HID retrofit kits

[gragravar]

So I have tried searching but have come up empty. Has any one done an HID retrofit to replace their stock H7 low beams?

I know that when doing those you are supposed to sue them with projector beam/self leveling lights. but the primary reason for that is not blinding oncoming traffic. in looking at the beam pattern with the halogen bulb, my stock lights seem to have a pretty definite cutoff pattern just like a projector would have.

So, back to the question at hand, has anyone done an HID replacement. what were the results like?

for $42 I am not sure I can go wrong????

HID Conversion Kits - Single Baam Model(H1/H3/H4-1/H4-2/H7/H8/H9/H10/H11/9004-1/9005(HB3)/9006(HB4)/9007-1/880/881) VVME.COM LLC Your Best HID KIT Supplier

[stolenheron]

$42? dude, you can't even buy decent sylania silverstar ultrawhite halogen bulbs for that. no fucking way are you gonna get a decent HID kit. I converted my factory fog/driving lights with an H11 8000k HID kit from McCulloch HID Kits, Parts and Accessories, a decent HID kit is around 150, a good one is around 200. i got mine for around 200. putting in a cheap HID kit can drain a battery/electrical system in no time. you need to get a quality kit with supplemental power wires in the kit. the last thing you want is your HID kit to start flashing on and off at night when you're on the interstate (it happens when power is low, and happens frequently on HID converted older cars)

[gragravar]

Originally Posted by stolenheron

$42? dude, you can't even buy decent sylania silverstar ultrawhite halogen bulbs for that. no fucking way are you gonna get a decent HID kit. I converted my factory fog/driving lights with an H11 8000k HID kit from McCulloch HID Kits, Parts and Accessories, a decent HID kit is around 150, a good one is around 200. i got mine for around 200. putting in a cheap HID kit can drain a battery/electrical system in no time. you need to get a quality kit with supplemental power wires in the kit. the last thing you want is your HID kit to start flashing on and off at night when you're on the interstate (it happens when power is low, and happens frequently on HID converted older cars)

the VVME kit is stupid cheap right now, but it is a quality kit. I know several people that put them in other cars a year or two ago when they were selling at $200+

that said, if there are other kits known to be better, I would be happy to hear of them. I am not sure price is the only thing indicative of quality here.

[gragravar]

oh, and one more question, stolenheron - why did you choose to replace the fogs rather than the low beams?

[stolenheron]

1. i wanted to test out how well the kit would work/install/etc first on something less critical than my foglights. 2. i didn't want to get pulled over for blinding the hell out of people, my foglights are brighter than my highbeams already and are right the eyes/mirrors of compact cars. anytime i have my low beams on I have my fogs on too, and currently my foglights are only 10ft short of the distance that my low beams go on a straight road, so i'm not missing much.

[XtremeMarine]

I hate to say it, but Heron's got a very valid point... and , uh, he's right. lol! A good quality HID conversion is going to be around 175-200. If the kit now selling for 42 was once 200, then it's technology is outdated. Why put outdated tech on your baby? I can get a gen1 nightscope for my rifle for around 250, but I'd rather spend the 2000 for a gen 3, and be able to be a lot darker and a lot further away when I take the shot. Catch my drift? For 3x the money, you'll GET 3x the technology. Not always worth it, IMHO, but definitely worth it when it comes to lighting. At least on a daily driver, or something your family will spend time in.

As far as Heron's why on the fogs, he'll need to answer that, but my guess is because that's what all his friends in the street racing crowd are doing. Fogs on LR's can't be operated independent of the lowbeams. Unless rewired to do so. Changing fogs to HID, without also changing the lows, cuts down on their usefulness. Doesn't negate it, but the stronger and wider beam of the main lamp offsets the improvement in the fog. Trust me on this, I must have tried 20 or more lighting variances on the rallye cars.
I'm still waiting for the thread where he jumps off a bridge one weekend when he goes home, because the other guys did...







Just razzing on you, Heron.

[XtremeMarine]

Damn it, I hate when we're both typing at the same time. LMAO!!!

[stolenheron]

uhh...street racers aren't doing that lol. i just wanted to try it out. i didn't want to put my safety at risk with a product i hadn't tried yet on my headlights. So i did the test run on the fogs, i love them. (you can run the fogs with the parking lights too xm lol). if i get $200 i don't want to drop somewhere else on the car I'll replace my low beams. its on hte to do list. and right now my foglights basically negate the low beam, the blue 8000k setup definetly outpowers the factory low beams. the fogs are wider than the low beams, but stop about 10-20ft short of the distance the low beams go.

as far as jumping off a bridge because someone else did you can forget it. i'm not that kind of person. what other people think of me is hardly my concern, i've got much bigger problems to deal with than that.

its all good

[stolenheron]

StolenHeron's 2004 Land Rover Discovery on CarDomain - Page 3

pics of the before/after/install of my hids in the fogs. i didn't take a pic of them on the road, just against the cabinets in the garage. but you get the idea. i love em. not many people do the fogs first. scroll down to half page to see the HID stuff (otherwise you'll look at my psp install lol which i know i'm gonna get some flak for)

[gragravar]

I hate it when you guys are right, but you are.

I did some more research, and the VVME kits are kind of hit or miss. many people like them but others have reported flickering problems.

in any case I found a trusted local tuning ship that sells retrofit kits. they'll sell me a kit with a lifetime warranty and they will do the install and will install that too. It will cost me lots more than $42, but you are right, it will be worth it.

[stolenheron]

I put in McCulloch in mine, some people don't like em, some people love em. I've had NO issues on my disco. good stuff, mine came with a 1 year warranty on the ballasts and i should get around 2000hours supposedly on the bulbs, but even then they are only like 60 a pair to replace.

[ArmyRover]

I've been running the same kits on my wifes ML and my bike for over a year now with no issues except on the bike those I have to run only 1 lite out of the two light system as the stator doesn't keep the voltage up well enough.

they do get you on shipping though for 30 bucks on the site you listed.

[stolenheron]

what ultrabrightlights? i got them well cheaper than listed because i knew a saleen mustang driver who was sponsored by them.

[ArmyRover]

same kits that are on the site gragraver posted my old bikes voltage just isn't steady enough at idle to keep them both lit up.

They work fine on the Ml though.