Would you pay $2K for a projector HID headlight system?

[TDAWG]

Those are all good questions. What I'll do is drop Jeff @ hid4less a line and have him check out this post and have him either e-mail me back with answers. I'll post everything as soon as I can get the answer.

[coachreed]

I'd LOOOOOVE to have a set of headlights like that. HID's are awsome looking and the immitation crap just doesn't cut it. I look forward to seeing what someone comes up with. I don't know if I'd go $2K for a set, but if they were done REALLLLY well, I'd definitely think about it...

What would a set of donor headlight assemblies cost by themselves? How much would the lights shown above cost? How much for the balasts for the low beams? I know a few people who might be capable of prototyping... just gotta look them up.

I'll be watching. Later!

Coach

[JEFFHIDS4LESS]

Hey Guys... TDawg came down here we chatted and he said I should tell you guys about the lamps... So thats why I am here..



Okay after reading some posts let me clearify some things.


Catz HID KIts - Taiwanese... Do not buy. Low Quality

Bellof HID Kits - Use their own ballast. www.bellof.co.jp. Good luck calling them, I have contacted them 100000000000 times to give them money and they won't sell me HID Kits. So if you have some warranty issues, good luck... I try to give them 50 grand and they won't except it, I can't image if you had ballast you needed replaced.

4100K - OEM APPLICATION
6,000K - 20% more blue

5,000K - Garbage; Coated Philips Bulbs. Eventually creates heat spots and destroys the bulb.

Lumen wise, Either Stage I (4100K) or Stage II (6000K) Philips kits will be fine for your vehicle. Ask Tdawg he saw them in person.

H4 Application loses high beam, we do not sell Bi-HID systems cause they are not worth it because of their inferior quality. High Beams are not neccessary.

Projection Systems: Custom Projectors are available , they use a BI-HID Projector straight out of a 02' BMW E46 M3. Call for pricing 866-571-5538

Warranty: OUR KIT HOLDS A 5 YEAR FULL REPLACEMENT WARRANTY


FORUM SPECIAL PRICING: BECAUSE YOU GUYS ARE ENTHUSIESTS WE CAN OFFER HID KITS FOR $450.00 SI & $650.00 SII.


Thanks,
Jeff

Jeff@hids4less.com

[paultvx]

Originally posted by Dallas4u
Yup, love rallylights! I have been purchasing bulbs and fogs (My Hella 500's came from them) for years as well. I was purchasing the Hella Optilux H4 bulbs from them a while back before they stopped selling (manufacturing?) them. Good service and prices.

Paul, it would definitely be interesting if you could perform some magic and create a new headlight assembly for HID lamps. That would be too sweet!

Oh the things I could get into if I get that lottery job... still have yet to work on the intake. Resin and some mold making material cost $$.

To do a prototype of the headlight I'd have to get another set of stock headlights ($$$) and pull them apart so I can use the parts to start a base mold. The clear lens would then have to be used with the new housing. Once the prototype is finalized, a vacuum mold would probably have to be made so that mass production is possible ($$$$).

[WyrreJ]

Aaagh! Just as it looks like I might be able to acquire a pair of headlight assemblies, it looks like these guys have gone titsup.com...

Anyone else thinking about doing business with them might want to check the current status of this thread from hidforum.com (which, btw, seems to be the definitive place to go on the net to learn about HID upgrades):

http://hidforum.com/forum/showthread...&threadid=1039

[valenki]

I have seen some on e-bay about 2 months ago. They were 400 bucks and 8000 K temperature xenon and kryptone lights. Therefore someone must be making them already ????



Hope you can come to the King Richard's Fair, good luck!

[WyrreJ]

Anything with that high of a color temp is going to be junk. OEM HIDs have color temps right around 4200K, there are some reasonable aftermarket systems that have bulbs up to 6000K, but from my reading on hidforum those are kind of iffy. Plus there are HIDs and then there are projectors and then there are projector HIDs, the last two, if done right, providing the cleanest, safest lighting. Sounds like the kryptone ones were just hid replacement bulbs, which is the kind of system that has inherent flaws such that bulb-only HID kits were banned by FHTSA last month.

Probably won't make it to the KRF meet, I usually don't get up until 2PM or so on saturdays so you guys are scheduled waaay too early for me...

[TDAWG]

wow I just saw this post. I can't beleive that. When WyrreJ Posted about these I went down there and checked them out. It was diffently the ones for BMW and they were working on the HIDs on about 4 cars there. I can't believe that they have become that shady. If we would have agree to do a group buy I would have personally seen to making sure that everyone got theirs. that is why I don't really buy anything off the web if I don't see up close and personal or if I don't have someone in the area that can look out for me.

[Dallas4u]

Just wanted to post that I found a Hella HID kit for $400:

Xtomic.net

[paultvx]

Those are single beam lights. You'd lose your high beam and ability to flash. The kits are also not Hella. A lot of places claim that because it's been said online in various forums that Hella is the one to get... what people don't spend time to read into (and pass on to others) is that what's really been said is "Hella ballasts" are the ones to get (most reliable), also Hella ballasts are made by Phillips. So ultimately Philliips ballasts and bulbs are the ones to get. Neither Phillips nor Hella make kits. They don't even sell the components to the public. One other thing worth knowing is that this advice that's been passed around on the net comes from experiences with the first generation of HID conversion kits. Some Korean manufacturers (K2) tried to cut cost by matching cheaper ballasts with Phillips bulbs, and then later Panasonic ballasts with their own bulb. The cheaper ballasts turned out ot be junk... but they got to mention the Phillips name in their packaging. Also, there are counterfeit Phillips and Hella kits out there from Korea and Taiwan. You can usually tell in the packaging. If the color printing on the box looks like low quality printing (typical of products from Taiwan and Korea) it's most likely one of the fakes. Notice on the page they say Hella, but in the diagram the ballasts are labeled "Eagle Eye". I've seen these cheap single beam kits for as low as $289. www.groupbuycenter.com is usually a good place to find deals like that.

Also... this may have been mentioned in this thread already, the NHTSA and DOT made a recent ruling to ban all aftermarket HID kits. So if the coppers really want to or are familiar with this ruling, you can get pulled over and fined for using a HID conversion kit. Those living in areas that have mandator DOT inspections, they will catch you at the inspections (but there are ways around it) and the tickets are most likely mere "fix it' tickets.

As for what Jeff from HIDs4less said above... bunch of BS. You gotta remember this guy wanted to take the money and run. He would've told anything to get your dollars. I had a new in box Catz kit, which I recently returned to Catz USA because they're offering a recall/refund because of the NHTSA/DOT ruling (very nice of them to do it too). Can you see HIDs4less doing something like this?? Not even a snowball's chance in hell. I tested the kit without installing it into the VX and it worked flawlessly. HIDs4less's bad reputation goes way back. Since I first heard of them 4 years ago, I haven't heard one good thing. I can't believe he even slammed Bellof. Bellof is like one of the best kits out there (hence the high price).

HID kits have gotten so popular that the business of selling them have attracted a lot of people who are only interested in making quick cash. Buyer beware. Stick with the name brands and avoid the backyard shack mix and match kits.

[Dallas4u]

Good to know as I am not very referenced when it comes to HID. I merely saw these kits and thought they were somewhat cheap. I did see the "Eagle Eye" on the side of the ballasts, not knowing what the heck that was.

I don't keep up with HID info much as I've never been that interested in converting.

[paultvx]

I don't know much about the Bohmen brand... but the kits look ok.

http://www.proxenon.com/view_product...?category_id=1

Companies will claim that you don't need high beams for two reasons:

1. They're using the wrong bulb: D2S... which is most common when they should be using D2R which has a stationary shield to help reduce glare. D2R bulbs are less common, therefor more expensive to source. Note, I said help reduce glare. Ultimately it's better to use E-code (European code) projector lens type lamps with HIDs. The cutoff is much sharper and much less glare beyond the cutoffs.

2. They lack the technical know-how to design and produce the mechanisms necessary to produce a bi-xenon bulb... whether it is a solenoid based system or a mechanical shutter system. Or, they have no interest in investing $ in R & D... which is probably the case with HIDs4less given their record with money handling. Bellof uses a solenoid base, so does Catz.