Hey guys I have a question that will probably get multiple answers but all your suggestons would be appreciated. I want to put the brightest headlight bulbs possible without stepping up to a HID setup. Blue light would be preffered and I would like to make the foglights match. I'm currently running the Sylvania Silverstars and they aren't nearly what I was hoping for. I have tried the Nokya brand and one of them burnt out within a week so I want to use a quality piece. Please let me know what you would suggest. Thanks.

 

go with an HID kit and be done with it, you'll be happy

 

Man I'm not trying to be a dick but I thought I said something like without stepping up to a HID setup. I know they are pretty bad-ass and look killer and put out more light but I'm not trying to go that route right now. Thanks for your input but it's not what I'm doing at this time.

 

To be completely honest, I wasn't happy with HIDs.

 

piaa lights very expensive but incredibly bright. mine were rated at 165 watts reg high beams are 60 or so watts so ya they were bright, not street legal but very bright, check them out about 90 bucks for a set

 

The local athorities are already not thrilled with my driving tecniques. So I can't give them anything cosmetic to pull me over for. Thanks anyway.

 

If your worried about police attention theres not really anything you can do.

But my recommendation would be Hella 100w halogens

 

to be honest i dont see how you could increase light output with halogen bulbs unless you use high wattage bulb (which has a high chance of melting harness) or modifying the reflector to somehow make it more efficient...

all blue bulbs out there will be dimmer (from my experience as well) unless they are really high wattage ones

 

Sylvania Silverstar Ultras.

100% street legal

 

luminics maybe?

 

What all is involved in the installation of an HID kit? I really don't know much about wiring, is it something a novice could do or is it more proffesional type stuff?

 

https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/show...&highlight=hid
^^^
theres a how to

 

Its probably just me, but I cant read the first post. Sorry choice of font and size.

I thought it wasnt safe to put higher wattage bulbs in your housing? Could burn something.

 

You can order an HID kit from 3Bspec.com (which is one of our vendors) for 130 dollars and it's all plug and play. All you have to do is give them your bulb type (stock lights are 9007s, 1st gen projectors are H1's) and then choose your ballast wattage, I chose 35wat, you don't need more then that. And then the harness you are using, which would be 9007. It's all plug and play.

it's 130 dollars, you'll prolly pay more than that, or close to that for new bulbs, Go with HIDs.

Brighter. Street legal. Looks sweet.

Heres the link to their site...http://shop.3bspecialties.com/main.sc

Really nice guys and if you have any problems just call them up they will stay on the phone with you while you work on your car and explain if you have problems, but there is no wiring involved, all plug and play.

 

This is patently FALSE. it is 100% ILLEGAL to install HID headlamps in place of stock incandescent lamps.

Under FMVSS 108(and CMVSS 108) it is illegal to replace any component of a lighting system with a non original style replacement part. That is if it had halogen 9007 bulbs it must continue to have halogen 9007 bulbs to remain legal. Any replacement must interchange exactly the same as the OEM part does and must offer equivalent performance(so yes, even the 100w halogen I suggested is illegal as it doesnt offer the same performance) Also any redesigned or newly developed light sources are designated as distinct, different, and noninterchangeable with previously existing light sources and thus illegal as replacements. Also any shop found disabling or replacing equipment installed designed to meet FMVSS with certifid equiptment can be subject to a $10,000 fine according to 49 U.S.C. 30122.

 

so then its illegal lol, but you won;t get **** about it, my car passed inspection with them in so you'll be fine.

 

Yeah, I guess its as the saying goes :"its only illegal if you get caught"

Just one other thing to keep in mind, "DOT certified" Doesnt mean anything, it just worthless marketing and wont hold in court.

 

Actually dude, DOT means alot. And it does hold up in court. If you dont believe me, then ask my friend. He got his ticket dismissed because all he did was show the court the DOT papers that came with the kit.

 

Well then I'd say he lucked out an got a judge that wasnt very knowledgeable on Motor Vehicle law.

The DOT doesnt actually certify ANYTHING, its up to the manufacturer to be sure that their product meets these criteria, and if the manufacturer claims it meets the criteria, they can put a DOT logo on it. Lets now assume a particular part does pass the DOT standard and gets the DOT stamp by its maker. Lets say the Cobalt projector headlights, now it would have a DOT stamp on the lens if it was legal, right? well yes and no, the DOT stamp on the llens means the LENS is legal, it means nothing in regards to the rest of the assembly or its fitness for being installed in a Cobalt, which if we look at FMVSS 108 again, we can see that they would be illegal because they differ in design, function, and performance from stock.(and interchangeability on some mdels)

I am not saying that people dont get away with it everyday, and that some products dont perform better than stock, just leting you know, they arent actually legal, C.Y.A.

 

So basically you are saying without regards to lighting but anything else that people mod on their cars, whether it be exhaust, wheels, even a spoiler for that matter, is illegal because it is not 'stock'

 

No, that paricular comment was directly related to FMVSS 108 and lighting in particular.
Exhaust, spoilers, etc are not lighting related items so 108 doesnt cover them. Every part of the car is different and has different rules applying to it. But the law doesnt say you cant replace parts, obviously eventually you are going to need to replace things, but they need to be of the same design, function and performance as the original to be truly legal

The catback for example you can do basically whatever you want, BUT you need to aware of laws governing how loud your car can be and where the exhaust is allowed to exit. A catalytic converter however is a different story. It is illegal to replace/remove/modify a functioning catalytic converter. EVEN if you put on a "bigger" one. So even if your header/dp combo has a cat, and youre not setting any codes, youve still technically broken the law by replacing the cat. SOME inspections facilities(NJ is/was known for this) will fail for an aftermarket catalytic converter on a vehicle with less than 80k miles.

Spoilers are another area where youve got some leeway but need to be aware of local regs. Stock spoilers have to pass rules governing safe mounting and obstruction of rear view, and at the inspection or on the road with a police officer youll have to deal with same things. If the spoiler is a POS and is waving all over the place the officer could easily give you an unsafe vehicle citation. And if the spoiler blocks your rear vbiew significantly you could fail inspection. UNLESS your state is like NJ, you could PAINT your rear windows black and so long as youve got a left and right ouside mirror, youd pass. but if you only had a drivers outside mirror, youd have to have a functioning inside mirror and unobstructed view with at least 6" of height out back of vehicle .


I am not saying we shouldnt mods our vehicles, or that HIDs arent amazing(**** I'd like some nice ones) Jus that we need to be aware that everything we do can affect something else, and that just because its your car doesnt mean you can do whatever you want and get away with it. Its much better to be properly informed, and prepared for any possible issues and do what you feel like then to be ignorant of the potential issues and be caught totally off gaurd.

HAPPY MODDING!!!!

 

so do you mean getting projectors off ebay is illegal for our cars too?

 

By the letter of th law, yup. I only know of one person who got busted for them ,but he was an ass. If they are properly aimed and youre not being a tool, the police usually have better things to do.