HID Xenon light kit for my 400E
 

So Santa must have heard me *****ing about the lights in my 92 400E cuz I got a HID Xenon light kit for x-mas! Its pretty simple plug and play,and also seems well made the only problem seems to be I need to connect to the battery and the battery is in the trunk? Is there some where under the hood I can pick up + & - :confused:

Are you changing the both light assemblies as well? If you are hoping to get better lighting by adding HID bulbs in the factory lens assembly I think you will be dissapointed. The US DOT lamps were poor at projecting light as it is. There is nothing that I hate more than being blinded at night by one of these "HID kits" that someone has added to their car.

I would make sure you are not using the OE US DOT lights....Depo Euros that I run in both my cars are an incredible upgrade in both looks + lighting performance for ~$160.

They were a gift, so as long as they are better then stock I'm happy

ps2cho did you need to run wires to the trunk for the battery

I am a huge fan of the hid upgrade. I had mine converted about a year ago and they are the best. On a three lane street driving in the middle I can illuminate both lanes to the left and right of me and beyond, and I get at least 50 plus yards in front. the lights are aimed about 30° down from a direct horizontal stand, but I took out the metal defector that sits in front of the light behind the lens for more output, its great

Word to the wise, the conversion kits are illegal esp with the Standard light housing.

are they really illegal? how would you even be in a position to be asked to lift up your hood for a cop to check? I was once asked to roll up my windows because an officer suspected me of having dark tint on my front windows, which I do, but I just refused to do it and since I wasn't breaking any law other than being stopped for a license plate light being out there wasn't much he could do. I guess if ur suspected of having drugs or guns hidden under ur hood they can ask to search, but I doubt they would be able to ask u to lift ur hood to prove ur lights are illegal unless u have those weird 12000k or whatever the number is to turn the lights purple or blue.

they can tell, the Light dispersal pattern Blinds people and you can get stopped for it apparently. someone posted a link about it here I forget where

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html is the link I have.

But honestly, I see so many clear-light illegal conversions (front and rear), blue lights, smoked lenses, lense covers et al that never get the attention or a ticket around here that I doubt you'll get noticed in most smaller cities. It does give them a reason to pull you over if they want, then suspicion can get them further, middle of the night and a nervous officer is not what I like.

Buy some good Euro lights (also illegal in the US BTW) and you'll get much better light output, better pattern, better in rain/fog/snow due to the sharp cutoff, and you'll be happy. HID conversions are almost always messy and I wish I had a pellet gun for every one I see coming the other way.

Uneducated on this you are. No insult, you just dont have the facts.

HID upgrades do not necessarily cause glare. The important thing to do is make sure they headlights are aimed right. MANY people see HID kits in cars where the owner also replaced the headlight assemblies at the same time as a sweeping upgrade. And they did not aim them right. This is mainly an aiming issue more than anything.

The only way to produce "glare" is if the kit is not aligned right. By that I mean the light output source (the arc) is not in the specified location of the standard halogen lamp that is in spec. When this happened the light is out of focus. This is not a common issues, the vast majority are aligned right but those super cheap kits have a higher risk of poor production/alignment.

Its simple really. Light is light and if its emitted from the same location it will react the same way when hitting the reflectors, glass, etc. But if the light is not in the same position, it will be out of focus. Its that simple. If you think that ALL hid kits cause glare then you are likely old and already have poor vision and probably even think silver stars are HID upon seeing them, and those certainly will be in focus!

I think the lens and the assembly has a lot to do with the projection of the light. I see a lot of cars with aftermarket HID kits and most are extremely blinding at night. The light just doesn't seem to project very well. It is almost as if the light is being blocked by the lens instead of being dispersed forward evenly. A car equipped from the factory with HID or a good conversion is a worlds difference apart.

i think not having enough light see at night is illegal too. i have hids(plug n plays) and i will never ever ever go back to halogen lamps again. the light disperson, glare, and aim is exactly the same is it was before except theres more light ..thats all.

School taught me that "yaght" is spelled "yacht", that is education also.

The fact is, an HID capsule has a larger light source than the filament in a quartz-halogen bulb. I know, years of work in office lighting (including using ray-tracing software to design optics (lenses and reflectors) around the light source) and being in on the early designs of HID lights as an Engineer & supplier of reflectors to Visteon probably also isn't enough, ... but the halogen to HID lights and designs are significantly different and do not transfer over.

However, since US lights have a reputation for such dismal light patterns where the high-beam is controlled, and the low-beam is basically an out-of-focus beam where the filament is high and to the left of the focal point throwing a blob of light down and to the right, ... I digress, putting HID bulbs in this arrangement pretty much means a brighter blob of light low and to the right (with brighter glare). Thus the move to European-spec lights, with proper optics, and with well-distributed light. It's not just how bright the light is, it's where the light goes.

With proper optics, IE Euro lights, the low-beam typically has a sharp cutoff of light at the top, formed with the optics of the reflector & lense and based on exact positioning of the light source (filament or capsule). When the shape and size of this light source changes from a small filament to a larger capsule, so does the shape of the light output, and only the light generated in the original designed location is controlled properly, light outside of that location strays. The same thing holds true for the low-beam and fog-beam lamp designs with a mask to produce the upper cutoff.

Those without optics design education, training, and experience might or might not understand this, but I've seen millions of dollars thrown at re-designing a light to accomodate the incoming HID options on cars, because the lights designed for filament-bulbs would not pass DOT (or European requirements depending on the market).

Yes "not having enough light is illegal too", if you have non-standard, dirty, rusted, damaged, or aftermarket-smoked lights they too are illegal. Any alteration from the factory light must be tested and approved by DOT (which will also be molded into the lense) to be highway legal in the US.

I 100% guarantee the light distribution is not the same as the halogen lamp. Didn't your car come with H7 powered lamps anyway? Those put out quite a bit of light.

Even going from a standard output halogen lamp to a "high performance" halogen lamp will change the light distribution. There is special equipement used to measure this... I wish I had access to it.

Do what I did in this thread: In a dark area, turn off all auto correction and auto exposure settings on your camera. Illuminate a flat wall with one lamp, take a picture, then carefully switch the lamp in the fixture to the other type and take another picture. This will allow for the best comparison possible with "consumer" grade equipement. I would be interested to see the comparison in output between the retrofit HID light and a quality halogen lamp.

-J

Unless its a last name.

Clever :)

Conversions in 99% of the halogen housings out there suck. The housing simply is not designed for HID lighting. You need a projector to make it work properly... I love being blinded by morons using the $99.99 feebay HID kit to attain blue lights. :rolleyes:

I have never seen HID in the glass ECE lights these Euro cars had overseas, but I would venture to guess HID in them would work decently.

There are sites around that sell quality lamps for whatever housing you have in your car... the Daniel Stern place is great.

What is the performance difference like going from a 55/60W H4 bulb to a set of Silverstars or Nighthawks? What is the highest wattage bulb that can safely be used in a W124 with factory wiring? I do have Eurolamps but it would be nice to know if there is additional performance that can be had.

the distribution of the light is the physical work of the headlight assembly. light travels in straight lines...if the light sounce is exactly the same there will be zero difference in light distribution, only the brightness and intensity of the light.

Right, exactly. Problem is, ... in an HID lamp it is the plasma/gas that glows in the capsule, which is a significantly larger light source than the filament in a regular incandescent bulb.

If someone makes an HID that has an arc-tube/capsule the same size and shape as the quartz-halogen filament that it replaces, I haven't seen it.

to the person who originally posted this thread, just get the hid installed, its one of the best investments for your car. my housing has not changed and I have hid installed and led fog lights installed on my w201 and its the best. I tried silverstar and it just doesn't compare. who cares about blinding traffic, that won't happen if you aim the lights correctly....and I should know because I have yet to be flashed by someones high beams, plus I removed the metal deflector which, if anything would cause me to blind oncoming traffic. I'll even post photos for you all.

I can only shake my head at the lack of logic and lighting design demonstrated in this posting. Can't teach colors to a blind man I guess.

Odd. In kits I have installed, the capsule is smaller than a metal filament.

As I color blind person I simply ask someone who has correct vision ;)

Do the test I suggested. If your lights have proper cutoff and distribution you have nothing to hide. If there truly is a cheap, easy to install HID kit that provides proper lighting I'd love to see it.

-J

Come now, you know there is not. :D

Furthermore, why HIDs are not mandated by DOT here in the US on new vehicles for safety reasons is beyond me. It is not as if HIDs are very expensive... even if they were, I would gladly pay an extra $1000 for added night vision.

The F350 came with halogen lamps. :rolleyes:

The DOT mandate things for practical safety? What country do you think this is??? :D They won't even mandate lens cleaners or automatic leveling.

Well whatever. I'm just saying that if someone wants to have better ligting for their vehicle and it doesn't adversely affect anyone else then what is the problem? I have HID installed on my car, I have driven behind police and oncoming traffice without any problems. I can see 100 times better than the regular halogens, so whats the big deal? I see better, no one is hurt or blinded.....am I missing something? I have seen HID installations that are sub-par, but a lot of aftermarket HID are nice. Here are some pictures that are not really that great taken from my camera phone, unfortunately the true output of the lighting can't be captured at night, but pretty much everything gets illuminated about 50 yards + - and several yards on either direction......without blinding oncoming traffic ;) (the lights may look blue, but they are actually white, combination of taking pitures at night in conjunction with a camera phone).

I think if ANYTHING annoys me while driving, is headlights not aimed right. HID or not, that is far a bigger problem.

Now off to eBay to look at some HIDs to buy!!

Excellent choice Yaght! Not to be confused with yacht.;)

sharphid.com has always gave me good service

Here is some actual of of a video I shot about 2 years ago with my Silverstar Ultra lights
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc2bCNFkC1k

and here is the one a did just today with my 8000k HID installation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUikO0V2lwI

I've heard HID kits will cause the module to believe a bulb is out, is that right?
Which kit are you using lsmalley?

The height of the beam is the most important factor regardless of Halogen vs HID. Anybody who uses HID just must realize they have a greater and more important duty to ENSURE you are set up correctly. If not, you gain illumination whilst someone else, potentially dangerous situation due to glare.

not sure which kit I'm using. I had mine installed at a shop. but no, the module is fine.

8000k... hmm....

-J

Ah ha! yes, 8000k is close to the bluish end of the spectrum as opposed to the 6000k, but never the less that output is similar to that of the Lexus LS 430 .....I made sure that I made it clear to him when I was getting the installation done. Those LS 430's have amazing output!

The more you move away from 4.3k, the less lumen and less visibility. To each his own! I had 6k but will try 4.3k on the Benz.

yes, thats what the guy told me...or something to that extent, which is why he didn't recommend getting anything above the 8000k. intresting that you're going for the 4300k, I actually just looked at my Silverstar package and it says that they are 4100k. Why didn't you stick with the 6000k? Surely those will be a lot brighter than the 4300k. I even think that Acura may use the 6000k. I know that I have seen some Range Rovers that go above the 10000k (I think)which give the lights that purplish tint.

Well several factors. I could order several 4.3k kits and they would all look a little different. 6k is what I had an liked a lot, but they still had a hint of blue. I prefer the "ice white" look, hence 4.3 or 5k. So for me I want a true whiter light with greater visibility over anything showing shades of blue or purple.

The light directly in front of the car looks horrid. Just saying, no offense. My 33 year old euro low specs do better than that. :eek:

Anyway a bi xenon retrofit involving projectors is the only way to go, and even if you go that far you still need to vaccu-form new plastic lenses without the flutting in them.

I'll attach some pics I borrowed from hidplanet. This is a vehicle that did not come new with HID's, it was a proper retrofit. I will be doing this very soon, with my vaccum leveling euro lights, as well as installing washer squirter's in the bumper. In theory it will still be illegal though.

You sir just lost my respect. :mad:

Before saying unjust falsified statements like these please do your homework. The reason range rovers and Acuras look so much different than your ricer pnp kit isn't because of the kelvin rating of the bulb. Every single vehicle in this country that came new with xenons has had 4100-4300k bulbs... every one. The color your experiencing in those fine automobiles is actually the color flicker, which is caused by the cut off shield inside the projector. The cut off shield is there so they don't blind people, like for example losers who put pnp kits in their W201's.


You just got owned by a 16 year old using 55 watt H4's. :P

In interest of avoiding cheap HIDs I have been looking at Philips. They make a few kits. They are H4 but not bi-xenon. Instead there is a singular light source and a magnetic shield that moves out of the way for hi-beam.

Anyone have experience with Philips?

I have philips xtreme vision H4 lamps in my SDL. The output is fantastic, and I didn't have to modify the lamp failure monitor to get them working correctly ;)

-J

I agree that the lights in the photos I posted don't look the greatest, as I stated, because using a camera phone at night against light just doesn't work. The pictures you show in your post are actually similar to what I am looking at when I drive and I don't think that may statements were false considering that words such as"may" or "I think" were used. As far as knowing any losers that put pnp kits in w201's and 16 year olds that use 55w h4's.....I wouldn't know anything about that, not exactly that type of people I surround myself with.

From what I've heard Philips never made HID kits, what people are doing is taking the cheap kits and labeling them as Philips and selling them for 3 times the price. If you really are stuck on doing hid's the wrong way I suggest looking into casper shields and 85122 D2s bulbs. Still not going to have any foreground light compared to a retrofit though, but it's the least glare filled option.

I didn't know it was possible to not surround yourself with your self?:confused: You sir are the guy with the pnp kit powered W201. And simply that.

Where as my 33 year old headlights put out an amazing amount of light, as well as have a sharp cutoff that doesn't blind on coming motorists. And my headlight have stock 55 watt halogen bulbs.

Do your homework. Any hid kit is a bad idea.

Really? Odd since Philips is where I got my info in the first place!

http://www.lighting.philips.com/us_en/automotive/consumer_products/xenon.php?main=us_en_automotive&parent=79912999330&id=&lang=en

http://www.lighting.philips.com.hk/v2/automotive/productrange.jsp?id=1012969&app=car_&vp=ultimate%20light&va=ultimate%20light

From the applications tab on the second link you posted.

• "Original equipment suitable for direct replacement"

Pretty sure it says original equipment for direct replacement? And it doesnt say anything about being DOT approved.

Such a shame that some people just have to be right in every aspect of a debate....even when hard facts (and obvious links) are presented right before them. Probably would've done better on a debate team, rather than going above and beyond to prove someone wrong instead of just offering constructive criticism.....Anywho, this isn't some 16 year olds social network so I'll end it there. Just wanted to post these new pictures of my "ricer pnp HID kit" I hope the glare doesn't blind anyone :D

.....and one more :D