Hello

I have a 2005 Crossfire Limited in mint conditon. Classic Yellow!

I am going to be doing a replacement of the front lights with 8000K HID replacements today.

I will take pictures of the progress with instuctions and post them in this thread for all of you who wish to find out how easy/hard it is to work with your headlights.

Keep watching back here over the weekend for updates.

 

OK Driver's side light is out. Not too hard. I will practice on this side, get it working, then when I start on the passenger side I will start to take pictures and notes.

I have read in the forums of people who have EXTREME issues wth removing the light assemblies. I found that there is a trick to getting them out, and when you know it they come out in a few minuets with no effort. I will post more on the technique later.

Oh, I also found this mod. Anyone here tried these panel mods out? Are they any good? Would love to have wood in the car instead of that brushed alluminum look....

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/I...9#BVQAWidgetID

 

I hope you realize that those intense blue lamps in a yellow car will make it look GREEN at night!

 

Gods I hope not! Anyway, update.... I kinda got sick today. I think I have been overworking myself and needed a nap. Anyway, I am back up and plan on continueing now.

So far I have the new bulbs in the unit, have figured out where I am installing the ballasts, and have them ready to go back in. YEH!

 

Also 8000K will reduce visible light output, 6000K would have been better if vision was your reason for installing them. As far as the faux burlwood, this is an adhesive overlay and IMHO would cheapen the look of the interior......just my 2cents.

 

OK, we got one set in! YEH!

Oh my! These 8K HID lights are KICK ***! They don't look as blue as I thought they would, but instead seem to produce a nice white-blue effect. And yes, as I thought, the 8K really do improve contrast!

I have put up some photos in my gallery. Here is the link:

https://www.crossfireforum.org/galle...0&ppuser=20606

 

Is there any manufactures of the wood interiors, or other interior mods that replace the actual panels? Good quality I mean.

 

Sherwood.

http://www.sherwooddash.com/

 

Wow, I can't imagine how bad the light output of 8000k bulbs are... mine are 6000k and I wish I had 4300k bulbs..

 

Actually, I am surprised how white these are. I did a lot of research before I decided.

The light output is about 20% less than the 4300 white bulbs, but they are still like 300% brighter than standard bulbs. When I had one side in and could compare it was pretty shocking on the difference.

Anyway, now that the lights are in I can change bulbs anytime if I think the 8000Ks are too blue.

 

Good thread because I am interested in that "down the road" lighting upgrade. Which is best for distance? Color does not matter.

 

That question is very easy to be ansered: 4300K is the way to go if you want the most light on the road. 6000K is still acceptable but it is already remarkably bluer and everything above and beyond 6000K is just adding bling.

Now that said, please keep in mind that the after market HID kits ARE illegal, even in the US, The way you can get away with it is by installing the 4300K bulbs because that is the color temperature which ALL the OEM HID lights use. Basically you make your car look like an upgraded but OEM upgraded car. If you add 8000, 10000 or even 12000K lights you are just inviting cops to stop and ticket you. And yes they can and do do that, not very often yet, but if they look for a reason to stop you, you just gave them one.

I myself put in the 4300K in both the X-fire and the Passat and it just stock upgraded wile giving me much more light on the road.

 

Do RESEARCH! Yes, carefully study up on the lights before deciding on one.

Most people will tell you that 4300K bulbs are the way to go, and I agree. Choosing any color greater than 4300K will add a blueish tone to the lightsource.

But this is not always the case....

Different ballasts will effect the final tone the light emits. I have seen some perfect (and expensive) 4300K bulbs look totally blue because of really cheap ballasts. These bulbs require AC current to operate, and if the AC frequency is not dead on it will change the hue of the light output.

On another note, I have friends who are just pissed that the blue 8000K bulbs they bought look totally white (once again, frequency of the ballast too high). It will also lead to a short bulb life.

Mine turned into almost pure white with a little hint of blue. Not enough to really tell much of a difference, but they seem just about perfect for me. I put my 8000K lights up against another car last night who purchased 400+ dollar ballasts and his were VERY blue compared to mine.

But to be safe get some decent ballasts, 4300K bulbs, and go for it! You can always purchase a different bulb later and try one out to compare if you are thinking of moving up into the blue range.

Here are some links for the HID companies I recommend...

The ones I bought, I went cheap but they are digital...
http://www.xenongate.com/index.php?cPath=37

Some expensive but very well designed kits...
http://www.xtralights.com/index.asp?...it+pair&Page=1

The last site also has a nice mouseover picture on the main page showing the various differences in blub color from the driver's view. The blue gives great contrast compared to standard white, but once again you really need to think about how blue you want your bulbs to be. Just click on the HID Kits for Cars link for the demo.

 

The picture on the first one looks to be the same as my eBay HIDS (which work great) that I only paid around 70$ for.. I wonder if they were the same?

 

Mind if I ask what you don't like about them? Color on the road, too much contrast? Hard on the eyes?

I have not drove mine a great deal at night yet. Just wondering if the blueish ones get tired on the eyes at night.

Also, can anyone point me to a source to get replacement crystals for the lights? You know, the outer protective plastic cover. I was going to polish mine up, but decided to just replace them. I don't need the whole assembly, just the covers.

 

The color is great, it's about 65% blue and 35% white.. it produces a great amount of light, much better then stock.. but it's a little too blue for me, and having more light output (such as a 4300k bulb) would give me more satisfaction.

I see a lot of escalades / sts's / jags around here and their HIDS (while i'm sure are WAY more expensive) look a lot more exquisite then my blue bulbs.

 

Is there a detailed step by step on this yet? Tips/tricks for the headlamp removal you mentioned?

 

This has alot to do with the fact that these cars were designed for HID from the factory, not the cost of the components. Reflectorized HID cars (which use D2R bulbs, D1R for the domestics, rather than projectors which use D2S) have computer designed reflector assemblies SPECIFICALLY tailored for the higher intensity and differently focused light source than Halogen. Same goes for projectors, though you can get away with alot more factory look on Halogen projectors usually than you can with Halogen reflectors.

Agree by the way that 4300 is the only game in town if you want OEM quality, and if you can, use Philips, Sylvania or DENSO ballasts.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Sorry for the delay. I want to put full instructions up for the replacement headlight system. I am planning on re-doing the headlight installation in the next few weeks as I found a better way to do it.

Watch for my posts with full pictures and instructions soon!