what to replace my factory head light bulb???

[GP guy]

My Silverstar Ultra`s have lasted for a year and a half with no problems, much better light output than stock.Down the road hids would be the way to go, just how much $$$ to spend is the question?

[V_Eight]

My Silverstar Ultra`s have lasted for a year and a half with no problems, much better light output than stock.Down the road hids would be the way to go, just how much $$$ to spend is the question?

Prepare to spend about $700 if someone else is doing the retrofit, or $500 if you are. What projector to use is based on how much space you have in the headlight in which to mount that projector.

HID`s are fine for stock housings, all you need to do is adjust your beam accordingly, this is something too many people seem to neglect to do.

That`s the half-assed way. Either do a retrofit or don`t do it at all.

[PedroDaGr8]

Prepare to spend about $700 if someone else is doing the retrofit, or $500 if you are. What projector to use is based on how much space you have in the headlight in which to mount that projector.







That`s the half-assed way. Either do a retrofit or don`t do it at all.

I`m sorry but if you work on a budget you can do it for pretty cheap. I did it for $250 for ballast, bulbs, projectors, various hardware for mounting, relays etc. for a wire harness. Albeit I got the projectors for dirt cheap, but still, at most that ads $100 to the cost. The BIGGEST expense is time. This is with ALL OEM parts, 85122+ bulbs, Toyota Koito ballasts, FX Projectors (now upgraded to TL`s THOSE are more pricey) etc.



For those saying you just have to aim the headlights with a kit. I`m glad the laws of physics change for you. I have YET to see a kit that is fine in a halogen housing. The best I have seen is H7 PROJECTEOR, which fits pretty nice with a D2S bulb, but still the beam is dim and very very narrow.



Either you aim so LOW that your beams LOOK like they are on the ground or you are blinding traffic. One thing to remember is that HID output lumen for lumen appears ~4x more glaring to the eye than halogen lights according to NHTSA studies. This means that for example an H4 lamps REQUIRED uplight percentage results in a glare that appears to the eye to be BRIGHTER than high beams.



Lastly, on HID`s remember in optics, being 1/32 of an inch off at the source can cause HUGE changes in output.



Rant aside :angry



I second the HIR bulbs. Most people seem to say they are the best thing you can do before a retrofit. Also, the integ has a problem with reflection off of the area in front of the outer lens when combined with kits.

[REVNU]

Get some Philips Vision Plus +50%, Philips Xtreme +80%, or Osram Night Breaker +90% bulbs in your correct size. They don`t require any retrofitting and are much brighter than OEM bulbs and cheaper than and HID retrofit. I have the +50% in my Subaru and they were a big improvement over the OEM bulbs. You may have to re-aim your headlights to get the optimal lighting/distance after replacing them. If you`re looking for that "cool" HID "look", these bulbs won`t give that to you. What they will give you is great light output/vision, as a proper headlight bulb should.



You will have to order them online as most retail outlets do not carry them. SUV Lights, Rally Lights, Candle Power, all carry the above mentioned bulbs.

[NCZ13]

i have a Apexcone HID kit in my stock halogen housings. I realize im blinding people, but the OEM halogens have terrible light output, and there is no way im dropping 50 in bulbs every couple months. Ive read way to much about my car eating silverstars that i refuse to buy them.



I realize they are blinding to people. Ive only been flashed once, But they seem no blinding to me than the HIDs on my moms rdx, minus the cutoff of course.

[uzj100]

PIAA. Much brighter than Silverstars.

+1 on the PIAAs

[jayh2301]

Always replace in pairs!!

[imported_Denzil]

The lack of cutoff is what blinds people.



HIR bulbs are the best way to go before going to a proper retrofit. Using HID`s in stock halogen housings still blinds people no matter how you look at it. Just because you aren`t flashed doesn`t mean you`re still not blinding people. :furious:

[PedroDaGr8]

i have a Apexcone HID kit in my stock halogen housings. I realize im blinding people, but the OEM halogens have terrible light output, and there is no way im dropping 50 in bulbs every couple months. Ive read way to much about my car eating silverstars that i refuse to buy them.



I realize they are blinding to people. Ive only been flashed once, But they seem no blinding to me than the HIDs on my moms rdx, minus the cutoff of course.

Damn that is GARBAGE!!!! A retrofit in that type of car isn`t too hard and you are HURTING PEOPLES EYES and on top of that being very selfish.

[imported_Yal]

^ I have to agree it is selfish. Saying this doesn`t bother you is like saying I`m doing 100mph in traffic but I feel safe so screw everybody else. Those HID`s are horrible. The cut off is the key!

[PedroDaGr8]

Thanks Yal. Nice analogy.



EDIT: I want to expand a bit more on what I said before. Your comment of I know I am blinding people but I don`t care is very selfish and very immature. It wouldn`t take you that much more work or money to do a retrofit. It is about doing it right. Not doing it quickly or cheaply. I don`t think we would be on this forum if we did things to our cars half-assed, yet that is what you are doing with your kit. Doing stuff half-assed and being a safety hazard.



Do a retrofit.



For those who are wondering what a retrofit is. You take the projector out of a car that has OEM xenon headlights and install it in your own headlights. This way the optics which are designed for HID`s are in your headlight and you don`t glare people.



It takes some time to do right but it is the ONLY way that works. It is all physics and DOES NOT change no matter what lies the kit companies say. So many talk about their million dollar R&D budget, yet somehow ALL of the kits come off of the same factory lines in China (yes even the ones that say Japanese parts, how does the circuit board look exactly the same as the ones in the chinese ballasts?)



Also, while many say hella or bosch or philip technology, this simply means thye use a chip on the circuit board made by that company. This says NOTHING for the quality of the design. That being said, bad ballasts are NOT nearly as bad as they were a few years ago.



Bulbs on the other hand, kit bulbs are garbage. You know how to tell. Compare the amount of salt in a kit bulb v. a real philips/osram/GE bulb. In a kit bulb the arc chamber is COMPLETELY clear or you may see one tiny spec of yellow (this may be more orangish-reddish-brown for higher temp bulbs as Indium(III) Iodide (generates the bluish color) is a reddish brown or it may have tinges of gray to it if the bulb has been used). In philips bulbs, the arc chamber is easily 1/4 to 1/2 covered with salt.



There is a reason for this, the more salt the better the quality of light, the less heat, the longer the bulb will live. The problem is the salt is expensive so the kit company scrimp on it.



If anyone has question on doing a retrofit, feel free to PM me with basic ones or checkout HID Retrofit Parts Projectors Ballasts D2S Bulbs. This is where I learned from. THeir university section has some really good threads (i.e. for installation check out JnCs rotational mounting method thread in the University).



If there is enough demand I will go through and outline some of the basic terms you will encounter in HIDs (sort of like people coming here would have no idea what a PC/7424 is without reading).

[NCZ13]

that actually isnt a very good analogy at all. Going a hundred in traffic is a little (alot) bit different than being a nuisance on the road. Ive had the pleasure of being in front of my lights, and they really are bright, although i have since adjusted them to aim lower, but they still glare.



A projector retrofit would be pretty costly on my end. First getting the projectors on top of buying a new set of lights so theres no downtime during fab work. There have only been a handful of people in the protege community that have had succesful retrofits. All costing upwards of 5-600 dollars. One of the original guys to attempt it spent 800 in parts alone.



edit: also reread my post, so not really sure where your getting the whole I dont care thing from... unless your not referring to me.

[gbackus]

that actually isnt a very good analogy at all. Going a hundred in traffic is a little (alot) bit different than being a nuisance on the road. Ive had the pleasure of being in front of my lights, and they really are bright, although i have since adjusted them to aim lower, but they still glare.

Sure it`s a good analogy, you`re creating a distracting, and potentially blinding situation that could cause another driver to hit something/someone because "you don`t care". You are putting someone else`s life at risk because you are too cheap to spend a little extra to do something right.

[D Tailor]

Hoen high performance halogen



I know the original poster is probably no longer interested in this information (since it was posted in JUNE OF 08) or any other in depth discussion about HID conversions (which he or she stated was something not interested in) BUT Hoen makes the best bulbs HANDS DOWN! They perfectly match OEM Xenons and put out dense white light. They last and are worth all of the cash out for them.

[NCZ13]

Sure it`s a good analogy, you`re creating a distracting, and potentially blinding situation that could cause another driver to hit something/someone because "you don`t care". You are putting someone else`s life at risk because you are too cheap to spend a little extra to do something right.

Not really sure where your getting this IDC thing. How many times have you seen bright lights on the opposite side of the road and ripped the steering wheel to the left or right? None? thats what i thought.



Theres a big difference in a 90$ Apexcone kit, and a 700dollar custom projector setup.

So being to cheap to spend a little extra doesnt really apply.