should i keep my HID's?????

[chrish8r]

i have only had my HID's for about a month now and am unsure if i want to keep them.....they have their ups(bright, cool looking) and downs(horrific beam pattern, switches beams by itself).

[bulldozer24]

Reflectors+hid's= no!!!

[anothernord]

Reflectors+hid's= no!!!

This. Please get rid of them. I can't express how much I hate getting blinded by HID's in halogen housings.

[Huffer]

Sell them, buy proper projectors and be happy with those for a long time. The right projectors don't even need HID's.

[chrish8r]

the lights are now out and are hopefully gonna sell on craigslist. i now have gone back to the Silverstar UltraVisions i had in there before. thank you for your opinions.

[amgarrety]

How much are you going to sell them for? Im a few minutes above you and have been thinking of trying HIDs out...

[chrish8r]

How much are you going to sell them for? Im a few minutes above you and have been thinking of trying HIDs out...

i was gonna try to get 75 from some ill knowledged honda owners on craigslist but for a fellow subie guy.......40

[stoggy]

How much are you going to sell them for? Im a few minutes above you and have been thinking of trying HIDs out...

Don't buy them...not because it's not a good deal (the price is very good) but because you will regret how they look and perform. Like previous posts, the light beam is so scattered when put in a halogen reflector type headlight. You will enjoy the look of them when you are standing outside of the car but that is about it. I have had HID's in my halogen reflectors for a while and I can tell you that you will regret it. Purchase a top quality set of halogen bulbs and you will be more than satisfied. You can even step up to a 100W bulb if you install a relay...will produce about 2800 lumens (give or take, depending on bulb quality).

[amgarrety]

So this goes for BEs too?

I've been back and forth on HIDs for a long time. I honestly don't like how they look on the outside with my single bulb Hi/Lo head lights. And on top of that, They wouldn't look right with my Hellas on the front unless I placed HIDs in those too, and thats more work than I want to do.

On the upside, I'd get better visibility in bad weather, a more accurate white (with the right temperature), and brighter output than im getting now. Don't get me wrong, the Silvlerstars I have in now are very bright for low beams, but I am severely underwhelmed with the high beam output. Hence the Hellas. And im still not completely satisfied. Granted, the comes after two years of driving a BL with those beautiful projectors, but I miss that light output and was hoping i'd get it from HIDs. So thats not the case?

[Wiscon_Mark]

To properly use HIDs, you need a projector housing with a sharp cutoff. HIDs are extremely bright, so they need to be controlled so they can't shine in people's eyes. I have to agree with anothernord, it drives me nuts when I see old trucks with HIDs or overly bright blue halogen lights scattering bright, harsh light all over the place.

HIDs are a great retrofit for someone looking to get (or already has) the JDM projectors and are looking to put in new cutoff patterns in them, or has USDM projector housings that they want to swap in, but I would not recommend doing it with anything but the right beam pattern.

And example of the right beam pattern: viewtopic.php?f=22&t=22847 (http://www.sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=22847)

[stoggy]

To properly use HIDs, you need a projector housing with a sharp cutoff. HIDs are extremely bright, so they need to be controlled so they can't shine in people's eyes. I have to agree with anothernord, it drives me nuts when I see old trucks with HIDs or overly bright blue halogen lights scattering bright, harsh light all over the place.

HIDs are a great retrofit for someone looking to get (or already has) the JDM projectors and are looking to put in new cutoff patterns in them, or has USDM projector housings that they want to swap in, but I would not recommend doing it with anything but the right beam pattern.

And example of the right beam pattern: http://www.sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=22847

Mark, OEM reflector type HID's are just as good (some cases better) than projectors. While projectors do offer the best possible cutoff line (see link) they are not the end all to HID's.


So this goes for BEs too?

I've been back and forth on HIDs for a long time. I honestly don't like how they look on the outside with my single bulb Hi/Lo head lights. And on top of that, They wouldn't look right with my Hellas on the front unless I placed HIDs in those too, and thats more work than I want to do.

On the upside, I'd get better visibility in bad weather, a more accurate white (with the right temperature), and brighter output than im getting now. Don't get me wrong, the Silvlerstars I have in now are very bright for low beams, but I am severely underwhelmed with the high beam output. Hence the Hellas. And im still not completely satisfied. Granted, the comes after two years of driving a BL with those beautiful projectors, but I miss that light output and was hoping i'd get it from HIDs. So thats not the case?

For you, projectors are not available as an OEM option for the BE/BH and a retrofit is costly and really not worth the effort IMO. There are a few people that have had successful results, however.

If you bought a set of JDM HID headlights and installed them with the correct bulbs (OEM, Philips or Hella D2R...NOT Chinese bulbs) you will have better light output, better light pattern on the road than any other type of headlight you can simply 'drop in' to your car. Reason? The optics in the JDM lights are designed specifically for an HID light source to reflect the light in a correct way that doesn't oppose oncoming drivers. Keep in mind, the JDM lights are designed for RHD and obviously our cars are LHD so the pattern won't be exact but it will be way better than just tossing HID's into your existing headlights.

Do not not put HID's into your halogen reflector. Your current light output with your Silverstar lights will far exceed anything you will get with an HID conversion kit.

Recap:

1. OEM JDM HID's from Japan = best solution. While more expensive than a conversion kit, it's the ONLY option for a BE without costly a costly retrofit of projectors...not to mention the time it takes to do it properly.
2. HID conversion kit = bad taste and bad function. Will not yield the expectations you are looking for...if the JDM lights are not an option consider upgrading to Philips X-Treme Power bulbs...highest lumens vs stock on the market today and only about $23 a pair.
3. Toss a 100W bulb in with a relay...you won't damage anything as long as the relay is there.

[Wiscon_Mark]

Mark, OEM reflector type HID's are just as good (some cases better) than projectors. While projectors do offer the best possible cutoff line (see link) they are not the end all to HID's.

No, I know, but in the context of the OP, the projectors are the way to go. I'm fully aware that reflector housings can have a good cutoff pattern, that just isn't the case for Subaru Halogen relectors. ie: My wife's Jeep Grand Cherokee had an HID option - same housing and everything for the Halogens though, and they have phenomenal cutoff on them.

[stoggy]

Wait a sec Mark, your wife's Grand Cherokee uses the same reflector for halogen and the HID option? I didnt think that was possible. Interesting. I know the Subaru halogen reflectors are designed only for halogen. That's interesting though, I wonder what other vehicles work like that.

[Wiscon_Mark]

Well, there is a factory HID option with it. The lights look the same (no projectors, same two lens hi/low design). But I've never inspected the HIDs up close to see exactly how different/similar they are. Obviously I know there's a ballast and some extra stuff for HID lights, but I thought the actually lamps were pretty similar. As I said, the cutoff on the Halogen lamps are certainly good enough for HID lights...

[stoggy]

Oh I see...yea the reflector for the halogen will be different from the HID option reflector. The sources of light are in different positions within the headlight assembly which is why HID bulb conversion kits do not work. The optics behind the HID option in the Cherokee will be specific to an HID bulb. A halogen bulb will not work in the HID reflector and vice versa. Projectors are nicer, I agree, because 9 times out of 10 you can plunk an HID bulb behind them and it will work out.

There's a lot of R&D that goes into producing headlamps....specifically reflector type because they literally have to 'reflect' the light properly whereas a projector simply bends the light--much easier to get the right cutoff. All in all, a good halogen reflector will have a nice sharp cutoff just like and HID setup.

[Wiscon_Mark]

Learn something every day :)