Has anyone tried the kenson, morimoto, DDM Tuning or PolarLander HID headlight kits? I have heard people complaining about the ballasts dying or the lights flickering and want to know how reliable they are.
Case closed: just stick with OEM replacement bulbs.
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No thanks they are not bright enough.
been there, seen that, Matt
these HID’s claim to be brighter and many other goodies
in reality, their brightness is overrated and you will see a lot of people complaining that they measured it and it was substantially less than stated by the seller
another problem is that focusing your headlight will likely to be off a lot with these bulbs, further robbing you on brightness of light falling down the road and illuminating all that “unfocused” parts of it into the eyes of other motorists
I can understand it if you have projector-type of headlights, which tend to compensate it more or less by substantially sharper cut-off pattern, but majority of “classical” headlights will shine all colors of rainbow to us, poor guys happen to drive next to these “upgraded” motorists
don’t get into the cohort of these jerks putting everybody around in danger only to have “expensive looking HIDs” on cheaper cars
if you want it so badly, go for replacement headlights designed to host HIDs
other options:
- if your headlights are “faded”: replacing them will get you much more light
- replace “long-life” bulbs with other standard but lesser life bulbs: you will get 15-25% more light, especially if you of Silverlight bulbs (at expense of their life time)
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Than try Sylvania Silver Star Ultra bulbs. I did when I was struggling with cataracts, and they make a huge difference.
Polishing the surfaces if the lamp modules are fogged can also make a big difference.
If you do these two things and you’re still struggling, than I strongly urge you to have your eyes checked by an ophthalmologist (NOT an optometrist). I was stunned at how much sight I’d lost when my first (left) eye was operated on. It was like someone had suddenly turned on the lights.
Post back with the results. We do care.
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Then get glasses, or turn in your drivers license because you’re too blind to drive.
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How do you tell if you car has projection style light housing already?
The OP was asked in one of his other threads if the headlight lenses were cloudy. No answer. If they are it was said that cleaning them would most likely solve the problem.
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projection type have a big round lens in the front, then a housing inside to get light properly focused
I used to have 2007 SubaruOutback, and it was exactly the type of headlight
I had one of them to go all flaky on the front lens just after warranty lapsed, so Subaru paid 50% to replace it and I had a luxury to get one to disassemble and play with
this internal housing had reflector to straighten the beam, then a mask to get only part of it shooting in forward direction, then it was a round lens in front to make the final pattern to the road
conventional headlight do not waste as much light as these, but pattern is much more forgiving to the drivers around
I had aftermarket HIDs there for couple of years, it was kinda better, did not bother drivers around as this type of light make a sharp cut off, but then it started to flicker and eventually died
once I replaced HIDs to Sylvania Silverlights, I understood that all that hassle was really for nothing: they were as bright if not brighter and no initial startup time and flicker, so I’m sticking to these
I tried putting HIDs into “conventional” headlights of my other car and removed it as it was way too much haze to make trouble to the people around
Why now HIDs? I thought you were going with LEDs. Aftermarket HIDs are a big waste of money IMHO.
How long do HID bulbs last? And for the people asking my headlights are not dirty or fogged.
Until they burn out. Come on Matt, just like every other bulb they will have life expectancy on the package and your result may vary.
Back in the day, we used to bolt a pair of driving lights to the bumper. The rich kids also had a pair of yellow fog lights.
I have heard people complaining about the ballasts dying or the lights flickering
Case closed: just stick with OEM replacement bulbs.
No thanks they are not bright enough.
Get you eyes fixed.
How do you tell if you car has projection style light housing already?
You don’t know if you have projector or reflector type lights?
If you don’t how can you even coherently talk or think about modifications?
You have chosen to either ignore or disregard all the good advice given, so the question that begs to be asked is. Why are you even asking? You obviously are going to to do what ever you chose anyways. The bottom line is. Unless the light housing is designed for a HID or LED set up it will not work well with these installed. If something like the Silverstars are not bright enough you really should get the aim checked. If the aim is correct you need your eyes checked. Or save yourself the trouble of doing anything and just get off the road.
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My impression is that the OP simply wants HID headlights 'cause all the other kids have them. There’s no logic involved, just peer pressure.
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