Has Anyone Noticed How Cheap HIDs are Getting?
01-07-2009, 01:08 PM
#41
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oh yeah, I'm totally happy with this. A few things I'll point out - I don't like the slim kits. It could be the wiring.. Motorcycles don't supply a lot of juice, but they come on slow/weak if at all, then some seconds after turning on, they "flash" several times. I assume they are trying to avoid some under/over current situation, but.. basically I am not sure I'd want the "projector" style lamps. Anything that turns the bulb on and off isn't as good.
The H-4 style, "single bulb" works excellently. The hi/lo change is very fast. I'm still totally happy with the color, the light output, the pattern. My biggest two complaints - when it's overcast you can't tell where your lights are shining since the color match with the sunlight is so good. The other complaint (this one is actually a bad thing, unlike the other which is merely interesting) - sometimes roadsigns will reflect back SO much light as to hurt your view of the less reflective road.
Er, I guess I'd feel totally ok if people wanted these on a group buy, I have no problems with the system at all. The slim ballasts might be ok on a car, and weigh a bit less, but the regular size stores nicely under the bulb itself. I guess folks tell me if there interested in the ~$100-120 range per pair, and I'll see if I can get the guy to go any lower.
(edit: That's shipped (presumably), with full wiring harness, fuse, relay, etc)
The H-4 style, "single bulb" works excellently. The hi/lo change is very fast. I'm still totally happy with the color, the light output, the pattern. My biggest two complaints - when it's overcast you can't tell where your lights are shining since the color match with the sunlight is so good. The other complaint (this one is actually a bad thing, unlike the other which is merely interesting) - sometimes roadsigns will reflect back SO much light as to hurt your view of the less reflective road.
Er, I guess I'd feel totally ok if people wanted these on a group buy, I have no problems with the system at all. The slim ballasts might be ok on a car, and weigh a bit less, but the regular size stores nicely under the bulb itself. I guess folks tell me if there interested in the ~$100-120 range per pair, and I'll see if I can get the guy to go any lower.
(edit: That's shipped (presumably), with full wiring harness, fuse, relay, etc)
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01-07-2009, 07:42 PM
#43
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Yeah - I dunno, I read it, and it's tempting but I can't say I really trust it either. I will say (I noticed this on my bikes' "slim ballast" kits - they make the ballast small but then add a starter box. So it's not really smaller, but harder to deal with. I don't think I would get those again.
They did quote some start up specs which seems ok.
-Abe.
They did quote some start up specs which seems ok.
-Abe.
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01-07-2009, 08:02 PM
#44
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Apexcone 35W/55W Full Size Ballast HID Kit
Thats what ill prob get, with the 55w housing, its only $15 more. They say it has a life time Warranty, and the reviews I found online were pretty good. If I get em ill report back for sure.
Thats what ill prob get, with the 55w housing, its only $15 more. They say it has a life time Warranty, and the reviews I found online were pretty good. If I get em ill report back for sure.
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01-08-2009, 10:55 AM
#46
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Assuming you still have the stock headlights in your '93, they are 7" sealed beams, and not compatible with any of the common aftermarket bulbs. Sealed beam means that the whole thing is one big sealed assembly- the housing, the front glass, and the filaments. You can't replace just the lamp.
First, you would need to upgrade to a set of 7" housings which can accommodate H4 lamps. These are the ones I (any many others here) have, and they are very high quality. They have the Euro pattern, which is what provides that sharp horizontal cutoff line, and are well built.
Other folks have bought housings off eBay, with varying results. 7" is a popular motorcycle size, so there are tons of them out there. In particular, folks seems to have has extremely bad things to say about the so-called projector conversion (example) both in terms of the light output, and in terms of them literally falling apart.
Hard to go wrong with Hellas though. They're OEM on a lot of cars, and you ever notice which brand is on all the Trophy Trucks running Baja 1000?
First, you would need to upgrade to a set of 7" housings which can accommodate H4 lamps. These are the ones I (any many others here) have, and they are very high quality. They have the Euro pattern, which is what provides that sharp horizontal cutoff line, and are well built.
Other folks have bought housings off eBay, with varying results. 7" is a popular motorcycle size, so there are tons of them out there. In particular, folks seems to have has extremely bad things to say about the so-called projector conversion (example) both in terms of the light output, and in terms of them literally falling apart.
Hard to go wrong with Hellas though. They're OEM on a lot of cars, and you ever notice which brand is on all the Trophy Trucks running Baja 1000?
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01-08-2009, 06:42 PM
#50
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Well, the seller is definitely confused. The title says that they are sealed-beam headlights, however the picture shows a pair of H4 housings.
Further, the clear front lens, while pretty, prevents these housings from having anything resembling a sharp pattern, and they look like they're made of plastic, not glass. My guess is that they'll probably throw a very diffuse beam, and perform somewhat worse than even the stock headlights, regardless of what lamps you put in them.
If you want to convert to H4 reflectors, trust me- spend the extra few bucks and get Hella E-codes.
Further, the clear front lens, while pretty, prevents these housings from having anything resembling a sharp pattern, and they look like they're made of plastic, not glass. My guess is that they'll probably throw a very diffuse beam, and perform somewhat worse than even the stock headlights, regardless of what lamps you put in them.
If you want to convert to H4 reflectors, trust me- spend the extra few bucks and get Hella E-codes.
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01-08-2009, 06:53 PM
#51
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Apexcone 35W/55W Full Size Ballast HID Kit
Thats what ill prob get, with the 55w housing, its only $15 more. They say it has a life time Warranty, and the reviews I found online were pretty good. If I get em ill report back for sure.
Thats what ill prob get, with the 55w housing, its only $15 more. They say it has a life time Warranty, and the reviews I found online were pretty good. If I get em ill report back for sure.
;
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01-08-2009, 07:13 PM
#52
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i had a nice H4 conversion on my KZ1000, and I loved it. Totally worth every penny to get a good one.
I don't see what's wrong with a 50W kit, I have them, they are fantastic, and I've driven around following people asking them if my lights bothered them, never any complaints. Cops don't mind. They are just very bright.
I don't see what's wrong with a 50W kit, I have them, they are fantastic, and I've driven around following people asking them if my lights bothered them, never any complaints. Cops don't mind. They are just very bright.
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01-08-2009, 09:19 PM
#54
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As much as I know they're probably of poor workmanship, I find myself constantly tempted to try a set of eBay projectors such as these: eBay Motors: 7" ROUND PROJECTOR HEADLIGHTS CONVERSION KIT H6024 H4 (item 110329342808 end time Jan-21-09 10:02:13 PST)
From the look of it, it seems that they are taking cheap, plastic reflector-style housings and retrofitting them with projector lenses. While the reflector section may be crap, if the projection optics are any good then it shouldn't matter.
The only thing that puzzles me about them is that I've never seen a combination hi-lo projector headlight, at least in an OEM application. I wonder if the design of the sleeve is such that the reflector section is in fact active in hi-beam mode?
For $30, it'd almost be worth trying just so I can A/B one of them to my Hella E-codes.
From the look of it, it seems that they are taking cheap, plastic reflector-style housings and retrofitting them with projector lenses. While the reflector section may be crap, if the projection optics are any good then it shouldn't matter.
The only thing that puzzles me about them is that I've never seen a combination hi-lo projector headlight, at least in an OEM application. I wonder if the design of the sleeve is such that the reflector section is in fact active in hi-beam mode?
For $30, it'd almost be worth trying just so I can A/B one of them to my Hella E-codes.
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01-09-2009, 12:35 AM
#59
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all this talk about HID's wants me to order the h4 conversion from Susquehanna MotorSports - Detail and order the HID's too but my cars not even running yet lol. im lame 
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01-09-2009, 01:20 AM
#60
I had some of those back in the day, except they had the "angel eyes"
gay as hell... If only I knew then what I know now.
Anyway they melted after about a month or so.. totally plastic and totally worthless.
I did eventually find some similar to the E codes on ebay for like 40 shipped... Someday I will upgrade them to the HIDs
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