Write-Up: HID Conversion

Ok Thanx Just Making Sure I Didnt Get Played

Tell your guy to do the job right and drive the HID ballast with a relay! I say if you have to manually turn your lights on from now on, you did in fact get played!

i was wondering if i could take the 2002 park ave headlights out and use the projector part and put in the rivi does any one else thinks this is a good idea

I wasn't aware that 2002 Park Aves have projectors. Cool stuff. I'd have to see a pic to get an idea if they would fit. Most likely would take some cutting of Park Ave housings and then some epoxy and filler in the Riv housings to seat the projectors and make them look okay. I think Regal and GP guys are using TSX HIDs for their applications with good results.

edit: After looking at their equipment package.. I didn't see anything about projectors in the housings. But I could be wrong.

AA wrote:

Tell your guy to do the job right and drive the HID ballast with a relay! I say if you have to manually turn your lights on from now on, you did in fact get played!

What Kinda Relay Is Needed Cause I Want It To Work Properly

I'm not an expert on HIDs, but I know that a simple 12V relay can be wired to switch on the HID ballasts. A relay is just a switch that gets activated by another circuit (in this case, your normal headlamp circuit).

Thanx Im Going To Check In to It Let You Know What Happens

www.vvme.com/12v-5055w-h7-hid-conversion-kit-p-87.html, i have installed this 55W VVME HID Bulb for 3 months, everythining is OK.

tanyue123 wrote:

www.vvme.com/12v-5055w-h7-hid-conversion-kit-p-87.html, i have installed this 55W VVME HID Bulb for 3 months, everythining is OK.

No thanks, chong dang.

BigRay1125 wrote:

AA wrote:

Tell your guy to do the job right and drive the HID ballast with a relay! I say if you have to manually turn your lights on from now on, you did in fact get played!

What Kinda Relay Is Needed Cause I Want It To Work Properly

Short answer: a heavy-duty relay such as



is easy to get for $5.00 or so at most auto parts stores. You can ask for "generic headlight relay" or some such. To get an idea what to ask for look at Rockauto.com, under "Extras" click on "Electrical-Switch & Relay" then click on "Relay" and you'll see the two generic types. The metal cans are often used in vintage cars. The black plastic ones (like in the picture) are often used by alarm and fog lamp installers. Either will work for your use and if you don't get instructions with them in the box or they are not printed with the schematic (like in the picture) as to which pin is which, you can find the info on the internet.

Longer answer:

IF you have a little time on your hands, you might want to go to a pick-and-pull junkyard to locate a small relay block. You'll usually find 'em in small inexpensive cars. Remember the Hyundai Excel? it had a *nice* little 3-relay mount that would attach to firewall or inner fender with sheet metal screws in a space about 1/2 the size of an index card... and had Omron relays in it, some of the best you can get, that snapped into the block and would wire up with common spade connectors. The relays had schematics stamped on them. Sweet... I used one of those blocks to wire combination fog/driving lights on a Subaru Legacy I used to own.

Because it's used, and more or less generic electrical, the pick and pull folks will usually let you have such things **very** cheap, maybe a buck or 3, with relays. Just remember what you pulled it out of (write a note and stick it in the owners manual in your glovebox) so you can get replacement relays if needed (you probably won't need).

If you like the 'relay block' idea but want to go all-new Hella makes them. One is the H84988007 4-position relay block (do a web search you'll find them...). The 'generic' black plastic relays fit in this block. They are not cheap though, I think around $30 to $40 - and don't come with the relays...

And oh by the way - especially for a lighting project you don't have to use gold-plated wire BUT don't cheap out. Most aux wiring kits for fogs or headlamps come with 16 or even 18-gauge wire. IF I were you I'd wire the harness myself from colored 14 or 12 gauge wire depending on what I had on hand. Truthfully 12 is a bit thick and overkill for this kind of job, I've used 14 and been very happy. Why? Well - for Halogen lights they change brightness a *lot* depending on voltage supplied. They won't even light until they get ~10.5 volts, and anything below a full 12 volts is going to be somewhat dimmed. Car electrical systems usually run 12.5 - 13.2 volts. If you use 14 gauge or thicker wire you don't get a voltage loss worth beans in say a 6-foot wiring run. If you use 16 or 18 gauge wire you *will* see a small voltage loss -- problem is, that loss is enough to dim the lights. Really. It does not take much. You can usually see the difference if the loss is 1/4 to 1/2 volt, and you can for darn sure tell if you use a light meter to measure. It is this lossy characteristic in the operating voltage range that has various people recommending to rewire factory lighting. I mean, it's not that the factory wiring keeps the lights so dim that they don't function. It's just that to save $5 or whatever per car (10,000 cars, that's $50,000 that falls right to the bottom line) manufacturers have in the past (and on a few models still do) wire the lights to be adequate and safe but *not* full brightness.

How to tell?

Use a voltmeter to measure the voltage at the light socket. If there is more than a 0.25 volt diff there versus at the battery you might gain some brightness just by tacking a generic lighting relay on the radiator support or light bucket or whatever and driving it from a fusebox battery feed connected with 14 gauge or thicker wire. If the difference is 0.5 volts or more, you almost certainly will gain. That is, if the voltage at the lights is 11.9 volts and at the battery is 12.6 (on a "12 volt" car system it should be around 12.6 car off, and around 13.2 car running) a rewiring project might be worth your while.

You can get more details on this from various places, do a net search. A good place to start is Daniel Stern's lighting site, danielsternlighting.com, put "WHY AND HOW TO UPGRADE YOUR HEADLAMP CIRCUIT" into Google or other search engine and you'll find his article explaining.

Hope this helps.

Those 100W wanna-be bulbs are just a gimmick!
They are also an annoyance and a HAZARD to other drivers due to the increased glare.

Remember, when the glass of a bulb is tinted it acts like "sunglasses" and reduces the light output converting the light energy into MORE heat.
This will also cook your bezels and lenses shortening their life.

The dealerships get a good laugh at those who swap out their bulbs because they are making a KILLING by selling new wiring harnesses. Those bulbs are slowly cooking some part of the harness without you knowing it. You may THINK you're okay but just wait and see.

Your lenses are designed and optimized to magnify and focus the light of 65W bulbs (hence all those little lines and blocs).. If you ever actually look at the lenses in HID systems you'll notice that they are clear. You CAN'T expect an any incandescant bulb of a higher wattage to have a focused beam. You are only producing a lot of glare.

A typical incandescant headlight system utilizes 55W low beam and 65W high beam filaments hence altering candle power to produce noticeably different beam strengths. The lenses are what actually do most of the work by means of focus.
Color temperature is altered by adding halogen gas or a combination thereof.

HID systems are completely different.
Within the bulb they do NOT have a filament. They actually contain 2 carbon arc rods. When powered, they maintain a continuous arc (or spark) of electricity. If you've ever been in the vicinity of someone welding, you can fully understand why the light is so strong. In an HID bulb this is happening between 2 ULTRA small electrodes suspended within Xenon gas.
Again, the gas is adjusting color temp to REDUCE the ultra violet light produced by the arc giving off a whiter light.
That truer whiter light is harnessed by a single lens directly in front of each bulb to focus it all into a useful beam for driving.
The HID bulb units each have their own power inverters stepping up the plain old 12V (dirty) of your charging system to 110V (clean)......

An HID system does NOT have more candle power, it's just better more efficient candle power.

If someone bothers to go out and spend thousands of dollars to swap out superchargers, ignition systems, and exhausts to gain 40-50 more HP, why would you go out and buy a set of wanna-be headlight bulbs? HID units are about 350-400 bucks per side.

As far as the 95-99 Rivieras are concerned, they are pretty nice cars. I like my 97, but it's not my only car and there are far better cars out there.

Don't get the wrong idea! I think mods and upgrades are cool.......
I say this respectfully,
BUT, if you're looking for a lot of new and cool technology, maybe it's time to re-evaluate your choice of vehicles.

Welcome, Rizz, and thanks for your insights.

We are well aware of the differences between HID and halogen systems. There are two separate threads for discussing each. Info and opinions on Halogen bulbs can be found here:

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t172-silverstars-eurolights-x-treme-power-other-halogen-bulbs

The argument that high wattage halogen bulbs are a bad idea is mixed. They are brighter (and whiter) than OEM for sure, but I disagree that they cause glare to other drivers. When you see glare from an oncoming vehicle, it's much more likely they've installed a set of HID lamps in a lens made for halogens. Even some factory HID systems are more distracting than high power halogens.

The myth that higher wattage bulbs will melt the lens or reflectors may come from experiences with other vehicles, but no one here has revealed the Riviera has this problem. I've run 80W (blue tinted) halogens (lows & highs) for years with no deterioration to the lens. The extra brightness more than compensates for the tinting. The result is brighter, whiter light. There is not enough glare produced that anyone oncoming has ever signaled me. One thing I will say is the higher wattage bulbs may not be good for the LCM (lighting control module), as mine has failed, but not sure of the exact reason. I can still use my lamps normally, but I now use the manual switch, and I rather like this function actually. I've even modified my brights to activate all 4 bulbs at the same time without any issue.

That being said, I am not a fan of retrofitting "HID kits" to the Riviera stock lenses. Many here agree the two are not compatible; that is why we've researched the process for fabricating correct projection housings to support HIDs in a proper manner, eliminating the glare. No one here has attempted to build a set.

Your opinions about the Riviera vs. modern cars are common, especially for owners of stock vehicles. There is little point in trying to explain how a 15 year old car can compete with the modern cars. In many ways the modern cars are just superior if you like "new and cool stuff". But for the dollars invested, the Riviera not only competes, it wins in many areas. I've driven a lot of cars, new and old. The Riviera has been the most versatile by far, offering some advantages that many people take for granted. It's minimal in its approach, not overwhelmed with the gimmicks that provide entertainment and a false sense of security for many car owners.

Modding the 3800 SC V-6 to make 300-400 HP doesn't require "thousands of dollars" like other cars, particularly the small-engined imports. For very low cost, the included OEM blower can be utilized, and additional mods are rather cheap. The 3800 is a common engine, and shares DNA with its V-8 cousin. Plus modding has minimal effect to fuel economy if performed with that goal in mind. For what it is, MPG is great with this engine. The car is rigid, safe, and surprisingly agile with braking and suspension mods, parts which are also inexpensive. Perhaps best of all, the ability to tune the engine and transmission using your very own laptop provides a big change in driveability, similar to what you pay large sums to obtain from COBB, APR, or HonDATA for the Asian and Euro imports.

So no, I would not expect an owner of a stock Riviera to understand, because we're driving entirely different cars with the same name, but those few owners who have bothered to put forth the effort (and a relatively small amount of money) know the Riviera is a car that can drag race, autocross, even race on a road course, yet will haul a trailer to the event, and get respectable MPG driving to and from work each day. Plus it will do all of this with over 200k miles on the clock without failure. I would not, and could not, do all of these things reliably with many newer cars costing less than 50k today. And we haven't even mentioned the low cost of ownership - insurance and maintenance on the Riviera is so low it's laughable. When it comes down to it, there are very few options, new or old, that can offer so much car for the money spent. You just have to like the styling and forget (or enjoy) what the word "Buick" means to a lot of people.

Thinking about buying the DDM kit, what specifically did you guys order?
35 or 55w?
what bulb type?
and what color?
and im assuming i need the harness?.... anything else?

35W. 9007 Bulbs. 6000K.

Not sure which "harness" you're talking about...digital ballasts work perfect plugged right into the factory headlight plug.

Ordered... will take before and afts

Dude....I apologize. I meant 9006 bulbs Don't hurt me.....

Haha dont worry bout it, i ordered 9006's

Phew.... I was looking at HID's the other day. The ballasts on my buddies' Saturn are crap, and I need to get 'em warrantied. I saw 9007 and for some reason it stuck in my head haha. Good thing you checked first

Shipment arrived yesterday, gonna see if i have the energy to put them in after work and class

LT1Squirrel wrote:

Shipment arrived yesterday, gonna see if i have the energy to put them in after work and class

You can mount the passenger side ballast on top of the Fuse block right behind the headlight. On the Driver side, I mounted the ballast under my air intake box. It's literally invisible. When you aim them (you'll need an E7 or E8 inverted torx), make sure you're on level ground in total darkness. Believe it or not, there is a distinct cutoff line for the beams.
The Riv spills all the "extra" light directly out to the sides. I actually marked where the sidemarker overlaps the headlight and painted it silver to help with the spillage.

I haven't been "brighted" one time by anyone, despite what you may hear. Just make sure you get 'em aimed down enough.

Yes, at one time, I complained somewhere on here about HID's being too bright (without projectors), but I decided to try them anyway. The Riv isn't bad at all. The beam is quite contained up and down, with a nice wide spread. You'll love 'em......

how would you say the lighting is compared to regular halogens?... im more concerned with side to side, since deer tend to love running into the sides of cars around here

HID's are in and beautiful... high beams seem like theyve been rendered useless... a little adjusting and they should be perfect

Hi guys im new to the forum im 24 and i jus bought my 3rd rivy but anyway i wantef to put sum 6k hids in it my question is since i have daytime running lights do i need to purchase a relay harness along with the kit? My rivy is a 98

DRL uses the highbeams right? If you want to put HID's in for your regular lights, you'll be fine. 6k looks the best on the Riv, by the way.

thanks i was so confused about it but i appreciate it....im about to order them right now!!!! btw i put 6ks in everything including my previous rivys!! they r the best!!!