattage between bulb-types isn't strictly comparable, don't they also give a lumen-rating?

If you compare same wattage (35W) HID bulbs, you will notice the lowest and highest Kelvin values have the lowest Lumen outputs. The middle band of 4800-5000ºK (not shown below) has the highest Lumens.

Hi guys, im looking around to getting some hid light kits but there is so many out there. I found kits between $40 to $240, why the price gap? Anyone here ever hook some up and what brand did you use? I did some research and know the difference in color, im thinking going with the 8000k kits..some more input would be very helpful..have a great holiday

The $40 kits are absolute garbage. Made in a Chinese sweatshop garbage....A decent kit runs around $150. My $.02

Yea thats kinda what was thinking too. but i didnt want to spend $200 on a kit to find out i can get the same kit for much less..Hey you get what you pay for right..

I bought my hid kit for my monte carlo for 35.00 plus shipping from ddm tuning. Here is the link:

http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DDM-HID-Kit-Slim-Ballast-35W-or-55W

They worked great never had any problems, easy install. I would give this company 5 stars, they had great customer service too. So no offense abaddon- but i havent had any problems with $40 and talking to alot of other people who bought the kit say the same thing. If you are talking about the ones from ebay then yes but I loved ddm tuning.

There is no correct "HID conversion kit" for our cars, only HID bulbs that will fit into our conventional headlamp lenses. Currently the majority of these "kits" come from China - the leading quality HID producers (Phillips, Hella, etc.) understand that an entire redesign of the headlamp assemblies are required to properly convert to HID, and so there are none available. Not only are the Chinese kits low in quality (many cases of failure reported), the glare can also be a hindrance to other drivers on the road. Without a projector lens to properly focus the beam, HID light will scatter unless the lenses are aimed down (this results in less of the light being usable).

It is possible to upgrade our lens to correctly support HID, but no one has done it thus far. I would be a much stronger supporter of HID in our cars if there was a projector lens available. See video on upgrade earlier in this thread.

AA is right. The Riv does not support HID's correctly. The HL bulb in our cars has no "cap" or anything on it. It just allows light to spill out all over the place blinding everybody else. Cars like that get my high beams in their face, or, I slow down (if they're behind me) and high beam their rear view. $40 or $200, you're going to piss ppl off.

whoa thats some good info!!!! So what is a good upgrade?? i dont want piss people off, just better light..silverstar i think only work good with the high/low beams..i had them in our van for about 2 years now...used them in a corsica with seperate beams did not last more than 8 months.

Yeah, the SilverStars (Sylvania) are known to burn out for some reason. Philips makes a comparable bulb called Blue Vision or something like that. Haven't heard anything bad about those.....yet.

Take a look back in this thread at some of the pics (page 19 and page 1). You'll understand what AA means about proper lenses for HID's and light spillage.

There's a video tutorial on page 9:

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t2812p120-write-up-hid-conversion

As a funny aside, I ended up being "that-guy" when I first put my 35W 6000K HIDs in the Riv. One of the headlights was aimed at oncoming traffic and although normal halogens probably wouldn't be a worry... people began flashing me all the time. So I adjusted them down and away so things are kosher now with me and other traffic on the road. hahaha

Curt, if you want an alternative to HID's, get EuroLights. I had them on my Riv after going through 5 HID ballasts because I was pissed at never having them fully working on my car and being out $50 every time after the first year. They look very clean and had the same color as my 6000K bulbs before.

Here's the page for the EuroLights: http://eurolamps.com/eurolamps/xenon-charged.htm Ironic that I wrote this writeup, isn't it?

Thanks ILAN..this is why i love this site...everyone has helpful info...thanks guys

No problem. Aaron can second my recommendation of the EuroLights. No HID glare, no HID ballasts, and they're not too expensive. $35/year(and they do last almost exactly a year every time) is nothing compared to having to buy a new HID ballast for $50 up to twice a year(in my experience) if it burns out or doesn't fully function properly.

Curt, take a look at my writeup on the HIR-2 bulbs... so far I've been very happy with them, they don't piss off other drivers at night, or burn out in 150 hours.

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t172p195-silverstars-eurolights-x-treme-power-other-halogen-bulbs?highlight=halogen

Quote :

Aaron can second my recommendation of the EuroLights. No HID glare, no HID ballasts, and they're not too expensive. $35/year(and they do last almost exactly a year every time) is nothing compared to having to buy a new HID ballast for $50 up to twice a year(in my experience) if it burns out or doesn't fully function properly.

I enjoyed the Eurolights for a while, but now I run the Phillips X-treme Power. The trade off is the X-tremes aren't as blue as the Eurolights, more of a white like the SilverStars, but they're slightly brighter, and use less power. So far they are lasting a long time, too.

Write-Up for Phillips X-Treme Power bulbs:

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t172p165-silverstars-eurolights-x-treme-power-other-halogen-bulbs

AA wrote:

I enjoyed the Eurolights for a while, but now I run the Phillips X-treme Power. The trade off is the X-tremes aren't as blue as the Eurolights, more of a white like the SilverStars, but they're slightly brighter, and use less power. So far they are lasting a long time, too.

And really, aren't more light and more life what we really want, even if they aren't as "cool" as blue or purple...

I'm not so sure, at least in the case of HID. By the time we realign the lenses to keep beams down at a reasonable angle, I'm not sure there's any real gain in output. I think the real benefit most are after with HID is that cool blue or purple hue, whether they want to admit it or not. And there's nothing wrong with that - I kind of liked the slight blue "HID-like" tint the Eurolights gave, just didn't like replacing them once per year.

Question : I Just Got HID Headlights Installed In My Car & Everytime I Turn The Key Forward My Headlight Flicker Real Fast & You Hear This Ticking Noise I Call Back To Where I Got Them Installed & He Said Its Due To My Automatic Headlight Switch So I Turned It Off & It Stop Doing It So Is What He Told Me True Or What ....He Said They Need A Complete 12Volt & Just Like Daytime Running Thats Not 12 Volt Somebody PLEASE Tell Me If This Happens Wit Your HID Lights

Yes, it will happen if the automatic headlights are enabled and it's dark enough out. The switch sends a different voltage than what the ballasts need or something. Either way, you'll just have to turn the lights on with the actual switch.