i got the HID

[TehWagon]

i'll post up in here b/c mike has the pix, else i'd post it in gallery, but i just felt the need to say, the hid's are in! thanks to mike for helping me w/the install... i'm pumped!!!
this is what my bugeye looks like from the front now, to hold u over until mike (hopefully?) posts the pix...
:eek:
hee hee

[the mike]

Will post pics as soon as I change the camera batteries.

[the mike]

Here ya go...
No night shots because Ash flaked out and left early. :mrgreen:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/themike/hid2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/themike/hid3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/themike/hid1.jpg

[igo4bmx]

was it a kit or retrofit

[the mike]

It was a retrofit kit bought used. Pretty much plug and play(with some diag thrown in for good measure). Now to rewire the fogs to work...

[TehWagon]

hey. miss flake here-
thanks for the pix and info- yea it was easy once we (mike) figured out that we had blown a fuse and that it wasn't faulty equip!
i heart my hid's :banana:

[nickmahhh]

what exactly is a hid?

[TehWagon]

i got this one mike--
high intensity discharge. it's a kind of headlight- like the purplish ones u see on high end cars like beamers etc... its a different quality of light and really sharpens everything!
*edit* -awesome avatar nick :thumbup:
partyman's working again!!! yayyy! :partyman:
how bout this oen :rolleyes: woohoo!!!! things are lookin up!
/ot

[nickmahhh]

omg i did know that. but since im retarded, i never put two and two together. i hate those lights! too bright! heh. well not really.

[TehWagon]

yea mine are pointed down too far anyway so i haven't pissed anyone off yet. gotta adjust 'em...
but once youve 'seen the light' from the drivers seat, you'll understand- it's a huge difference- well worth it.

[nickmahhh]

yeah i hear dat. i was gonna get them before. arent they expensive?

[TehWagon]

depends, mine were $250 used. it can really go up a LOT more than that, depending on what kind u get, what kind of car you have, etc.

[nickmahhh]

$250 bucks!!! for lights?? i hope you misplaced a decimal point there!

[the mike]

HID's use an inert sheilding gas and usually a metal like sodium to create a very intense light using a high electrical current(found THAT out the other day, turn the lights off before plugging and unplugging :lol: ).
They also need igniters and ballasts like the flourescent lights in your office, hence the higher price tag. They are worth every penny once you get to drive at night with them, especially if you are visionally challenged. :mrgreen:

[nickmahhh]

ok i understood half of that one. ****, i can order ballasts here at work, do it everyday, would that make em cheaper? now i am interested in these

[nickmahhh]

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/searchresults.jsp?QueryString=ballast&catindx2=HID&catindx1=Ballasts%2C&search_type=keyword

see I can order these, well not really allowed heh

[smoger]

the difference between HID and halogen is like night and day ...urghhh.. literally

[nickmahhh]

arent halogen lights cheaper? id rather have them cheaper, and brighter than what i have now

[smoger]

arent halogen lights cheaper? id rather have them cheaper, and brighter than what i have now

halogen is what you have now. really the only way to get brighter is to get higher wattage bulbs, but then you are risking burning out your wiring and switches. silverstar bulbs look brighter but probably only LOOK that way due to the shade of light they cast

HID's are WAY brighter, look better, and run at the stock wattage so there is none to very little risk of melting stuff(lighting enthusiasts swear that HID's will melt your wiring without a relay harness, but i have yet to see an actual case of this happening!)

[nickmahhh]

oh heh. i thought i saw some at pep boys that looked blue? maybe its just a color change. christ smoger, are you the all knowing and powerful OZ? you sound like you know everything!

[smoger]

oh heh. i thought i saw some at pep boys that looked blue? maybe its just a color change. christ smoger, are you the all knowing and powerful OZ? you sound like you know everything!

i have a tendancy to research deeply into things when i am buying them or interested.. so some things i know a good amount about, some things i dont know jack about.

:confused:

[nickmahhh]

yeah my father does that too. im that a$$hole who just looks at it and says ok illbuy it. heh

[TehWagon]

(lighting enthusiasts swear that HID's will melt your wiring without a relay harness)
these people actually exist?? :bigeek:

nick, you'll probably be happier w/silverstars- u might want to try that first...

[nickmahhh]

yeah ill prolly try them. im looking into em now

[nickmahhh]

ok, im getting a huge mixed feedback on the VW forum. Some say that silverstars are good, some say suck, some say HID's are good, some say bad. some say PIAA are bad. im lost. i think ill just get what i see and try from there. :rolleyes:

[TehWagon]

who says hid's are bad and what reasons do they cite?

wanted to get some night shots last night but family meeting ran WAY long... will try again...

[nickmahhh]

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1892123

[smoger]

who says hid's are bad and what reasons do they cite?

wanted to get some night shots last night but family meeting ran WAY long... will try again...

im guessing hes talking about the lighting snobs who believe that HID's in a reflector housing suck

those guys crack me up..as if halogen is better :rolleyes:

[nickmahhh]

do they sell silverstars at pep boys or would i have to go to somewhere else? also, are PIAA any good? they are pretty cheap

[moorefire]

You have an hid KIT, not a retrofit. Retrofits are the RIGHT way to do HIDs and involve transplanting a housing/projector designed for the increased light output into you original housing.

im guessing hes talking about the lighting snobs who believe that HID's in a reflector housing suck

those guys crack me up..as if halogen is better :rolleyes:

They don't suck because of lack of light output.

They suck because reflector housings wern't designed for that level of output and therefore usualy have a horrible cut off and hot spots. Thats why the guy in front of you that you'll be blinding will wanna smash your lights and the reason why these kits are all illegal (as they should be.)

And if this is one of those applications that causes the loss of a high beam then yes, you will be suffering from a lack of light output.

[nickmahhh]

do they sell silverstars at pep boys or would i have to go to somewhere else? also, are PIAA any good? they are pretty cheap
anyone?

[smoger]

You have an hid KIT, not a retrofit. Retrofits are the RIGHT way to do HIDs and involve transplanting a housing/projector designed for the increased light output into you original housing.



They don't suck because of lack of light output.

They suck because reflector housings wern't designed for that level of output and therefore usualy have a horrible cut off and hot spots. Thats why the guy in front of you that you'll be blinding will wanna smash your lights and the reason why these kits are all illegal (as they should be.)

And if this is one of those applications that causes the loss of a high beam then yes, you will be suffering from a lack of light output.


i knew we had to have at least one here.

of course a retrofit is BEST, but theres no denying a plug and play hid kit is better than halogen. as for losing the highbeams.. not an issue for me.

believe me when i say SUV's with factory HID's are far worse at blinding people than my car with the plug and play kit.

[smoger]

nick i dont know about pep boys but i know for a fact that autozone has em

[nickmahhh]

nick i dont know about pep boys but i know for a fact that autozone has em
ok cool. i heard that as well. thanks!

[xEJ20x]

Are the GLS's the 1.8 turbos?

[nickmahhh]

Are the GLS's the 1.8 turbos?
bahaha NO! I dont have sh1t. just a normal 2002 jetta. the ones you see everyone driving around with. yeah im boring i know

[Twin_Cam]

Pep Boys does have Silverstars. I had them on my '97 Saturn and my friend has them on his car. I loved them. Much brighter, and the light was a whiteish color, not yellowy, it was really sharp-looking.

[nickmahhh]

Pricey?

[xEJ20x]

bahaha NO! I dont have sh1t. just a normal 2002 jetta. the ones you see everyone driving around with. yeah im boring i know

Ahahahahhahah, you got a 2 point slow.

[nickmahhh]

Ahahahahhahah, you got a 2 point slow.
correct. hence why i am not into cars that much and why i dont show up to many meets :mrgreen:

[xEJ20x]

correct. hence why i am not into cars that much and why i dont show up to many meets :mrgreen:

Sell the Jetta and get a Corrado G60. :mrgreen:

[nickmahhh]

Sell the Jetta and get a Corrado G60. :mrgreen:
heh sure let me pull money out my a$$. ill just put silverstars in my headlights and that will be good enough for me, heh. im looking for an apartment and id rather spend the money on that. :banana:

[TehWagon]

alright nick go make your own 'what headlight should i buy' thread!
i come back from a meeting and i find this thread is out of control! :screwy:

about the retro fit, yes i do notice that the projection with the stock housing is not what it could be, but finances dictate that i must take a short cut at this point. down the road i will def look into more of the retrofit option-
but i agree w/smoger- i see MANY cars on the road w/stock hid setups that are way more blinding! plus it seems my lights are erring on teh side of pointing too far down (the road RIGHT in front of me is the brightest) so i don't think i'll have any worries w/that. on the ride home after we installed them, no one flipped me 'the beam'... :rolleyes:

[nickmahhh]

alright nick go make your own 'what headlight should i buy' thread!
i come back from a meeting and i find this thread is out of control! :screwy:

about the retro fit, yes i do notice that the projection with the stock housing is not what it could be, but finances dictate that i must take a short cut at this point. down the road i will def look into more of the retrofit option-
but i agree w/smoger- i see MANY cars on the road w/stock hid setups that are way more blinding! plus it seems my lights are erring on teh side of pointing too far down (the road RIGHT in front of me is the brightest) so i don't think i'll have any worries w/that. on the ride home after we installed them, no one flipped me 'the beam'... :rolleyes:

shut your pie hole wang chung. im taking over this thread! hehe

[LadyTSi]

I run silverstars now and I like them. They replaced a pair of PIAA's and the siverstars are better I think

<95nracer by the way, Still can't log on...

[TehWagon]

as promised...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v651/anf641/DSCN6474.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v651/anf641/DSCN6473.jpg

and one sneaky one of just the parking lights- clear side markers are in! (sort of :rolleyes: )
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v651/anf641/DSCN6471.jpg

[TehWagon]

i think my car looks like a snake...
anyone?? bueler?

[nickmahhh]

looks like a car. weirdo :screwy: heh

[sisforsurfing]

I'm jealous! It looks good, stock WRX lights aren't known for being the strongest.

[xEJ20x]

So when are the HID foglights coming. :mrgreen:

[TehWagon]

sha! though i do plan to tint them blue to match...better.

[moorefire]

Do you miss your hi beams yet? My friend put a HID kit in his buy eye WRX and he ended up losing his high beams and eventually ended up recycling the car avoiding wildlife that he might have seen if he still had high beams, but he had the cool blue color.

Also, the claim that SUV HIDs are more of a nuisance that HID kits is based on the misconception that SUV HIDs are just as blinding when they're tailgating you as when you're a few carlengths away, which is not true due to their excellent cut off. If SUV drivers didn't think they're invincible and tailgate everyone you wouldn't have this misconception. HID kits on the other had, have a horrible cut off and are a nuisace are much greater distances (even if you're at a lower ride height,) and therefore more unsafe (for other drivers.)

[LilWheezy75]

I got sIlverstars in mycar.. there alright... would look much better if i cleaned my headlights.. n i think i need to get them re aimed.. but other than that.. there still noticably brighter. And i got em off ebay for 18 bucks... good deal.

[TehWagon]

totally- i never had any issues w/my silverstars- i liked them alot and it's a noticable change for the money.
but hid's, no comparison.

[nickmahhh]

:mrgreen: totally- i never had any issues w/my silverstars- i liked them alot and it's a noticable change for the money.
but hid's, no comparison.
picking up silverstars after work today! w00t! i havent bought something for my car other than gas and oil in a long time. heh.

[IMPREZvWRX]

Lookin good. To the HID nazi in here, I used a 4300K kit in my WRX for over a year with no problems. Light output was insane (was it really dark out?) and I may have gotten the highbeams from other drivers halfa dozen times in teh year I've had them....I'd call that pretty good. Loss of high beams....who cares, never needed them! BTW, I got mine for $240 new. :supz:

[TehWagon]

NEW?!?! where from? mine were used for $232 shipped- i thought i was doin pretty good!

[Blaise]

ok, im getting a huge mixed feedback on the VW forum. Some say that silverstars are good, some say suck, some say HID's are good, some say bad. some say PIAA are bad. im lost. i think ill just get what i see and try from there. :rolleyes:

Silverstars are horrible.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/Blaise1/bulbs.jpg

Seriously, stay away.

[igo4bmx]

Silverstars are horrible.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/Blaise1/bulbs.jpg

Seriously, stay away.

yeah
i had silverstars... nothing amazing about them except for the fact they cost about 20+ bucks EACH! :(

are these true retrofits or were they a plug n play setup?
now you can be the official lighting of the steak meets (when they turn off the lights)

[TehWagon]

heh- if that was for me, bmx, it's a plug n play- yea i'll light the place up fo sho!

[igo4bmx]

heh- if that was for me, bmx, it's a plug n play- yea i'll light the place up fo sho!

i am confused... take a pic of the output against a wall

Im really not fond of the HID kits out there because they emit poor light output which really does blind oncoming traffic...
for a good explanation check this out.
http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1104891

[smoger]

i am confused... take a pic of the output against a wall

Im really not fond of the HID kits out there because they emit poor light output which really does blind oncoming traffic...
for a good explanation check this out.
http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1104891


not to hijack the thread but heres a pic of mine.. obviously not as sharp a cut off as a retrofit, but a far cry from the photos on the honda site. also when this photo was taken i did have a few cracks in front of the bulb on one headlight lens which were scattering light even a bit more than it does now

http://www.thexenonstore.com/installs/eric_srt43_large.jpg

i mean, you guys have seen me pull up to absolute.. did anyone find it THAT bad? its been about a year now and ive been flashed maybe 3 times by other drivers

[IMPREZvWRX]

i am confused... take a pic of the output against a wall

Im really not fond of the HID kits out there because they emit poor light output which really does blind oncoming traffic...
for a good explanation check this out.
http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1104891

It's not that I'm unaware of glare and all that...it's just that I don't care.

<---- a-hole

[Blaise]

It's not that I'm unaware of glare and all that...it's just that I don't care.

<---- a-hole

Yeah, it's people like you that (someday) I will purposely run off of the road in my $50 car.

Seriously, improperly installed HIDs are DANGEROUS. There's a reason they're illegal, ya know. It's almost as bad as the folks who forget to turn their lights on at night.

[the mike]

I would like to remind you that I would never allow something that was going to be a hazard to other motorists to be installed on her car. A lot more thought went into this than the typical ghetto Honda Accord owner.
I would also like to point out that I have been blinded by more FACTORY HID systems in my car than aftermarket ones. Why they decided putting HID's in a lumbering SUV that sits rearview mirror level, I will never know.

[TehWagon]

+1. thanks for the retort - somehow i lost track of this thread...

[Blaise]

I would like to remind you that I would never allow something that was going to be a hazard to other motorists to be installed on her car. A lot more thought went into this than the typical ghetto Honda Accord owner.
I would also like to point out that I have been blinded by more FACTORY HID systems in my car than aftermarket ones. Why they decided putting HID's in a lumbering SUV that sits rearview mirror level, I will never know.

I wasn't criticizing your install, but the person who self-admittedly doesn't care about other motorists.

Cheers!

[IMPREZvWRX]

I wasn't criticizing your install, but the person who self-admittedly doesn't care about other motorists.

Cheers!

Yeah, that'd be me. I was higbeamed by 3 or 4 people in the 18 months I had the system in the car. I'd say they were aimed and focused so that only the pickiest of people would say it was a nuisance. Big middle finger to those people. Guess I should get a truck and sit right on top of your mirrors instead. I actually thought of tinting my side mirrors for instances like that.

[nickmahhh]

ok, the silverstars are on my car. it only took 20 minutes for me to figure out how to put them back on :screwy: im retarded. now i gotta wait til it turns dark to check em out. w00t!

[Blaise]

ok, the silverstars are on my car. it only took 20 minutes for me to figure out how to put them back on :screwy: im retarded. now i gotta wait til it turns dark to check em out. w00t!

In for your placebo improvement reply.

[nickmahhh]

In for your placebo improvment reply.
umm what?

[Blaise]

umm what?

I mean, your reply where you state that you lighting is improved, while it's really all just in your head. I know it had me fooled at first too with the difference in color...

[nickmahhh]

i personally dont care, i needed new ones, therefore i got em

[TehWagon]

way to go, nick! and you did it all by yourself! proudaya :)

[nickmahhh]

yeah i cant wait to check em out tomorrow morning. thanks for the advice! i think i gotta clean my headlights, i may have to take em off and clean the front. i cleaned the outsides and nothing doing. but im excited to check em out

[TehWagon]

cool! can you get your headlights apart to clean the insides? i know we rexers have to bake them to soften the sealer and get in there... what a PITA!

[nickmahhh]

cool! can you get your headlights apart to clean the insides? i know we rexers have to bake them to soften the sealer and get in there... what a PITA!
no i already found out how to get em off. should be easier than putting in the headlights :supz:

[LilWheezy75]

I need a good change of lighting for my conti... any suggestions.. i got silverstars on there now but its not wat i was looking for.. i was looking for a nice bright color with maybe a little somethin to it. I thought the silverstars where nice.. but there realy not.. i want something bright but not obnoxious.. of you could help me and give me some info were to find wats good.. thatd be great .

[xEJ20x]

Ya know, after lookin at the thread title its almost like Ash is proclaiming about an STD she has. :bigeek:

JFWY Ash. :mrgreen:

[BobErT-]

Thats what i thought it was, I WAS LIKE NOOO. But then after i read it i was like ok. Damn george we are thinking a like.

[nickmahhh]

My doctor said I got HID!!! oh n00s!

[TehWagon]

yes, kids, that's why it was stated in that way, it was an attempt at comedy, but i can't take credit- it was eff's idea...

[BobErT-]

Ya Ya Ya, excuses Ash.. lol j/k j/k.

[xEJ20x]

My doctor said I got HID!!! oh n00s!

OH NOEZ!!!!1!!one!

[TehWagon]

fwiw, i think i passed the 'cop' test... over the past few days, i have encountered cops driving towards me, driving in front of me, and sitting at a street waiting to turn right staring at me. I have not gotten pulled over yet. Either they were busy, or my headlights are not that obvious. I did not, however, pass the mike test- he didn't want to drive in front of me... :rolleyes:

[the mike]

It's not that they are too bright, but they are brighter than I want in my mirrors.