Converting Halogen to HID

[Rotus]

I have ddm for lows and fogs. I got the standard ballasts and there is room for the low's ballasts on the frame, but the fog ballasts got mounted to the fog brackets. This was all done without removing the bumper, but it will be redone in the near future after bumper removal.

 

[05maz3subd]

yeah the bumper was a lot easier to remove then i thought it would be, took less than 20min and thats long cuz i didnt know where all the bolts to remove were, i mounted my ballasts on the bolt that you see on the bottom of the headlight and the mount for the headlight

sorry for blowing up the thread with the posts

 

[mr_mazda329]

To answer your original question it's not too hard to swap the OEM components. The biggest issue is getting them without sacrificing your first born as each housing MSRP's for about $800.... not including the ballasts, lamps, or the wiring adapters you'd need for the D2S lamps. Plus if you wanted to wire up the leveling motors you'd need those, some spare wire, and the leveling switch for the inside of the car. So while possible unless you found some somewhere cheap I'd just go with the kit for the moment.

The whitest color temp is 4300k. This is what all OEM HIDs are. I don't recommend going with a higher kelvin rating just to get that "blue look" as the higher your kelvin rating goes the less actual light output you have. If you're looking for the blue "flicker" you see on higher end cars then you should do what many members (such as mr_mazda and myself) have done by retrofitting a TRS clear lens in to replace the OEM frosted lens, space the lens, and a few little mods to the shield. This will clean up the cutoff significantly, reduce glare, and give you that pretty blue color while still giving you the most usable light. I'm also using a DDM 35w 4300k kit with TRS lenses and shield mods and I highly recommend doing this if you're adding HIDs... makes a huge difference. I can't find any of my lighting pictures, but the results are basically what mr_mazda posted.

As far as melting things goes you won't have to worry about that with the 35w at the very least. The stock H7 lamps are actually 55w, so really you shouldn't have any issues with a 55w kit either. The real big decider between the two is how/where you drive. If you drive in a city a lot then you don't need 55w lamps. If you're more outside of lighted areas or driving back roads a lot then they might be more to your liking.

Thanks icspots for his useful post. I also modified the glare shield

 

[carbonkid]

DDM 35w 5000k PnP with TRS clear lenses. Dont ever look back. Best headlights I have ever used. As you can see, 5000k is just perfect with a slight hue of blue and great output. Note: to install the clear lenses you will have to bake your headlights open in an oven. Clear Lenses: http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=150

Just ordered the TRS lenses and DDM 5000K replacement bulbs (I have a GT MS3). Thanks Wingman.

 

[mr_mazda329]

Just ordered the TRS lenses and DDM 5000K replacement bulbs (I have a GT MS3). Thanks Wingman.

Hey man. No problem. Post up some pics and impressions when you're all finished up

 

[Cool1Net6]

OP: The car looks sick. Nice work.

But lets say I wanted to change my fogs to HID's; how difficult would that be?

I remember seeing a thread somewhere around here about that but I can't seem to find it.

-Cool-

 

[Rotus]

I did it. It's more difficult if you leave the bumper on. I ended up putting the fog's ballasts on the fog brackets.

 

[05maz3subd]

just saying they are going to not work as long as youd like cuz water can just get on them if they arent high up

 

[mr_mazda329]

just saying they are going to not work as long as youd like cuz water can just get on them if they arent high up

Most HID kits are water proof there sir.

 

[05maz3subd]

i got one that said will never rust and well in 2 months i had to sand the parts cuz they rusted and it said it would never rust lol

 

[Rotus]

Mine still work fine after 6 months. They are only a few inches below where the headlight's ballasts are mounted. The ballasts are sealed and the connections are sealed. If yours is rusting, maybe a defective seal or user error?

 

[05maz3subd]

nah i just saw it starting to rust on the inside parts of the connection so i just undid all the connections and lubed it up with dielectric grease.

 

[iknospd3]

what's up guys im doing the same coversion were did you mount the ballists ? some pix would be helpful thanks

 

[paylew]

what's up guys im doing the same coversion were did you mount the ballists ? some pix would be helpful thanks

We mounted mine just under the headlights. Went with the DDG 35w kit. 5000K temp.

 

[05maz3subd]

Mine still work fine after 6 months. They are only a few inches below where the headlight's ballasts are mounted. The ballasts are sealed and the connections are sealed. If yours is rusting, maybe a defective seal or user error?

you also know rust can form from just oxygen, then only reason water makes it stand out more is b/c it has thinker amounts of o2

 

[Rotus]

you also know rust can form from just oxygen, then only reason water makes it stand out more is b/c it has thinker amounts of o2

Yup, that's why rust is known to them chemistry types as iron oxide.

 

[orangedevil]

i hate the halogen headlights, yeah there (true light) but i think that its still harder to see, i converted back to stock on my MSP

 

[zoominMS3]

i hate the halogen headlights, yeah there (true light) but i think that its still harder to see, i converted back to stock on my msp

wat? Lol

 

[xDJ DUBx]

i hate the halogen headlights, yeah there (true light) but i think that its still harder to see, i converted back to stock on my MSP

what the hell are you talking about?

 

[Rotus]

lol, hid is not halogen orangedevil.

Depending on what 'temp" of HID you got, it can put out less usable light. If you stray to far away from white, it get's really bad. People that put blue temp lights in are just looking to recreate the look of stock HID with optically clear lenses.

Next time you drive next to a car with stock HID, look at the color on the ground, it will be closer to yellow, even though the light looks blueish when you look at the headlight from the front. The blue tin is just refraction from the lens and has nothing to do with the color of light that it puts out.