Upgrading halogen headlights

T

Tkirwan

Member
:
2016 Mazda CX-5 GT
First, please forgive my ignorance as I'm a mechanic, but not an electrician.
How easy or hard is it for someone to upgrade the halogen headlights in a 2016 CX-5 GT? Can someone with basic electrical knowledge handle it? Also, would this upgrade void my warranty?
Thanks!
Tammy.
 
Should be pretty easy...

Tkirwan said:
First, please forgive my ignorance as I'm a mechanic, but not an electrician.
How easy or hard is it for someone to upgrade the halogen headlights in a 2016 CX-5 GT? Can someone with basic electrical knowledge handle it? Also, would this upgrade void my warranty?
Thanks!
Tammy.
Click to expand...

If you purchase one of the better PNP kits out there, it should be pretty easy for you. You must pay attention to the reflector in particular, since halogen and HID headlights throw out DIFFERENT amounts of heat...AND you do not want to melt those expensive oem housings!!!Also you must pay particular attention in aiming the replacements as you do not want to blind on coming drivers.
While I have always found oem HIDs fantastic; I have always chickened out when it came to the upgrade route. Price and installation were not the issues, but rather.."buyer's remorse...should I really DO THIS?" I HAVE NOT INVESTIGATED THE LED UPGRADE ROUTE.There is lots of good info in this forum on pros and cons of each.

Recently a good discussion was held on the newer "adaptive" variant (WHICH I HAVE NOT SEEN AS AN ADD ON)...I have them on my 2015 HID GT pkg.
MOSTLY USER'S EXPERIENCES...(INC. ME)check out...
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...adlight-amp-Taillight-Retrofit-to-2015-w-tech
 
Buzzer777 said:
If you purchase one of the better PNP kits out there, it should be pretty easy for you. You must pay attention to the reflector in particular, since halogen and HID headlights throw out DIFFERENT amounts of heat...AND you do not want to melt those expensive oem housings!!!Also you must pay particular attention in aiming the replacements as you do not want to blind on coming drivers.
While I have always found oem HIDs fantastic; I have always chickened out when it came to the upgrade route. Price and installation were not the issues, but rather.."buyer's remorse...should I really DO THIS?"
Click to expand...
I "chickened out on the P&P HID (Morimoto) upgrade too, because after doing some further research on the cons of mixing halogen and HID components, I decided it was kind of a half-assed way to better lighting. I decided on another way that some here call half-assed, but has worked well. I replaced all four OEM halogen bulbs with Sylvania Silverstone Ultra bulbs and noticed a definite improvement in both low and high beam performance for about half the cost of the HID setup. The proof for me is now when I come down our dark street late at night I really don't see much difference between the CX-5's lights and those of my wife's Z4 BMW with adaptive HIDs.
 
Forgot to add my response on Possible warranty issue

paris1 said:
I "chickened out on the P&P HID (Morimoto) upgrade too, because after doing some further research on the cons of mixing halogen and HID components, I decided it was kind of a half-assed way to better lighting. I decided on another way that some here call half-assed, but has worked well. I replaced all four OEM halogen bulbs with Sylvania Silverstone Ultra bulbs and noticed a definite improvement in both low and high beam performance for about half the cost of the HID setup. The proof for me is now when I come down our dark street late at night I really don't see much difference between the CX-5's lights and those of my wife's Z4 BMW with adaptive HIDs.
Click to expand...

Forgot to respond to the OP about my recent response to a potential warranty issue!!!

MY FEELINGS ABOUT AUTOMOBILE WARRANTIES IN GENERAL!l...
It is my belief that a dealer will try almost anything to avoid filing a warranty claim, (short of eating sand)...especially if the customer had already won the dispute at a higher level!.I had recently had an argument with them during the "GREAT USB PORT MODULE WAR". They act as though they were being charged back 100% of the repairs, by the manufacturer. In that particular case, I had the TSB in hand which told the dealer EXACTLY how to perform the entire operation and avoid being charged anything. (unless that dealer was completely inept)! I was surprised at the generous amount of labor allowed the dealer by Mazda!)

ie: When exiting the CX-5 one day, pretty soon after purchase, the fuse panel interior door popped off, after I struck it with my shoe. Upon examination, I noticed that one of the plastic "holding tabs": had a crease in it (rendering it useless). The car had a few hundred miles on it, and I determined that perhaps it was struck by a shoe, and that it was damaged during normal exit/entrance, sometimes later on....
It took the dealer 45 minutes to locate the part in their system and I had become impatient and frustrated. The part cost a whole $7, and I determined that my time was worth more than that, (ESPECIALLY AFTER LISTENING TO THE SERVICE WRITER EXPLAIN WHAT PROCEDURES WERE NEEDED TO REPLACE THAT LITTLE SUCKER UNDER WARRANTY. before expending the 30 seconds needed to simply replace it) I JUST PAID FOR the door MYSELF...ERROR #2 ON MY PART!) , and was on my way in under 5 minutes...

WHEW...Simply put...NO AFTER MARKET PARTS, OF ANY KIND, INSTALLED WHILE WARRANTY WAS IN EFFECT!!(smash)(smash)(smash)
 
paris1 said:
I "chickened out on the P&P HID (Morimoto) upgrade too, because after doing some further research on the cons of mixing halogen and HID components, I decided it was kind of a half-assed way to better lighting. I decided on another way that some here call half-assed, but has worked well. I replaced all four OEM halogen bulbs with Sylvania Silverstone Ultra bulbs and noticed a definite improvement in both low and high beam performance for about half the cost of the HID setup. The proof for me is now when I come down our dark street late at night I really don't see much difference between the CX-5's lights and those of my wife's Z4 BMW with adaptive HIDs.
Click to expand...

Sounds interesting so I went to there web site to find out how bright, check the comparison pix, ETC.
I found

SilverStar Ultra - The brightest downroad halogen headlight from SYLVANIA* Ok, what does the *mean?
*Compared only SYLVANIA BASIC

They may be good, but sylvania seems to want to keep it a secret.
 
fdew said:
Sounds interesting so I went to there web site to find out how bright, check the comparison pix, ETC.
I found

SilverStar Ultra - The brightest downroad halogen headlight from SYLVANIA* Ok, what does the *mean?
*Compared only SYLVANIA BASIC

They may be good, but sylvania seems to want to keep it a secret.
Click to expand...
The consensus of the research I did (including a study in CR) indicated that while bulbs like Silverstone Ultras don't throw light any further down the road, they do produce a somewhat whiter, brighter light. This is mainly because they burn hotter and, as a result, won't last as long as the OE bulbs. All of this is consistent with my experience and, if they burn out in a year, so be it. The better performance was worth the expense and throwing In a new set takes five minutes.
 
I didn't even think about just getting better, brighter bulbs! Anyone know what my OEM bulbs are? Brightness? What's the brightest halogen bulbs I can get?
 
Tkirwan said:
I didn't even think about just getting better, brighter bulbs! Anyone know what my OEM bulbs are? Brightness? What's the brightest halogen bulbs I can get?
Click to expand...

OEM High beam 1200 lumens If you replace the stock 9005 with Philips 9011 you get 2100 lumens
The new bulbs cost $19 each The bulbs need a slight trim of one tab. It took a minute per bulb. I have had them in for over a year. Well worth it.
http://store.candlepower.com/mohirbuba.html
 
fdew said:
OEM High beam 1200 lumens If you replace the stock 9005 with Philips 9011 you get 2100 lumens
The new bulbs cost $19 each The bulbs need a slight trim of one tab. It took a minute per bulb. I have had them in for over a year. Well worth it.
http://store.candlepower.com/mohirbuba.html
Click to expand...
I read about that mod and I didn't do it because I was afraid it might be too much for the stock wiring and reflector. Probably being over cautious, but for me the bigger issue was poor low beam performance which the upgrade to the Silverstone Ultra bulb helped more than the hi-beam upgrade.
 
paris1 said:
I read about that mod and I didn't do it because I was afraid it might be too much for the stock wiring and reflector. Probably being over cautious, but for me the bigger issue was poor low beam performance which the upgrade to the Silverstone Ultra bulb helped more than the hi-beam upgrade.
Click to expand...

The wattage for the high beam is the same, therefor the current and heat are the same
 
OK, there's no doubt more than one way to go here. The important takeaway is there's more to be had from the OE halogen setup without going to the expense and complication of converting to HID.
 
Which would be a better H11 Bulb then???

Don't want to go the LED or HID route but I don't want a bulb that burns too hot for the Housing or Wiring?

Phillips, Sylvania or $$ PIAA

Thanks
 
silverevo05 said:
Which would be a better H11 Bulb then???

Don't want to go the LED or HID route but I don't want a bulb that burns too hot for the Housing or Wiring?

Phillips, Sylvania or $$ PIAA

Thanks
Click to expand...
I don't know, but I can tell you that I have had the Philips 9011 for 18 months and I live in the country so they get used a lot. No issues at all.
 
silverevo05 said:
Which would be a better H11 Bulb then???

Don't want to go the LED or HID route but I don't want a bulb that burns too hot for the Housing or Wiring?

Phillips, Sylvania or $$ PIAA

Thanks
Click to expand...
This is a good way to go, in spite of the flack you'll no doubt get from some here. I went with Sylvania SilverStar Ultra for both low https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)
and high https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned) beam almost a year ago and couldn't be happier. I don't do that much night driving, but when I do, I can definitely tell the difference on dark country roads. And no way will these bulbs damage your housing or wiring. They were designed to be safe upgrades to the OE bulbs. BTW, adjusting the headlights up a bit will help too as the factory adjusts for a car with a full complement of passengers, making them too low for normal, unloaded use.
 
Last edited:
paris1 said:
This is a good way to go, in spite of the flack you'll no doubt get from some here. I went with Sylvania SilverStar Ultra for both low https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)
and high https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned) beam almost a year ago and couldn't be happier. I don't do that much night driving, but when I do, I can definitely tell the difference on dark country roads. And no way will these bulbs damage your housing or wiring. They were designed to be safe upgrades to the OE bulbs. BTW, adjusting the headlights up a bit will help too as the factory adjusts for a car with a full complement of passengers, making them too low for normal, unloaded use.
Click to expand...

Haha

Thanks Paris

I'm too old to care much about what others think (in a negative way) or criticize too much, (even though there is one on here who seems to think he has Gods greatest CX-5 which can do no wrong. Every forum has to have that one annoying guy that thinks he's right but is actually just really annoying)

anyways

I'm going between the Phillips and the Sylvania's so it's nice to get opinions on those two. Those Sylvania's are rated at 55W though I think stock is 35W

Thanks
 
Last edited:
silverevo05 said:
Haha

I'm going between the Phillips and the Sylvania's so it's nice to get opinions on those two. Those Sylvania's are rated at 55W though I think stock is 35W

Thanks
Click to expand...

For reference. The Philips is 65 watt as well, but it doesn't have the tint to make it whiter. My thinking (unconfirmed) is that if you use the same power (65 watts) but subtract some light (with the tinted glass) then there is less light on the road.
 
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