Comparing HID to halogen in a Gen2 (with pictures)

[mazen222]

So what is a newb to do? I have been reading the posts and was looking for a jump off point for lights on my 01 Solara. Should I just change out the bulbs or would it be easier to change out the entire assembly? Projectors Vs. Just changing the bulb? HEEEEEELLLLLLPPPPP

KEN

changing the bulbs take 3 minutes and costs max 20$
the other option will cost a lot more

[philosophicaljt]

couple more photos now with both HID bulbs installed.











they seem to have a lot of yellow in them. I am guessing because of my yellow high beams. I am going to swap them out with my HIR bulbs, and see if it makes a difference.

[SleeperSolara]

Looks nice man.
I just got my E46 bi-xenon projectors, and HID bulbs so far.

[philosophicaljt]

^^Good luck.

[someazn]

can you guys post some pics of the bulbs from VVME.com? I am interested in seeing the base.

Did you have to trim the bulbs or anything?

No trimming of the bulb, just plug and play. I had to trim my McCulloch bulbs because they were way too short and gave no output and scatter lights. Rebasing it apparently let water in and burned out my bulbs, so NO DO NOT RETRIM.

[someazn]

^^ thats why im asking bout the lens size i have some E46 projectors at home and the lens size on them are 2.25 and its clearer that the solars's rippled stock lens i need the measurements before going ahead and doing a lens swap.

solara lenses are 2.5" i believe, but not sure.

[someazn]

in the 01, do a retrofit. You have halogen reflectors. Your glare will be horrible.

Actually, believe it or not, the IS300 do not have projectors, yet they have HID. They use d2R bulbs which is specifically designed for reflector housing = no glare. If you could somehow fit a d2r bulb into a 9006 socket (Gen 1?), you would have a cheap HID solution.

[someazn]

The slope is normal, the passenger side is aimed higher than the driver side so that you don't blind oncoming traffic with the HID. As for the glare above the cutoff, its a slit inside the projector cutoff shield so that you will be able to see the signs. The HID makes the glare more obvious. The Solara projectors are badass if you can get the right bulb that is properly rebased. I figured this out when my McCulloch bulbs blew out. I thought HID's were crap and wanted to retrofit, but once I got new bulbs from vvme.com, I changed my opinion. Every company has different rebasing size, and the optics from the McCulloch kits do not match the Gen 2 Solaras very well. The H11 bulb is WAY too short for any output = scatter and halogen like. The d2S bulbs are longer, and vvme.com does a good job on their bulbs rebasing it to actual measurements. A pair of HID bulbs from vvme cost $50 but if you search on ebay for user: mydepots, he carries the same bulbs for $38 with 1 year warranty. My 2 cents.

funny reading this i ordered an HID kit from their site and it sould be here maybe tomrrow or monday.

Take some pictures of the bulb and casing, I want to see if we have the same bulbs. Again, I bought my pair of bulbs from ebay and they were shipped to me from vvme china.

[someazn]

^^They only offer a 6000K bulb color. I want 5000K.

But thanks.

And I am slowly realizing that the RX330 projectors are not going to be what I want.

You're a light freak right? Then you'll agree with me that 4300K bulbs give more output than 5000k bulbs. Here you go: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/XENON-HID-KIT-2-BULBS-BULB-H1-H3-H4-H7-H8-H9-H10-H11_W0QQitemZ300140417144QQihZ020QQcategoryZ36476QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Personally, I'm not a really huge fan of bulbs under the 6k range because it has to be DARK before you can see anything...but if that is what you want, then I guess...

[philosophicaljt]

in the 01, do a retrofit. You have halogen reflectors. Your glare will be horrible.

Actually, believe it or not, the IS300 do not have projectors, yet they have HID. They use d2R bulbs which is specifically designed for reflector housing = no glare. If you could somehow fit a d2r bulb into a 9006 socket (Gen 1?), you would have a cheap HID solution.

I assumed we were referring to a solara fifrst off.

and secondly, thats a specially designed HID reflector. Not a halogen reflector. Any HID kit will cause significant glare in a halogen reflector.

[philosophicaljt]

You're a light freak right? Then you'll agree with me that 4300K bulbs give more output than 5000k bulbs.

yeah, I really should be getting 4300K. I am falling to temptation by getting anything other than that.

[philosophicaljt]

Couple more photos to show the color. Again, these are 5000K bulbs I believe.

[philosophicaljt]

This kit is now for sale

I have a new 50W kit I am going to be using