OEM HID on a Mazdaspeed3?

[N2OInferno]

I searched and about the only thing I could find is "it's really expensive." I know it's expensive, and I'm probably one of the minority that would be willing to pay the money to have an OEM setup with leveling lamps.

Does anyone have any idea what is needed to give the Mazdaspeed3 the OEM HID setup? Ballasts/bulbs aren't an issue because you can always get a PNP kit with some original (not rebased ebay stuff) D2S bulbs that will fit in the OEM housings. I think from other posts I've seen that the leveling modules are built into/attached to the OEM Xenon housings. On my GTI, there were also bits attached to the suspension that controlled the levelers.

If anyone has insight into exactly what parts are needed to do this I'd appreciate any input.

In terms of doing a conversion/retrofit for worst case scenario, do the projectors on the 2010 Mazdaspeed3 halogen housings the same 3" lenses that the previous generation had? Just wondering because I know there are sources to get clear lenses for the previous generation projectors.

thanks

 

[tunersteve]

I would be willing to guess you'd need a new front wiring harness, the lamps, which, if they're like the 6/MS6, the ballast is attached underneath them. Also, the leveling switch, possibly the in-car harness if it doesn't have provisions for that switch, and the headlamps themselves.

I'd guess that it would cost north of $1500-2000 to do on the MS3.

 

[JS + MS3]

dude, all you need is an aftermarket HID kit. it's around $70 these days. Most work perfectly without failing.

Why get the OEM one? I don't get it. 70 vs 1500.

i always get mine from HIDExtra.com

Size is H11 and pick a color of your choice.

 

[N2OInferno]

Why? Because I'd rather have xenon projectors that are designed for those types of bulbs, instead of a rebased HID bulb inside of a halogen projector. I won't settle for a cheap HID kit.

I'd be more willing to do a retrofit to another xenon projector, something like this http://store.theretrofitsource.com/...d=117&osCsid=056bf013ff14801e44e6d3452068e5a0 but that's still a bit over 500 dollars, and I've found sources for OEM HID headlamps/ballasts/bulbs for about 400 each.

This is one occurrence where "good enough" doesn't meet my standard. I'd rather stick with the OEM halogen before putting a pnp kit into the car.

Mainly I just wondered if it was a semi-easy task to do (similar to the previous gen swap). On my GTI the leveling system for the lights hooked into the suspension system and made it a bit more work.

 

[JS + MS3]

dude the kit I have is not a cheap. yeah like 3-4 years, it did really cost 400-500 to get the HID kits. however, the demand of it has shoot up high over the past 3-4 years, that's the kits pricing has came down quite a lot. these companies now manufacturer HID kits from china and just ship them in the bulk. that's why it got cheaper.

i had 3G TL before 2010 mazdaspeed3, and i had these 6k d2s bulbs for my lows and 6k hid kit for my fogs. they were on my car for more than 2 years with ZERO problems. I don't know why you think these aftermarket HID kits are cheap and s***.

and don't you have 2010 mazdaspeed3 like me? it does have "a projector" but just with halogen bulbs. so you don't need to get an entire new headlight set up to put a HID.

gosh, I don't understand. :shrug:

if you want to go with that route, go ahead. it's not my money. but you are, in fact, the first person who wants to go in that direction so.

good luck anyway. try hidextra.com if you want to take my advice. i'm regular on acurazine.com and hidextra is one of the official vendors.

 

[N2OInferno]

Nah I don't have a Mazdaspeed yet. I had a Protege5 and then went to a GTI (with delicious OEM HID and a superb cutoff), and now that that's gone I'm shopping around again. I was convinced on getting a coupe of some sort, but now I have a baby on the way so a four door makes so much more practical sense. Just doing research (as always) before I buy.

Anyway, if you care to understand, here's my reasoning: A halogen projector is not the same as a xenon projector. A filament light and an arc light have different characteristics. Some select halogen projectors work better than others for pnp HID, sure. However, most halogen projectors from what I have seen will produce a narrower beam spread and maybe some hot spots (because it's made to focus less light into a more concentrated area) when you put a xenon bulb in them, compared to the wide and sharp beam pattern of a proper xenon projector. Now, it's nowhere near as bad as a reflector, and you won't blind everyone because of the built-in cutoff that a projector has, but it's definitely a noticeable difference. I've also seen the less expensive bulbs have focus issues and give a blur of light above the cutoff. On top of all of this, I'd like to be able to control the leveling like the OEM setup can. Like I said, for some people pnp might be good enough and they're more than welcome to buy and enjoy them.

To me, plug and play kits are cheap. I mean, when you look at a OEM Hella ballast for 100 bucks, and then you see another entire kit for less than fifty, it might make some people skeptical. However, I never said they were "s***." I know people that have them and love them, and I'm sure there are tons of other people who are more than satisfied with them. I suppose it's the same as the Volk/Work vs. Rota argument, in essence.

Having said that, would I spend 30 bucks on a DDM kit to see how it looks? Sure, if I can afford a new car I can afford to burn some money on a kit and if I hate it I'm sure reselling it would be cake. I'm just a lighting nerd, and I'm very picky about how it all turns out in the end.

tl;dr version: all projectors are not the same

 

[DarkSpeed3]

dude, all you need is an aftermarket HID kit. it's around $70 these days. Most work perfectly without failing.

Why get the OEM one? I don't get it. 70 vs 1500.

i always get mine from HIDExtra.com

Size is H11 and pick a color of your choice.

+1. Aftermarket in mine, couldnt be happier.

 

[JS + MS3]

Cool. To each their own, I guess.

But, I have to tell you that I had 3G TL before my 2010 Mazdaspeed3. My TL had OEM HID obviously, and I can confidently say that both cars are pretty comparable in terms of lighting output and all that.

But you are the one who is a lighting nerd. lol so, you of course know better than me. haha Hope you get our 2010 Mazdaspeed3 man! it's a fantastic car!

 

[nynhex]

+1. Aftermarket in mine, couldnt be happier.

Darkspeed3, sorry to jack the thread but you're running H11 on your low beam right? I ordered last week just wanted to make sure I got the right size. So far my searches are back/forth here. 2010 MS3 also

 

[satellitez]

Has anyone here replaced their factory hid bulbs with aftermarket? On their genpu..

I miss my 6k bulbs i had on my previous mazda. The aftermarket bulbs id like to put in are xenon 6k d2s from sharphid. Will these work? Since theyre not like the factory bi-xenon would i still have highbeam funtion?

And would i require any other addadditional parts or is it just plug and play. Any help wojld be appreciated

Edit: just confirmed by the lighting company that its the same bulb, its the housing that opens up to allow high beam. The bulb will work. Still wondering why though... Does the owners manual say to not replace the bul s yourself and to go to your local dealer

 

[Limeybastard]

Just be warned the cut off on the Oem hids ain't that great. I have a 13 with tech pack and my old Acura tsx had a much better sharper cut off with a blue band. This don't.

 

[Chiller]

^ Truth. Coming from a '12 with tech. Cutoff is weak on these.

 

[andrei1989]

get the VOLT kit off xenondepot.com its about $115 but its worth every penny!