HID Lighting

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imported_Detailing Technology

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I found these for sale on the internet. They are true HID retrofits for cars with incandescent lighting. My 07 Jeep did not come with HID from the factory, and this is the first car I have driven in a while without HID's. At night I feel blind. I am going to install on Saturday and post some pics of the process along with some before and after at night.



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bulb-ignitor.jpg




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I am waiting for a relay harness to arrive. I dont expect miracles as my reflectors are designed for incandescent, they wont focus this beam properly. We'll see on Saturday what the results are.
 
jsatek said:
I dont expect miracles as my reflectors are designed for incandescent, they wont focus this beam properly.
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This is one of the reason I will never go with a retrofitted HID kit.

Good luck on the install.
 
HID kits are dirt cheap now. Eager to see how it pans out. Driving my company car with halogens and a tinted windshield leaves a bit to be desired on the dark back roads.
 
I got the least "blue" looking bulbs they sell, the 4300k. If it works out, I'm ordering the 3000k (which are yellow) for the fog lights. I had yellow Hella fogs back in the 80's, nothing gave me better vision in the snow and rain that them.



If I dont like them, they will be Christmas tree ornaments just in time for Santa.



Sean, you can have them to try on your company car if you have 9006 bulbs.



Hopefully I can remain somewhat sober this evening so Saturday doesnt turn into a hangover recovery day. It has been holiday party madness for the past 2 weeks. I'm checking in to rehab for a while after I get back from Las Vegas.
 
Looking forward to the after shots. I recently got my first car with factory HIDs and I have no idea how I lived my life so far without such great lighting!
 
I always put HID in all of my cars. Even if the reflectors are not made for HID , the light output is way better. It is a really big improvement over halogens .





Cheers , Jean Paul
 
How's the quality on these cheap HID kits? I know they used to be notorious for not lasting very long, but I haven't been in the market for one in a long time. For years I've been wanting to do a proper retrofit with S2K or TSX projectors but the cost has always prohibited me from doing it.
 
BlackElantraGT said:
How's the quality on these cheap HID kits? I know they used to be notorious for not lasting very long, but I haven't been in the market for one in a long time. For years I've been wanting to do a proper retrofit with S2K or TSX projectors but the cost has always prohibited me from doing it.
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Any and every kit I've ever heard of that has been bought off of Ebay or is less than $100 has always had a ton of customers that have problems with a ballast failing or a blown bulb right out of the box. Then the supplier fails to recognized the claimed warranty. I decided to play it safe and went with a guy from the Clubrsx message boards that has amazing customer service and outstanding craftsmanship on all of his HID Projector retrofits. His HID kits are also covered under 3 year and life time warranties.



custom HID, LED, CCFL specialists - retrosolutions



His kits are fully digital, that control the light output better and he also sells a new deep yellow, 2000k kit for those fogs. ;)



I myself have his true 55-watt digital 4300k kit. Check it out for your fogs! Again, unbelievable customer service. :2thumbs:
 
That's not a true retrofit solution. That's just some bulbs and a ballast that connect to halogen connectors. No offense, but you've officially riced out your Jeep by putting HIDs in halogen housings.



You'll have to actually do a TRUE retrofit if you want the beam to focus properly and most importantly, not blind oncoming drivers. Or if you're lucky, you'll find someone who produces decent projectors for sale for your vehicle.
 
paul34, read the last line in my first post. I am aware of the reflector situation. If they look rice, even at the proper factory temp I ordered, I'll be donating them.



bwlucas - these are true Phillips ballast and bulbs. The wholesale cost to me was $202.00. I'm hoping they are of an "upper-lower" to "lower-middle" quality. Only replacement bulbs for my Cayenne were $266.00 per side, but paid for under warranty. I'm not expecting much, just looking for some "I'm dead at work" projects.
 
I had a really nice plug n' play kit in my truck which really put out nice light. Unfortunately since they are in halogen lamps they blind oncoming traffic really bad with all kinds of glare.



Unless your using it in the middle of the woods, having them is a bad idea in the city.
 
COMPLETE:



Before:

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After:

light.jpg




Ballast:

ballast.jpg




Install:

nogrill.jpg




Wrap-up:

after-under.jpg




W/ Factory Fogs:

after-fogs.jpg




No Fogs:

after1.jpg




The install was ridiculously SIMPLE. It took me 20 minutes to finish. I hid all of the ballast, wiring, and relays as best I could. I will post night pictures tonight while I aim the new bulbs. I don't think it's "rice". After I see them at night, Ill decide if they stay in. If they stay, I'll be ordering the yellow fogs tomorrow.



Sorry Sean, I may keep these...
 
let's not forget that jsatek's car is a lease. I would not spend all that money doing a proper retrofit with HID projectors on a car I would have to eventually return. With the plug n' play kit he can at least remove it and put his old halogen bulbs back in when it's time to return the car or trade it in for another lease.



I understand some of your views about blinding oncoming drivers and doing it properly, but we have plenty of rice rockets here in SoCal (considering that's where the import car craze started) and blinding headlights isn't anywhere near as bad as I thought it would be (I don't have HIDs... stock H7 halogens). I'm more bothered by the guy in the Trans Am racing up and down my street or the guy on the Harley that can be heard 5 blocks away.
 
BlackElantraGT said:
I'm more bothered by the guy in the Trans Am racing up and down my street or the guy on the Harley that can be heard 5 blocks away.
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Sorry about that, I'll try and slow down more. :grinno:
 
Night pictures and final thoughts.



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The road is flooded with a well shaped white light. The halogen reflectors are not an issue, while not as laser focused as my other cars with factory HID, these are still very effective in lighting the road. Oncoming traffic is not disturbed by the light nor are drivers in front of the Jeep.

I dont think they have the cheap purple "rice" look, the color white with an extremely light blue tint. I will be keeping them and getting the fog lamps. I am not sure on a color though. I think it may look better matched to the headlights. Maybe I will order both sets of bulbs and return what I dont like.
 
BlackElantraGT said:
let's not forget that jsatek's car is a lease. I would not spend all that money doing a proper retrofit with HID projectors on a car I would have to eventually return. With the plug n' play kit he can at least remove it and put his old halogen bulbs back in when it's time to return the car or trade it in for another lease.



I understand some of your views about blinding oncoming drivers and doing it properly, but we have plenty of rice rockets here in SoCal (considering that's where the import car craze started) and blinding headlights isn't anywhere near as bad as I thought it would be (I don't have HIDs... stock H7 halogens). I'm more bothered by the guy in the Trans Am racing up and down my street or the guy on the Harley that can be heard 5 blocks away.
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Actually I am more worried about the glare in my eyes on a rainy night. It's hard enough to deal with the halogen glare from the roads.



But I understand where you come from completely GT.
 
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