What is your favorite HID brand? I have a Scion TC and used 8000k meng hids they were pretty good ....just wondering if there is anything better.....also how much of a pain would it be to change all the red lights to blue even if possible
Upgrading to HID's and LED's
1 - 16 of 16 Posts
Don't know about the HID's (personally I find them a real distraction, especially when installed misaligned) but we love the red LED's, esp. at night of course.JD1980 said:
Our friends just took delivery of a brand new Dodge Journey with white LED's that look nice but remind me of a clinic or hospital, they are so white.
Another friend got a Mustang with selectable interior LED colours.
He admits after the novelty wore off they stick to a bluish colour.
GM may want to consider this in future models for those that are particular about the interior lighting, but I haven't seen or heard anyone changing the factory LED's yet.
I had 8k HID's on my infiniti for about a month. Got so sick of how much it decreased my visibility so I went back to the stock 4300's. On the CX-7, before we traded it in, I had installed 5000k and I think that's the perfect balance. A little whiter than 4300k, without sacrificing any real world visibility.
As for brand, I have a supplier here in town that has 'generic' german kits that are really built well. I don't think the brand is really that important provided the bulbs aren't complete junk and the ballasts seals will hold up.
As for brand, I have a supplier here in town that has 'generic' german kits that are really built well. I don't think the brand is really that important provided the bulbs aren't complete junk and the ballasts seals will hold up.
Joined
·
43 Posts
I would like to reply to the original subject of this thread in hopes that JD1980 would receives some answers and I may have some answers of my own.
I would like to upgrade my headlight lighting as well.
It seems that XenonDepot has a firm hold on HID kits as well as kits for the GMC Terrains. I am however at a loss being that I cannot seem to find any HID projector housing headlights available for purchase for my Terrain. Do they exist? I have been told to never install HIDs with out the correct housing type as you will blind other drivers.
Secondly I would like to upgrade my fogs lights to a white type light as well. Is it possible to use 5000K lights here or should I look at LED options? No offense but I do not want to use yellow 3000K HIDs.
I would like to upgrade my headlight lighting as well.
It seems that XenonDepot has a firm hold on HID kits as well as kits for the GMC Terrains. I am however at a loss being that I cannot seem to find any HID projector housing headlights available for purchase for my Terrain. Do they exist? I have been told to never install HIDs with out the correct housing type as you will blind other drivers.
Secondly I would like to upgrade my fogs lights to a white type light as well. Is it possible to use 5000K lights here or should I look at LED options? No offense but I do not want to use yellow 3000K HIDs.
Welcome BUNEDOX, but you're dragging up a really old thread (from 2010!), haha.
To answer some of your questions:
Lots of us have the HID kit from XenonDepot because 1) they're an official sponsor of this forum, and we don't have many sponsors and 2) they have great customer support and stand by their warranties. But yeah, you can go with other HID retailers if you prefer.
The key with installing HID is to at least install them in projector housings (not necessarily HID projectors). All Terrains come standard from the factory with halogen projector headlights. They will sufficiently cutoff the glare so it shouldn't blind other drivers. AFAIK, there is not a bolt-in HID projector housing swap in the market for the Terrain, and quite likely never will be one. To get true HID projectors, you'll more likely have to buy the retrofit HID projectors themselves, heat up your headlight housings to pull the lenses off, then drill/dremel/etc to retrofit the HID projectors in place. There are several members in here who have done such, but if you're not handy or if you're pressed for time, the OEM halogen projectors that your Terrain have really are wonderful to use as is. Technically, the HID projectors supposedly distribute the HID lighting better than halogen projectors. Realistically, I couldn't see any significant difference (except for a crisper cut-off which doesn't affect glare anyway), and the HID in my Terrain halogen projectors are a huge, awesome upgrade.
For your fogs, yep, you can use 5000K lights. Lots of other members in this forum have done this too. XenonDepot sells other colors as well (I'd think 3000K, 6000K, and 8000K?) But also keep in mind that HID tend to color shift as they get older. I chose the 4300K for my set, and they've shifted to a really bright, clean white. Also, the foglights are also projectors which makes it incredibly easy to upgrade to HID.
LED are still relatively new to the market. They don't have the same lumen output the HID have. I've never used LED in projectors yet, so I can't comment on the light distribution (I've seen that it's not quite as good as HID either?) For the Terrain headlights, the bulbs are inside a sealed enclosure so all the LED I've seen (but I haven't really searched) wouldn't fit inside. In a few years, I can see me switching over to LED, but if I were to pick one now, I'd go with HID. XenonDepot also sells LED bulbs, so maybe give them a look?
To keep in mind, installing HID require mounting a ballast, ignitor, and running a few wires. It's simple enough if you'll dedicate a few hours to understand what to do. If you're familiar with cars/electronics, then the installation is a breeze. And remember to ask for the "canbus fix" or "DRL cancellors" or something of the like - the Terrain pulses the low beam headlight bulb for DRL, and this pulsing will wreck the HID quickly if you don't have the canbus fix in between. (Don't need this for your foglights because there is no DRL pulsing for the foglights.)
I'm sure other members in here will share their opinions.
BUNEDOX, good luck and post updates with what you decided to do and how happy you are with what you did. :thumb:
To answer some of your questions:
Lots of us have the HID kit from XenonDepot because 1) they're an official sponsor of this forum, and we don't have many sponsors and 2) they have great customer support and stand by their warranties. But yeah, you can go with other HID retailers if you prefer.
The key with installing HID is to at least install them in projector housings (not necessarily HID projectors). All Terrains come standard from the factory with halogen projector headlights. They will sufficiently cutoff the glare so it shouldn't blind other drivers. AFAIK, there is not a bolt-in HID projector housing swap in the market for the Terrain, and quite likely never will be one. To get true HID projectors, you'll more likely have to buy the retrofit HID projectors themselves, heat up your headlight housings to pull the lenses off, then drill/dremel/etc to retrofit the HID projectors in place. There are several members in here who have done such, but if you're not handy or if you're pressed for time, the OEM halogen projectors that your Terrain have really are wonderful to use as is. Technically, the HID projectors supposedly distribute the HID lighting better than halogen projectors. Realistically, I couldn't see any significant difference (except for a crisper cut-off which doesn't affect glare anyway), and the HID in my Terrain halogen projectors are a huge, awesome upgrade.
For your fogs, yep, you can use 5000K lights. Lots of other members in this forum have done this too. XenonDepot sells other colors as well (I'd think 3000K, 6000K, and 8000K?) But also keep in mind that HID tend to color shift as they get older. I chose the 4300K for my set, and they've shifted to a really bright, clean white. Also, the foglights are also projectors which makes it incredibly easy to upgrade to HID.
LED are still relatively new to the market. They don't have the same lumen output the HID have. I've never used LED in projectors yet, so I can't comment on the light distribution (I've seen that it's not quite as good as HID either?) For the Terrain headlights, the bulbs are inside a sealed enclosure so all the LED I've seen (but I haven't really searched) wouldn't fit inside. In a few years, I can see me switching over to LED, but if I were to pick one now, I'd go with HID. XenonDepot also sells LED bulbs, so maybe give them a look?
To keep in mind, installing HID require mounting a ballast, ignitor, and running a few wires. It's simple enough if you'll dedicate a few hours to understand what to do. If you're familiar with cars/electronics, then the installation is a breeze. And remember to ask for the "canbus fix" or "DRL cancellors" or something of the like - the Terrain pulses the low beam headlight bulb for DRL, and this pulsing will wreck the HID quickly if you don't have the canbus fix in between. (Don't need this for your foglights because there is no DRL pulsing for the foglights.)
I'm sure other members in here will share their opinions.
BUNEDOX, good luck and post updates with what you decided to do and how happy you are with what you did. :thumb:
Do you have any links to any of the retrofits? I've been looking for people who retrofitted terrains since I bought the car a year ago lol but I haven't found any.Chas said:
I did figure out that the hid projectors from the 4th gen Acura TL is a direct bolt on but I think you still might have to cut the inside of the bracket to make room for the wider bowl. Not entirely sure on that yet as I'll be doing it next year
As for the difference between hid projectors and halogen projectors with hid, I think the only difference you'll find is the width. Oem terrain projectors are known to be pretty outstanding for halogen but since hid is brighter, the projectors are made to throw the light wider (and maybe farther too but don't quote me on that). And you only get a sharp cutoff with a clear lens and, sometimes, lens/shield tuning
Joined
·
43 Posts
Thank you,
First I would like to point out it was never my intent to bash a sponsor. I had perceived as much and planned to purchase from him due to the abundance of support I have witnessed on this forum.
Secondly, I do have experice baking headlights to remove amber lenses to "euro" them with stealth bulbs. Also I have a decent amount of experice with advanced wiring for vehicular modding.
Thirdly,
Thank you again for the welcome. This is not my first Rodeo with vehicle forums and I do apologize for replying to an older thread. I do hate when people do not search before asking. The majority of the results I saw pertained to Equinoxs which were not very helpful.
Also this is not my first ECOTEC - Olds Alero.
I will move forward with HIDs to remove all yellow forms of light from my white terrain (minus turn signals).
You say that 4300ks loose the yellowish hue overtime?
Also have any Terrain owns who've had their HIDs for 2+ years had problems with the chrome finish bubbling off?
First I would like to point out it was never my intent to bash a sponsor. I had perceived as much and planned to purchase from him due to the abundance of support I have witnessed on this forum.
Secondly, I do have experice baking headlights to remove amber lenses to "euro" them with stealth bulbs. Also I have a decent amount of experice with advanced wiring for vehicular modding.
Thirdly,
Thank you again for the welcome. This is not my first Rodeo with vehicle forums and I do apologize for replying to an older thread. I do hate when people do not search before asking. The majority of the results I saw pertained to Equinoxs which were not very helpful.
Also this is not my first ECOTEC - Olds Alero.
I will move forward with HIDs to remove all yellow forms of light from my white terrain (minus turn signals).
You say that 4300ks loose the yellowish hue overtime?
Also have any Terrain owns who've had their HIDs for 2+ years had problems with the chrome finish bubbling off?
Yup 4300k hid won't be yellow if you go oem brands at least. The attached pictures are of my SRX projectors with broken in Philips 85122 bulbs. Don't mind the rainbow cutoff, I was still in the middle of tuning them ;D
i can't really answer your question about melting housings but I haven't heard of it happening except when the sun is at an unfortunate angle and the lens acts like a magnifying glass. Hid does run cooler than halogen tho
i can't really answer your question about melting housings but I haven't heard of it happening except when the sun is at an unfortunate angle and the lens acts like a magnifying glass. Hid does run cooler than halogen tho
Attachments
I should've specified. Those are hid projectors I was working on putting in another car. I wanted a sharp cutoff so I added clear lenses and had to mess with the shield and lens spacing to get it to not look all wonky. I only posted the pictures to show what 4300k looks like after its broken in.
The rest of the time yea it's all straight forward, just plug in and go. I almost forgot tho with aftermarket bulbs and ballasts they tend to run a lower kelvin so you'd be looking at about 5000k-6000k for white but I wouldn't recommend going any higher than that because that's when you start to really lose visibility
The rest of the time yea it's all straight forward, just plug in and go. I almost forgot tho with aftermarket bulbs and ballasts they tend to run a lower kelvin so you'd be looking at about 5000k-6000k for white but I wouldn't recommend going any higher than that because that's when you start to really lose visibility
Re: Re: Upgrading to HID's and LED's
http://www.equinoxforum.net/index.php?topic=5308.msg72655#msg72655
I've had my HID installed for about 2 1/2 years, and no chrome bubbling anywhere. Since I'm still using the OEM projectors, I'm assuming GM specified the chrome to be durable for such. Just changing the bulbs shouldn't be affecting the lens magnification. (And the HID run significantly cooler than halogens.)
Here's one for retrofitting quads into the Equinox. I didn't find any writeups for the Terrains. Just more members posting that they did a conversion. (fsanti87, didn't you also already heat the lens off your Terrain? Or I might be thinking of someone else?)fsanti87 said:
http://www.equinoxforum.net/index.php?topic=5308.msg72655#msg72655
My 4300K Philips rebased bulbs looked much whiter than the H11 bulbs, even when the HID bulbs were new. I sometimes wonder if I got 5000K bulbs instead, ha. But to be frank, even the OEM slightly yellow light didn't bother me. They just were not bright enough. I'll try to dig up the post I created years ago to see if it compares the lighting color next to each other.BUNEDOX said:
I've had my HID installed for about 2 1/2 years, and no chrome bubbling anywhere. Since I'm still using the OEM projectors, I'm assuming GM specified the chrome to be durable for such. Just changing the bulbs shouldn't be affecting the lens magnification. (And the HID run significantly cooler than halogens.)
Re:
I couldn't find any pictures of the halogen next to my HID, but here's a thread on HID running cooler backed by actual numbers.
http://www.terrainforum.net/index.php?topic=8060.msg100448.msg#100448
Sent from my SM-T817V using Tapatalk
I couldn't find any pictures of the halogen next to my HID, but here's a thread on HID running cooler backed by actual numbers.
http://www.terrainforum.net/index.php?topic=8060.msg100448.msg#100448
Sent from my SM-T817V using Tapatalk
Re: Re: Upgrading to HID's and LED's
The only examples I've seen of melted/bubbling housings are black headlights and the sun is just at a bad angle
Yup that was me :thumb: that Nox is sexy! But yea I mainly wanted to find other terrain retros to find out if there's any projectors with the same bolt pattern but I figured it out a while ago lolChas said:
The only examples I've seen of melted/bubbling housings are black headlights and the sun is just at a bad angle
FWIW there is a halogen bulb that with a slight easy modification replaces the OEM low beam bulb that is much brighter and whiter. I'm running them in my Nox and am very satisfied with the improvement.
I was looking for LED or HID upgrade when I came across the bulb swap somewhere. I'll have to go back and see what I bought and post an update.
Here it is. Going to an H9 low beam bulb.
http://www.terrainforum.net/index.php?topic=1961.0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUizTYe9QpQ
I was looking for LED or HID upgrade when I came across the bulb swap somewhere. I'll have to go back and see what I bought and post an update.
Here it is. Going to an H9 low beam bulb.
http://www.terrainforum.net/index.php?topic=1961.0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUizTYe9QpQ
1 - 16 of 16 Posts
Join the discussion
Join now to ask and comment!