To HID or not to HID..... that is the question.

[DayOh257]

I like H.I.D. lights. Problem is, $550 to $600 for a conversion is hard to swallow. The P5 having a two bulb system doesn't help either.

So, what' s my alternative? Switch to Super White or Hyper White Bulbs for the same look, but not quite as bright at the H.I.D.

This works well for a while..... but then they start to burn out.... quick..... Now, at $60 a pair, these bulbs get expensive! I've replaced them once already and burned out again. What's wrong????

In the meantime, I'm back to the OEM bulbs..... :rolleyes:

Advice?

[SO GTI]

go to supremepowerparts.com

they quite nice hid set up for under $500. if you search vwvortex.com, you will find that they are doing group buy, so you can get better price. i remember it was about low $400 for 4100k.

i believe my car (VW GTI) and p5 use the same bulb (H7).

[joefufu]

definately go for hid, you will not regret it. Those hyperwhite bulb is no comparison to the real thing

[melicha8]

I've seen them for as low as 350.00 on ebay

[DayOh257]

So the next concern is.....


Are these kits legal? I've heard either way....

[cyc]

60$ a pair? I got mine 27$ CAD a pair.... and they seem to last a long time.

[INiTiAL33]

one more advice....

if your gonna get HIDs... dont cheap out and get the generic or cheap ones on EBAY....

if your gonna get HIDs.... you might as well spend alittle bit more money and get the big name brands like Catz,Hella,Philips...

and no generic bulbs.... get Catz,Hella,Philips bulbs...

[Bijou-MP5]

My friend sells phillips kit around $270~300, but requires little modification.
I have Catz HID and I love it!!! no more worries bulbs replacements~ he he

[DayOh257]

Originally posted by Bijou-MP5
My friend sells phillips kit around $270~300, but requires little modification.
I have Catz HID and I love it!!! no more worries bulbs replacements~ he he

Um.... what kind of "modifications"?:confused:

[TheMAN]

no, they are illegal

I wrote a big post about this, search for it


Originally posted by DayOh257
So the next concern is.....


Are these kits legal? I've heard either way....

[orangezoom]

you really are theman

[twilightprotege]

speak to uhohitzmikey - i got H7 hid bulbs for the low beam for $295

[spankee]

You did read/hear about that Consumer Reports article that said P5's have the best stock lights of any car, didn't you? I'm pretty happy about that. Why mess with success? :)

[Padanky]

I can sell you some out of a BMW for $250+ shipping, they will work just fine! I have the same set-up but out of an Audi A8, Work fine.

[leungwingkei]

Are you getting HIDs for looks or better visibility at night? Or both?

The P5 headlights in combination with the foglights are very sufficient in my opinion.

Don't waste you money on PIAA bulbs, they are too expensive and burn out quickly, and don't increase light output and other blub bulbs are ok if you want the look, but expect a degradation in light output, as much as 50% sometimes.

Try www.powerbulbs.com and get some Osram Silverstars if you want more light or go with the Sylvania Silverstars if you want more light with a white light output. The Sylvania Silverstars produce as much light as the Osrams, but they look nice and are a improvement from stock.

I'm running them in the low beams for the car.

[TheMAN]

no they don't work fine, the beam pattern gets completely fubar when you cram HID bulbs into a halogen housing

not to mention what you are willing to do is a punishable federal offense


Originally posted by Padanky
I can sell you some out of a BMW for $250+ shipping, they will work just fine! I have the same set-up but out of an Audi A8, Work fine.

[ZackyFarms]

hey man, totally go HID, its worth the money, but DONT spend $600 on em, you can get great ones for cheaper...

ive had the catz 4500k kit for a few months now and i love it. at first i was kinda pissed cuz it seemed liek it was too "white" i wanted some blue in it. But, then i had my brother drive the car down the block to see what it looked like, heh, and it totally looks like a clean clean blue from far and then bright pure as hell white up close. I got it for $450 and personally, i think you can still get a great kit for cheaper.

make sure you get a good quality kit too though, like catz, hella, the g-garage ones? i dunno, also check to see if that second group buy ever got off the ground (sorry its been a while since ive been to that section)

[twilightprotege]

i bought my hid's in the 2nd GB....they are just about to be shipped, or have just been shipped...waiting for mikey to let me know. i think the prob was almost no one who signed up to it paid....i think mike is quite peeved at it

personally, i'm getting the hids for visibility. i dont wanna go hitting kangaroos or anything like that ;)

[banned bandit]

these ones are pricy but they replace your headlights aswell

J-SPEC (JDM) 'Sport 20' HID Headlights (2001-)

View Larger Image
Brand new listing! This kit comes with both headlights and directly place the factory units. The easy alternative to do-it-yourself universal HID conversion kits. Additional picture
Price: $1400.00
http://www.corksport.com/content/00/01/06/61/73/shop/products/images/sm799421.gif

direct link...scroll near the bottom

http://www.corksport.com/main.php3?primNavIndex=0&mainURL=%2Fstore%2Findex.php3%3Fcat%3D288796

[twilightprotege]

they will be no good in LHD applications - the lights will be focused into drivers coming in the opposite direction

[banned bandit]

Originally posted by twilightprotege
they will be no good in LHD applications - the lights will be focused into drivers coming in the opposite direction

there should be a way to adjust them though

[Dimitrios]

TheMAN is right. Halogen housings are NOT meant for HID ballasts and bulbs. It's not the heat, it's the light pattern design.

You may *think* that the pattern is fine and that you're getting great light output, etc. I can write pages about how wrong it is, but ultimately, it's your money, car, safety (and other's on the road), etc.

[TheMAN]

no there's not

SEARCH FOR THE HID INFO THREAD!!!


Originally posted by banned bandit
there should be a way to adjust them though

[StuttersC]

Originally posted by banned bandit
there should be a way to adjust them though


The beam pattern will be all jacked up if you try to adjust out the inherent beam pattern for RIGHT HAND DRIVE!!!

Why do people not listen?

[Padanky]

IS300 Lexus, Acura TL have the same style lights. They don't have a projector lens.

I have played with my lights ( turning bulbs, adjusting ) and I have managed to get a pretty clean pattern.

I have driven head-on with many police and have never had a problem.

[StuttersC]

Originally posted by Padanky
IS300 Lexus, Acura TL have the same style lights. They don't have a projector lens.

I have played with my lights ( turning bulbs, adjusting ) and I have managed to get a pretty clean pattern.

I have driven head-on with many police and have never had a problem.

And?

It is still illegal. Most cops have more important things to do than worry about the crappy HID retrofits.

And the headlight housing reflector in a car with true HID is different than that for halogen. It is a fact.

[Padanky]

Originally posted by StuttersC
And?

It is still illegal. Most cops have more important things to do than worry about the crappy HID retrofits.

And the headlight housing reflector in a car with true HID is different than that for halogen. It is a fact.

them cars have HID's as an option, the headlights are the same with or without the HID option! I've done repairs to both cars and the HID's are installed very similar to aftermarket, just the headlights have mounts on the headlight themselves.

If the police don't want to bother with them on our cars why the hell are you so negative about them?!

I will take a pic of my so-called ( jacked up) beam tonight. And you tell me whats wrong with it!

[leungwingkei]

Some cars have halogen housings that work well with HID. The P5 is one of them. If the pattern, cut off is fine and the glare is non existent, I don't really see a reason for all the negativity against HID.

But then I have seen HIDs on some cars with halogen housings, and the glare and cutoff is so fucked up, it pisses me off.

[TheMAN]

no they are NOT the same

the STYLING of the housing maybe the same, but the reflectors are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

you don't have to take a pic of your fubar beam pattern, we've all already seen it

your reluctance to find this thread (http://protegemp3.com/vbb225/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33873) shows your arrogance on this matter... that thread clearly shows your lack of knowledge on HID technology


Originally posted by Padanky
them cars have HID's as an option, the headlights are the same with or without the HID option! I've done repairs to both cars and the HID's are installed very similar to aftermarket, just the headlights have mounts on the headlight themselves.

If the police don't want to bother with them on our cars why the hell are you so negative about them?!

I will take a pic of my so-called ( jacked up) beam tonight. And you tell me whats wrong with it!

[Dimitrios]

Good post TheMAN. I appreciate others knowledgable on the legalities of this issue as well.

[Padanky]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid84/p98c97e0f6c3020aac88581c778f5c6c0/faca418a.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid84/pea3a5ac538472b014a2ff9f050ac16f4/faca4184.jpg

[banned bandit]

Originally posted by Dimitrios
TheMAN is right. Halogen housings are NOT meant for HID ballasts and bulbs. It's not the heat, it's the light pattern design.

You may *think* that the pattern is fine and that you're getting great light output, etc. I can write pages about how wrong it is, but ultimately, it's your money, car, safety (and other's on the road), etc.

er the link i showed you replaces the headlight cassing aswell!

[TheMAN]

that's nice

you didn't read what I said

go back to page 2 and read what I said


Originally posted by banned bandit
er the link i showed you replaces the headlight cassing aswell!

[TheMAN]

as we can all see already, there is no longer a defined beam pattern cutoff... the bulbs are also misaligned causing a partial "high beam" effect on the left bulb... there is also excessive light in the hotspot... at the far extreme part of the H,-V quadrant, there is insufficient light... at the far extremities of the horizon, there is also insufficient light... furthermore, there is not enough light at along the horizon of -V

exposure of the resulting picture is not ideal because of background secondary lighting and the wall is not big enough to allow full unofficial analysis of the beam pattern


Originally posted by Padanky
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid84/p98c97e0f6c3020aac88581c778f5c6c0/faca418a.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid84/pea3a5ac538472b014a2ff9f050ac16f4/faca4184.jpg

[cablemirc]

you know, i know this board is large.. there are excuses for not seeing threads that have discussed HID's before.

however, the search function does index those posts. there is no reason for 40 threads on this nonsense, and it's been discussed many times before.

even with a j-spec housing, the lights point the wrong way. no matter how you fux0r the light, it's wrong.. get it? you can't fix it. you need european HID's, enclosures, ballasts, etc, if you want to do HID correctly.. assuming European HID's for the third gens even exist. check german websites, etc, find a mazda dealer in germany, etc... the enclosures HAVE to be designed for HID.. e-spec halogen housings, while better, halogen wise, still blow for HID lighting..

if you put these things on your car, you will likely kill somebody.. ever been blinded by a benz with HID lighting? yours will be five times that bad, becuase your output is uncontrolled from the housing.

please.. please. do a search next time.

[StuttersC]

Originally posted by Padanky
them cars have HID's as an option, the headlights are the same with or without the HID option! I've done repairs to both cars and the HID's are installed very similar to aftermarket, just the headlights have mounts on the headlight themselves.

If the police don't want to bother with them on our cars why the hell are you so negative about them?!

I will take a pic of my so-called ( jacked up) beam tonight. And you tell me whats wrong with it!

Number 1, the housing is the same, the reflector inside is not. That is why retro-fit kits don't work right.

Number 2, I am so negative about it because people continue to refuse to see the facts regarding retorfit kits.

Plus, I am a cop and it pisses me off when I see retards with: A. crappy HID retro-fit kits, B. stupid colored lights for turn signals that are illegal, and C. the halogen "blue" light bulbs (or other stupid supposedly better headlight bulbs).