HID retofit?

[m2h]

One question, what is it? whats that mean?

i read on other forum that its no good if u put hid in a non hid design headlight eg: reflector type, but what about those car that are using projector? like dc2 for example, they are projector headlight, so is it ok? and is retrofit mean put a projector into those car that using reflector?

[m2h]

um...... so...... no one knows? :rolleyes:

[Xplodin]

Are you talking about a HID Convertion kit or just Retro Fitting Projectors to Headlights?

Anyways, about 2 months ago i fitted my car(Accord CD5) with HIDs. Yeah there are lot of rumors going around about fitting HIDs to non factory standed HID Headlights. Why they say this is because, its illegal to fit HID with out Auto Leveling and Headlight washers. Have a look next time at cars that comes with Factory HIDs. Another reason is because HID light are Bright Very Bright and alot of HID cars have Cut off points. This means any light above that point will not show, hence not shining into on coming traffic. If your going to look for HID Convertion kits find ones that have a Shield to create a cut off line.

[yourfather]

I got random breath tested last friday night, after work, and my friend was driving ahead of me.

Both of us got pulled over. He stopped first, and the police were discussing amongst themselves, (with my friend overhearing) how bright my HID's were.

If they were from the Traffic Management Unit, I am quite sure that I would have been queried further, as my DC2 does have projectors, but, it does not have a washer / auto-levelling system, plus my projectors do not have a cut off point.

[Menzy]

so is there anyway that you install a hid kit on our cars and have a peace of mind of cops and traffic managmement unit not pulling us over to check our lights and shit ...

[saxman]

an hid retrofit means retrofitting the entire projector assembly into another housing.

for example, here is an hid retofit and a halogen projector retrofit(hid's in the headlights, halogens in the aux lights) I'm working on for my car at the moment

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c217/saxman242/retrofit1.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c217/saxman242/auxprojector1.jpg

the reason for doing this is that a headlight designed for use with a halogen bulb isn't properly designed to focus the light output of an hid bulb(the light emitting elements are different shaped, etc, giving a different focal point,etc).

basically, as a result, you get horribly glare, poor light output, etc.

to demonstrate...
here's the result of an "hid kit" used(the ones that are basically an hid bulb with a h4 or whatever base so it can be used in your stock headlights).
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid78/p483d6fec1d08dfaea8d2caa0cd7eb586/fb291d25.jpg
glare everywhere, poor light distribution, etc.

When you retrofit the entire projector assembly so everything works properly, this is the result.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v106/jair-gsr/HidAligment.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/juicyfn/IMG_0736.jpg

far better light distribution, no glare, proper focus, and even that oh so sexy blue cut off line.

Further more, because of legality reason with the bulb type hid set ups, the big name companies won't produce parts for them, so the quality of product is generally significantly lower than that used in oem projector set ups.

[[[d a n n y]]]

i had HID 7900K on my gtr which came with stock projector lights.
fitting HID's to a projector headlight looks and shines way better than a falt reflector type.
and i've never been pulled over or heard anything about HID's

[saxman]

7900k is WAY too high of a color temp to be used. When you get over about 5000k or so, you end up significantly sacraficing light output for a more bluish/purple color

[Menzy]

so if i was to get hid kit for my ek1 ... what xxxK should i be looking at ..?

[saxman]

you shouldn't be getting an hid kit, you should be doing an hid retrofit... you can buy everything needed to do so for about $350US from ebay

[Xplodin]

SAXMAN, some of us dont have type of cash lying around for just headlight and some dont even wat to retrofit our head lights with projectors due to inexperience or dont want to try. plus 350USD is about 600+AUD and i aint gonna spend that.

Mezy, My recomendation is about 5000K or 6500K dont exceed 6500K. I'm running 6500K atm and i still find them alittle bit too blue for me but great illumination!

yourfather, Are you serious? I got boozed bus a few weeks ago and i had no problems wats so ever. TMU is a Pain the arse, but i think to open up your bonnet they must have a mechanic with them. Not sure on that one but thats what i've heard some where. Anyways I hope i dont get done for the HID cos it was hard enuf gettin them on there. Grrrr.....

[saxman]

350usd is actually 475au at todays rate... It's not like you're really talking about that much more cost than those crappy hid plug and play kits anyway... they usually seem to go for $250+usd, so you're talking about not that much more for a FAR superior system.

If you can't afford the extra cost, you can't afford hids... do it right, or don't do it at all. There's nothing more annoying that being on the road with someone with a drop in hid kit.

advising 6500k for great illumination is actually quite innaccurate, as at that point, you're long past the point where you start sacraficing illumination for color. If you want max illumination, get something like 4300-4500k.

[m2h]

i agree with saxman, do ir right or dont do it at all. i think it waste the HID if there is glare gong everywhere. I really like the cut off point on that teg.

So, normal projector can't do that cut off line right? i have to get a HID designed proector?

[saxman]

i agree with saxman, do ir right or dont do it at all. i think it waste the HID if there is glare gong everywhere. I really like the cut off point on that teg.

So, normal projector can't do that cut off line right? i have to get a HID designed proector?
a normal projector can produce the cut off line, if used with the headlight bulbs it's designed for.

if you're going to use an hid bulb, it needs to go into a light emitter designed for an hid bulb. a halogen projector with an hid bulb may work better than a halogen reflector with an hid bulb, but it's still not going to work all that well.

[yourfather]

yourfather, Are you serious? I got boozed bus a few weeks ago and i had no problems wats so ever. TMU is a Pain the arse, but i think to open up your bonnet they must have a mechanic with them. Not sure on that one but thats what i've heard some where. Anyways I hope i dont get done for the HID cos it was hard enuf gettin them on there. Grrrr.....

The police in our state have the right to search your car for anything if they believe they have a reason actually...

Same as if, like (and this is an example from my work) This kid stole some dvd's, but I didnt see him actually conceal it. But, the police were out in the centre, so my loss prevention officer spoke to them and said, look we know this guy has stolen DVD's from us, but we didnt actually see him conceal them. And they have the power to search him on any suspiscion. Plus, if he doesn't co-operate, he goes down for non-co-operating with the police, and then he gets searched anyway. SO ~ let it be known, they can search your car too, because, its on public roads, and if they have any reason to be suspicious of something, they're well within their rights to go under the bonnet and have a look. I mounted my ballasts underneath my front bar, and tucked all the wiring away. It was a bit of a ghetto job, my friend pauly and me did it in about 2 hours on a sunday afternoon, but, if they were to open up my bonnet they'd just see some coloured wires leading into what look like 9006/HB4 bulbs.

I have had one person flash me for having HID's, but when comparing the light effect from my bulbs to that of saxman's original photo, they don't look half as bad as what it looks like there.

Honestly, I wouldn't mind the TMU having a look under my bonnet really. A) they're only doing their jobs. B) I find having the HID kit really has improved my night time vision. C) I have worked on trying to minimise the glare by adjusting the headlights, and chose a colour temperature that isn't too much of a standout. D) when I do drive at night, it is usually about 2-3 am in the morning as im on my way home from work.

I think that having HID bulbs aren't as evil as having say, no cat, or having an external wastegate that vents to atmosphere. Plus ~ although my friend and I installed them ourselves, it's not like we're doing serious modifications to the engine that don't comply with the road safety laws, and may cause injury to other people.

[saxman]

...and may cause injury to other people.
have you ever driven in front of someone that has an hid kit like that at night? it makes it VERY difficult to see, and could very easily cause an accident. Last time I was in front of someone like that, I almost instantly was given a horrible headache from the light, and it was very difficult to see where I was driving.

[underc35a]

saxman i see your from hidplanet forums as well?

His right you should never go over 5000k, I see alot of people getting those taiwan made hid kits and they have major glare, most of them also have that ricey blue colour to them defeating the whole point of xenon gas, obviously they have never driven or rode shot gun in a car with proper hids. If you are worried about spending money then do not buy any aftermarket lighting at all stick with your stock lighting avoid all hid kits as well as hid wannabe halogen bulbs. I hope aussie cops start their crack down on rice lights like in america asap. End of rant.

[saxman]

saxman i see your from hidplanet forums as well?
registered there... don't really post though... it's a good source of info though