HID headlights

[HOTROD]

Less current and no relays  thats some thing to think about !!

[2Gunz]

There is not a cutoff.

Its just blah light in every direction.

[elacruze]

Yep cool deal. How's the projection on those though? A correct HID setup should have a good beam cut off so you don't blind everyone on the road. Like so.

I can't see how you are going to get projection like this (proper) and not spend really big bucks.  Trust me, I'd love it if you could and if someone could post a pic of the kits you are talking about here from the drivers view great.... 

We all know these HID kits are popular and tons of guys around here are running around with them.  The problem is that they blind everyone on the road.  The only cars I see that don't are the ones that you know came with them... BMW, Mercedes, Audi, etc...  It's not just about the ballast and the bulbs.  the housing is designed as part of the system and the bulb/ballast-housing design combine to produce the proper effect.

I'd love to be wrong on this because I'd probably put a set in if they could be done "right"  I upgraded to modern Hella H1 and H4's on my charger and they really work great.  I'd put it on par with my 02 Tahoe as far as light quality...which is a huge improvement over stock. If I'm not mistaken, don't the HID's draw less current?  for that alone, I'd probably switch, but only if I can get that nice crisp line at the top of the light projection that new cars have.

This is a very good point. I'll be 50 next year, and I'm in an area where I'm the youngster on the road. I don't see as well at night as I used to and I'm much more sensitive to headlights. I'm sure the older folks are even worse off. I'm going to start with H4 bulbs in my low beams and HID for high-beam only (There are very few country roads where I am) and when I find an H4 reflector with an acceptable beam spread, I'll convert to HID. Or not.

[2Gunz]

Ive done a lot of research trying to come up with a real projector that will work in a charger.

All projectors Ive found so far will require modifications  to the car to make them fit, and they also dont have the classic "look".

There is one projector that sort of has the look and isnt that deep. However it was only around a few years and is prized by people that do mods.

So they cost around $600 for a pair.

With emerging LED technology I think we will see something thats better suited for us in a few years.

[dkn1997]

Yep cool deal. How's the projection on those though? A correct HID setup should have a good beam cut off so you don't blind everyone on the road. Like so.

I can't see how you are going to get projection like this (proper) and not spend really big bucks.  Trust me, I'd love it if you could and if someone could post a pic of the kits you are talking about here from the drivers view great.... 

We all know these HID kits are popular and tons of guys around here are running around with them.  The problem is that they blind everyone on the road.  The only cars I see that don't are the ones that you know came with them... BMW, Mercedes, Audi, etc...  It's not just about the ballast and the bulbs.  the housing is designed as part of the system and the bulb/ballast-housing design combine to produce the proper effect.

I'd love to be wrong on this because I'd probably put a set in if they could be done "right"  I upgraded to modern Hella H1 and H4's on my charger and they really work great.  I'd put it on par with my 02 Tahoe as far as light quality...which is a huge improvement over stock. If I'm not mistaken, don't the HID's draw less current?  for that alone, I'd probably switch, but only if I can get that nice crisp line at the top of the light projection that new cars have.

This is a very good point. I'll be 50 next year, and I'm in an area where I'm the youngster on the road. I don't see as well at night as I used to and I'm much more sensitive to headlights. I'm sure the older folks are even worse off. I'm going to start with H4 bulbs in my low beams and HID for high-beam only (There are very few country roads where I am) and when I find an H4 reflector with an acceptable beam spread, I'll convert to HID. Or not.

that seems more than reasonable... you wouldn't bright oncoming cars anyway so who cares if it's in all directions in that case...as long as it's max brightness. 


I have an 09 G8 GT and I do have that sharp line at the top of the beam, yet I dont think I have HID's. 

[CidE]

I can't see how you are going to get projection like this (proper) and not spend really big bucks.  Trust me, I'd love it if you could and if someone could post a pic of the kits you are talking about here from the drivers view great.... 

We all know these HID kits are popular and tons of guys around here are running around with them.  The problem is that they blind everyone on the road.  The only cars I see that don't are the ones that you know came with them... BMW, Mercedes, Audi, etc...  It's not just about the ballast and the bulbs.  the housing is designed as part of the system and the bulb/ballast-housing design combine to produce the proper effect.

I'd love to be wrong on this because I'd probably put a set in if they could be done "right"  I upgraded to modern Hella H1 and H4's on my charger and they really work great.  I'd put it on par with my 02 Tahoe as far as light quality...which is a huge improvement over stock. If I'm not mistaken, don't the HID's draw less current?  for that alone, I'd probably switch, but only if I can get that nice crisp line at the top of the light projection that new cars have.

I agree, I might attempt to make my own housing that keeps the beam low enough not to blind people. I don't want to spend a whole lot of money though so we'll see what I can come up with.

[dkn1997]

I need to lay off the crak pipe.. my g8 does have projectors... it do get that nice clean line in the light beam.

I'd think a way to Junkyard this would be to find a newer car that uses retro round headlights and has the projectors.  maybe a mini cooper? something like that. 

on a 2nd gen charger, it wouldn't matter much if it looked stock as long as the headlight door covered it up when not in use.  when in use, who the hell would see it anyway?

[DC_1]

To do this properly you need to get some 5.75" plastic housings with clear lens. Then mod in some projectors to properly focus the light on the road and not scatter it into oncoming traffic. The projectors will give you the proper light cut off. Putting HID bulbs in sealed beam housing does improve things for the driver, but to those in the oncoming lane or in front of you looking through their rear view mirror it is a nightmare. To them it will be worse than someone with regular lights driving with high beams on. I know some states are starting to ban and or ticket for the use of HID kits in vehicles that did not originally come with them. This is because of the safety issue having improperly engineered lights can cause to drivers on the road.

My opinion, do it right or don't do it. If you don't have the talent, patience or want to spend the money to make proper HIDs then get a good pair of halogen sealed beams that are properly designed and engineered for the correct light distribution. It will make a huge improvement over the factory incandescent and you won't be inconsiderate to others around you.

Here is a good source of info for people who want to make a proper pair of HID lights.

http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?39982-Ultimate-DIY-BMW-E30-E32-amp-E34-TSX-retrofit-thread