Xentec HID Lights

[jamesbond007]

So my roommate bought a couple sets of Xentec HID kits on eBay for about $80 per kit after shipping. Pretty good deal considering that many places want several hundred for a set installed. He bought a kit for his Yamaha R1 motorcycle and another for his 2004 Z71 truck.

Does anyone have any experiences with these kits? Are they really worth it? We powered them up with a battery starter box that my roommate has. They are ridiculously bright and get very hot. (obviously) Since these are drop-in replacements and use the stock mounts/light covers, I am a little concerned for the amount of heat dispersed. Does anyone run these things?

I have read on some other forums that the ballasts are somewhat susceptible to water leakage over time, but I have only read this comment once. Is the glare as bad as some say? After all, with these drop-ins, the light is not projected like a true HID setup. Instead, it's dispersed like the average bulb would be.

Thanks,
~Travis

 

[shocksyde]

Originally posted by: jamesbond007
So my roommate bought a couple sets of Xentec HID kits on eBay for about $80 per kit after shipping. Pretty good deal considering that many places want several hundred for a set installed. He bought a kit for his Yamaha R1 motorcycle and another for his 2004 Z71 truck.

Does anyone have any experiences with these kits? Are they really worth it? We powered them up with a battery starter box that my roommate has. They are ridiculously bright and get very hot. (obviously) Since these are drop-in replacements and use the stock mounts/light covers, I am a little concerned for the amount of heat dispersed. Does anyone run these things?

I have read on some other forums that the ballasts are somewhat susceptible to water leakage over time, but I have only read this comment once. Is the glare as bad as some say? After all, with these drop-ins, the light is not projected like a true HID setup. Instead, it's dispersed like the average bulb would be.

Thanks,
~Travis

Replacing a halogen projector is generally ok, but putting a HID kit in a reflector housing is blinding as hell for everyone on the road.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Putting a HID in ANY fixture that is not designed for a HID bulb is an optical disaster, is ILLEGAL, and should never be done. Headlights are precision optical instruments and require very precise positioning and shape of the light source. A HID bulb does not have the same shape or positioning of the light source and it is not physically possible for it to produce the beam pattern that the halogen bulb produced.

Again, this is NOT a legal solution and it is not an optically-acceptable solution. Do not do it. The ONLY way to mount HID bulbs properly is to replace the entire lens and housing.

ZV

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Putting a HID in ANY fixture that is not designed for a HID bulb is an optical disaster, is ILLEGAL, and should never be done. Headlights are precision optical instruments and require very precise positioning and shape of the light source. A HID bulb does not have the same shape or positioning of the light source and it is not physically possible for it to produce the beam pattern that the halogen bulb produced.

Again, this is NOT a legal solution and it is not an optically-acceptable solution. Do not do it. The ONLY way to mount HID bulbs properly is to replace the entire lens and housing.

ZV

All very true, but I bet you $20 that the OP's friend installs them anyway since "he already spent the money.":roll:

 

[OS]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Putting a HID in ANY fixture that is not designed for a HID bulb is an optical disaster, is ILLEGAL, and should never be done. Headlights are precision optical instruments and require very precise positioning and shape of the light source. A HID bulb does not have the same shape or positioning of the light source and it is not physically possible for it to produce the beam pattern that the halogen bulb produced.

Again, this is NOT a legal solution and it is not an optically-acceptable solution. Do not do it. The ONLY way to mount HID bulbs properly is to replace the entire lens and housing.

ZV

http://www.businesswire.com/po...1101006398&newsLang=en

Is it still illegal? It seems to go back and forth

whether or not it's a good idea is another issue, there are also lots of lifted trucks with misaligned headlights also.

 

[Aimster]

Are these plug in play for all cars?

If so I might get it. My ballast on one of mine is faulty.

 

[jamesbond007]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Putting a HID in ANY fixture that is not designed for a HID bulb is an optical disaster, is ILLEGAL, and should never be done. Headlights are precision optical instruments and require very precise positioning and shape of the light source. A HID bulb does not have the same shape or positioning of the light source and it is not physically possible for it to produce the beam pattern that the halogen bulb produced.

Again, this is NOT a legal solution and it is not an optically-acceptable solution. Do not do it. The ONLY way to mount HID bulbs properly is to replace the entire lens and housing.

ZV

All very true, but I bet you $20 that the OP's friend installs them anyway since "he already spent the money.":roll:

Hell yeah he will! I'm sure it will take a ticket or three before he would even consider removing them. :thumbsdown: Additionally, I do not believe it is illegal here in our state. I don't know the laws, but I know that many businesses in the area offer such HID kits for similar prices, plus labor costs, of course.

Aimster, you can get the kit for nearly any kind of car/vehicle that I know of. There may be some exceptions, but all the popular numbers that I'm familiar with (my Neon, brother's Monte Carlo, mom's Trailblazer, etc) all have kits available either through eBay or other online stores.

 

[PlasmaBomb]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Putting a HID in ANY fixture that is not designed for a HID bulb is an optical disaster, is ILLEGAL, and should never be done. Headlights are precision optical instruments and require very precise positioning and shape of the light source. A HID bulb does not have the same shape or positioning of the light source and it is not physically possible for it to produce the beam pattern that the halogen bulb produced.

Again, this is NOT a legal solution and it is not an optically-acceptable solution. Do not do it. The ONLY way to mount HID bulbs properly is to replace the entire lens and housing.

ZV

QFT

Edit: You won't get a good cutoff and will dazzle oncoming traffic if you swap from normal headlights to HID.

 

[LTC8K6]

He'll just ride around making people mad at "HID" lights.

They'll say, "Christ those things blind you!", and bad talk HID lights all over the place.

Who can blame them?

 

[PlasmaBomb]

Look at the difference in the two cars in this. Which is more dazzling?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVuSSdZNsZw

 

[jamesbond007]

Originally posted by: PlasmaBomb
Look at the difference in the two cars in this. Which is more dazzling?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVuSSdZNsZw

PlasmaBomb, that's a great video! It makes some great points as well. I already knew about the glare problems that they create, but they are displayed with ease here.

Just FYI, I'm not advocating HID kits, (only the real stuff) but I was just asking if anyone had experience with them. I kinda gather the general concensus here on AT, so perhaps I'll let the thread drop.

 

[shocksyde]

I'm putting a HID kit in my car that has projector lenses. 4300K color temperature, not blue or purple bullshit. I don't see a problem with that.

Like I said, reflector housings is a completely different animal.

 

[krunchykrome]

What type of headlight kit would you guys recommend for a 2008 CRV? The headlights are halogen reflectors. Any recommendation for a fairly easy do-it-yourself kit?

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: shocksyde
I'm putting a HID kit in my car that has projector lenses. 4300K color temperature, not blue or purple bullshit. I don't see a problem with that.

Like I said, reflector housings is a completely different animal.

Well I'll bite. I had some projectors installed into my prelude. They came off a BMW. Cutoff is perfect. No glare above. It's set so that it doesn't reflect off the preexisting reflector.

I <3 HID's. No autoleveling though, but my car is so goddamn low I don't see how it matters.

 

[theeedude]

I already have projector headlights in my Mazda3. Do I just pop these in?
Do I need a higher current harness? Will the housing handle the extra heat, if any?

 

[shocksyde]

Originally posted by: Ns1

Originally posted by: shocksyde
I'm putting a HID kit in my car that has projector lenses. 4300K color temperature, not blue or purple bullshit. I don't see a problem with that.

Like I said, reflector housings is a completely different animal.

Well I'll bite. I had some projectors installed into my prelude. They came off a BMW. Cutoff is perfect. No glare above. It's set so that it doesn't reflect off the preexisting reflector.

I <3 HID's. No autoleveling though, but my car is so goddamn low I don't see how it matters.

My recently departed 99 altima had a complete projector retrofit using parts from an Infinity FX35. Man those lights were awesome. Of course some douche backs into me (see trailor hitch thread) and damages the highly unreplacable modded headlight.

Most of the new cars that come standard with HID projectors were too expensive for me, so I made sure the car I got had halogen projectors. That way it's just a drop in mod. I'll have the cutoff and everything.

 

[shocksyde]

Originally posted by: senseamp
I already have projector headlights in my Mazda3. Do I just pop these in?
Do I need a higher current harness? Will the housing handle the extra heat, if any?

I'd take a look at some mazda 3 forums and see if others are having success adding HIDs to the halogen projectors.

Relay wiring harness is recommended to protect your stock wiring.

I've never heard of heat issues. Doesn't mean they don't exist, though.

 

[bruceb]

Krunchy .. all you need to do is go to PIAA.COM

http://piaa.com/Bulbs/Bulbs.html

and check out their better light bulbs. All you need
to know is what type your car uses (9004 / 9005/ 9006 / H1)
etc .. Their bulbs are designed to put out at 4000K color temperature
which is very white with just a dab of blue to it. And they use the
same amount of current as your stock bulbs, so no rewiring. But the
light output is almost Double that of a stock bulb.

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: bruceb
Krunchy .. all you need to do is go to PIAA.COM

http://piaa.com/Bulbs/Bulbs.html

and check out their better light bulbs. All you need
to know is what type your car uses (9004 / 9005/ 9006 / H1)
etc .. Their bulbs are designed to put out at 4000K color temperature
which is very white with just a dab of blue to it. And they use the
same amount of current as your stock bulbs, so no rewiring. But the
light output is almost Double that of a stock bulb.

Thanks for the link! I'll check it out.

 

[DanTMWTMP]

Originally posted by: senseamp
I already have projector headlights in my Mazda3. Do I just pop these in?
Do I need a higher current harness? Will the housing handle the extra heat, if any?

I'm going to assume that using lower wattage means less heat. I bought mine from a San Diego-based Apexcone on the recommendation by the users @ mazda3forums.com. I've had mine for about a year now.

I couldn't be happier w/ mine. I dropped by the Apexcone office, and bought it from there. The owner is a very nice guy and gave me a discount after I said I'll pay for the life-time warranty option. I paid a total of $140 for a proven set + lifetime warranty (if the ballasts fail, they'll replace it for the life of the vehicle).

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: OS

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Putting a HID in ANY fixture that is not designed for a HID bulb is an optical disaster, is ILLEGAL, and should never be done. Headlights are precision optical instruments and require very precise positioning and shape of the light source. A HID bulb does not have the same shape or positioning of the light source and it is not physically possible for it to produce the beam pattern that the halogen bulb produced.

Again, this is NOT a legal solution and it is not an optically-acceptable solution. Do not do it. The ONLY way to mount HID bulbs properly is to replace the entire lens and housing.

ZV

http://www.businesswire.com/po...1101006398&newsLang=en

Is it still illegal? It seems to go back and forth

whether or not it's a good idea is another issue, there are also lots of lifted trucks with misaligned headlights also.

The link applies to systems, which include a reflector, lens, and housing specific to the new bulb type. It does not apply to shoving the wrong bulb into a pre-existing assembly that was not designed for it.

ZV

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: jamesbond007

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Putting a HID in ANY fixture that is not designed for a HID bulb is an optical disaster, is ILLEGAL, and should never be done. Headlights are precision optical instruments and require very precise positioning and shape of the light source. A HID bulb does not have the same shape or positioning of the light source and it is not physically possible for it to produce the beam pattern that the halogen bulb produced.

Again, this is NOT a legal solution and it is not an optically-acceptable solution. Do not do it. The ONLY way to mount HID bulbs properly is to replace the entire lens and housing.

ZV

All very true, but I bet you $20 that the OP's friend installs them anyway since "he already spent the money.":roll:

Hell yeah he will! I'm sure it will take a ticket or three before he would even consider removing them. :thumbsdown: Additionally, I do not believe it is illegal here in our state. I don't know the laws, but I know that many businesses in the area offer such HID kits for similar prices, plus labor costs, of course.

Aimster, you can get the kit for nearly any kind of car/vehicle that I know of. There may be some exceptions, but all the popular numbers that I'm familiar with (my Neon, brother's Monte Carlo, mom's Trailblazer, etc) all have kits available either through eBay or other online stores.

They are illegal for on-road use unless you replace the entire assembly (lens, reflector, and housing). All states. It's a Federal statute.

I will say it again: It is ILLEGAL to put ANY bulb into an assembly that is not designed specifically for that bulb if you drive the car on public roads.

ZV

 

[Apex]

Originally posted by: PlasmaBomb

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Putting a HID in ANY fixture that is not designed for a HID bulb is an optical disaster, is ILLEGAL, and should never be done. Headlights are precision optical instruments and require very precise positioning and shape of the light source. A HID bulb does not have the same shape or positioning of the light source and it is not physically possible for it to produce the beam pattern that the halogen bulb produced.

Again, this is NOT a legal solution and it is not an optically-acceptable solution. Do not do it. The ONLY way to mount HID bulbs properly is to replace the entire lens and housing.

ZV

QFT

Edit: You won't get a good cutoff and will dazzle oncoming traffic if you swap from normal headlights to HID.

That's not necessarily true. It's true in most cases, but there are some very good swaps with a great cutoff and very little light outside of the intended beam (ie. The Hella SSB 448 VOL DOT, with H9 bulb).

 

[shabby]

Originally posted by: senseamp
I already have projector headlights in my Mazda3. Do I just pop these in?
Do I need a higher current harness? Will the housing handle the extra heat, if any?

Your projectors were still made for halogen bulbs, it wont look as bad as in a halogen housing but will wont look as good as from an oem hid projector.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: shabby

Originally posted by: senseamp
I already have projector headlights in my Mazda3. Do I just pop these in?
Do I need a higher current harness? Will the housing handle the extra heat, if any?

Your projectors were still made for halogen bulbs, it wont look as bad as in a halogen housing but will wont look as good as from an oem hid projector.

I'm not totally sure about this. I've seen some amazingly sharp cutoffs from projector housings with halogen lamps. HID shouldn't change that. The only thing I'd be suspicious of is the auto-leveling, which projectors will lack.