Thank you ArkanDan and Bob2525 for the info. I also want to do this in my 95 f150, I think it would look killer.
HID Conversion, to do or not to do
- Thread starter ArkanDan
- Start date
Thank you ArkanDan and Bob2525 for the info. I also want to do this in my 95 f150, I think it would look killer.
My rear overheads wouldnt even fit the 31mm festoon bulbs. Even after prying it all the way to the plastic wall. Ended up having to order 28mm ones. I was able to make the 31mm's fit the front though. But ended up swapping those out for the 28mm's i got to match the rears as they had better light output.
I am very interested in HID upgrade, but not sure I need anything else, other than 55w set... did you need anything else to install, such as mouting brackets, HID harness?
I've got my kit installed, but not fully tested as yet. Didn't need anything to make it work other than what was included in the standard kit. Not sure if I did or do need anything else like something to show if a bulb would "throw in the towel" and give a alarm on the dash. I guess a person should notice that just by what he's seeing out the windshield.? I did have difficulty inserting the new bulbs. Getting them lined up is a bit of a chore and then turning them to lock is something else. Maybe I'm just a "pansy", but I couldn't get the bulbs to lock correctly without manufacturing a "tool". Took a block of would one and one half inch square by about six inches long and cut a three eights inch slot in the end to fit over the bulbs' back end and used it to get the torque to seat it. Worked for me. Will check alignment this evening against the garage wall. Then will road test. They're the 6000K white bulbs.
I didnt order anything additional. Just your basic 55w HID kit. Everything needed is included. For mounting, it included some double sided sticky tape. Which like i said previously, i just installed them on the bottom of the actual headlight housings using the supplied sticky tape.
The entire install took about 20 minutes for me. The hardest part was having to unbolt the coolant overflow tank to gain access to the light housing on the passenger side. And even that was just 3 10mm bolts. Didnt have to do anything special to install the HID bulbs either. The HID bulbs screwed in exactly like the OEM light bulbs did.
The entire install took about 20 minutes for me. The hardest part was having to unbolt the coolant overflow tank to gain access to the light housing on the passenger side. And even that was just 3 10mm bolts. Didnt have to do anything special to install the HID bulbs either. The HID bulbs screwed in exactly like the OEM light bulbs did.
I would say LEDs are hit and miss for sure. The Amazon kit might be awesome, but chances are they are pretty cheap. I used to get all my LEDs from Ebay china sellers and they were better than stock bulbs, but no where near the quality of VLEDs or SuperBrightLEDs. Like most things in life (unfortunately) you get what you pay for. VLEDS has their best festoon 28mm at $16 bucks EACH right now (ouch!) I'm waiting for a better deal than 10% off.... Likely, with black friday coming up....
Nope. No issue at all. Both always power up fine. I even leave my automatic lights on, which on alot of cars can have issues with one ballast not turning on or flickering. But that hasnt been an issue even a single time with the CX9.
And i was in Chicago with the wife last night, and was driving back home on I-90, and ended up passing a 1st gen CX9 GT with factory HID's. My 55w HID's totally washed out his light on the road when i was still about 3 cars behind him. When i was beside him, the spread on the road looked like he had his lights off, and i was the only one with lights on.
My one complaint is kind of the opposite of typical HID installs. My cut off is too damn LOW! Ever since installing the HID's, i really need to turn both sides up a tad. I cant even annoy the lowest of import cars with these things..
And i was in Chicago with the wife last night, and was driving back home on I-90, and ended up passing a 1st gen CX9 GT with factory HID's. My 55w HID's totally washed out his light on the road when i was still about 3 cars behind him. When i was beside him, the spread on the road looked like he had his lights off, and i was the only one with lights on.
My one complaint is kind of the opposite of typical HID installs. My cut off is too damn LOW! Ever since installing the HID's, i really need to turn both sides up a tad. I cant even annoy the lowest of import cars with these things..
You have inspired me to do a swap for sure.
Just want to double check, below is the product you used with the 55 watt / H11 Bulb / 5000K options without any of the accessories correct?
http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DDM-HID-Kit-Slim-Ballast-35W-or-55W
Just want to double check, below is the product you used with the 55 watt / H11 Bulb / 5000K options without any of the accessories correct?
http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DDM-HID-Kit-Slim-Ballast-35W-or-55W
Will probably have a slight bluish tint to it.
Keep in mind that over time the HID bulbs tend to move upwards in the temp (color) scale as well.
If i had to do it again, i would have done the 6000k 55w ones. My 5000k's are just white without any hint at all of a blue. Which my LED 194's im running in my headlights are slightly. If you dont want any blue of any sort, stick to the 5000k
I think you would have to get more into the 7000k's to get alot of blue. Like has been said, the 55w HID kits wash out the coloring of the bulbs alot more compared to the older 35w kits. So if you have the 35w 6000k color in mind, thats not going to be the outcome. A 55w 5000k is pretty much a 35w 4000k color output.
I chickened out and ordered 35w 5000k. After researching on some hid forums (can't believe there are complete forums dedicated to just HIDs) the consensus of 55w was that they were too bright and actually caused more eye fatigue for the driver due to the increased contrast of super bright and dark not to mention the on coming drivers.
Probably a good call. I had 35w 5000k in my 6 for four years and loved them. Plenty bright.
Not nearly as bright as the stock 2014 CX-9 HIDs though. These things are the best lights i've ever driven behind. Unfortunately, I get flashed by unknowing oncoming traffic who think they're highs, even though the fog lights are on!! (Face palm, but I guess some people don't know fog lights turn off automatically when highs are active).
Anywho, enjoy the lights!
Got my 35w 5000k DDM HIDs installed finally. For 45 bucks with shipping, the wiring and ballast seems pretty well made especially since they are direct from China. Took about 15 mins to install with simple wire plug ins and as a bonus the ballasts and wire adapter fits right inside the headlight.
First impressions, I really like the 5000k color as it looks OEM, definitely pure white and no annoying blue tint. The color and cut off is very similar to the HIDs on my STI so I believe the projector lenses could be the same as those in the GT.
As far as light goes, it could be a tad brighter (ie may have gotten away with the 55w) but I chose the 35w so I don't get flashed especially since they are not DOT approved. We'll see on longer road trips. I do like how the passenger side shoulder of the road is now more illuminated and it's a definitely a step up from the halogens and for 45 bucks I can't complain.
The parking light is still halogen and looks funny when the low beams are on due to the mismatch in color. Any suggestions on how to make it match the HIDs? Would a LED bulb work?
First impressions, I really like the 5000k color as it looks OEM, definitely pure white and no annoying blue tint. The color and cut off is very similar to the HIDs on my STI so I believe the projector lenses could be the same as those in the GT.
As far as light goes, it could be a tad brighter (ie may have gotten away with the 55w) but I chose the 35w so I don't get flashed especially since they are not DOT approved. We'll see on longer road trips. I do like how the passenger side shoulder of the road is now more illuminated and it's a definitely a step up from the halogens and for 45 bucks I can't complain.
The parking light is still halogen and looks funny when the low beams are on due to the mismatch in color. Any suggestions on how to make it match the HIDs? Would a LED bulb work?
Congrats on getting them installed! That's great everything fits in the housing; with my old 6 I had to eternally mount the ballast and ignition module.
As for the parking lights, yes, you can get LEDs for them. They are a simple 194 bulb (same as the side marker lights that are stock amber). I would recommend going with a reputable source if you're looking for true color match (something like VLEDs, where they say 5k white, they mean 5k). Their 194's have jumped in price lately, but that's because they made them insanely bright for how small they are. Link: http://www.vleds.com/shop-bulb-numbers/194-168-158-led.html?light_color=5
You'll want to go with something that fires radially (360 degrees) in order for it to light up the housing nicely.
Example of 5k 194 bulbs in the side marker lights on my 14. Note: the photo show's a lot of glare, but that's just the camera. They look more subtle in person.
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- 2013 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring Tech Package White
Congrats on getting them installed! That's great everything fits in the housing; with my old 6 I had to eternally mount the ballast and ignition module.
As for the parking lights, yes, you can get LEDs for them. They are a simple 194 bulb (same as the side marker lights that are stock amber). I would recommend going with a reputable source if you're looking for true color match (something like VLEDs, where they say 5k white, they mean 5k). Their 194's have jumped in price lately, but that's because they made them insanely bright for how small they are. Link: http://www.vleds.com/shop-bulb-numbers/194-168-158-led.html?light_color=5
You'll want to go with something that fires radially (360 degrees) in order for it to light up the housing nicely.
Example of 5k 194 bulbs in the side marker lights on my 14. Note: the photo show's a lot of glare, but that's just the camera. They look more subtle in person.
Neverthought about swapping out the sidemarker lights. which did you use if you dont mind me asking? ALso, are you using HIDs in the fogs? If so, which brand and are you using a wiring harness? Thanks! ANy help will be greatly appreciated
Hey metsfan999. I'm using a slightly older version of these: http://www.vleds.com/shop-bulb-numbers/194-168-158-led/6-5k.html Looks like they are backordered right now, which is unfortunate. I had them all over my old 6, as it used quite a few 194 bulbs. You may be able to find another source for a color match, but I've had great luck with VLEDs. Superbright's prices are comparable, and a bigger selection by far, however they only say "cool white" and "white". No telling if "white" is 5k or not until you get the bulb.
As far as the fogs, they are 5k LED H11 bulbs. (Got them on clearance from VLEDs, no longer listed as they went to a new product "LMZ") Went with LED because I kept the stock housing, where HID would just glare. It's not as bright as I was expecting for a 3000lm bulb in there (but the bulb is insanely bright, I know outside the housing). I think it stems from the reflector in there for the standard halogen bulb... The LED bulb has two radially firing bulbs, so front end glare wouldn't be an issue, but apparently taking out the reflector is a b****. Coincidentally, Mazda 2 foglights you can get on eBay don't have the reflector and are the same otherwise...
In hindsight, I probably should have just done this: http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...ID-projector-fog-lights-(night-time-pictures), because all told this would have been a cheaper route. But I do like how sweet the bulb looks in the housing (very futurisitc, lol) so that is a benefit of not going projector. However, in the meantime (until i figure out the reflector situation), the color match is pretty good from the LED and the factory HID.
