HID worth it or not
Senior Member
Joined: 07-03-05
Posts: 4,272
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From: South Bend , Indiana
Originally Posted by sneaky
I'm contemplating... here the local PD gives people hard time for changing the lights to anything but stockers... ******** 
HID XENON GAS FILLED HEADLIGHTS 695.00
Senior Member
Joined: 09-01-05
Posts: 2,382
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From: Delaware
New Member
Joined: 11-02-05
Posts: 42
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From: Illinois
Definetly WORTH IT! I purchased a set of 9007 10000K HID Hi/Lo's and I LOVE THEM! I get asked so many times where I got them and how they can get a set! They light up the road amazingly! I thought that the 10000K wasnt going to light up the road well being so blue, but THEY ROCK! Ill post some pictures up so you can see them. Check out blinglights.com!
Senior Member
Joined: 08-13-05
Posts: 5,733
Likes: 1
From: the glove
I've got the halo 600k kit and i totaly love them i cant say enought aobut them. the cobalts houseings work great with the HID's no excess glare and they pull of the OEM look OK but a set of projecters would realy do the trick. but the HID's are sooooooooooooooooo much brighter i cant even tell you. i was very very unsere about them whe i first ordererd them but now i cant say enought about them the halo kit is of very good quality and back's up any and all clames it makes.
you will like them and they will be 10X better than stock and they look awesome as well helps make your car stand out from the reast a little bit more. once you drive with the HID's for a short bit you will hate driveing a car with out them all other lights look so dim and yellow that its totaly annoying.
buy them you'll like them becasue if they lived up to my exspectations than they must be worth it cuz i bash any thing if it isnt perfect.
you will like them and they will be 10X better than stock and they look awesome as well helps make your car stand out from the reast a little bit more. once you drive with the HID's for a short bit you will hate driveing a car with out them all other lights look so dim and yellow that its totaly annoying.
buy them you'll like them becasue if they lived up to my exspectations than they must be worth it cuz i bash any thing if it isnt perfect.
New Member
Joined: 07-08-05
Posts: 134
Likes: 0
From: Tempe, AZ
Originally Posted by 06black
I've got the halo 600k kit and i totaly love them i cant say enought aobut them. the cobalts houseings work great with the HID's no excess glare and they pull of the OEM look OK but a set of projecters would realy do the trick. but the HID's are sooooooooooooooooo much brighter i cant even tell you. i was very very unsere about them whe i first ordererd them but now i cant say enought about them the halo kit is of very good quality and back's up any and all clames it makes.
you will like them and they will be 10X better than stock and they look awesome as well helps make your car stand out from the reast a little bit more. once you drive with the HID's for a short bit you will hate driveing a car with out them all other lights look so dim and yellow that its totaly annoying.
buy them you'll like them becasue if they lived up to my exspectations than they must be worth it cuz i bash any thing if it isnt perfect.
you will like them and they will be 10X better than stock and they look awesome as well helps make your car stand out from the reast a little bit more. once you drive with the HID's for a short bit you will hate driveing a car with out them all other lights look so dim and yellow that its totaly annoying.
buy them you'll like them becasue if they lived up to my exspectations than they must be worth it cuz i bash any thing if it isnt perfect.
New Member
Joined: 03-03-06
Posts: 30
Likes: 0
From: Michigan
LEGALITY - Putting HID bulbs straight into a non-HID lamp is completely illegal in the FMVSS/SAE (USA), CMVSS/CAE(Canada), and ECE(European) markets. Now let me explain why.
WHAT IS HID?
HID (High Intensity Discharge) refers to how the light is produced. Electricity is "discharged" between 2 electrodes to produce a "high intensity" light arc. Xenon refers to the gas in the HID bulbs. HID bulbs work on the same principle as fluorescent office lighting and neon signs. But they contain different gases that produce different colors of light (Neon is red). Xenon tends to be white/blueish.
WHAT IS A HALOGEN BULB?
A filament bulb that contains a mixture of halogen gases. Check your periodic table for halogen gases: helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon. A filament is a piece of metal that has huge electrical resistance so when electricity flows thru it, it gets really hot and glows. The halogen gases help with color and lifetime of the bulb.
WHAT IS A XENON HALOGEN BULB?
Some filament halogen bulbs advertise "Xenon." This is actually true because xenon is just the gas in the bulb. They change the gas mixture for more xenon which makes the filament burn whiter, but dimmer. So they crank up the wattage and change the glass to hold more heat which makes the bulb brighter. Doing this really cuts down on lifetime and can melt parts of your headlamp.
WHAT IS COLOR TEMPERATURE?
Refer to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature
Basically, color temperature only refers to "white" light and runs from 1600k (reddish) to infinity UV radiation (black light). HID bulb is around 4100k, sunlight around 5500k. Phillips does produce a legitimate 6000k purple bulb. But that's it. Anything higher than 6000k is a cheap painted knockoff most likely made in Asia. Refer to http://faqlight.carpassion.info/hl-hid-bulbs.htm for a ton of HID bulb answers.
WHAT IS COLOR TEMPERATURE NOT?
Color temperature is just that, color. It does not refer to a thermal temperature. It does not determine how "bright" the bulb is. But, the human eye evolved for sunlight, so the closer the color is to sunlight the better the eye can see. OEM HID is not quite as white as sunlight. There are many optical units but "brightness" for bulbs is rated in lumens. More lumens=more light.
WHAT IS THE BALLAST FOR?
HID needs to be "kicked" on. The ballast and ignitor take your car's electricity and transform it to a HIGH voltage for a second to kick on the arc. It also draws an amperage spike. So if your HIDs are flicking but won't stay on or take 3 kicks to start up, chances are your wiring is too small and cannot supply the amperage needed and continuing to do this will damage your wiring and shorten the life of the bulbs and ballasts. Try running thicker wire and new relays.
WHAT HEADLAMPS DOES THE COBALT HAVE?
This is what we call a "dual function" headlamp because low and high beam are generated by the same reflector. This also means the bulb has two filaments, one for low beam and one for high beam that are only activated one at a time. This all means that putting an HID bulb in your headlamp will lose high beam function.
SO WHY CAN'T I PUT HID IN MY COBALTS REFLECTOR?
Because every single car manufactured today has headlamps specifically designed for that car and that bulb. And every one of those headlamps (taillamps, turnsignals, sidemarkers, reflexes, cornering lamps, fog lamps, daytime running lamps, position lamps, cargo lamps, highmount stop lamps, backup lamps, etc.) must all meet very specific government regulations according to the market: FMVSS/SAE (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards/Society of Automotive Engineers), CMVSS/CAE(Candadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards/Canadian Automotive Engineers), or ECE (United Nations Economic Commissions for Europe). These regulations were developed for SAFETY.
A very specific "cutoff" pattern is generated by your low beam. This pattern stops light from blinding oncoming traffic but still allows you to see roadside signs and pedestrians. Drive up to a wall and flip on your headlamps to see the pattern. This pattern is extremely sensitive to filament position of the bulb. Thus, if you put a bulb in a lamp that it was not designed for you completely ruin the pattern, blind oncoming traffic, and destroy your own visibility. Try putting a different bulb in your righthand headlamp and keeping the OEM bulb in the lefthand. Now try looking at the pattern on the ground and look at roadsigns; notice some dark streaks and bright spots? Now go around to the front about 25 ft away from the car and standing up look at your headlamps; I bet you are getting lots of glare from the non-OEM bulb. This is actually how your OEM Cobalt high beam works. The high beam filament in the bulb is offset from the low beam filament so it produces lots of glare, which the driver perceives as lots of light down the road.
Refer to Osram Sylvania for pictures of a filament and an HID arc.http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProd...gyOverview.htm
BUT I HAVE HID BULBS IN MY COBALT AND I CAN SEE BETTER.
Ok, this may be true because HID bulbs do produce more light and a whiter light which the human eye responds to better. Chances are you are blinding oncoming traffic which is dangerous and eventually one of those blinded will be a cop.
BUT BMW/MERCEDES/CADILLAC ETC. HAVE HID?
Yes they do. An HID bulb does have more output and a better color than a filament bulb, BUT it must have the optimum optical system around it to harness and properly direct that light. OEM HID's are designed for that bulb. And often HID lamps are harder to design because they produce so much light that it often ends up where we don't want it, ie glare.
SO WHAT CAN I DO THAT IS LEGAL?
The quick answer, not much.
You can use anything with the same bulb type designation where the filaments will be in correct position. The only upgrade possible this way is those Xenon Halogen Filament bulbs that have a short lifetime and can melt your headlamp.
D.O.T. APPROVED?
Approved for what? Chances are it is Approved for off-road use only. Manufacturers know it is illegal to say you can use something on your car on the road without tons of expensive testing and certification. So most release themselves from liability with the moniker Approved for Off-Road Use Only.
I DONT CARE ABOUT LEGAL, I JUST WANT HID.
AFTERMARKET. The Cobalt is so modifiable that someone will come out with a decent aftermarket (probably HID) headlamp here soon. These will have HID performance but may have poor build quality (not to mention usually very ugly). But if you dont care about looks and the best quality, these are way better than HID Plug&Play bulb kits and only involve switching out your stock lamps.
RETROFITTING. This is arguably the only way to get HID performance in a good-looking custom package. Putting an HID projector into a Cobalt housing will give you HID performance. BUT, this is going to be a lot of work and skill required to properly position the projector and make it look good. You can hire someone to do this for you or try to do it yourself.
SAFETY
Thousands of man-hours go into optimizing each and every headlamp that is put on the road today. If it was as easy as sticking an HID bulb in the back of a reflector and getting 10X more output, don't you think all manufacturers would do this?
The government, Society of Automotive Engineers, the United Nations, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as well as every major automaker have put years of testing into determining the optimal lighting pattern for safety for the driver, other drivers on the road, and pedestrians. They have thought about everything, including deer jumping out. There are many unconscious aspects (both physiological and psychological) of lighting that normal drivers are unaware of but have been tested and incorporated into regulations that all headlamps must conform to. Putting a different bulb into a headlamp that it was not designed for destroys its ability to keep you and others safe.
Follow some of these links for NHTSA headlamp investigations:
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departm...GlareSpectrum/
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-01/NRDmtgs/2005Honda/Perel_FwdLighting.pdf
BOTTOM LINE
HID kits are unsafe. Aiming you headlamps down is not a solution (and illegal) because there is still glare well above the small angle that you are aiming your lamps down. The only way to properly check for glare is with a piece of equipment called an automotive photogoniometer.
HOW DO YOU KNOW ALL THIS STUFF?
Im an optical engineer for a major German automotive lighting supplier. I work everyday with lighting technology, government regulations, and testing equipment.
WHAT IS HID?
HID (High Intensity Discharge) refers to how the light is produced. Electricity is "discharged" between 2 electrodes to produce a "high intensity" light arc. Xenon refers to the gas in the HID bulbs. HID bulbs work on the same principle as fluorescent office lighting and neon signs. But they contain different gases that produce different colors of light (Neon is red). Xenon tends to be white/blueish.
WHAT IS A HALOGEN BULB?
A filament bulb that contains a mixture of halogen gases. Check your periodic table for halogen gases: helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon. A filament is a piece of metal that has huge electrical resistance so when electricity flows thru it, it gets really hot and glows. The halogen gases help with color and lifetime of the bulb.
WHAT IS A XENON HALOGEN BULB?
Some filament halogen bulbs advertise "Xenon." This is actually true because xenon is just the gas in the bulb. They change the gas mixture for more xenon which makes the filament burn whiter, but dimmer. So they crank up the wattage and change the glass to hold more heat which makes the bulb brighter. Doing this really cuts down on lifetime and can melt parts of your headlamp.
WHAT IS COLOR TEMPERATURE?
Refer to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature
Basically, color temperature only refers to "white" light and runs from 1600k (reddish) to infinity UV radiation (black light). HID bulb is around 4100k, sunlight around 5500k. Phillips does produce a legitimate 6000k purple bulb. But that's it. Anything higher than 6000k is a cheap painted knockoff most likely made in Asia. Refer to http://faqlight.carpassion.info/hl-hid-bulbs.htm for a ton of HID bulb answers.
WHAT IS COLOR TEMPERATURE NOT?
Color temperature is just that, color. It does not refer to a thermal temperature. It does not determine how "bright" the bulb is. But, the human eye evolved for sunlight, so the closer the color is to sunlight the better the eye can see. OEM HID is not quite as white as sunlight. There are many optical units but "brightness" for bulbs is rated in lumens. More lumens=more light.
WHAT IS THE BALLAST FOR?
HID needs to be "kicked" on. The ballast and ignitor take your car's electricity and transform it to a HIGH voltage for a second to kick on the arc. It also draws an amperage spike. So if your HIDs are flicking but won't stay on or take 3 kicks to start up, chances are your wiring is too small and cannot supply the amperage needed and continuing to do this will damage your wiring and shorten the life of the bulbs and ballasts. Try running thicker wire and new relays.
WHAT HEADLAMPS DOES THE COBALT HAVE?
This is what we call a "dual function" headlamp because low and high beam are generated by the same reflector. This also means the bulb has two filaments, one for low beam and one for high beam that are only activated one at a time. This all means that putting an HID bulb in your headlamp will lose high beam function.
SO WHY CAN'T I PUT HID IN MY COBALTS REFLECTOR?
Because every single car manufactured today has headlamps specifically designed for that car and that bulb. And every one of those headlamps (taillamps, turnsignals, sidemarkers, reflexes, cornering lamps, fog lamps, daytime running lamps, position lamps, cargo lamps, highmount stop lamps, backup lamps, etc.) must all meet very specific government regulations according to the market: FMVSS/SAE (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards/Society of Automotive Engineers), CMVSS/CAE(Candadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards/Canadian Automotive Engineers), or ECE (United Nations Economic Commissions for Europe). These regulations were developed for SAFETY.
A very specific "cutoff" pattern is generated by your low beam. This pattern stops light from blinding oncoming traffic but still allows you to see roadside signs and pedestrians. Drive up to a wall and flip on your headlamps to see the pattern. This pattern is extremely sensitive to filament position of the bulb. Thus, if you put a bulb in a lamp that it was not designed for you completely ruin the pattern, blind oncoming traffic, and destroy your own visibility. Try putting a different bulb in your righthand headlamp and keeping the OEM bulb in the lefthand. Now try looking at the pattern on the ground and look at roadsigns; notice some dark streaks and bright spots? Now go around to the front about 25 ft away from the car and standing up look at your headlamps; I bet you are getting lots of glare from the non-OEM bulb. This is actually how your OEM Cobalt high beam works. The high beam filament in the bulb is offset from the low beam filament so it produces lots of glare, which the driver perceives as lots of light down the road.
Refer to Osram Sylvania for pictures of a filament and an HID arc.http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProd...gyOverview.htm
BUT I HAVE HID BULBS IN MY COBALT AND I CAN SEE BETTER.
Ok, this may be true because HID bulbs do produce more light and a whiter light which the human eye responds to better. Chances are you are blinding oncoming traffic which is dangerous and eventually one of those blinded will be a cop.
BUT BMW/MERCEDES/CADILLAC ETC. HAVE HID?
Yes they do. An HID bulb does have more output and a better color than a filament bulb, BUT it must have the optimum optical system around it to harness and properly direct that light. OEM HID's are designed for that bulb. And often HID lamps are harder to design because they produce so much light that it often ends up where we don't want it, ie glare.
SO WHAT CAN I DO THAT IS LEGAL?
The quick answer, not much.
You can use anything with the same bulb type designation where the filaments will be in correct position. The only upgrade possible this way is those Xenon Halogen Filament bulbs that have a short lifetime and can melt your headlamp.D.O.T. APPROVED?
Approved for what? Chances are it is Approved for off-road use only. Manufacturers know it is illegal to say you can use something on your car on the road without tons of expensive testing and certification. So most release themselves from liability with the moniker Approved for Off-Road Use Only.
I DONT CARE ABOUT LEGAL, I JUST WANT HID.
AFTERMARKET. The Cobalt is so modifiable that someone will come out with a decent aftermarket (probably HID) headlamp here soon. These will have HID performance but may have poor build quality (not to mention usually very ugly). But if you dont care about looks and the best quality, these are way better than HID Plug&Play bulb kits and only involve switching out your stock lamps.
RETROFITTING. This is arguably the only way to get HID performance in a good-looking custom package. Putting an HID projector into a Cobalt housing will give you HID performance. BUT, this is going to be a lot of work and skill required to properly position the projector and make it look good. You can hire someone to do this for you or try to do it yourself.
SAFETY
Thousands of man-hours go into optimizing each and every headlamp that is put on the road today. If it was as easy as sticking an HID bulb in the back of a reflector and getting 10X more output, don't you think all manufacturers would do this?
The government, Society of Automotive Engineers, the United Nations, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as well as every major automaker have put years of testing into determining the optimal lighting pattern for safety for the driver, other drivers on the road, and pedestrians. They have thought about everything, including deer jumping out. There are many unconscious aspects (both physiological and psychological) of lighting that normal drivers are unaware of but have been tested and incorporated into regulations that all headlamps must conform to. Putting a different bulb into a headlamp that it was not designed for destroys its ability to keep you and others safe.
Follow some of these links for NHTSA headlamp investigations:
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departm...GlareSpectrum/
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-01/NRDmtgs/2005Honda/Perel_FwdLighting.pdf
BOTTOM LINE
HID kits are unsafe. Aiming you headlamps down is not a solution (and illegal) because there is still glare well above the small angle that you are aiming your lamps down. The only way to properly check for glare is with a piece of equipment called an automotive photogoniometer.
HOW DO YOU KNOW ALL THIS STUFF?
Im an optical engineer for a major German automotive lighting supplier. I work everyday with lighting technology, government regulations, and testing equipment.
Senior Member
Joined: 01-07-06
Posts: 565
Likes: 0
From: Montreal
dude, you have gotta stop posting this stuff. weve all read it atleast 3 times by now. ur not gonna change most peoples opinions just because u work for some random german lighting supplier. if we want HID's, were gonna get them.
Senior Member
Joined: 07-29-05
Posts: 7,915
Likes: 0
From: AZ
yeah this is a hell of alot of HID threads...but just so everyone knows, a retrofit is just as illegal as HIDs in stock housings. Its just harder to get caught because your lighting is not as "loud" 
Also getting a QUALITY HID kit will help tons in the glare department, kits that are cheap generally have tons of glare regardless of the housing.
I have been contemplating a 5K HID kit with the stock housings because I don't have (nor care to spend) $900 for a retrofit, or have the skills to do so...but still up in the air about it.
I do have some questions though, what happens with the stock wiring harness and the HID setup...are the HIDs still wired into the stock harness? If so, how is that any better?
I'm guessing since you are using stock components you still have high beams correct? How does that work?
Also getting a QUALITY HID kit will help tons in the glare department, kits that are cheap generally have tons of glare regardless of the housing.
I have been contemplating a 5K HID kit with the stock housings because I don't have (nor care to spend) $900 for a retrofit, or have the skills to do so...but still up in the air about it.
I do have some questions though, what happens with the stock wiring harness and the HID setup...are the HIDs still wired into the stock harness? If so, how is that any better?
I'm guessing since you are using stock components you still have high beams correct? How does that work?
New Member
Joined: 03-03-06
Posts: 30
Likes: 0
From: Michigan
Originally Posted by leeserlee
dude, you have gotta stop posting this stuff. weve all read it atleast 3 times by now. ur not gonna change most peoples opinions just because u work for some random german lighting supplier. if we want HID's, were gonna get them.
And if everybody has already read my post then why do people keep posting the same thread over, and over, and over?
I'm probably not going to change the minds of people who have already decided that they love HID kits. Rather, I intend to change the minds of anyone who has yet to install one. The first questions someone asks about HID kits, "I this legal and is this safe?" NO.
So far I have changed quite a few minds, because until someone explains why, most people don't realize how incredibly dangerous it is to put HID kits in a non-HID reflector.
There is no such thing as "an HID friendly" halogen reflector. The Cobalt reflector was designed for a 9007 and that is the ONLY bulb that that should ever go into that reflector.
This is not a matter of money or appearance, this is a matter of SAFETY. Installing HID kits is dangerous for the driver, the passengers, other traffic, and pedestrians.
I don't feel safe with these HID kits on the road and you shouldn't feel safe driving yourself, your girlfriend, your wife, your mother, your child, whoever in a car with poorly designed lighting or one of these HID kits.
Last edited by Lighting; Mar 7, 2006 at 02:37 AM.
Originally Posted by Lighting
I don't work for some random German auto supplier, I work for Hella. Which is arguably the leading lighting supplier in technology. Remember the 1991 BMW 7 Series? First car with HID? Guess who's lamps those are? If there is one thing I know something about its automotive lighting. And I know the background design and theory of why HID kits are so dangerous.
And if everybody has already read my post then why do people keep posting the same thread over, and over, and over?
I'm probably not going to change the minds of people who have already decided that they love HID kits. Rather, I intend to change the minds of anyone who has yet to install one. The first questions someone asks about HID kits, "I this legal and is this safe?" NO.
So far I have changed quite a few minds, because until someone explains why, most people don't realize how incredibly dangerous it is to put HID kits in a non-HID reflector.
There is no such thing as "an HID friendly" halogen reflector. The Cobalt reflector was designed for a 9007 and that is the ONLY bulb that that should ever go into that reflector.
This is not a matter of money or appearance, this is a matter of SAFETY. Installing HID kits is dangerous for the driver, the passengers, other traffic, and pedestrians.
I don't feel safe with these HID kits on the road and you shouldn't feel safe driving yourself, your girlfriend, your wife, your mother, your child, whoever in a car with poorly designed lighting or one of these HID kits.
And if everybody has already read my post then why do people keep posting the same thread over, and over, and over?
I'm probably not going to change the minds of people who have already decided that they love HID kits. Rather, I intend to change the minds of anyone who has yet to install one. The first questions someone asks about HID kits, "I this legal and is this safe?" NO.
So far I have changed quite a few minds, because until someone explains why, most people don't realize how incredibly dangerous it is to put HID kits in a non-HID reflector.
There is no such thing as "an HID friendly" halogen reflector. The Cobalt reflector was designed for a 9007 and that is the ONLY bulb that that should ever go into that reflector.
This is not a matter of money or appearance, this is a matter of SAFETY. Installing HID kits is dangerous for the driver, the passengers, other traffic, and pedestrians.
I don't feel safe with these HID kits on the road and you shouldn't feel safe driving yourself, your girlfriend, your wife, your mother, your child, whoever in a car with poorly designed lighting or one of these HID kits.
AHMEN bro, another thing is that stock wiring and relays in the cobalt are not designed to handel the voltage !
Senior Member
Joined: 02-24-06
Posts: 610
Likes: 0
From: Michigan
Originally Posted by importkiller
AHMEN bro, another thing is that stock wiring and relays in the cobalt are not designed to handel the voltage !
Member
Joined: 07-08-05
Posts: 210
Likes: 0
From: Columbus, OH
Honestly, I have HID's in my car and I knew all the pro's/con's before I made the purchase. Many of us on the forums here don't just suddenly wake up one day and order HID's. We research multiple ways of getting HID's and the effects on our cars and other drivers.
I currently own a plug & play kit from www.xenonking.com and they have worked great. I bought them probably close to 5 months ago. Granted, I do know that it affects other drivers on the road, the vision from my car is at least 10x's greater. I am looking for a quality replacement for my lamps, but as you said, there are none out as of today. I have spent several hours adjusting my bulbs so minimize the amount of glare for oncoming drivers while still trying to keep as much of the lighting gains as possible.
I appreciate your concern, but please don't assume that we all just randomly buy xenon bulbs without researching the effects of it.
I currently own a plug & play kit from www.xenonking.com and they have worked great. I bought them probably close to 5 months ago. Granted, I do know that it affects other drivers on the road, the vision from my car is at least 10x's greater. I am looking for a quality replacement for my lamps, but as you said, there are none out as of today. I have spent several hours adjusting my bulbs so minimize the amount of glare for oncoming drivers while still trying to keep as much of the lighting gains as possible.
I appreciate your concern, but please don't assume that we all just randomly buy xenon bulbs without researching the effects of it.
Senior Member
Joined: 03-20-05
Posts: 6,313
Likes: 1
From: Rutherford, NJ
Shouldn't you also buy relay harnesses to make sure your stock harness won't burn out? These kits do use ~35w however at startup, the first 5 seconds, they can use up to double the normal power. So wouldn't it be safer for us to run a relay harness??? I looked on ebay and they are only around $30.
Senior Member
Joined: 01-07-06
Posts: 565
Likes: 0
From: Montreal
Originally Posted by Lighting
I don't work for some random German auto supplier, I work for Hella. Which is arguably the leading lighting supplier in technology. Remember the 1991 BMW 7 Series? First car with HID? Guess who's lamps those are? If there is one thing I know something about its automotive lighting. And I know the background design and theory of why HID kits are so dangerous.
And if everybody has already read my post then why do people keep posting the same thread over, and over, and over?
I'm probably not going to change the minds of people who have already decided that they love HID kits. Rather, I intend to change the minds of anyone who has yet to install one. The first questions someone asks about HID kits, "I this legal and is this safe?" NO.
So far I have changed quite a few minds, because until someone explains why, most people don't realize how incredibly dangerous it is to put HID kits in a non-HID reflector.
There is no such thing as "an HID friendly" halogen reflector. The Cobalt reflector was designed for a 9007 and that is the ONLY bulb that that should ever go into that reflector.
This is not a matter of money or appearance, this is a matter of SAFETY. Installing HID kits is dangerous for the driver, the passengers, other traffic, and pedestrians.
I don't feel safe with these HID kits on the road and you shouldn't feel safe driving yourself, your girlfriend, your wife, your mother, your child, whoever in a car with poorly designed lighting or one of these HID kits.
And if everybody has already read my post then why do people keep posting the same thread over, and over, and over?
I'm probably not going to change the minds of people who have already decided that they love HID kits. Rather, I intend to change the minds of anyone who has yet to install one. The first questions someone asks about HID kits, "I this legal and is this safe?" NO.
So far I have changed quite a few minds, because until someone explains why, most people don't realize how incredibly dangerous it is to put HID kits in a non-HID reflector.
There is no such thing as "an HID friendly" halogen reflector. The Cobalt reflector was designed for a 9007 and that is the ONLY bulb that that should ever go into that reflector.
This is not a matter of money or appearance, this is a matter of SAFETY. Installing HID kits is dangerous for the driver, the passengers, other traffic, and pedestrians.
I don't feel safe with these HID kits on the road and you shouldn't feel safe driving yourself, your girlfriend, your wife, your mother, your child, whoever in a car with poorly designed lighting or one of these HID kits.
my friend, i dont particularly care who you work for. im just saying that your posting is gettin rather annoying. ask anyone here, there is very minimal glare with the cobalt, thus making it pretty safe, not 100% but good enough for MOST of us, where the pros outweigh the cons. The reason we post the same things over again, is because we dont particularly care what you have to say about HID lighting, if people want it, then they will post about it, pure and simple. Dont get me wrong, i value your opinion to a degree, as i am now somewhat undecided about HID kits, however, the danger factor seems quite minimal judging by peoples pictures and personal accounts.
Bottom line, stop posting ur "facts". If u dont like the fact that people are still posting bout HID kits just because they are curious, then u can leave.
Senior Member
Joined: 07-29-05
Posts: 7,915
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From: AZ
Originally Posted by IonNinja
I do have some questions though, what happens with the stock wiring harness and the retrofit projector/HID setup...are the HIDs still wired into the stock harness? If so, how is that any better than just a plug and play kit?