What's the best way to convert to HID?
Zguy2
09-24-2014, 09:47 PM
I recently bought a '02 Grand Prix GTP. The guy who owned it before me put HID headlights and foglights in it apparently using one of those HID kits you can find anywhere online. Whilst browsing the internet I stumbled across this (http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html) article that informed me that, to my dismay, my headlights are dangerous, and illegal.
Now to the question: What's the best way for me to get legal HID's? I realize that I'll need an entire light assembly, but money isn't an issue since I'm going to do this right. I'm looking at getting something like this (http://www.protuninglab.com/hidxe97pogrp3.html), but I'm new to this kind of stuff, and I don't know what brand is the best, or what websites to buy from, or the legality of any of it.
The headlights have been rewired to support HID's, so I'm not worried about burning up any wiring; however the foglights haven't, and have therefore remained unplugged.
Any info at all is apreciated
Now to the question: What's the best way for me to get legal HID's? I realize that I'll need an entire light assembly, but money isn't an issue since I'm going to do this right. I'm looking at getting something like this (http://www.protuninglab.com/hidxe97pogrp3.html), but I'm new to this kind of stuff, and I don't know what brand is the best, or what websites to buy from, or the legality of any of it.
The headlights have been rewired to support HID's, so I'm not worried about burning up any wiring; however the foglights haven't, and have therefore remained unplugged.
Any info at all is apreciated
Dave B.
09-28-2014, 12:03 AM
You're not going to like my reply, but here goes...
The answer is, simply, DON'T!
Car manufacturers that offer HID systems spend thousands of engineering hours developing the optics necessary to deal with the tremendous light output of HIDs. That said, retrofitting lights designed for normal (halogen) lamps with HIDs doesn't give you better night vision because the light source isn't optimized for the optics of your headlights. If you have a car that had HIDs as an option, you can simply buy the entire system from a recycle yard. The bad news here is that I've checked, and the '02 Grand Prix was not offered with HIDs. Your best option for better lighting would be to go back to a standard wiring harness for your headlights and, if they're not bright enough, buy higher output halogen lamps.
One of the most respected sources for lighting information on the 'net is www.rallylights.com (http://www.rallylights.com). You could go there and read what they have to say about HID conversions, but I'll save you the trouble and post it here:
HID KITS
There has been of recent an increase in use of aftermarket HID kits. These Chinese made kits are illegal in every civilized country in the world. No reputable manufacturer makes them, even though you will find the names Hella and Philips illegally printed on the boxes. HID lamps are an engineered system of a capsule (bulb), ballast and the lamp. These HID kits insert an HID capsule, usually modified on someone's kitchen table in China, into a lamp that was never designed to control the enormous light output of an HID capsule. The chances that the capsule is properly located at the focal point of the lamp are slim at best, but even if it is, the source of light is a different shape than for which the lamp was designed. The result is a lot of stray light shining into the eyes of oncoming traffic.
The guy who installed the HID kit thinks he can see a lot better, but all he really is is rude. They even have a name - haters - for people who disagree with them. HID kits normally have no low beam. Sellers of HID kits claim that they can get high and low beams by moving the capsule within the lamp. The reality is that even Sylvania could not produce a system that moves the capsule accurately and will last for more than a few months. They finally had to buy back all of their lamps. The only reliable system for a High/Low HID system is called a Bi-Xenon and uses a shutter like those systems supplyed by Hella to BMW, Mercedes and Audi. Safety and Electronic Noise as described above are also common problems with HID kits.
As far as the Angel Eyes products go, I've spoken to people who have purchased them and the general consensus is that they don't offer any better night vision than standard halogen lights. Are they legal? Who knows? They claim DOT certification, but I'd have to see proof before I believed them. Should you try them? That's up to you, but I'd look into my state's motor vehicle code before I spent a lot of money on them.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it's better to learn it here than be taken in by uninformed, unscrupulous sellers.
Dave B.
The answer is, simply, DON'T!
Car manufacturers that offer HID systems spend thousands of engineering hours developing the optics necessary to deal with the tremendous light output of HIDs. That said, retrofitting lights designed for normal (halogen) lamps with HIDs doesn't give you better night vision because the light source isn't optimized for the optics of your headlights. If you have a car that had HIDs as an option, you can simply buy the entire system from a recycle yard. The bad news here is that I've checked, and the '02 Grand Prix was not offered with HIDs. Your best option for better lighting would be to go back to a standard wiring harness for your headlights and, if they're not bright enough, buy higher output halogen lamps.
One of the most respected sources for lighting information on the 'net is www.rallylights.com (http://www.rallylights.com). You could go there and read what they have to say about HID conversions, but I'll save you the trouble and post it here:
HID KITS
There has been of recent an increase in use of aftermarket HID kits. These Chinese made kits are illegal in every civilized country in the world. No reputable manufacturer makes them, even though you will find the names Hella and Philips illegally printed on the boxes. HID lamps are an engineered system of a capsule (bulb), ballast and the lamp. These HID kits insert an HID capsule, usually modified on someone's kitchen table in China, into a lamp that was never designed to control the enormous light output of an HID capsule. The chances that the capsule is properly located at the focal point of the lamp are slim at best, but even if it is, the source of light is a different shape than for which the lamp was designed. The result is a lot of stray light shining into the eyes of oncoming traffic.
The guy who installed the HID kit thinks he can see a lot better, but all he really is is rude. They even have a name - haters - for people who disagree with them. HID kits normally have no low beam. Sellers of HID kits claim that they can get high and low beams by moving the capsule within the lamp. The reality is that even Sylvania could not produce a system that moves the capsule accurately and will last for more than a few months. They finally had to buy back all of their lamps. The only reliable system for a High/Low HID system is called a Bi-Xenon and uses a shutter like those systems supplyed by Hella to BMW, Mercedes and Audi. Safety and Electronic Noise as described above are also common problems with HID kits.
As far as the Angel Eyes products go, I've spoken to people who have purchased them and the general consensus is that they don't offer any better night vision than standard halogen lights. Are they legal? Who knows? They claim DOT certification, but I'd have to see proof before I believed them. Should you try them? That's up to you, but I'd look into my state's motor vehicle code before I spent a lot of money on them.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it's better to learn it here than be taken in by uninformed, unscrupulous sellers.
Dave B.
Zguy2
10-04-2014, 02:46 PM
Thank you for your response! I was afraid that was going to be the answer. Looks like I'll have to do my research and find out if the angel eyes are legal or not, since I really like the way they look. Until then I'll be going back to standard halogen bulbs. I still can't believe there's no good, reliable way to convert to HID.
Thanks again!
Thanks again!
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