Noob! Random Mod questions!

[rdemattio]

Alright, I am pretty sure I am going to be purchasing a 2008 Mazda 3 I Sport. Few quick things I noticed, the antenna is retarded, it doesn't have fog lights, and the front bumper looks too feminine (no offense girls). I know the antenna can be taken care of very easily, but how hard is it to install fog lights? Also change out the grill or something to fix that bumper?

 

[xMazdax]

Get the sports edition or grand touring...

 

[infamouszoltan]

i have an 08 i changed my grille, 15 dollars on the internet, havent done fogs because i want to keep them open to show off my front mount, but i heard they are really easy

 

[rdemattio]

Yeah, well I am getting this I sport for dirt cheap, thats the only reason I am getting it. Good to hear about the fogs, I figured they would be hard to install. What other cheap mods are there? I also plan on getting the windows tinted

 

[Courage]

In my opinion the cheapest non pain in the ass mod would be changing your head lights to HIDs and and your inside lights to LEDs... rims and tinted windows are your very basic mods..

 

[rdemattio]

Yeah I am a noob to modding cars and al that, HIDs are those sick blue looking lights right? And i see people saying 35k or 55k or something like that, whats the difference?

 

[xMazdax]

25k would be like yellow. 35k getting white. and 55k is blue? i believe.

 

[rdemattio]

25k would be like yellow. 35k getting white. and 55k is blue? i believe.

Can anyone confirm?

 

[burgmo3]

35w and 55w are just the wattage ratings.

3000k=yellow and the higher you go the more blue it would be. I recommend 6000k= white with a hint of blue. The higher kelvin you go the more light output you lose.

 

[rdemattio]

Yeah I like the white with a tint of blue, so the wattage is just the brightness?

 

[Chefsp0t]

35w hids are plenty bright for daily driving. 55w is even brighter and will most likely cause people to high beam you more often.

I have 4500k hids in my low beams. They are nice and white with no blue in them. I don't like that look with my yellow fog lights. I do want 3000k hids for my fogs though. Right now I just have 2 layers of yellow vinyl on them.

 

[rdemattio]

35w hids are plenty bright for daily driving. 55w is even brighter and will most likely cause people to high beam you more often.

I have 4500k hids in my low beams. They are nice and white with no blue in them. I don't like that look with my yellow fog lights. I do want 3000k hids for my fogs though. Right now I just have 2 layers of yellow vinyl on them.

I see, so right now your fogs are just normal lights with a yellow film over the lens, and your low beams are HID's, so when you turn on your high beams its just the normal stock lights, correct?

 

[Courage]

I have a 6000k HID kit on my car right now.. they do have a hint of blue which is cool looking, my fog lights I went with white to semi match my headlights. (previously had the 6000k HIDs and stock fogs but they look super yellow compaired) so I decided to just change the bulb as I dont care to much about function with the fogs mostly looks haha...

 

[rdemattio]

Are installing HID's as easy and just replacing a light bulb?

 

[Chefsp0t]

Yes, I have regular high beams. The 3 has separate bulbs for high and low beam so you could HID the high beams but warmup time would kind of kill the fun of flashing them at someone who flashes you.

Installing HIDs is technically as easy as changing a headlight bulb but beware if you have never changed the bulbs in your car. I have a hard time reaching behind them soI took the whole front end off the car to get the headlights off and install the HIDs.

 

[rdemattio]

Yeah I've installed them before on other cars, but not M3, could be a fun time =] lol

 

[Chefsp0t]

Honestly taking everything apart is easier than trying to mess around with fitting your hands behind the headlights. It makes mounting the ballasts in a inconspicuous place easier too. I hate when people just put them wherever and it looks like a crappy install. Mine are both attached to the inside of the fender behind each headlight. You'd have to look for them to find them.

 

[rdemattio]

whats the ballast? see thats something new.

 

[Courage]

I can also agree that taking off the light itself to put in ur hid kit will save you time and frusteration in the end. I fiddled with the tight space and it took me a few hours to do this and alot of yelling.. lol its so crampt that its hard to move around and fuss with the lights if you have to.

 

[Chefsp0t]

The ballast is the little box that comes with each HID kit. I believe they help to regulate power to the bulbs since HID bulbs require consistent power to operate properly. I believe they act somewhat the sae as the power supply in a computer. I am not an expect on electronics but that is my understanding.