Xenon Hid Kits

[Bugatti]

Hi, Since there are tons of makes on ebay, can you share the make/model of that you bought...? or even the seller's ID/link...?

[Ripper]

  terrabytetango said:

I installed a generic plug'n'play H4 Bi-Xenon kit into my '94 Townace yesterday. The lamps had to be adjusted slightly lower, and on the test run no one flashed their high beams at me while I drove down the busy highlevel road, so I'm taking that as a positive sign. On roads where I usually use the high beam, the low beam's illumination was more than sufficient; the horizontal coverage lit up pedestrians and bikes on the left of the road quite brightly, and the forward reach is great. The only reason to use high beams would be to flash another driver or to get a good look at the people inside the car coming at you. The bulbs are 4300K, which are the brightest you can get, short of going for the Euro style 3000Ks. Our 121 came fitted with 6000Ks (after market kit installed in Japan), and I thought they were the bomb, but 4300Ks are just so much easier on the eyes. The ballasts and igniters (two per side) were mounted inside the van, next to the rubber stopper through which the existing forward lamp harness exit, and the new wires were routed through an extra opening made in this stopper. The control box with the relay was mounted on the floor behind the steering column, which allows easy reach for a good grounding point, and a power source from the dashboard. The kit utilizes one connection from the existing harness to detect high/low signal, but power is supplied independent of the stock wiring harness. It's a fairly straight forward installation, but tedious; the side indicators and grill come off first, followed by the lamp mounting brackets on either side, on which are mounted a headlamp and park lamp. This was because I had to scout for a suitable mount point for the ballast, and it's so much easier to navigate a drill machine from the outside. I used the supplied mounting plate as a brace from the outside which will keep things nice and snug. The igniters were mounted using industrial strength 3M double sided tape. Bulb installation is straight forward too, and the bulbs themselves can be twisted off the H4 flange, which makes replacing bulbs a breeze since you don't have to deal with those finicky dust covers. I won an auction for the kit on ebay, and paid $62 + free S&H. It got held up at the EMS office, and I paid LKR1300 to clear it. All in all, the built quality of the kit is pretty good, the ballasts are the smaller slim solid state dealies, which look and weigh like solid chunks of aluminium.

One word of advice though, don't go for anything over 6000K. The reason is that, while the intensity of the colour is still high (the bluest blue possible, etc), they're not bright, and you'll have trouble focussing on objects on the road. 8000K is the absolute maximum you should consider, and that only for driving in illuminated areas on the city where you're not completely dependant on your vehicular lights. Anything higher is absurdly obtuse to derive any usable function out of, and are suited for show only (which constitutes 95% of the HID users in Colombo "omg machn thos r SO KOOOLLLL!!111 hw mch???").

Hope the details were useful.

great post mate and thanks for all the details... i bet it would help a lotta guys here

and yeah...like Bugatti had already asked...

would you mind sharing the seller details on ebay?

cheers

ripper

[terrabytetango]

Here's a link to her profile. She was the only seller I could find who had >99% feedback. She claims shipping is free, but drop her a message regarding this, she has a knack for quoting random figures; case in point, the first time I enquired, I was quoted $20, two weeks later she replied $5, and when I actually won the auction she didn't (forgot to?) charge me anything. The package itself is compact and comes in a plain white box, but gets detained by EMS customs because its heavy. Remember it's an auction, so I can't guarantee you'll get the same deal as I did. However I do believe the kits are superior to what's currently sold in SL, and significantly cheaper.

[Prami]

Guys, can I use H4 12V 100/90W bulbs instead of H4 12V 60/55W (not XENON bulbs)? If its, will it damage in to the head beam or bulb holder ? (vehicle model is Mazda BHALP)

Edited September 3, 2009 by Prami

[GuruG]

  terrabytetango said:

One word of advice though, don't go for anything over 6000K. The reason is that, while the intensity of the colour is still high (the bluest blue possible, etc), they're not bright, and you'll have trouble focussing on objects on the road. 8000K is the absolute maximum you should consider, and that only for driving in illuminated areas on the city where you're not completely dependant on your vehicular lights. Anything higher is absurdly obtuse to derive any usable function out of, and are suited for show only (which constitutes 95% of the HID users in Colombo "omg machn thos r SO KOOOLLLL!!111 hw mch???").

Hope the details were useful.

Good review machan. IMHO 6000K is not safe either specialy when its raining. It may look cool but thats about it. The best way to use HID is to have them in projector lenses with cut off points.

  Prami said:

Guys, can I use H4 12V 100/90W bulbs instead of H4 12V 60/55W (not XENON bulbs)? If its, will it damage in to the head beam or bulb holder ? (vehicle model is Mazda BHALP)

Yes u can but not advisable. The heat that emits from 100/90 is much higher compared to 60/55. At first it will make u happy but eventually the mercury coating will burn off from the reflector and it'll end up much worse. Also the most factory wiring is made to handle 60/55. You can solve it by replacing the entire harness or using relays.

Machan, y don’t u buy a good pair of fogs?

[Prami]

Yes u can but not advisable. The heat that emits from 100/90 is much higher compared to 60/55. At first it will make u happy but eventually the mercury coating will burn off from the reflector and it'll end up much worse. Also the most factory wiring is made to handle 60/55. You can solve it by replacing the entire harness or using relays.

Machan, y don’t u buy a good pair of fogs?

Thanks GuruG. Have to fix pair of fogs soon.

[Bugatti]

  Prami said:

Guys, can I use H4 12V 100/90W bulbs instead of H4 12V 60/55W (not XENON bulbs)? If its, will it damage in to the head beam or bulb holder ? (vehicle model is Mazda BHALP)

Yup, Guru is correct, the reflectors tend to fade away over time... why not go for HID...? I checked out the ebay link given above.. and the landed cost will be bout Rs. 9,000/-

[Ripper]

  GuruG said:

Good review machan. IMHO 6000K is not safe either specialy when its raining. It may look cool but thats about it.

i bought a bajadesigns lighting kit for my xr250 and that came with a 6000k PIAA H3 bulb...gotta say it has seen a LOT of foul weather and tough terrains without any issues at all...

and mostly it was high speed riding and at times in rough ground with no other lights available for miles around

having said that yeah i too think 4000k area is the best bet but personally i think upto 6k it's ok...

[terrabytetango]

100/90W bulbs will melt and deform the lamp holder and then the wires themselves, and like the others said the reflective coating will suffer. HIDs run much cooler, I can keep the back of my hand on the lens all day. I've used an infrared thermometer on the front of the lens after driving from point A to B, and the temperature never goes beyond 125F.

[terrabytetango]

  Ripper said:

i bought a bajadesigns lighting kit for my xr250 and that came with a 6000k PIAA H3 bulb...gotta say it has seen a LOT of foul weather and tough terrains without any issues at all...

and mostly it was high speed riding and at times in rough ground with no other lights available for miles around

having said that yeah i too think 4000k area is the best bet but personally i think upto 6k it's ok...

Well compared to the generic chinese 6000k bulbs, I'm sure PIAA is definitely on a higher order so I have no doubt they're just as easy to use. Even the Micro/SSangyong SUVs use 6000Ks with little or no ill effect, and our 121 came with a good set of 6000K Hellas (ballast and all) from Japan. But there are some conversions (notably Land Rover Defenders or 110s) which are 8000K lights, are too painful to look at even for pedestrians.

And yeah, projectors would be ideal but the retro conversion is not worth it, especially since I've been able to adjust them so that they're no longer illuminating the oncoming driver's face. But once again, certain people with conversions don't care about this (once again, Land Rover Defender/110s with 8000k conversions) which are focussed in your face.

Edited September 4, 2009 by terrabytetango

[Prami]

  Prami said:

Guys, can I use H4 12V 100/90W bulbs instead of H4 12V 60/55W (not XENON bulbs)? If its, will it damage in to the head beam or bulb holder ? (vehicle model is Mazda BHALP)

Fixed OSRAM Kelvin 4000K Cool Blue head bulbs (H4 12V 60/55W). Looks good. This is brighter than KOITO headlights (what I have used earlier).

[fizz]

  Prami said:

Fixed OSRAM Kelvin 4000K Cool Blue head bulbs (H4 12V 60/55W). Looks good. This is brighter than KOITO headlights (what I have used earlier).

Machan How much did it cost you and can I know from where did u get the Osram cool blue bulbs??

Thanks

[Prami]

  fizz said:

Machan How much did it cost you and can I know from where did u get the Osram cool blue bulbs??

Thanks

Machan, bought it from D*MO. Call to this number and get the details (General Line: 011 2449797)

Per bulb = around 1200.00

[terrabytetango]

  Prami said:

Fixed OSRAM Kelvin 4000K Cool Blue head bulbs (H4 12V 60/55W). Looks good. This is brighter than KOITO headlights (what I have used earlier).

Do they have a blue lens or are they Xenon filled Halogen bulbs?

[Prami]

  Quote

Do they have a blue lens or are they Xenon filled Halogen bulbs?

This is the bulb

Edited September 8, 2009 by Prami

[ferrarif50]

  Prami said:

Fixed OSRAM Kelvin 4000K Cool Blue head bulbs (H4 12V 60/55W). Looks good. This is brighter than KOITO headlights (what I have used earlier).

is it more into blue colour or white ? do they have 6000K ?

[Prami]

  ferrarif50 said:

is it more into blue colour or white ? do they have 6000K ?

I didnt check 6000K. Color should be like super white with bluish.

[fizz]

  Prami said:

Machan, bought it from D*MO. Call to this number and get the details (General Line: 011 2449797)

Per bulb = around 1200.00

Thanx for d info m8 well do dey have osram blue bulbs for the fog lights

[MkX]

guys. One of my xenon light got busted yesterday. Only high beam works and low beam not working. Where I can purchase new one in Kandy and how much i would cost roughly?

Edited September 9, 2009 by MkX

[Prami]

  MkX said:

guys. One of my xenon light got busted yesterday. Only high beam works and low beam not working. Where I can purchase new one in Kandy and how much i would cost roughly?

Machan, is there no warranty ?

Edited September 9, 2009 by Prami

[Prami]

  ferrarif50 said:

is it more into blue colour or white ? do they have 6000K ?

ferrarif50, Color should be better than super white (not bluish color). Sorry for the earlier reply.

[MkX]

  Prami said:

Machan, is there no warranty ?

Machan, what would be the prices with and without warrenty? Any brands I should avoid purchasng, if i go for ebay?

thx

[Prami]

  MkX said:

Machan, what would be the prices with and without warrenty? Any brands I should avoid purchasng, if i go for ebay?

thx

Machan, no idea about the prices. . i think its depending on the holder types (H4, H7......).

[terrabytetango]

  MkX said:

Machan, what would be the prices with and without warrenty? Any brands I should avoid purchasng, if i go for ebay?

thx

Nearly all the generic bulbs on ebay are from the same manufacturer, but there may be a slight difference in luminosity. How does the hi/lo beam on your vehicle work; is it the shield which moves or the bulb itself? If it is the former then you might trying squirting a drop of WD40 (using the straw) into the bulb base, it may be something as simple as a stuck actuator. Don't try to move it by hand though, because you'll end up bending the shield. I've experienced a stuck hi/lo actuator when the vehicle has been stationary for about an hour or so with the lights switched on. The right hand side assembly always heats up more than the left for some reason. Once the vehicle is in motion however, and airflow over the lamps resume, the problem goes away.

[MkX]

  terrabytetango said:

Nearly all the generic bulbs on ebay are from the same manufacturer, but there may be a slight difference in luminosity. How does the hi/lo beam on your vehicle work; is it the shield which moves or the bulb itself? If it is the former then you might trying squirting a drop of WD40 (using the straw) into the bulb base, it may be something as simple as a stuck actuator. Don't try to move it by hand though, because you'll end up bending the shield. I've experienced a stuck hi/lo actuator when the vehicle has been stationary for about an hour or so with the lights switched on. The right hand side assembly always heats up more than the left for some reason. Once the vehicle is in motion however, and airflow over the lamps resume, the problem goes away.

Edited September 9, 2009 by MkX