aftermarket HIDs

[leungwingkei]

Has anyone installed aftermarket HID on their P5's? I once saw a yellow one with HID and it looked very nice, with correct beam pattern and no glare to oncoming drivers.

Can anyone who has them give me some advice as I want to install a set myself also. Thanks alot.

[yellowmp5]

Think that was RC bear u saw...

[Protege5 Kid]

I know they are very very very expensive...almost 1500 for a set, you could probley find them for 900 if you look hard and used ones for 600

As well i know that the install is no walk in the park...it's all about wires and balance!

They do make a car look 5000$ more expensive i agree...i love them, but won't pay that kind of price for them.

[EvolutionIV]

..supposely a HID from an IS300 fits H7 and runs cooler and lighter load than stock (35W)....and you just need a splitter into the low beams.

any comments on that?

Evo.

[ChopstickHero]

Look online for a set of H7. I know there are some sketchy ones out there, but I suggest getting ballasts made by OSRAM, Hella, or Phillips. These are the main electrical lighting companies in the world and their ballasts are supposedly very good. Also, look on other Protege boards about HID lighting. some people have found H7 kits that need no modification whatsoever. all they did was plug and play. others needed minor mods to make it work.

[MiniRX7]

Be warned, aftermarket HID's are illegal.

We have many people on the maxima.org getting pulled over and ticketed for illegal HID's..

They are not DOT approved..

Also there has been several people that had their HID's blow out.. so stick with teh name brands..

Stay away from anything above 6K.. Stock ones are between 4K-6K... the temperature has nothing to do with brightness but more for colour..

The uppper range tends to get washed out in the rain is bad for visaiblity..

ED

[Bumble G]

Not to mention the headlight housing and reflector was not designed for a HID light source.The beam pattern will be all wrong.


But hey to each his own.

[obender66]

There's a threat at protegeclub about guy getting H7 HId kit which doesn't fit. I am kinda interested in upgrading to HID, but I am concerned about quality/fit/reliability and I will NOT buy such thing online. I don't give a rats ass about DOT-if I adhere to DOT bulbs, I would run off the road long time ago-I use Philips 55W H7 which I bought in Europe and they are not DOT approved. DOT approves inferior products, thanks god there's aftermarket.
As for cops-how the f...they know if car has factory HID or not? They probably ticketed Maxima guys for not having headlights properly aimed and that should be done after conversion-on the conservative side, especially if car is not equipped with auto -levelling healights. Maximas do come with HID-at least as an option. I doubt cops have list of cars which have HID as option and which do not.

[MixedAznBoy]

does anyone have a good pic of a before and after hid conversion??

[ChopstickHero]

go here to read up on HIDs that somebody installed on their car:
http://forum.protegemp3.com/vbb225....%2A+kit (http://forum.protegemp3.com/vbb225/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6763&highlight=HID+%2AK2%2A+kit)

http://members.rogers.com/mickle/mp5everywhere.jpg

[MiniRX7]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (obender66 @ Dec. 01 2002,4:31)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">There's a threat at protegeclub about guy getting H7 HId kit which doesn't fit. I am kinda interested in upgrading to HID, but I am concerned about quality/fit/reliability and I will NOT buy such thing online. I don't give a rats ass about DOT-if I adhere to DOT bulbs, I would run off the road long time ago-I use Philips 55W H7 which I bought in Europe and they are not DOT approved. DOT approves inferior products, thanks god there's aftermarket.
As for cops-how the f...they know if car has factory HID or not? They probably ticketed Maxima guys for not having headlights properly aimed and that should be done after conversion-on the conservative side, especially if car is not equipped with auto -levelling healights. Maximas do come with HID-at least as an option. I doubt cops have list of cars which have HID as option and which do not.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
HID's are not optional on maxima, they are standard equipment as of 2002..

If you get a tickket because of HID's, all you need to do is provide proof that it came with the car.. If not you will get a fix-it ticket..

Try proving that a protege comes with HID.. Its not really so much taht people have HID's that is the problem, it is more along the lines of guys who do not have beam correction, or their dispersion patterns are so bad that it blinds on coming traffic..

ED

[Bumble G]

there is no way to properly aim a seudo HID light in a DOT housing. The lense was simply not designed for it.

HID lighting has a hard cut off point with NO light above it. Just like e-spec lights.

DOT approved lights will have much more glare to oncomming traffic.
http://www.miata.net/garage/images/oldlights.jpg
Where an E-spec has less glare because of the hard cutoff point.
http://www.miata.net/garage/images/newlights.jpg

[MiniRX7]

Very true, it is impossible to make a stock headlight properly disperse the HID beam patter, even if the bulb is beam corrected..

However there are guys running uncorrected beams that are just totally blinding.. But it looks so cool

Trust me, i feel like upgrading my 4K ballasts to 8K for the coolness factor but i can't justify sacraficing safety especially when temperatures that hot cause a more purplish colour which really sucks in wet conditions..

ED

[EvolutionIV]

Ed, what do you think about the Xenon Depot Kits?

(for sale section)

Evo.

[Paolo]

I have to agree, Do not install an HID kit into a headlight designed for halogen optics. HID upgrade kits for that purpose are illegal, and not to mention dangerous, no matter how good they work. HID's also do not work well with DRL's and the ballasts tend to burn out if not getting sufficient power. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask me.

[P5_Projection]

WOW. i think this is the funniest topic so far. Why would anyone tell someone not to get HIDS. I have installed a CUSTOM set of hids onto my car using Philips D2R bulbs and hella ballasts with wiring from xenondepot. My kit looks incredible, and doesnt blind oncoming traffic. Cops dont care if you have HIDS or not it is if you blind them that they care. When you buy a H7 kit that has a rebased bulb then you are set. The aiming will be done by attaching the tab in the headlight to hold the bulb. Also, the DRL problem is a quick fix by just connecting a capacitor to the wiring of the lights and then the watt ouput sent to the ballast is even and they wont blow out. Only thing is that you will have your lights on all the time. So to those who are considering HIDS i suggest you go right ahead and do it, just do it RIGHT. Ill try to get pics later today of my HIDS.

P.S. visibility with HIDS compared to stock is like night and day and i will NEVER go back to halogens, only HIDS from now on.

[dr_sarcasm]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (P5_Projection @ Mar. 02 2003,11:12)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Ill try to get pics later today of my HIDS.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Yes please.

By the way, is this an aftermarket kit? If yes (it could be a home-based job), where'd you get the kit? How much? Who did the wiring for you (if not you)? Are you using the stock light housing, or did you get projector lamps along with the bulbs?


dr_&quot;just call me curious George&quot;_sarcasm.

[Paolo]

Illegal Xenon retrofitting is dangerous and illegal
Vehicle certification loses validity, insurance protection is restricted - up to 100 times higher glare values

Article dated 10.10.2002

Lippstadt, October 2002. People who just buy a xenon headlamp set including cables, xenon light source and ballast, remove the halogen bulb from the headlamp, saw a hole in the cover cap, insert the xenon ulb in the reflector and connect the electronic ballast with the on-board power supply are endangering other road users through extreme glare and are acting against the law: the vehicle certification loses its validity and insurance protection is restricted. Only complete, type-approved xenon headlamp sets including an automatic headlamp levelling and lens cleaning system are legal.
This is why it is illegal to make a halogen headlamp into a xenon headlamp:

In Europe only complete xenon headlamp systems may be retrofitted. They comprise a set of type-approved headlamps (with the E1 mark on the outer lens, for example), an automatic headlamp levelling device and lens cleaning equipment (compulsory according to ECE regulation R48 and § 50 STVO, section 10(Germany only)).

Every headlamp is given its type approval together with the light source (halogen or xenon) it is operated with. If the light source is replaced by one which is neither type-approved nor designed for the type approval of the headlamp, this type approval becomes invalid, as, consequently, does the vehicle's certification (§19 STVZO, section 2, sentence 2, no. 1(Germany only). Driving without vehicle certification leads to restrictions of insurance protection (§ 5, section 1, no. 3 KfzPflVV(Germany only)). People who sell such non-type-approved lighting equipment must expect claims for damage from buyers. Because in passing on these parts, the seller not only takes over the guarantee that they may only be used for the designed purpose but also, under some circumstances, damage risks to an unlimited amount. High glare values: From measurements made under laboratory conditions Hella specialists have found that the active beam pattern of a headlamp developed for halogen bulbs, but operated illegally with a xenon light source, no longer corresponds to the originally calculated values. In the case of reflection systems, glare values have been measured which exceed the permissible limiting values 100 times over. The headlamps of these vehicles no longer have a cut-off line and cannot be adjusted either. The glare values correspond to the those of driving lamps. This puts other road users in great danger.

On the other hand, retrofitting xenon headlamps is perfectly legal if they are supplied as complete sets like the ones from Hella (type-approved twin headlamps, headlamp levelling and lens cleaning system), now available for Audi A3, BMW 5-series, Ford Focus, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Opel Astra, VW Golf IV and for the trucks Mercedes-Benz Actros, Scania BR4 and Fiat Ducato (from January 2003). These vehicles can then exploit the advantages of the extremely powerful xenon light:

more than twice the output in comparison with halogen bulbs
brighter and wider illumination of the road
light quality similar to daylight (colour temperature of halogen light 3,200 Kelvin, xenon light 4,300 Kelvin, daylight in sunshine 5,300 Kelvin); which accommodates human seeing habits. Drivers do not tire as quickly and drive in a more relaxed way.
Hazards at the edge of the road or obstacles in front of the vehicle are recognised more quickly, pedestrians and cyclists are more easily visible.
Xenon light increases contrasts and coloured vision. Three-dimensional vision is improved in adverse weather conditions.
Text and photos available under www.hella-press.com

Link to Hella Website (http://www.hella-press.de/search_detail.php?text_id=189&language=e&newdir=eng)

Even though this article is refering to mainly Europe, they have much stricter lighting laws than we do here in North America. That still doesnt make it ok to retrofit them here in America. Just because you think your retrofitted HID's have no glare and are ok and seem ok to you, does not make them ok for the rest of us. Has anyone done any studying and testing on your retrofit light setup to prove that it is infact ok and safe? nope. Now on the other hand, a projector lens, and D2S or D2R bulb, which has been designed in compliance with the DOT or ECE lighting standard is approved for street use, so this means, both of them must be together, just like they appear on other cars.

If you are gonna invest time and money into upgrading your car's lighting, you might as well design a set of projector lenses into your car, and make sure they have the ability to be ajustable. Or check if a ECE or JDM version of complete Xenon lamps exists for your car, and can be used as a direct swap. If you are going to use JDM, change the projector shield, so the light beam will be corrected for LHD cars. One last thing, HID's ARE affected by DRL wiring. DRL circuit, will cut power to a halogen bulb by approx 10% to 30% depending on the type of vehicle and manufactuer. Xenon lamps do not work well with DRL circuits because they require the full load of 12-14 V at 15 amps or more per ballast, depending on the setup. If you underpower ballasts, they WILL eventually fry, and not work anymore. you can tell a ballast is being underpowered if you see it flickering durring power-up, and/or it takes longer to ignite. To correct this, you can use 2 relays, and some wires. The relays should be connected to your battery source, the relays can be triggered by your car's 12V lighting source, even though its reduced power, it is still enough to power the relay. The relay then, will get a full 12-14 volts, being sent to the headlights, and will be working at how they were designed to operate.

No, I did not make any of this up, and yes I am a newbie on this board, but I have been studying automotive lighting for a few years, and I have already done a proper Xenon upgrade in one of my vehicles, which is done to DOT specifications. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask me, or check out the hella website above.

[P5_Projection]

Hey Doc,
Ill do the pics 2nite hopefully within the hour, i jsut had to make some minor mods on it but i will answer your questions.

I was going to install projectors but realized that reflector based hids give off more light and looks better. I used ballasts off of an audi A6 and i bought philips D2R bulbs seperately from the ballasts. (they are used on the lexus is300 and other lexus'http://msg.toprotege.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif I got the wiring from xenondepot, if i am not mistaken i think they are around 70-80 bux for the wiring. I took all those components and made it fit custom(its not a direct bolt on because our housings are not made for d2r bulbs. The install is fairly simple.
If you have more questions go right ahead and ask.

[P5_Projection]

how do i post the pics, if anyone can help that wuld be great

[SpeeDemoN]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (EvolutionIV @ Dec. 03 2002,11:17)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Ed, what do you think about the Xenon Depot Kits?

(for sale section)

Evo.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
The Xenon Depot kit uses all Philips components.  To be honest, their kit and customer service is amazing.

They offer a 5000K and 6000K kit...

Check this out: http://msg.toprotege.com/cgi-bin....;t=5075 (http://msg.toprotege.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=18;t=5075)