HID Questions

[Cable810]

I've been doing a TON on research on HID lights. I know what I want to get. I want to replace my High Beams, but leave my DRLs alone. The question I have is can I replace the stock High Beams with the HID High Beam light bulbs? What Wattage and Voltage do I have to get. Will I need the Relay, Ballest, and Canceller if I'm replaceing just the Stock Highs? I'm pretty sure I can but I want to be 100% Sure.

Thanks

 

[03envoy]

You will need the ballast and the kit, the high beams wouldn't need a DRL relay for 100% running time... You cannot just buy and install the bulb you need the kit. If I am wrong someone please correct me, That's what I know....

 

[Wooluf1952]

You will need the ballast and the kit, the high beams wouldn't need a DRL relay for 100% running time... You cannot just buy and install the bulb you need the kit. If I am wrong someone please correct me, That's what I know....

Also, remember, the HID's take a a while to get to full brightness.

So, unless you are doing the mod to run the highs and the lows together, you will be driving with almost no lights until the Hi's get to full brightness.

 

[Cable810]

SO what you saying is, I install the HIDs for my High beams. I'm driving at night, a car is comeing so I turn them off, and I go to turn them back on it will take some time for them to get to the proper brightness?

 

[Wooluf1952]

That is correct.

If you're not running HID's in the low beams, you'll have instant light when you turn off the highs.

But any time you turn on the highs, it takes a while to get to full brightness.

 

[Cable810]

Generally how long is warm up? Especially after 10mins of running time?

 

[Wooluf1952]

Generally how long is warm up? Especially after 10mins of running time?

It's only about 5 - 10 seconds. But that's a lifetime, in the dark, at 60 - 70 miles an hour.

 

[Cable810]

It's only about 5 - 10 seconds. But that's a lifetime, in the dark, at 60 - 70 miles an hour.

Well that blows that mod out of the water for me...... What are some alternatives to HIDs?? I don't want to get HID for lows cause I feel it will attract unwanted police attention. There is an officer that will write me for 1 over...... that is if he knows it is me:wootwoot:. So I don't want to take a chance with my TB haveing HID for low beam. Cause I'm sure he will write me for having HID Lights

 

[Wooluf1952]

The Silverstar and Silverstar Ultra are supposed to be very bright.

The life span is kind of short, but, if you're using them in the Hi's, that shouldn't be a problem.

I also remember something about John Deere HIR 9011 and HIR 9012 bulbs being very bright. I never looked into it tho.

The other option would be to do the mod that keeps the LO's on along with the HI's.

That way it wouldn't matter how long it takes for the HID's to light. You will still have the LO's at full brightness.

 

[Boricua SS]

alot of people use the Sylvania Silverstars..thats about the brightest your going to get without HID's.. the only downfall that ive read about them is there life exppectancy... its not that long...

 

[Cable810]

If I do go with the Sylvania Silverstars what Wattage and Voltage do I need to get?

I also am looking at upgrading the Fog lights to HIDs. I know what bulb size, but what wattge and Voltage do I need? Will I need a Ballest, Canceller, and Relay?

 

[Boricua SS]

I also am looking at upgrading the Fog lights to HIDs. I know what bulb size, but what wattge and Voltage do I need? Will I need a Ballest, Canceller, and Relay?

wattage, i wouldnt go over 35W... a friend of mine (member Sekolax216 on here) had 55W HID's in his TB and they melted his foglight housings... so i would stay away from 55W...

and HID's are a kit.. weather it be lows, highs, or fogs... they all need a ballast.. and for your fogs you really dont need a relay, but most of us use a relay for the added protection of the wire harness

 

[03envoy]

I have silverstar Ultra's Not very bright at all........... I mean better than the average buld, but not by much.

 

[Cable810]

For the 9005 and 9006 Bulbs what wattage and voltage is safe? Most bulbs i'm looking at are 55-65w and about 12.5v
What are your thoughts on these headlight bulbs? PIAA 10925 9000 Intense White Headlight Bulb | Auto Parts Warehouse

 

[Boricua SS]

For the 9005 and 9006 Bulbs what wattage and voltage is safe? Most bulbs i'm looking at are 55-65w and about 12.5v
What are your thoughts on these headlight bulbs? PIAA 10925 9000 Intense White Headlight Bulb | Auto Parts Warehouse

I would definetly stay under 55W... anything over that, and your just looking to fry your wire harness...

 

[Cable810]

I would definetly stay under 55W... anything over that, and your just looking to fry your wire harness...

Does it matter about voltage?

 

[Boricua SS]

Does it matter about voltage?

I've never read anything about voltage for our headlights... and never really paid any attention to that... but I think 12V is fine.. I'm sure others will chime in

 

[SBUBandit]

It sounds to me like your best bet if you want HID hi and non-HID lo beams would be to use the quad-light mod. Lo beams would work as normal, except when you turn on the hi beams, the lo beams would stay on as well, so as your highs came up to full brightness, you'd still have the lows the whole time. I have HID lows and non-HID highs, with the quad-lights and I love them. Lots of light. If you have fog lights you can also make the fogs stay on with the highs.

Keep in mind, running lows and highs at the same time is technically illegal. My thought on this is if you are running your highs where people see them, you asked for the ticket anyways. I have never had anyone question mine, but I make sure to turn off the highs as soon as there are cars coming, and I never run the highs in town, so no problems

 

[Jkust]

It's only about 5 - 10 seconds. But that's a lifetime, in the dark, at 60 - 70 miles an hour.

I'm confused by this. My OEM HID's on the 9-7 are instant on or at least instant as perceived by the human eye. Something sounds off with this statement as it doesn't match my HID's which presumably are standard technology.

 

[Boricua SS]

I'm confused by this. My OEM HID's on the 9-7 are instant on or at least instant as perceived by the human eye. Something sounds off with this statement as it doesn't match my HID's which presumably are standard technology.

as with anything else.. aftermarket is different then factory.. sure the same priciples apply, but i have a neighbor who has a nissan maxima with factory HID's and his fire up faster then my aftermarket HID's do...

especially on a cold day, my HID's would take up to or then 10 seconds to fully warm up and be at there brightest.. but my neighbor, he can turn his on and they are ready in less 3 seconds..

 

[Jkust]

as with anything else.. aftermarket is different then factory.. sure the same priciples apply, but i have a neighbor who has a nissan maxima with factory HID's and his fire up faster then my aftermarket HID's do...

especially on a cold day, my HID's would take up to or then 10 seconds to fully warm up and be at there brightest.. but my neighbor, he can turn his on and they are ready in less 3 seconds..

OK gotcha. I'd be Pissed if there was a delay turning on my headlights. Only delay I ever experienced was way back when I had a car who'd headlights flipped up and open. I suppose given how insanely expensive OEM ballasts are, you better get something for the extra $.

 

[IAFF78]

If your undecided about which brand, I know most guys on here recommended either VVME or DDM HID kits. I ordered DDM kits and am patiently waiting for their arrival.

Good luck,
Kevin

 

[Blckshdw]

I would definetly stay under 55W... anything over that, and your just looking to fry your wire harness...

Does it matter about voltage?

I've never read anything about voltage for our headlights... and never really paid any attention to that... but I think 12V is fine.. I'm sure others will chime in

I pulled the below info directly from the VVME website. I initially thought the issue might be upon ballast ignition, but I'm not sure how much the voltage draw changes since they only show the voltage output differences.

 

[Cable810]

Thoughts on Hoen Lights?

 

[Boricua SS]

Thoughts on Hoen Lights?

you just cant compare anything halogen to HID's.. not the silverstars, not Hoen, not Xenon... HID's are by far the brightest light output you will ever see...

if your looking into the route of Halogens... just make sure you keep it at 55W or lower.. i learned that lesson the hard way.. i had a pair of Xenon HID appearance halogen bulbs but we 80W .. fried my harness in no time...

 

[Cable810]

Where did you get the Xenon HID appearance halogen bulbs? I searched and found nothing :/

 

[SBUBandit]

Where did you get the Xenon HID appearance halogen bulbs? I searched and found nothing :/

Those are the Blue coated "HID look" ones that are all over ebay for like $10 a pair. I lost count how many times I replaced my fried harness in my last car. Don't waste the money.
[EBAY]280763366532[/EBAY]

 

[STLtrailbSS]

Silver stars arnt bad but by the time you buy all that your looking at the same price as some ebay HIDS
Dont do blue halogen its to ricer!

I Put in a best offer on ebay about 5 minutes ago finally pulling the trigger on this nonsense

 

[ItsOnVoy]

Well that blows that mod out of the water for me...... What are some alternatives to HIDs?? I don't want to get HID for lows cause I feel it will attract unwanted police attention. There is an officer that will write me for 1 over...... that is if he knows it is me:wootwoot:. So I don't want to take a chance with my TB haveing HID for low beam. Cause I'm sure he will write me for having HID Lights

you got pulled over for one over? Thats Bull man!! But you can get HID's for your lows and not have a problem! I never had a problem with my lights and I drive behind police sometimes. Now I have 6000K so that is fine. I believe once you hit 8000K and up is when you get the wrong attention. From what I know is that you cannot have lights that are really blue! But if you go with a 5k or 6k kit for the lows and aim them right you'll be more then fine!

 

[Boricua SS]

Where did you get the Xenon HID appearance halogen bulbs? I searched and found nothing :/

Those are the Blue coated "HID look" ones that are all over ebay for like $10 a pair. I lost count how many times I replaced my fried harness in my last car. Don't waste the money.
[EBAY]280763366532[/EBAY]

There are also lights on autoillumination.com as well.. but as SBU said.. they are blue coated and a waste of money

 

[Cable810]

you got pulled over for one over? Thats Bull man!! But you can get HID's for your lows and not have a problem! I never had a problem with my lights and I drive behind police sometimes. Now I have 6000K so that is fine. I believe once you hit 8000K and up is when you get the wrong attention. From what I know is that you cannot have lights that are really blue! But if you go with a 5k or 6k kit for the lows and aim them right you'll be more then fine!

Ha ha No, I did not get pulled over for 1 over. If he knows its me he probally will so I really don't want to take a chance. I e-mailed the Michigan State Police Traffic Safety Service regarding HID lights and this was the response I got:

According to the Michigan Vehicle Code, "(a) Head lamps shall in all cases emit a white light. Auxiliary lamps may emit either a white or amber light." You may view the law here: Michigan Legislature - Section 257.699 All vehicle equipment must meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), whether its a safety belt, child safety system, headlamp, or brakes. According to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, headlamps are to be white in color. There are no other allowable colors. There are many different hues of the color white that are considered legal. You may go into any auto parts store and purchase any headlamp for your vehicle that is marked "DOT". This indicates that they meet federal standards. Unless someone is specifically trying to violate the DOT standards and purchasing headlamps that do not have a DOT label on them, their headlamps should be legal. The halogen and HID lights are also legal, as they are also "white" (if they come installed at the factory or are purchased in a complete housing or replaced in the appropriate/original housing). However, if a conversion kit is used, in many cases these would not be legal because they would not meet the federal standards. Replacement bulbs can only be used if their performance matches the performance of the original bulb. HID bulbs are brighter, and HID bulbs in a Halogen bulb housing are most likely going to be far brighter than the federal regulations allow.

I can get away with HID long as I keep them in the proper light spectrum that the laws state, Have them Aimed proper, and have the HID's DOT Approved(which I have found none DOT approved)

 

[Boricua SS]

i think that law is pretty much the same in every state... however, with other more important things going on.. the po po really dont worry about lights.. hell, there are Hondas rollling around here with pink and purple hids... never seen them pulled over...

but to keep it safe and not have to worry about things... 5000k and below for HID's falls under this law and wont get you pulled over...

good research

 

[ItsOnVoy]

Yeah I see hondas and jeeps with purple and pink also and I have seen a 300c with red halos and purple HIDs (i dont know why and what the person was thinking lol) But I really think you will be fine with 6k and under! I mean the 6k look white when you look right at them! No cop will really pull you over for having HID's! So many people have them on there cars and even factory cars have them! Now if you start putting HID's on your fog lights then yes you should stick to 4300k or something and fogs seems to beam at peoples faces as the car is driving at them. But I really think you will be more then fine getting some HID's for the lows!

 

[Blckshdw]

... Now if you start putting HID's on your fog lights then yes you should stick to 4300k or something and fogs seems to beam at peoples faces as the car is driving at them.

This would be an example of someone not bothering to aim their fogs after installing them

 

[Cable810]

I feel I'll be fine if I get some HID's. Now seeing that my dad is a State Trooper. I talked with him about HID's he said he would stop a person for having bright headlights thinking they are drunk if they didn't dim them. He would ask for them to turn their lows and then highs to check them. If they can prove that they had their lows on he would do anything. We live in a small town and everyone pretty much knows my dad. So there are a fair share of people who do not like him cause he put em in Jail Etc... The officer that would pull me over dosn't like my dad and he(I feel) wants to get back at my dad possiably through me.

Now how bright are 6k HID's on low? On a scale of 1-10, 10 being brightest. Same with the High Beams.

If I'm not getting HID's I'm probally going to get PIAA Extreme White Plus seeing that they have good reveiws and a good life for halogents. Any Imputs??

 

[Blckshdw]

...Now how bright are 6k HID's on low? On a scale of 1-10, 10 being brightest. Same with the High Beams...

4300K and 5000K are gonna be as bright as you can get. Anything higher than 5000K, will have a bit less light output due to the increase in blue tint. But still, 6000K will be bright as As long as your low beams are properly aimed after you install your HIDs, you shouldn't be confused with someone riding around with their high beams on.

I don't have a down-the-road shot, but here are my 6000K VVME HIDs in lows and fogs from a couple nights ago.

 

[Jkust]

I Now how bright are 6k HID's on low? On a scale of 1-10, 10 being brightest. Same with the High Beams.

If I'm not getting HID's I'm probally going to get PIAA Extreme White Plus seeing that they have good reveiws and a good life for halogents. Any Imputs??

In my 9-7, I replaced the OEM hid bulbs which I believe were 4300k with a 6000k version. In my layman opinion and experience, they aren't brighter or dimmer but a little bit bluer. If they are aimed correctly I don't know that anybody really notices but I mean if you squat down 20 feet in front of the car and look into the beam, they are overwhelmingly bright. Also then when you click the brights on the 9-7 both the HID low beam and the halogen high beam go on so you get a nice view of the difference between the two. In reality other than maybe a more pleasing color, I don't know that there is much difference between my 9-7 high beams and my Rainier high beams for practicality sake.

 

[Jkust]

i think that law is pretty much the same in every state... however, with other more important things going on.. the po po really dont worry about lights.. hell, there are Hondas rollling around here with pink and purple hids... never seen them pulled over...

but to keep it safe and not have to worry about things... 5000k and below for HID's falls under this law and wont get you pulled over...

good research

If a cop really just wanted to be a dick, he could simply ticket every car that wasn't offered with HID OEM. It is I think common knowledge which cars had them oem and which didn't. Maybe there are more models now but a few years back even there were ony certain manufacturers that even included them.

 

[ItsOnVoy]

Now how bright are 6k HID's on low? On a scale of 1-10, 10 being brightest. Same with the High Beams.

If I'm not getting HID's I'm probally going to get PIAA Extreme White Plus seeing that they have good reveiws and a good life for halogents. Any Imputs??

Here are mine once they are fully warmed up! They are a lot brighter then the regular halogens but just aim them and go infront of the car at a good 500ft and look at them. Do they seem to really bright etc etc. I personally would not recommend anything but HID's! NO silver stars, HID look a likes!

 

[Jkust]

Here are mine once they are fully warmed up! They are a lot brighter then the regular halogens but just aim them and go infront of the car at a good 500ft and look at them. Do they seem to really bright etc etc. I personally would not recommend anything but HID's! NO silver stars, HID look a likes!

Are those 6k's? They look white not blue if they are.