Question on least expensive way to go HID on Gen 1.0

[Slappy_G]

Hi folks...

This may sound like a yet another HID posting, but bear with me - it's not.

I've got a snazzy Gen 1 silver Solara. I really very much want to go Xenon HID on the car (I'm thinking around 4000K-5000K or so for color). My problem is I'd like to know the cheapest/easiest way to go:

1. Get a Bi-Xenon H4 kit (do these break? do they shield well?)
2. Replace the front-end with a Gen 1.5 bumper/lights/corners, then get a high/low HID conversion kit.
3. Buy new headlight covers and create my own mounting for 2 projectors (one for low, one for high). Then, buy actual HID projectors.

I'd really like to do #3, but have only found a couple people who did this for other cars, and while they provided online instructions, they did not give ultra-detailed instructions.

I have not modded a lot of things on this car, but I would really love Xenon high and low beams, as well as xenon (or fake xenon) fogs. What kind of money am I talking about to keep both high/low beams and have a reliable, well-made system? Also, is it illegal to have Xenon high-beams? I swear I've seen Mercedes and BMW's on the road with these...

If anyone recommends #3 above, can you give me 5th grader-level instructions to help me out?

[krawzyazn]

waiting for my items to come in i will be done with my headlights next month gen 1.5

[Slappy_G]

Would you care to elaborate on the method you used? Since you have a Gen 1.5, I'm assuming you just did the HID conversion on your low-beam bulbs, correct?

[krawzyazn]

I'll just show you next month

[Slappy_G]

Hi there... just curious if you'd made any progress on your custom light assemblies...

Please let me know if you have, since I'd like to start on my ideas relatively soon. Thanks again!

[bluesolara]

Yo Slappy!

HOw are you?

Well, I would go for the HI/LOW h4 kit, because if you want to do 2 or 3, you are looking at a big bill at the end of the month. The kit is a round 4-500 dollars, and I think it's completely worth it. If you wanted to get a new bumper and headlights, I assume it's not gonna be under 1k, and also, the retrofitted projectors, that's like 300 bucks more...and you have to really study retrofitting to start doing it...and it usually takes around 40 hours to do...

if you're THAT hardcore....go for the retrofit, that's my dream...and I'll probably just get an OEM projector car in the future, so I'm happy with my kit...

well...if you want cheap...get the kit!

God bless

KEVIN

[Slappy_G]

Hey there, Kevin!

Well, I must admit the idea of doing the retrofit of some Hella projectors is a very tempting thought. I wouldn't mind the work involved in doing it (I figured it'd be quite a few hours).

My plan was to find a totalled Solara in a junkyard and pull the headlights to use as working models (so I don't screw up my current headlamp assemblies (and I can always go back).

Then, I was planning on using epoxy or thermoplastic to cast a rough frame to hold the projectors. My only concern is clearance, since I've heard that projectors are around 6 inches deep. The final hurdle would be to provide air ventilation and keep the moisture out. Hell, the car makers do it, so how hard can it be?

I figure after making it work, I could then make a second epoxy frame and make it look nicer, and still use the same headlight assembly from the junkyard. Even if I have to purchase them, I think they're around $80 each, which is really not that bad.

I dunno, maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment, but it'd be cool to have totally custom lights...

But, thanks for the input... Maybe I should be more realistic and get a kit. Which one did you use, and are you happy with the switching from Hi to Low? Also, is it effective and easy to aim and shield? I really don't need to get pulled over for bad shielding...