Headlight Bulb Upgrade

[Magnum]

I thought you're looking for H11

I bought from eBay but that was HB4(1000lm) and HB3 (1700lm)

[Kavvz]

I thought you're looking for H11

I bought from eBay but that was HB4(1000lm) and HB3 (1700lm)

The H11 is stock for the car (fogs and low beam) but I have retofit H9's in the fogs as in my post from six months ago and the stock high beams are H9 bulbs. As mentioned I think I'm going to tap out of the LED search due to the high cost and just keep the H9 fogs as is and maybe retrofit the low beams to H9's instead (H9 bulb output = 2,100 lumens).

It seems the cheapest and most dependable way to get more lumens out of my headlights at this point (given the price of dependable HID kits and LED conversions discussed above) but I welcome any advice if anyone has a better option?

Edited May 28, 2016 by Kavvz

[sathyajithj99]

The H11 is stock for the car (fogs and low beam) but I havehttp://forum.autolanka.com/topic/17232-headlight-bulb-upgrade/?p=287833'> retofit H9's in the fogs as in my post from six months ago and the stock high beams are H9 bulbs. As mentioned I think I'm going to tap out of the LED search due to the high cost and just keep the H9 fogs as is and maybe retrofit the low beams to H9's instead (the standard H9 bulb = 2,100 lumens).

It seems the cheapest and most dependable way to get more lumens out of my headlights at this point (given the price of dependable HID kits and LED conversions discussed above) but I welcome any advice if anyone has a better option?

If I'm not wrong there was a thread about fixing projectors with HID kit to a reflector housing and the car was a fb15. You can try that I guess.

[Magnum]

Or you could cross your fingers and try those cheap LEDs I posted.

[Kavvz]

If I'm not wrong there was a thread about fixing projectors with HID kit to a reflector housing and the car was a fb15. You can try that I guess.

Well I have projector lenses (for the halogen bulbs) in my low beam housing already, so it would be a matter of just getting the HID kit but sourcing a dependable HID kit would still be an issue...but thanks for the tip. I'll go read that thread...

edit:

|This thread?| I read through it and it cost 27k at Bara back then in 2013 and there's not a lot of info on how effective it was. Maybe Charith can give us an update? ( I dropped him a PM)

btw for anyone instead: For 27k or there abouts you'd be looking at a HID setup like this and most of the forum sites I read through for HID lighting conversions say these guys have the best kits (and best customer service).

Edited May 28, 2016 by Kavvz

[Kavvz]

Or you could cross your fingers and try those cheap LEDs I posted.

lol !! Yeah, and whats crazy is that there's no shortage of vendors like that online.

Supplying shoddy aftermarket HID kits / LED kits to the masses must pay off well. Its reminiscent of the sound system / speaker vendors in Pettah hawking their homemade speaker arrays with impressive sounding wattage and making all sorts of mad claims! (Granted their sales pitch is pretty impressive and makes one think that you'd be a fool to spend money on anything else!)

Edited May 28, 2016 by Kavvz

[sathyajithj99]

Well I have projector lenses (for the halogen bulbs) in my low beam housing already, so it would be a matter of just getting the HID kit but sourcing a dependable HID kit would still be an issue...but thanks for the tip. I'll go read that thread...

I'm sorry ,my bad that I thought your Teana has reflector housing. If you've already got projectors, it's easier for you. You just have to get a good set of HIDs.

[Ruslan]

Using XenonDepot 4300K Philips Kit in Family owned Premio 260. have to say well worth the upgrade. got it from kbcarstuff.com while i was in US. and Guys, have you seen the JW speaker Housings, interesting stuff. specially Rectangular sealed beam replacements from them.

[Kavvz]

I'm sorry ,my bad that I thought your Teana has reflector housing. If you've already got projectors, it's easier for you. You just have to get a good set of HIDs.

No I appreciate the tip, and yeah its like that on a lot of cars including the Mazda 3, Mazda 6, Mercedes E, Accord and Camry. I'm not sure whether its for cosmetic purposes / designed for the halogen bulbs to give a better throw / spread or whether its is set up for Xenon bulbs ( which are usually available as an upgrade) but yeah its there.

(Apparently based on input from Daniel Stern and other automotive lighting sites there's a difference in projector lens designs for halogen vs projector lenses for HID but either way I think it'd be better to keep the OEM setup and just change bulbs and add a ballast than retrofitting a projector housing)

[sathyajithj99]

No I appreciate the tip, and yeah its like that on a lot of cars including the Mazda 3, Mazda 6, Mercedes E, Accord and Camry. I'm not sure whether its for cosmetic purposes / designed for the halogen bulbs to give a better throw / spread or whether its is set up for Xenon bulbs ( which are usually available as an upgrade) but yeah its there.

(Apparently based on input from Daniel Stern and other automotive lighting sites there's a difference in projector lens designs for halogen vs projector lenses for HID but either way I think it'd be better to keep the OEM setup and just change bulbs and add a ballast than retrofitting a projector housing)

How about these?

[Kavvz]

How about these?

The first one looks stock / OEM but the second one clearly isn't.

Anyways, the current car is a 3rd Gen and the lights |look like this| where the low beam has projector lenses and HID's are an option, but where the lower trim levels have halogen H7 H11 bulbs as OEM behind that projector lens.

Edit: its H11 not H7 ( the picture above got me thinking of the previous gen that I had which had H1's or H7's for the low beams...)

Edited May 29, 2016 by Kavvz

[sathyajithj99]

The first one looks stock / OEM but the second one clearly isn't.

Anyways, the current car is a 3rd Gen and the lights |look like this| where the low beam has projector lenses and HID's are an option, but where the lower trim levels have halogen H7 bulbs as OEM behind that projector lens.

Man ! That's the new model no? My bad again.

One of my favourite cars machan.

[Kavvz]

Man ! That's the new model no? My bad again.

One of my favourite cars machan.

Ah mine too-Good value for money IMHO. But beware of the crappy lights!

Edited May 28, 2016 by Kavvz

[Magnum]

That looks like a Sylhpy...are you in SL?

[The Stig]

Kensun is the highest rated sub $100 HID kit you can buy. Check them out, highly rated in all reviews.

[Kavvz]

Well so fair, I've been able to rule out the LED's and have realized that to get more light on the road the solution isn't to upgrade the fog-lights, and to use them as driving lights, but to upgrade the lowbeams from H11 to H9's or HID's).

For helping me get to this point I thank you Gentlemen: sathyajithj99, Magnum, Ruslan & The Stig for the input and advice provided.

The rest, where I ponder my options: A-Do I go with the sane choice and retrofit H9's in the low beams and be done with it, or B-Do I put in HID's, seems to be a decision, I need to consult my friend Mendis on, so as to see what gives!

Edited May 31, 2016 by Kavvz

[sathyajithj99]

Well so fair, I've been able to rule out the LED's and have realized that to get more light on the road the solution isn't to upgrade the fog-lights, and to use them as driving lights, but to upgrade the lowbeams from H11 to H9's or HID's).

For helping me get to this point I thank you Gentlemen: sathyajithj99, Magnum, Ruslan & The Stig for the input and advice provided.

The rest, where I ponder my options: A-Do I go with the sane choice and retrofit H9's in the low beams and be done with it, or B-Do I put in HID's, seems to be a decision, I need to consult my friend Mendis on, so as to see what gives!

It's a pleasure to help you mate.

[sathyajithj99]

Any update Kavvz?

[Kavvz]

Any update Kavvz?

Yes: I ended up opting for the 4500k H11: MORIMOTO kit from www.theretrofitsource.com mostly because of all the online forums ranking them extremely high on customer service and quality, and also because their ballasts are now apparently able to fire up on the auto-lights-on setting without issues; which is important as members of my family borrow my car on occasion.

I'm waiting to hear back from them with regards to shipping etc (I asked for free shipping / a discounted shipping rate as the cost for shipping was quite high).

Edited June 4, 2016 by Kavvz

[sathyajithj99]

Yes: I ended up opting for the 4500k H11: MORIMOTO kit from www.theretrofitsource.com mostly because of all the online forums ranking them extremely high on customer service and quality, and also because their ballasts are now apparently able to fire up on the auto-lights-on setting without issues; which is important as members of my family borrow my car on occasion.

I'm waiting to hear back from them with regards to shipping etc (I asked for free shipping / a discounted shipping rate as the cost for shipping was quite high).

Ok machan, remember to post some photos after installation

[Kavvz]

Ok machan, remember to post some photos after installation

Sure, will do.

Edited September 17, 2016 by Kavvz

[Kavvz]

Hi all its good to be back. I've got an update on the Morimoto hid upgrade kit for the Teana: Its been about a month or so since the HID's were installed and overall I would say it's worth the money. 

Had I known what a difference it would have made to my night / early morning drives. I would have made the upgrade as soon as I bought the car last year.

Morimoto's customer service? : Stellar!! Just as most forums that recommend this product state; they seem to make it a practise to go out of their way to make sure the customer is satisfied. (They gave me a 15% discount off my purchase to offset the high shipping cost when I raised that concern with them. Later, when I had issues with one bulb not firing up, they offered me a free replacement straight off the bat with zero fuss.)

The quality of the Morimoto kit vs OEM: Its not as good as OEM. As far as light output and compatibility with the factory auto on/off feature etc the HID kit is great and I don't see any difference. However when the fit and finish of the connectors etc is considered I would have to say that the OEM units are clearly better made.  All the forms I read through state that this kit is the best alternative to OEM, and it's probably true (I would not know as I have no experience with other hid kits) but as stated the fit and finish of OEM components is vastly superior. But I guess you get what you pay for, as OEM replacements are ×4 as expensive as Morimoto components. I wanted something cheap so the Morimoto kit was a good compromise, and good value for money as it gets the job done at 1/4 the cost of OEM. So all in all, I'd say it's a great way to upgrade to HID lights if you are on a budget.  

Thanks again to all my friends at Autolanka.com who helped me out with this project. 

Edited October 23, 2016 by Kavvz

[Kavvz]

The HID kit as shipped:

 

I opted to use their HD relay for ease of installation instead of the optional standalone canbus. The HD relays and the blubs are as below:

 

The igniter, ballast etc. connected up and ready to be installed:

 

Before with the H11 halogen bulbs (excuse the crap on the lenses, the car hasn't been washed in ages):

 

After the 4500k HID kit was installed (excuse the crap on the lenses, the car hasn't been washed in ages):

Edited October 23, 2016 by Kavvz

[vag2]

hi there,

do you find any problem with the focus of the beam after the conversion to HID? Can the wiring harness of a halogen system handle the currentof a hid system?

I am thinking of doing the same for an A4 (2000reg )with halogen.But divided if I;

1.should fit an aftermarket Hid kit and use the existing housing,projector .will the lights be all over the place as some say?

2.get OEM used original HID headlight+ballast system of an A4/S4 and just swap the whole headlight assembly .

 

 

 

[Muditha420]

Maybe i missed something but what sort of bulb do u have already in your housing? for instance i had to check if the D2 series of HID's i had were made for my housing. D2S HID bulbs are designed to be used in a projector headlight application and D2R is made for a reflector application.

U might be able to get a better light output buy using brands like Osram night breakers or something similar along that.

Osram by persoanl experience was an eye opener for me where i thought 100w bulub was better but got more light output with less wattage by using that, added benefit of not damaging the housing and wiring too