HID Conversion Kits??

J

Joshua312

New member
I am in the market to upgrade my GTP's halogens to HID. I found both of these websites. However one charges $100 more. Was wondering if anyone has expierence with either of these companys or which one looks like a better deal? Thanks for the help!



http://www.cqlight.ca/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=105 $195



http://www.buyhid.com/index.php?cPath=26&osCsid=a3a7600e17cb48fce4a73a5ccae42b3c $280



---- Did some searching quick on ebay and it seems like Promax gets a lot of good reviews--So far Im leaning towards this company even tho it may cost more
 
There is more to HID's than a bulb and a ballast. Swapping bulbs and putting in hid bulbs might improve your lumens but your visibilty won't be all that great. Unless you're retrofitting HID projectors or using a special type of HID Reflector (like that found in lexus is300, infiniti, ect) you will have tons of glare. Lighting up the tops of trees, driver's mirrors and eyes, and less light will actually be projected onto the ground.





THIS IS THE TYPE OF LIGHTING YOU WILL GET.

hid_cutoffhigh.jpg




THIS IS THE TYPE OF GLARE ONCOMOING DRIVERS WILL SEE AND FLASH YOU FOR

hid_front.jpg






THIS IS ACTUALLY WHAT YOU WANT

bothlow.jpg




THIS IS THE LEVEL AT WHAT THE LIGHT SHOULD BE AIMED SO THAT YOU DO NOT GLARE AND BLIND OTHERS.

IMG_7095.jpg




If you plan on simply throwing in a kit then you might as well just install colors bulbs and drive with your highbeams on as throwing a kit onto a reflector housing will not be able to control the light output an HID sytem gives and distribute it uniformly.



Unless you're looking for that riced out (I don't give a crap) look.



All pictures were taken from Hidplanet.com and by no means are any of my cars, retros, ect.



The author of those post has full rights within himself to ask to remove the pictures.
 
You'll really want to do a retrofit, meaning not just put HID bulbs in your halogen housings. You want to find projectors, fit them in your headlight housing, then add the bulbs. HID bulbs in regular halogen housings are illegal and actually not very efficient.



Unless there is something that I am missing in your set up?



**EDIT**LOL, I guess we were both posting at the same time. :D
 
There's not much more to add to this thread. The responses so far are correct... if you want HIDs, the only way to go is a retrofit. If you simply throw a plug n' play HID kit in your halogen housing, it is not only illegal and ugly, it is irresponsible. It glares up so bad that it literally blinds oncoming traffic. It is also very annoying for those driving in front of you.
 
I want to do this the right way and not make it look stupid, my friend has them in his sierra and they look great. He said he only paid $250..so does anyone have a link to a projector I could purchase also



Or if anyone else has suggestions - pictures? I just want to get right of the halogen look..I have silverstars right now but Im not a big fan. I want more of the luxury look of Lexus/Bmw
 
Arrggghh, that Scion is from NJ :mad:



As others said theres more to HID than just bulbs and ballasts. Retrofited OEM HIDs should be done, although very costly.
 
If you have the 9004/H3 bulbs and want more light, you can get the Osram Silverstars. Noticably more light on the road than the regular coated Silverstar bulbs.
 
Well I am glad I asked first before I made the purchase. It's just so weird that this type of kit is perfect in my friend's sierra but for my grand prix it sounds like its going to be a nightmare. oh well :( onto looking for different lights once again :sadpace:
 
Not to sound mean but those kits above look really cheap. First off they are no-name ballasts and bulbs which means trouble right off the bat. I know plenty of people with knock off brands that had toasted ballasts or bulbs within a year or two.

Second off I wouldn't recommend going past 6k. Once you go over 6k your sacrificing actual light for color, not to mention it makes you stick out more to LEO which can land you a nice summons, seeing how ALL aftermarket HID kits are illegal. 10k will probably be insanely blue/purple which is really tacky and dangerous to other drivers as well as you.
 
Joshua312 said:
Well I am glad I asked first before I made the purchase. It's just so weird that this type of kit is perfect in my friend's sierra but for my grand prix it sounds like its going to be a nightmare. oh well :( onto looking for different lights once again :sadpace:
Click to expand...



If you're good with tools you can always retrofit some nice s200 or maxima projectors. Read www.hidplanet.com and learn about how to do it. It shouldn't cost you more than 600-700 bucks to do it right.



Drive behnd your buddy or simply park in front of a white wall. You will notice tons of HOT SPOTS and also how the light isnt even;y distributed.
 
I guess I am going to avoid the HID's all together. I heard rumors that the aftermarket kits were illegal but wasn't sure. I dont need to draw more attention to myself - I already have 5% window tint on a red car haha I think I am going to just try and find some good bright white bulbs...Im trying to find pictures of what Scott reccomended because I hate the silverstars I have now. Also...dont worry about sounding mean. I was looking for answers, and thats what you guys gave me. Im glad you told me the truth of what you guys think...it helps me make better decisions :)
 
But why avoid HID altogether? Just take some time out, read on the supplys and materials you will need, and you can go ahead and do a retrofit altogether. The only thing with a retrofit is that you would need to take apart you headlights so you can mount a bracket to hold the projector.
 
If you want brighter lights I would just go with some Raybrigs. A real HID setup would run you quite a bit of money.
 
Danase...Thanks for the suggestion, I looked into the Raybrigs and they look great but they dont have them in 9007 only 9006. Any other suggestions or what keywords I should type in for searching...Im looking for the bright white or bright white with slight bluish tint Thanks!



And also, How would I go about reto-fitting the HID's if I go for them. Would I just need to make some kind of bracket to hold the bulb in place so it doesn't wobble all over the place and distract drivers? Because if that is all I need to do then maybe I could go for that? I really wish they made projectors for Grand Prix :(



Capsule aligned to the original bulb filament, and the original beam pattern is not altered. ---> http://www.sotechsystems.com/store/...ml?PHPSESSID=c012b26bdef7956cde7877042f48ebef



Another rip off?
 
I bought the CQ kit listed in joshua312's first post to upgrade my H7's on my Spyder, and I couldn't be happier. I went with the 8000K kit. The entire set up was completely plug and play, the price was great, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. The only thing is that on this vehicle it already has a projector lens setup, so most of the work is already done for you. These HID kits (when properly installed and adjusted) rock!

:2thumbs:
 
Fox, Dont you feel the 8000k is too Blue/Purple.



Anything over 5500k-6000k and you're loosing a significant amount of lumens.



Remember, the "K" stands for kelvin which is simply color temperature. Not actual light.



Installing HID Bulbs into halogen projectors are way better than halogen reflectors, but still don't distribute the light like HID Projectors do.
 
first of all...the amount of misinformation in this thread is staggering to say the least...



1) REAL HID IS BRIGHTER THAN ANY HALOGEN SETUP!



2) YES you can use HID conversion in normal halogen reflector housings



3) NO you do NOT need to do a retrofit with projectors-yes they would look better (both output and physically), but they aren't necessary



4) YES there will be glare, but do you really care? I've seen factory HID systems that are glare-intensive-as long as you got 3000+lumens hitting the ground and you can see, who really cares?



where the law comes into play (logistically speaking) is the color of the HID kit you choose to get...technically blue HIDs are illegal.....and they will pull you over for em...if they are 4300K (stock blueish white) they are legal and fine...if you go higher than 6000K (more Kelvin means more color-less light output) you run risks of getting tickets plus you lose HID benefit-getting the most light to the ground possible





BTW an HID kit can be had nowadays for under $200 shipped....it won't be Phillips or german quality, but it will work and it will perform it's needed function well...



To spend $70 on PIAA bulbs which do not put out any more illumination than stock $10 yellowish bulbs is absurd, IMO.....throw in the extra $100+ and get real HID lighting.





Also, Scottswax...FYI...Silverstars are NOT brighter than stock sylvania bulbs....it has been proven multiple times on other sites and I had them as well in my Lexus GS400 as high beams...they were disappointing to say the least...





my $.02
 
Yeah! Who cares about glare! Cops not only stop for the color but also for glare!



The light will always be brighter, But in a bad halogen reflector, it will cause too many hot spots.



"first of all...the amount of misinformation in this thread is staggering to say the least..."



Go do some reading yourself! www.hidplanet.com





I on the other hand have actually read and learned a long time ago. And have also done retros on friends car where the supplies didn't cost more than 700 dollars. Thats using oem projectors from bmw, benz, Acura's, ect along with quality ballast.



He's asking for advise. What he does with his money is his business, but simply swapping bulbs is tacky and tastless to say the least.



"4) YES there will be glare, but do you really care? I've seen factory HID systems that are glare-intensive-as long as you got 3000+lumens hitting the ground and you can see, who really cares?"



you obviously don't but I'm sure the Original Poster does not feel like attracting bad attention.
 
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