If you were to stick with halogens which bulbs would you intern run to get quality high output light?
Headlight Conversion. Halogen or HID
- Thread starter mebe007
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It seems in the halogen market it is hard to beat the Philips Extreme visions or the Osram Nightbreaker Plus's. They run about $42 a pair. Not too bad but not cheap either. Then there are the IPF bulbs but they are averaging $130 for the nicer sets. The one amazing thing about them is they are claiming something like 180/170W out of their bulbs due to the bilux design like the Osrams and Philips bulbs. Anyone have any experience with these bulbs at all.
One thing I like about sticking with a halogen is it doesn't look out of place on the car. Second is your not necessarily blinding other drivers, and in a technicality sense your legal amongst all the other illegal things on these cars like offroad fuel, no cats, etc. The other nice thing would be bulb availability so your not waiting for weeks to get ahold of a company about a warranty on a ballast that they clearly import from China which died.
So it seems like to stick with halogens (say the Philips bulbs) i would need 4 of the of course, along with an upgraded relay harness off of the battery. So one would be looking at roughly $85 in light bulbs and another say $35 for the upgraded harness. This puts you at say $120 total after the purchase of the light housings, which are needed one way or the other so that part is negligible. Now for the HID retrofit from a company like DDM you will get a lot more brightness with a lot more scatter for what most consider less usable light and a rather dangerous condition for around $130, Now for this price you get a supposed lifetime guarantee, but the service and product are considered by many across the internet to be sub par. Then of course you could go with what many consider to be one of the most reliable companies on the internet such as theretrofitsolution.com. You can get their Morimoto kit for around $310. This kit will get you a 5 year warranty and according to most if there is the occurrence of a problem the customer service is undeniably great. That is a very nice thing if there was the off chance you were to suffer from an equipment failure issue. Now with this more expensive kit even though it cost more than the DDM kit the only improvement you are getting is maybe improved quality along with better customer service, yet you are still stuck with so called poor performance of an HID kit being stuffed into a halogen reflector housing.
So we have determined some differences between the 2 HID companies. Some Things I have noted through research today seems to show that the Morimoto has less of an amp draw on the electrical system than the DDM slim Digital kits which is one thing that could be leading to better ballast performance due to less heat. Now both kits appear to be digital, However the Morimoto kit's ignitor is located in the main ballast housing and not inline of the output wire. This makes for a much cleaner install. Another nice thing about the Morimoto is the cable are covered in braided stainless which of course makes them look much sharper and also adds another layer of protection to the high voltage output wires. Another plus that i have noticed with HID bulbs however are exceptional performance in the rain and snow. Additionally I was surprised with how well the perform in the fog. You would think they would suck as you have always been taught to run lows in the fog but i can bur all 6 HIDs in the truck and they seem to cut right through the fog. Interesting IMO
So one would think this long drawn out explanation would help someone make up their mind but it really doesnt. I like the idea of keeping halogens on the simple principle of the housing were designed for them, but it is hard to deny the amount of sheer output of an HID kit. Now Im sure a full retrofit projector setup is possible to get true hid performance yet the amount of money and work to do so are greatly increased. So go with more light and poor beam structure or a high performance halogen with which you can expect HID brightness from but more along the lines of Improved beam quality and reduced scatter and glare.
So as we can assess from this long post I have yet again done what i do best and that is to analyze a situation/decision to the point where i have confused and driven myself up a wall lol. As if it wasnt a hard enough decision before i am truly stumped. Hope I do not you guys as crazy as i have driven myself lol
One thing I like about sticking with a halogen is it doesn't look out of place on the car. Second is your not necessarily blinding other drivers, and in a technicality sense your legal amongst all the other illegal things on these cars like offroad fuel, no cats, etc. The other nice thing would be bulb availability so your not waiting for weeks to get ahold of a company about a warranty on a ballast that they clearly import from China which died.
So it seems like to stick with halogens (say the Philips bulbs) i would need 4 of the of course, along with an upgraded relay harness off of the battery. So one would be looking at roughly $85 in light bulbs and another say $35 for the upgraded harness. This puts you at say $120 total after the purchase of the light housings, which are needed one way or the other so that part is negligible. Now for the HID retrofit from a company like DDM you will get a lot more brightness with a lot more scatter for what most consider less usable light and a rather dangerous condition for around $130, Now for this price you get a supposed lifetime guarantee, but the service and product are considered by many across the internet to be sub par. Then of course you could go with what many consider to be one of the most reliable companies on the internet such as theretrofitsolution.com. You can get their Morimoto kit for around $310. This kit will get you a 5 year warranty and according to most if there is the occurrence of a problem the customer service is undeniably great. That is a very nice thing if there was the off chance you were to suffer from an equipment failure issue. Now with this more expensive kit even though it cost more than the DDM kit the only improvement you are getting is maybe improved quality along with better customer service, yet you are still stuck with so called poor performance of an HID kit being stuffed into a halogen reflector housing.
So we have determined some differences between the 2 HID companies. Some Things I have noted through research today seems to show that the Morimoto has less of an amp draw on the electrical system than the DDM slim Digital kits which is one thing that could be leading to better ballast performance due to less heat. Now both kits appear to be digital, However the Morimoto kit's ignitor is located in the main ballast housing and not inline of the output wire. This makes for a much cleaner install. Another nice thing about the Morimoto is the cable are covered in braided stainless which of course makes them look much sharper and also adds another layer of protection to the high voltage output wires. Another plus that i have noticed with HID bulbs however are exceptional performance in the rain and snow. Additionally I was surprised with how well the perform in the fog. You would think they would suck as you have always been taught to run lows in the fog but i can bur all 6 HIDs in the truck and they seem to cut right through the fog. Interesting IMO
So one would think this long drawn out explanation would help someone make up their mind but it really doesnt. I like the idea of keeping halogens on the simple principle of the housing were designed for them, but it is hard to deny the amount of sheer output of an HID kit. Now Im sure a full retrofit projector setup is possible to get true hid performance yet the amount of money and work to do so are greatly increased. So go with more light and poor beam structure or a high performance halogen with which you can expect HID brightness from but more along the lines of Improved beam quality and reduced scatter and glare.
So as we can assess from this long post I have yet again done what i do best and that is to analyze a situation/decision to the point where i have confused and driven myself up a wall lol. As if it wasnt a hard enough decision before i am truly stumped. Hope I do not you guys as crazy as i have driven myself lol
I have the sealed Silverstar low beams on my Cutlass. All I can say, is wow. HUGE difference from the stock. They aren't HID bright, but a huge step up from regular sealed beams. They definitely have a good projection of the light and keep it in front of you where it is important. You really notice the color difference with my high beams on. I haven't changed those out yet, so they are still the ugly yellow color. My brothers have DDM HIDs and they work good so far. I like them, but they got the cheap ebay housings and man, do they suck! They bleed so much light out.
Here are a couple of pics I just snapped for your viewing pleasure.
Here are a couple of pics I just snapped for your viewing pleasure.
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mebe007 said:
I'd run regular stock replacements. I've bought Silverstar bulbs that work well but I really don't see a difference in light output, just light color which makes their price tag a bit high in my opinion.
well i am already beyond stock replacements as i have the conversion harnesses. Its funny how for once i feel myself being conscious of others on the road when it comes to blinding light instead of only being concerned about having bright lights. Hence why i am weighing the options so heavily. I have talked to friends about this but they are all HID hungry so thats about the only answer you will get out of them lol.
@mebe007/ @FE3X clone...You should upgrade. These are TRUE 4x6 projectors that I had done for my Regal. You DON'T have to cut into your front clip...you DON'T have to worry about burning down the front of your car...and you DON'T have to wonder about about seeing down the road...I can hit a sign a good quarter mile in front of me. I only use 4300k and the wattage is still 35w.It's crazy how well I can see and Im still working on my car. So I can just imagine how they would look in all of you guys rides with your oh so clean windshields and glass lol. These things are amazing.
I also suggest NOT using Dorman headlight aimers. There ok for a quick replacement, but long term durability??? Go with some higher priced one's instead...it will be worth it in the long run.
As a matter of fact, I'm going into the process of trying to distribute these for Gbodies pretty soon. Inbox me whoever's interested.
I also suggest NOT using Dorman headlight aimers. There ok for a quick replacement, but long term durability??? Go with some higher priced one's instead...it will be worth it in the long run.
As a matter of fact, I'm going into the process of trying to distribute these for Gbodies pretty soon. Inbox me whoever's interested.
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87LS-WITH-AN-LS also has an install he did some years ago. I had a 4-door Lesabre that was so mint that I wrecked and never used my conversion kit 4x6's. A chance came up for me to use them when I picked up my Regal and here you have it. I alsways wanted to have the output from the Lexus LS 430 but never knew how or when. I finally go tthe chance I really don't think I'll ever go back to regular headlights again. These things are crazy.
One of my ballast is trying to act up on me so I may just upgrade the whole system. Smh...damn shame I'd do that before dropping my motor in so it can run correctly lol.
One of my ballast is trying to act up on me so I may just upgrade the whole system. Smh...damn shame I'd do that before dropping my motor in so it can run correctly lol.
X2 on the Silver Star sealed beam lights, especially for low beams. I will be upgrading my high beams soon, but the low beams have made driving in the country a lot safer and less stressful for me.amadorbarajas said:I have the sealed Silverstar low beams on my Cutlass. All I can say, is wow. HUGE difference from the stock. They aren't HID bright, but a huge step up from regular sealed beams. They definitely have a good projection of the light and keep it in front of you where it is important. You really notice the color difference with my high beams on. I haven't changed those out yet, so they are still the ugly yellow color. My brothers have DDM HIDs and they work good so far. I like them, but they got the cheap ebay housings and man, do they suck! They bleed so much light out.
Here are a couple of pics I just snapped for your viewing pleasure.
Im all for the HIDS, its so modern and has a nice bright look... Thats what we need on the road, bright headlights to get guys out the way when we rumbling in our gbodys!! 
They are plug and play 6k hid slim bulb... $45 kit...
Smoked all glass lens and they still bright... Bang for ur buck!!
They are plug and play 6k hid slim bulb... $45 kit...
Smoked all glass lens and they still bright... Bang for ur buck!!
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