Malaclypse

iTrader: (1)

http://hidtech.com/

Go to these people for REAL HID projector retrofits. If you check out their prices you'll see that they're actually quite reasonable. They claim a non-glaring pattern and from what I've seen on their website I believe them.

I don't even have my Cobalt yet but I've already contacted them about retrofitting the headlamp housings on an '06 for dual projector (high/low) and having them black out the useless chrome bits. Lets see what they quote me.

QuikFKR

Even suggest something about a group buy, cause I'll be interested in getting these as well, and I'm sure there's other ppl out there that want them too.

BeastlyTA

There work look really nice. Let us know what they say.

IonNinja

I was looking for this website, thank you.

sweettheshocker

im waiting to see this quoted price because the rough estimates i put together in my head end up being a little too much for headlights... even customs.

Malaclypse

iTrader: (1)

Two sayings come to mind:

"Gotta pay to play." and,

"If you're gonna do it, do it right."

Mercury

Yes!!! Finally somebody who knows about their HIDs! I hate people putting xenon HIDs in their stock reflector housing. Retrofits are where it is at!

c7015

I agree its worth the extra money to save other drivers the annoyance of glare

IonNinja

looks like for a complete refrofit the price will be about $800-$1000ish right?

saturnd00d

OR goto www.hidplanet.com and read up on alot of the useful information there, and attempt your own retro like so many others have already. I'm gonna do it, and for those curious, I will post the completed project whenever the hell I find time to do my retro.

R33P3R007

holy $hit, that much, F other drivers, let them have glare. Thats half what the stage 2 will probably cost. Or catback and the Psi-fi kit from Ray.

R33P3R007

why don't you take mad pics and make a how to.

sweettheshocker

i was just out taking a look at my headlights and im not sure how good this retrofit will look.

The headlights have SOOO much room to them, so when you put the projector and the turn lamp in there, there will be a lot of empty space, which can be filled in I'm sure, but with what? just chrome or black housing?

let me know....

Mercury

I did a retrofit on my cougar for only 350 dollars. I got the bulbs, ballasts, and bmw e46 projectors and just did the work myself.

Malaclypse

iTrader: (1)

They quoted me $875 + $50 for return shipping. This includes painting the chrome parts of the housing black. I'm assuming they can paint the housings other colors as well... possibly attempting to match factory colors? (Read C6)

Here's the price breakdown:

$450 Hella HID system including Hella Bi xenon projectors (brand new parts
with warranty)
$300 Rretrofit customization cost (most Japanese and German import)
$75 Type S projector enclosure (please check
http://hidtech.com/images/02171.jpg and
http://hidtech.com/projects/04accord.html)
$50 Plug and play wire harness for H4, 9004, 9007 lighting system with
relay
$50 Return shipping and handling within the US

As you can see labor only came to $300. The rest of the cost is parts. You -can- supply your own projectors but labor will likely be higher at that point. I didn't ask them about a group-buy but will be doing so in a return e-mail. I'll ask about a group buy starting with 10 customers and suggest that there could be as many as 40 or 50.

I don't know how many people post on both the .com and .net forums but I'll put this over there after I have info about a group buy.

Uneek

A 30 day warranty doesn't really convey a sense of confidence in their end product. I wonder why they'd only offer a 30 day warranty and even go on to say that the retrofit does not guarantee what people are paying for.

phxSS

Yep, $800 buck is about right for a REAL HID kit. My svtf came stock with the Hella bi-xenon HID's, and they kicked serious ass! It was a $450 option from the factory..half the price of doing it aftermarket! Hella HID's rock!

saturnd00d

Actually that sounds like a pretty good warranty considering they don't make the housings like TYC or APC does, and they use existing projectors, ballasts, etc from other cars. That's what retrofitting entails. What kind of warranty do you expect coming from a retrofitter anyways? At least when one of the components eventually burn out, people can use OEM parts. More than I can say for kits like yours out there.

Uneek

Imagine if something malfunctioned after your 30day warranty, then what? You'd go down to your local car dealer and ask them for a component part inside your headlamp? FYI, car manufactures don't sell components of a headlight, only the whole headlamp.

At least with aftermarket HID kits you you can buy just the ballast, wire harness, or bulb if anything goes wrong after your 1yr or more warranty.

QuikFKR

Any word on a group buy price?

Mercury

Umm if you retrofit, you can still buy a new ballast, wire harness, or bulb...


But you also can't argue that HID kits in halogen reflector housing are not as effective as a xenon bulb in a xenon projector. Xenon + Halogen housing = glare. there is no other way you can put it. Also with your "plug and play" setup, that only leaves so much room for disaster. A halogen bulb uses 55w of power. A xenon bulb will use 30w of power AFTER it is ignited. During ignition it can consume up to 3x the power a standard halogen bulb uses. Which means your stock wiring can't handle that, aka a destroyed wiring system in your brand new car. It doesn't happen all the time but it does happen.

saturnd00d

True dat Mercury. True HIDs are the way to go. Not to mention HID kits have crappy ballasts, rebased bulbs, plug 'n play wiring that feeds off your existing car's wiring, etc. So tell me Uneek, what's easier to do? Buy a new HID capsule (AKA bulb) from Acura, BMW, Lexus, etc or buy a rebased HID capsule to fit halogen headlamps? Also, what's easier to replace? An OEM ballast such as Matsuhisha, Hella, etc. or one from an HID kit? Don't kid yourself, the crappy components from these kits are not interchangeable with OEM components. You know what, why should I care what others spend their money on? I've argued on here about the pros and cons of HID and why true HID setups are 10x better than crappy plug 'n play kits. You won't ever be able to convince me (read brainwash) that these kits are any good. Once people see the light (cheesy pun) about these kits, they will never turn back.

cvenom2122

i got uneeks kit on my redline and im in love with em hate all you want! the redline has poor lighting stock so with his kit i see everything who really wants to pay 900 bucks for some headlights **** i would have bought a G35 or Rx8 w/ hid stock if so

thanks UNEEK!

phxSS

Or an SVT Focus..Bad ass Hella bi-xenon lights ($450 factory option)

Mercury

I only spent 350 dollars total for my HID retrofit on my old cougar.