HID Xenon

Storme93 · 30-01-2013, 06:51 PM

Has anybody fitted HID Xenon kits/bulbs to their AU? I have a Forte. Just looking to get some details, ideas, prices and a judge of difficulty with fitting.

Cheers

Bushbasher · 30-01-2013, 08:17 PM

It's illegal to put HID in your H4s' but you can put them in your H1 driving lights/high beams. I have 55W units fitted to my missus wagon and my Fairlane and they are pretty much a plug and play item these days. I fixed the ballasts to the inside of the radiator support panel either side of centre near the horn. With the H7s' in my Fairlane they were a straight swap for the halogen globes but with the H1s' because of the adapter, you need to make up an adapter to get the retaining clip to hold the HID globe in place. Also critical is to get the globe positioned correctly to maximise the focal point to get the best light penetration. If the globe doesn't sit in the right spot the light is unfocused and won't work properly and you won't be happy with it. Relevant to that point, not all HID kits are born equal and generally you get what you pay for. I learned this the hard way with cheap chinese globes that didn't sit right and caused a real headache as far as focus went and took alot of fiddling and shimming to get right. My first kit was brilliant that I bought from THIS guy and after I got burnt with a cheap set I went back to him and have bought a couple more sets and have been very happy with them. He has sets at buy now price of $250 and up but always puts up sets starting at 1$ with no reserve and you can generally pick them up for between $100-$140 a set if you follow the auction. Considering the cost of a decent +50 bulb these days that generally need replacing every 12-18 months $140 as a one time only outlay is a bargain as they'll outlast the car and you'll probably swap them to your next car when the time comes. Oh, and if you don't go with this guy, don't buy anything with a DC ballast, make sure you get AC ballasts. They are more reliable and much brighter and all reports suggest the bulbs last longer.

Hope that helps.
Cheers

Bushbasher

BHDOGS · 30-01-2013, 09:00 PM

nice work bush basher you owned the question not much more to be said i dont think!

Storme93 · 30-01-2013, 09:32 PM

Thanks a heap bush basher but just one question, what did you do with your H4s? Did you just disconnect them cause I imagine that they woukdnruin the nice blueish look of the HID's no?

BHDOGS · 30-01-2013, 09:38 PM

i think bushbasher just had them wired up to his high beams not his regular lights so when he need some added light he had it but illegal for regular lights.

Storme93 · 30-01-2013, 10:03 PM

Oh OK then, so its illegal for normal lights? See so many people doing it!

Bushbasher · 30-01-2013, 11:40 PM

Ok, the legislation says you can't have your low beams as HID unless they are self levelling or manually adjustable from inside the cabin and also they must have a headlight washers so it is illegal to have HID in a combination light, meaning low-high such as H4 but you can run HID in your dedicated high beams or driving lights. If you cover your H4s with a cloth or something and hit your high beam you'll notice that the dedicated high beams are pretty much pencil beams with a relatively small spread. This is for penetration up the road as your H4s when on high are your spread beam that will light up the sides of the road and flood to maybe 100m or so depending on your globes. I run 5000K +50 phillips in the H4s which give ample light close in and 55w HID in the driving lights at 6000K so there isn't that much between the 2 light sources plus the HIDs' do have a bit of light spill to the sides of the road which whitens the 5000K halogens as well so you don't even notice the difference once everything is on. 6000K is pure white just like a sunny day at midday and only looks slightly blue to oncoming traffic but when set up properly it really is like daylight ahead of you. It's most noticeable just on dusk as with them on you don't realise how dark it's getting till you have to dip your lights and suddenly it's night, then you flick them back on and it's like how it was an hour ago before you turned the lights on in the first place.

Bushbasher

EL.50 · 30-01-2013, 11:51 PM

I've been running HIDs in all my cars for a good 12 months. I've never once been pulled over for it, I've also never been flashed by other drivers, as I have them aimed down a fair bit. I have only used $50 (roughly) sets, and have not had any issues at all.

BHDOGS · 30-01-2013, 11:55 PM

makes me wanna shove some in my au xr highbeams as there woeful

EL.50 · 31-01-2013, 12:00 AM

I have 35w in my missus AU Ghia, they are great.

In my Fairlane, I have 35w for the headlights, and 55w for the high beams. The high beams are like driving lights now.

They say flashing HIDs all the time shortens their life, but for the price I am paying for them, I don't really care if they need replacing every 12 months lol

Storme93 · 31-01-2013, 07:37 AM

Where are you getting your sets EL50? Would love to know

EL.50 · 31-01-2013, 09:22 AM

I have purchased all of mine from ebay. I bought my last set from here. They were slightly higher priced due to being 55w, all the rest I've bought have been 35w. 35w is definitely bright enough as your normal headlights. I think if you went 55w for your normal headlights, you may end up still blinding people.

I've found that most of the sellers that are located in Aus selling them are pretty good. I've seen some as cheap as $20 for a set, most of those are located overseas. I've always tried to stick with Aus sellers, postage is obviously much quicker too. Just make sure you read some of their feedback, if a fair bit of it is bad, move on to the next one.

MAD · 31-01-2013, 11:07 AM

A projector retrofit is the best way to get the most out of any HID system.
The light is way to scattered, and wasted, when placed in a reflector designed for a halogen light source.

EL.50 · 31-01-2013, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAD

A projector retrofit is the best way to get the most out of any HID system.
The light is way to scattered, and wasted, when placed in a reflector designed for a halogen light source.

Agreed.

Unfortunately for me, I lack your patience and skills lol

CONGO MILLENNIUM · 02-02-2013, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bushbasher

Ok, the legislation says you can't have your low beams as HID unless they are self levelling or manually adjustable from inside the cabin and also they must have a headlight washers so it is illegal to have HID in a combination light, meaning low-high such as H4 but you can run HID in your dedicated high beams or driving lights. If you cover your H4s with a cloth or something and hit your high beam you'll notice that the dedicated high beams are pretty much pencil beams with a relatively small spread. This is for penetration up the road as your H4s when on high are your spread beam that will light up the sides of the road and flood to maybe 100m or so depending on your globes. I run 5000K +50 phillips in the H4s which give ample light close in and 55w HID in the driving lights at 6000K so there isn't that much between the 2 light sources plus the HIDs' do have a bit of light spill to the sides of the road which whitens the 5000K halogens as well so you don't even notice the difference once everything is on. 6000K is pure white just like a sunny day at midday and only looks slightly blue to oncoming traffic but when set up properly it really is like daylight ahead of you. It's most noticeable just on dusk as with them on you don't realise how dark it's getting till you have to dip your lights and suddenly it's night, then you flick them back on and it's like how it was an hour ago before you turned the lights on in the first place.

Bushbasher

Great write up Bushbasher you have convinced me to install HID's into the high beams of my AU Fairlane.
I think I'll use 55w 6000k, they seem the way to go.
Any chance of some pic's showing where you installed the ballast's and how you wired into the back of the headlights?

Bushbasher · 02-02-2013, 08:35 PM

Here ya go.

http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthr...light=Ballasts

Storme93 · 03-02-2013, 10:38 PM

So what sizes are forte headlights, I've been looking at xenon globes for hi/lo And hid kit for highs, so what are the highs H what and hi/lo H what? Greatly appreciated

Bushbasher · 04-02-2013, 12:17 AM

Forte, Futura and Fairmont are the standard sedan lights and are H4 high/low and H1 inner driving lights. Just remember, you'll have to make up some kind of shim on the back side of H1 seat flange so the retaining clip has something to push against to hold the globes in correctly. Don't go buying the cheap nastys for the H1s' because the QC will be hit and miss. I learnt that the hard way and spent over an hour in the dark pulling the globes in and out and re-shimming them to get the focal point right as the seat flange wasn't on straight and put the light source off centre.

Bushbasher

EL.50 · 04-02-2013, 12:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bushbasher

Forte, Futura and Fairmont are the standard sedan lights and are H4 high/low and H1 inner driving lights. Just remember, you'll have to make up some kind of shim on the back side of H1 seat flange so the retaining clip has something to push against to hold the globes in correctly. Don't go buying the cheap nastys for the H1s' because the QC will be hit and miss. I learnt that the hard way and spent over an hour in the dark pulling the globes in and out and re-shimming them to get the focal point right as the seat flange wasn't on straight and put the light source off centre.

Bushbasher

Have you got specific pics of what you mean with the H1s? I've got H1 HIDs in the missus' Ghia, and have just put them in, with no issues?

Bushbasher · 04-02-2013, 10:38 PM

No I don't but maybe that's the issue with buying cheapies, or maybe it was just the cheapies I bought. The seat flange on the globes are only a couple of mm thick and the retaining spring just wouldn't hold them till I shimmed up the flanges. Then they wouldn't sit right and the light source was off centred and I had to mess around re shimming to get it just right. It was a pain. Maybe if I'd bought the decent ones from the guy I get them from now the flange plate would have been thick enough and straight.

EL.50 · 04-02-2013, 10:58 PM

Fair enough. The ones in our Ghia are all good. They might have improved them over time too

usernametaken · 05-02-2013, 08:52 AM

4200k are the closest to natural daylight

If you want to use your lights for actual driving I would suggest these.

Bushbasher · 05-02-2013, 11:50 AM

I've had 4000k lights and 5000k and I personally prefer the 6000k and I know alot of people do. It's all a matter of personal taste I guess. Google 'light scale kelvin' and if you look on any of the scales it says that full sun at midday is between 5000-5500k .

MAD · 05-02-2013, 11:59 AM

4300k was the OEM colour (Philips 85122+), but now some brands are using colours around 5000k. (Osram 66240CBI)

EL.50 · 05-02-2013, 03:26 PM

I much prefer 6000. I'd never want to go higher though

CONGO MILLENNIUM · 20-02-2013, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CONGO MILLENNIUM

Great write up Bushbasher you have convinced me to install HID's into the high beams of my AU Fairlane.
I think I'll use 55w 6000k, they seem the way to go.
Any chance of some pic's showing where you installed the ballast's and how you wired into the back of the headlights?

Well today I installed 55 watt 6000k hid's into the high beams of the fairlane. The difference between hid's and halogen is like day and night.
The light coming from the high beams is a very white and bight, almost too bright as the spread and penetration of the light reflects road signs back into your eyes also reflecting signs 1 klm away. These hid's would be the best lights I have used for night country driving the clarity of the road ahead is out standing.
However I would not fit them to low beam H4's as the intense light would dassle on coming drivers.
Installation is easy taking about 1 hour, I removed the headlights as it's easier for me, fixed the ballasts to the radiator support panel behind the grille the wiring is plug and play. I would recommend for country driving at night.

EL.50 · 20-02-2013, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CONGO MILLENNIUM

Well today I installed 55 watt 6000k hid's into the high beams of the fairlane. The difference between hid's and halogen is like day and night.
The light coming from the high beams is a very white and bight, almost too bright as the spread and penetration of the light reflects road signs back into your eyes also reflecting signs 1 klm away. These hid's would be the best lights I have used for night country driving the clarity of the road ahead is out standing.
However I would not fit them to low beam H4's as the intense light would dassle on coming drivers.
Installation is easy taking about 1 hour, I removed the headlights as it's easier for me, fixed the ballasts to the radiator support panel behind the grille the wiring is plug and play. I would recommend for country driving at night.

I've been using HIDs for low beam lights for 12 months, never once had someone flash me. You just have to aim them down. I'll never use anything but HIDs now. They are amazing!!

v8der · 28-06-2014, 04:59 PM

Dragging up an old thread here but seems relevant.

OK so fitted my HID globes this afternoon. I own a Series 3 AU XR8.

They are 35W 6000K Xenon (outer low beam).

Regarding the installation it does get fiddly and if you have small hands (like me) you can do it without removing your battery or airbox. I've modified my airbox so it made the job that little bit more difficult.

I started by replacing the H1 hi-beam globes which is simple enough. Just unclip the negative and positive terminals and remove the rubber dust seal. Once they're off unclip the retainer and the globe just comes out. Replace with your new H1 globe and just do the reverse to re-install. I used Narva Artic Plus 50 55W bulbs.

This part is pretty straight forward and gives you the confidence boost to keep going with the outer globes. Seriously, this is where it gets a bit tricky. I mainly had problems with my negative terminals being damn tight and hard to access.

So now for the low-beam. Squeeze the outer plastic clips and this will allow the terminal to pull off so you can then remove the positive and negative terminals. Once they're accounted for remove the dust seal and unhook retainer clips. Once again the bulb should just twist out without too much fuss. It's similar to the hi-beam removal just harder to get your hands in to access. After a few choice words you should be able to install your new H4 globes and find a cosy mounting spot for your transformer/ballasts.

I didn't have any instructions, but assembling the Xenon globe kit is fairly obvious - like someone said "plug n play".

Always test each one after you install to make sure you're on the right track. Once you see the white light coming from your headlights you know it's all been worth it !