Hid in Newer (97+) headlights use the H7 or the H1?

[Androulakis]

I know the best way is the OEM xenons, but they are over $1k and I just cant swing them.

So, I've contemplated getting HID retrofits.

Now, Ive debated two options.

The H7 Low beam, OR putting them in the H1 fog beam, (which would keep them aimed LOW), and allow me selective HID or halogen.

I'm not going to get some ridiculous attention grabbing color or anything like that, either 4300k, or 5000k.

Now what are your experiences with both? Has anyone tried running with an H1 Hid bulb in the fog position as headlights?

Thanks in advance,

George

[Beama86]

I have sylvania sylverstars, i don't remember what the number they were but they look really good for a nice bright white!

[Androulakis]

I dont want the HID for show, I want it for the increased useable light output. I drive in my friends BMW with a 6000k hid retrofit and then I get in my car, and its like I dont even have my lights on.

The other option is higher wattage halogen bulbs, but since the battery is in the trunk, its a pain to run proper wiring harnesses.

Take care,

George

[crsh2]

Originally posted by Androulakis

The other option is higher wattage halogen bulbs, but since the battery is in the trunk, its a pain to run proper wiring harnesses.

Take care,

George

The Bulbs in my experience is a waste of money. I have gotten some good ones ( meaning Great output ) But the Bulb does not last.
i also have gotten a long lasting hib bulb which last for awhile but the output is so weak.
The Hid i bought off ebay was perfect. I love it! but the beam pattern is really bad, just like what others have said. But who
cares. Its definately better than stock, althought im in the process of changing the lens to updated ones.

The question you have about which bulb for HID. I think the foglights would give you the best output on the hid
goodluck

[ryhi]

i was thinking the same because the h1 fogs have a straight line n cut off

[VIP_MBZ]

Originally posted by ryhi
i was thinking the same because the h1 fogs have a straight line n cut off

It looks like it with a halogen bulb, but it's really not all that great of a cut off. A prime example is to take your car against a wall where it's completely pitch black. While most of the light does fall below the line, creating a sharp contrast, imagine that the light is 10-20 times brighter. Those seemingly harmless stray beams above the line are now more intense than a halogen high beam.

Here is an example of an HID retrofit pattern. Note that there is a cutoff line, but because it was designed for halogen, it lets too much through above the line:



Whereas a true HID cutoff line should look close to pitch black above the line.



Neither the H7 or the H1 position offer a sufficient cutoff in the factory halogen housing.

In the end it's up to you; the retrofit kits certainly offer great bargain, but be forewarned that you may be disturbing other drivers, and you may even get in trouble with the law.

-Ray

[Androulakis]

Is that beam cutoff from a w202 (the retrofit example).

I Know it is not going to be perfect, but I'm trying to minimize the negative effects... That's why I was considering using the H1 fog as the HID bulb location, figuring between that and the and the ability to aim the headlight down, I should be ok.

Take care,

George

[jstrat85]

i like hids 100X better than xenon. i have 8,800 on the headlight foglights and 8,800 on my bumper fog light! they arent even street legal!

[VIP_MBZ]

On that note, just a forewarning to any CA dwelling members -- ANY HID system is illegal in ANY vehicle unless it is the OEM US-DOT approved system applied to the vehicle it was intended. So as always, mod at your own risk.

-Ray

[Androulakis]

Jstrat: Unfortunately (or not) I have the newer style 97+ headlight that has the high beam where your fog light is, and has and H7 low beam, and an H1 fog light basically one on top of each other (fog on bottom), on the side of the headlight closest to the corner.

So, I'm trying to figure out which one to use for an HID retrofit. (In order to keep the beam pattern as controllable as possible).

As far as the cops, I live in NJ, and I have seen countless cars with aftermarket hid retrofits, (including a couple of my friends with bmw's) and I've never heard of any problems or issues.
The only things I hear people getting pulled over for is tint on the front windows, since for some reason the cops are anal about that here.

I dont think the cops can stop you for "Illegal Mods" here like they can in CA. If you draw attention to your self, ala riced out civic with fart can driving like a moron, they will pull you over and find something to give you a ticket for, but thankfully there is enough of that crowd around there that they dont bother with the nice cars. We also don't have fix it tickets or anything of the sort, but I guess the only problem might be passing the saftey inspection every 2 years, but its no big deal to pop a halogen bulb back in to make it through that (or if you have it in the h1, actually turn the low beams on), instead of running with parking lights and fogs.

Take care,

George

[sleek_benzo]

interesting... :ermm:

let me know how its coming along.. i'm very interested in some HID but thinking oem.. but if you find a better (cheaper) alternative i might just shoot for one too...

[nokia8860]

This topic always generates interest on this site because:

1 its cheap
2 its cheap

However, results have always been the same and I can attest to my wallets experience with HID lighting. VIP statement is basically the same of everyones statement wanted increased and proper lighting of the roadway. Yet you will find others who will disregard this and still spend their money unwisely only to realize at the end they should have listened. But that’s the whole point of growing up: don’t listen to others, experiment, fail then reflect back that you should have listened.

I shall list again what I have done in the past to just be disregarded again. However at least I can say that I tried yet again to prevent someone from throwing their money away at junk… because in essence that is what you are doing.

HID lights in DOT housing: Hot spots galore on the roadway. Stray light everywhere. My lights where acting like a 17 year old who just smelled some pussy. Shit was everywhere. It was embarrassing driving down the motorway blinding people not only coming on the opposite direction and to those in front of me but those to the right of me as well!

Solution aim the lights down! That put a end to blinding ppl but in order to get it low enough to the point where I didn’t blind anyone I ended up lighting up my bumper instead and having 10 feet of light thrown in front of me. And when youre driving at speeds…. 10 feet of light is just plain stupid.

Next up HID lights in e-code LHD housings: Hot spots reduced somewhat as well as stray light due to the better cut of of the ROW pattern however it still sucked. Aiming the lights per Hella’s beam pattern on the wall deal it would still end up blinding ppl in front of me due to the fact that the shield was not correct placed to control the bulb (on 2phast site he corrects this with his own shield) also because of the high angle cut off I would still end up blinding ppl driving to the right of me. TO THE RIGHT OF ME. What kind of shit is that. That is not safe motoring for anyone!

Solution was same as before to aim them down. At least everyone could see my bumper at night. This was just as horrible as my first attempt.

Last attempt OEM and perfect.

So to those that say OEM is expensive look at my post and do the math. At the time I did this HID kits where about 500.

My ecodes were 750 as they came with ballast as well (they were advertised in Taiwan as a cheaper alternative to OEM

And my OEM at 1200 (special price for both because of Santa Klaus they are usually 1200 each at the dealer) and 350 for the ballast (they are separate and special price from a good friend at bekkers as they are usually 350 each at the dealer) and Ive spent a total of 2800 when I could have at the time spent 1000 for the oem kit bekkers sold.

Now I am told currently they are out of stock but Im sure if there are enough request they can manage to find more stock as my understanding is they are ecode shells with the correct hid reflector and glass installed and that’s the important part anyways… you don’t need the self leveling motor.

So there do the math learn from others and save your hard earn money because I know money doesn’t just grows on trees so its best to practice patience and save for the correct lighting unit.

I’ll probably post this thing again in a few months when someone ask about retrofits again.

Also congrats to anyone that actually reads my entire post

[Denlasoul]

Originally posted by nokia8860
This topic always generates interest on this site because:

1 its cheap
2 its cheap

I think alot of people tend to think this way about buying mods, and end up spending more to buy something of better quality later on.

While I am not rich, I try and buy/use/save my money wisely...especially for my car.

[VIP_MBZ]

You can also do an Audi/BMW projector retrofit including the Philips HID kit for $500 plus whatever it costs you to fabricate.

-Ray

[mbsickness]

Originally posted by nokia8860

Also congrats to anyone that actually reads my entire post

Your post is not in vain. I actually read all your comments a year ago and it helped me make the decision to get the OEM HID from Bekkers. Do it once and do it right. You offer great advise. Thanks.

[sleek_benzo]

if i had a penny everytime i read such comment regarding hids.. i would be able to buy a set.. lol.. anyone have any contact at bekkers? maybe the forum can get a group buy or something.. just a thought..

Originally posted by nokia8860
This topic always generates interest on this site because:

1 its cheap
2 its cheap

However, results have always been the same and I can attest to my wallets experience with HID lighting. VIP statement is basically the same of everyones statement wanted increased and proper lighting of the roadway. Yet you will find others who will disregard this and still spend their money unwisely only to realize at the end they should have listened. But that’s the whole point of growing up: don’t listen to others, experiment, fail then reflect back that you should have listened.

I shall list again what I have done in the past to just be disregarded again. However at least I can say that I tried yet again to prevent someone from throwing their money away at junk… because in essence that is what you are doing.

HID lights in DOT housing: Hot spots galore on the roadway. Stray light everywhere. My lights where acting like a 17 year old who just smelled some pussy. Shit was everywhere. It was embarrassing driving down the motorway blinding people not only coming on the opposite direction and to those in front of me but those to the right of me as well!

Solution aim the lights down! That put a end to blinding ppl but in order to get it low enough to the point where I didn’t blind anyone I ended up lighting up my bumper instead and having 10 feet of light thrown in front of me. And when youre driving at speeds…. 10 feet of light is just plain stupid.

Next up HID lights in e-code LHD housings: Hot spots reduced somewhat as well as stray light due to the better cut of of the ROW pattern however it still sucked. Aiming the lights per Hella’s beam pattern on the wall deal it would still end up blinding ppl in front of me due to the fact that the shield was not correct placed to control the bulb (on 2phast site he corrects this with his own shield) also because of the high angle cut off I would still end up blinding ppl driving to the right of me. TO THE RIGHT OF ME. What kind of shit is that. That is not safe motoring for anyone!

Solution was same as before to aim them down. At least everyone could see my bumper at night. This was just as horrible as my first attempt.

Last attempt OEM and perfect.

So to those that say OEM is expensive look at my post and do the math. At the time I did this HID kits where about 500.

My ecodes were 750 as they came with ballast as well (they were advertised in Taiwan as a cheaper alternative to OEM

And my OEM at 1200 (special price for both because of Santa Klaus they are usually 1200 each at the dealer) and 350 for the ballast (they are separate and special price from a good friend at bekkers as they are usually 350 each at the dealer) and Ive spent a total of 2800 when I could have at the time spent 1000 for the oem kit bekkers sold.

Now I am told currently they are out of stock but Im sure if there are enough request they can manage to find more stock as my understanding is they are ecode shells with the correct hid reflector and glass installed and that’s the important part anyways… you don’t need the self leveling motor.

So there do the math learn from others and save your hard earn money because I know money doesn’t just grows on trees so its best to practice patience and save for the correct lighting unit.

I’ll probably post this thing again in a few months when someone ask about retrofits again.

Also congrats to anyone that actually reads my entire post

[J Irwan]

Originally posted by jstrat85
i like hids 100X better than xenon. i have 8,800 on the headlight foglights and 8,800 on my bumper fog light! they arent even street legal!

FYI

HID == Xenon
HID is Xenon

http://www.club202.com/forums/showth...&threadid=6750

And

and if you search the forum this topic has been beaten to deadth already..

As Nokia was saying,
Learned from out mistakes and experiences... and benefit from it...


If you don't listen then you might find out the hard way......



After all it is concern your own safety when driving on the road.

Last thing you want to do it to cause glare to other driver and cause accident, or even road rage.....



Regardz,

[jstrat85]

you see my lights are powerfull but i made them pointing down to the floor not into the sky. the reason i did this mod and i loved it, was because i wanted more light when i drive, so i can see better!

[2phast]

Nokia is correct in all his statements (don't loose faith, keep preaching!). Even with the amount of time I spent trying to make HID's work in E-codes, I eventually gave up and pulled them. There just is no way to control the light dispersion in a halogen reflector or when using halogen fluted lenses.

I highly recommend visiting http://hidplanet.com/forums and reading through the "newbie" section. It covers many topics about how to properly do a retrofit of HID's.

My HID project consists of using E-Class Bi-Xenon projectors fitted to the W124 crystal headlights (clear headlight lenses) which will be the closest to a factory HID setup as you can get for a W124 (MB never offered HID's for the W124). I expect a light pattern/color similar to the one posted a few posts abouve this one.

[Goldeni245]

I had Philips 6500K (top of the line) hid retrofit kit on my car, they didn't light up the road as well as I wanted them to plus they broke after only a year of use. After that, i went and bought a used bekkers kit for 800$. It was a day and night difference.

[2phast]

I found this guys website while looking on another forum, I must say this has to be the best retro HID install I have ever seen.

http://kamran1860.tripod.com/n_xenon_e.htm

[Androulakis]

OK, OK I get it....

HID retrofits dont work well in the w202 stock housing.

The blue colored bulbs arent worth a damn except for looks, so the only other option is higher wattage halogen bulbs.

They are available from susquehanna motorsports and other places. I guess you need to upgrade the wiring harnesses as well ?

Anyone had any experiences going this route?

Thanks in advance,

George

[jstrat85]

re do the hid and get it over with. you will se a huge difference! trust me

[1998K]

Originally posted by Androulakis
OK, OK I get it....

HID retrofits dont work well in the w202 stock housing.

The blue colored bulbs arent worth a damn except for looks, so the only other option is higher wattage halogen bulbs.

They are available from susquehanna motorsports and other places. I guess you need to upgrade the wiring harnesses as well ?

Anyone had any experiences going this route?

Thanks in advance,

George

Hey Androulakis,

I've done that re-route modification, with relay and increased sidze wiring, look this tread:

http://club202.com/forums/showthread...y&pagenumber=3

hope it help.