HID conversion

[muthstryker]

I had HIDs installed in my truck for about a week before I took them out and purchased the headlights from LMC truck that take the 9007/HB5 type bulb. Even when I tried to aim the HIDs there was no way it was going to work. Not only did the light beam look like absolute crap, I lit the side of a tree about 30 feet up. Even with the headlights aimed all the way down it would not work.

That second headlight you posted is the same design I had in my truck except square, this is what it looks like AIMED at the GROUND!


You can not get a correct cutoff with out projectors, Im just sorry it will not happen. There is a reason the cars that do in fact come with HIDs HAVE projectors. This is a proper HID cutoff...

[stroker87]

Originally Posted by muthstryker

I had HIDs installed in my truck for about a week before I took them out and purchased the headlights from LMC truck that take the 9007/HB5 type bulb. Even when I tried to aim the HIDs there was no way it was going to work. Not only did the light beam look like absolute crap, I lit the side of a tree about 30 feet up. Even with the headlights aimed all the way down it would not work.

That second headlight you posted is the same design I had in my truck except square, this is what it looks like AIMED at the GROUND!

my headlights look nothing like that, not sure why yours did? maybe the diamond cut of the housing? if mine looked like that I would have removed them too NONE of the cars I installed them on looked like that either

I'll take some pictures tonight of my Lincoln and Suburban and you can see they look very similar to the 2nd picture you posted

[mischiefse7en]

heres the difference, and why aiming your headlights makes no difference either. Driving towards these cars looks like driving into the sun

The most dangerous part of the attempt to "retrofit" Xenon headlamps is that sometimes you get a deceptive and illusory "improvement" in the performance of the headlamp. The performance of the headlamp is perceived to be "better" because of the much higher level of foreground lighting (on the road immediately in front of the car). However, the beam patterns produced by this kind of "conversion" virtually always give less distance light, and often an alarming lack of light where there's meant to be a relative maximum in light intensity. The result is the illusion that you can see better than you actually can, and that's not safe.

from here
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...nversions.html

[stroker87]

the pictures you guys posted are very bad but mine are not like that

take a look at the video, keep in mind for some reason the video is showing glare that is not there to the human eye my suburban is 15 to 18 feet from the wall


here is a picture showing how the light is even on the pavement


this is horrible and I would not keep them if mine was like this

[Dillon79scotts]

those dont look bad at all. but the so called "projector" lenses that you can buy off ebay that arent the real projectors is what would look like crap and blind people

[mischiefse7en]

did you miss this part?

Originally Posted by mischiefse7en

The performance of the headlamp is perceived to be "better" because of the much higher level of foreground lighting (on the road immediately in front of the car).

Look at the amount of glare you're emitting with your aftermarket HID kit compared to the stock HID setup. All that light wasted as it blinds oncoming traffic rather than being projected onto the road. Expect a lot of people high beaming you.

[muthstryker]

Stroker yours do look a little better, I however wont ever try again unless I have true projectors retrofitted into the headlight.

I am plenty happy with my LMC headlights that take the 9007 bulb. I replaced the bulb that came with the headlights with PIAA bulbs and the LMC headlight wiring harness, Its plenty bright.

[andrewmp6]

What about led headlights? http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wcs...roductId=64057 or http://www.gbodyparts.com/product_in...907e6168b60b96

[VH Coachworks]

Originally Posted by mischiefse7en

did you miss this part?

Yes, in part that is very true. HID's DO produce more glare then Halogens when mounted in a halogen reflector/refractor based housings. There are however OEM HID reflector based housings.

However, look at the location the above picture was taken; directly head on of the car. Where trafic should never be at that distance. For example the same kind of glare that appears in that photo can also be produced by taking a picture of a flashlight straight on. What I'm saying, is that cameras percieve light differently then we do. And another thing to consider is that headlight alignment is not JUST up and down adjustment, it is ALSO side to side adjustment.

When it comes to "PnP" HID kits, alot of people are misinformed due to the bad apples that run 8K -10K HID's that where never re-aligned that give a bad name to the rest of the people running HID's that are NOT blinding oncoming drivers. Personally I run 5000K HID's in my high beams AND low beams in my 94' GMC with crystal clear refractor headlight housings (with low beam glare cap) and have NEVER been flashed. Again it all comes down to the housing the HID's are mounted in as well as the alignment.

[VH Coachworks]

Originally Posted by andrewmp6

What about led headlights? http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wcs...roductId=64057 or http://www.gbodyparts.com/product_in...907e6168b60b96

Just say no, for now anyhow. LED's are GREAT for several applications, but headlights are NOT one of them yet. The new Escalade "Platinum" edition has LED headlights and not even those are up to par of even halogens yet.

The G-Body LED headlights you linked are rated at 850 lumen's (actual light output), for reference a 35W HID is generally rated from 3300-5000 lumen's. They would have that great white color, but have very little usable light output.

[stroker87]

Originally Posted by mischiefse7en

did you miss this part?

LOL....

Dillon79scotts if you want or need any more info send me a pm i'm kinda done here I thought the picture and video was enough to back up my input on HID's

[tidos76]

As stated before a true projector housing is the only way to "properly" do the HID swap. something similar to http://trueprojectorheadlights.com/c...-round-classic

I would not put a hid kit in the cheapo conversion headlights for 2 reasons. 1 it will blind just about everyone you pass. 2 they WILL crack. 90% of the conversions are plastic and even with regular silverstar ultra halogens i have had them crack on me. They do make some good conversion kits that are glass. I believe hella's are on of them.

I plan on doing a HID retrofit to my 76...not a conversion a retrofit. I have 2 BMW projectors i plan on fitting them into a 7"round headlight. reason being, I have tried multiple conversion housing, Multiple claimed "best bulbs on the market" already done the relay harnesses and all. even with the alternator running at 14V I still cant see ****!

[Dillon79scotts]

Originally Posted by tidos76

As stated before a true projector housing is the only way to "properly" do the HID swap. something similar to http://trueprojectorheadlights.com/c...-round-classic

I would not put a hid kit in the cheapo conversion headlights for 2 reasons. 1 it will blind just about everyone you pass. 2 they WILL crack. 90% of the conversions are plastic and even with regular silverstar ultra halogens i have had them crack on me. They do make some good conversion kits that are glass. I believe hella's are on of them.

I plan on doing a HID retrofit to my 76...not a conversion a retrofit. I have 2 BMW projectors i plan on fitting them into a 7"round headlight. reason being, I have tried multiple conversion housing, Multiple claimed "best bulbs on the market" already done the relay harnesses and all. even with the alternator running at 14V I still cant see ****!

yeah i just bought some crystal clear lenses for now.

maybe later on for some offroad lights ill get HID just so i can get a wider and brighter view

[Briggz29]

i dont know if you already ordered your hids but i would look here

http://www.vvme.com/

[87chevy.com]

your going to blind the crap out of everyone putting HID in a non HID projector. anyway, you can do a real retrofit by instaling a projector into the housing you bought. Fabrication required, but not that complicated. I installed a set of projectors into my 91 subruban headlights, worked great. They are non bi xenon, but awesome none the less. I just bought a pair of the FX-r and will be re-doing the lamps and I will have bi-xenon. I will be selling the setup less balast (since I will be re-using them with the new setup) on ebay or craigslist.
clint

[qu1cks1lver56]

ddmtuning.com

great HID's for cheap

[INSIDIOUS '86]

im doing some conversion kits with real projectors for 4-6 headlights

[Fixwhataintbroke]

Originally Posted by qu1cks1lver56

ddmtuning.com

great HID's for cheap

I second this. I have a pair, as do my brother and his friend, have owned for a few years and not one problem

[racingisnature08]

Originally Posted by qu1cks1lver56

ddmtuning.com

great HID's for cheap

i second this as well! i have used their kits in my motorcycles and installed them in my buddies car and am ordering some tomorrow for my 86 k10. the price for the quality and lifetime warranty you cant beat. like others have said dont be fooled with all the ebay bull****. there are way too many imitators on there selling crap and more expensive. ddmtuning is also plug and play so nice clean wiring instead of a big mess with connectors or wire nuts or whatever you prefer. im ordering mine tomorrow to begin the project and would recommend them to anybody looking