HID kit Your thoughts...?

[Chilltownnj]

Ok let me start off by saying i've read sooo many posts and things about hid kits and all i am now is confused...

So i'm just gonna put up my proposed setup for scrutiny by u experienced guys.

1st My car is a 2002 solara v4

2nd My headlights are JDM Black Diamond Head's and Corner

My proposed setup was with the McCulloch 8000K Bi-Xenon HID Kit.

Now, i've heard rumors that HID kits if not in the right housing or something can cause a short and catch on fire or for some reason overheat and burn up the headlight housing. Not exaclty sure how true this is, but with this kit and my current headlight housing would this rumored fireball be true?

Also, I've read that without projector somethings your hid lighting could look crappy or with some luck can actually look good.. and, that some setups u have to aim the headlights down a bit to take away some of the glare but that all glare cant be removed even with the bulbs that have a tint on it. Am i putting what i've read correctly?


Next this particular Mcculloch kit, is it quality? Has anyone used it successfully without projectors? Does it look good? My days of buying crap is over now that i have found u guys.

Last what model/set or bulb do i need for my 2002 solara

9003/H4
9004
9007
and what are the differences if there are any aside for different make or year of car.

Ps I am very technically inclined as far as electronics go, on a scale of 1-10 (1 being "easy DIY" and 10 being "hard DO NOT ATTEMPT YOURSELF" what would u rate the installation of this kit, bulb ballasts and ignitor?

[Chilltownnj]

Ok so after doing some checking i think my low beam is 9006 and my high beam is 9005, so that means i have separate plugs and bulbs for lows and highs... i think. So i guess that kit is out the door. What exactly are my options if i want a hid low and hid high? is that two kits? Dont think i want two kits, so what can u guys recommend?

Aww damn i think i put this in wrong forum i'm gonna try reposting to 1.5 aftermarket upgrades.

[MCOjerry]

Hey, I'm shocked you have not cought on yet...you have an I4, not a V4.

[Chilltownnj]

lol i caught on but so used to classifying cylinder wise v6 and v4 that saying v4 is now habitual

[Mr_Chunks]

Your proposed setup may cause some bad experiences for yourself and this is why
Someone once told me that the black ( not JDM because the solara was never made in japan ) headlight housing will decrease light output on your headlight. Im not sure if this is true for gen 1.5, but it is true for us gen1 guys. You might want to check into that further.
Also, you want the 8000k setup, which is pretty near to pure blue. My suggestion is not to go over 7000k for headlight beams, if that. I will be a running a 6500k setup with 8000k foglights. 8000k in the headlights could lead to some potential police harassment. If you do decide to do 8000k for headlights, be careful around some police.
To address your concerns about the heat of HID lamps, I personally have never heard of any HID lamp catching a headlight housing on fire. HID kits sometimes run cooler than stock as well.
As for the TYPE of housing to get the deisred beam pattern, this is strictly up to you. Most of the guys on here will tell you to get a custom projectors put in your headlights like Astro's ride, but IMO the factory headlights are more than sufficient for HID. The reason they say it "looks crappy" is because of the glare of the headlight. If you look closely at your factory headlight housing there is a metallid half circle over the bulb. This type of headlight is known as a reflector type. It takes all the light output from the bulb, throws it back into the metallic housing and spreads it out from the headlight. The second type of headlight is known as a projector type. This usually takes an HID beam and throws it out directly ( through what looks like an over sized contact lens ) instead of reflecting the light back into the housing to put out there. This makes a clean cut off line on the top of the beam pattern and a more focused beam all around. Honestly, the choice to retrofit projectors is up to you but I can say now that it wont be cheap if you decide to do it. And for what its worth, I would just stick with factory headlight.... ( yea i know someone on heres gonna tear my answer apart )

I hope this helps man
and welcome to solaraguy

[NeFaRiOuS_SLE]

Uhhh first thing that's a bit off-topic:
Unless you're talking about a Saab from the 70s that only churned out about 50-something horsepower, there's no such thing as a V4; all 4-cylinder cars made now days are Inline-4's, or I4. Just thought I'd give you a friendly heads up before you get flamed or something.

Back to topic: The bulbs themselves, unless improperly installed, uses less heat than Halogen. The ballast (the thing that suppresses the high voltage mounted separately) does get hot, but it won't "catch on fire" unless again, it's improperly instaled or just plain defective.

Here's more info I wrote up on beam patterns:
http://www.solaraguy.org/viewtopic.php?p=280383#280383

[lilm]

hidforums
research there first

[trd628]

yeah i agree about researching it too. also i have an 8000K setup on my car no high beams just a single beam H3 kit. I have NEVER needed the highs with the HID's installed. I don't have projectors any my lights look awesome. The thing I would suggest is to do a 3000K foglight buld with the 8000K HID headlights. Stick to buying 1 set for your low beams and do a nicer halogen for your highs getting the high beams will be a waste of your money. As for the heat issue. The bulbs are cooler like NeFaRiOuS_SLE said and the ballasts do get hot but if properly installed neither should cause any problems. And by the way this was the best thing I did to my car. Once you get HIDs you'll never go back to halogen.

[Chilltownnj]

I thought about it when my cousin said that his friend had hid's and the car caught on fire because of being too hot, and came to the conclusion that it was faulty wiring but i havent experienced HID's personally so i figured i'd ask the pros! Thanks again for the info

Also thanks for the v4/i4 clarification i'm so new to this it's ridiculous. (begs) please no flaming .

Oh and the JDM tag i put was what the item was labled under JDM black diamond yada ya. Again, my noobness is overwhelming... see words and get excited b4 knowing exactly what i am purchasing, but them days are over, now.

Ok Trd628 are your 8000's really that blue? from this description (8000K has an approximately 2550lm output, which is about 3x the light output of the traditional halogen light and slightly less light output compared to the 6000K. While it has a bit lesser light output, it emits bluer light than the 6000K) it's blue but not a ridiculous blue is what i get out of it. And i would opt for the 7000 range but Mcculloch doesnt have that range as an option. I guess that's were researching would benefit me. I will be doing more research on this. I was going with McCulloch because i heard thier kits mentioned b4 in these forums. Also Trd what kit are u using exactly?

[trd628]

it's a 8000K Pilot HID kit off ebay, $230 shipped. Didn't wanna opt for McCulloch b/c a friend has them and I saw no real difference between mine and his except, i paid $230 and he paid $575 (bi-zenon H4). They are pretty friggin bright, and its almost a violet/blue/white light. I think it looks real good. They are about the same color as the BMW HIDs. If you have any other questions lemme know.