[jlcartoon]

hello all.
(little long but would greatly appreciate it if you can read and write your input)
I bought my 06' super white tC last december and have been looking into random forums including this one for some insight on HID mods..
even after reading all the pros and cons about both PLUG-PLAY HID KIT and the option of RETROFIT, i am still confused as to what's a better option for me.
i would greatly appreciate all of your INPUTS...

well.. ultimately, if the money wasnt' the issue here i will definitely want to wait for http://www.umnitza.com/ to make their retrofit with projector lens and halo ring and all that good stuff but i know it will cost at least about $700 when included with HID set and i don't know if it is wise for me spend this much $$ on overall what is just headlights. (BTW.. because of stupid work, i didn't have time to follow up on this... does anyone know the update on UMNITZA's project??)

On the other hand, the cheapest alternative is just to try out one of the reputable PLUG/PLAY HID KIT (Mcculloch) which is more affordable costing me about $300 at (http://www.xenonpros.com/philips4300k.html) in my original refelctive housing. however, there seems to be huge negative opinions about this option, not to mention, it's ILLEGAL. i have ran into numerous number of websites and articles online bashing on the PLUG and PLAY kit, bottom line all claiming the light pattern of HID bulb was not meant to be used with halogen headlight housing, which results in 2)poor beam pattern(poor vision) 2)poor cut-off (blinding oncoming traffic) 3)did i mention ILLEGAL?

regardless, i see that many are using the PLUG and PLAY KIT just lowering their beams not to blind people, avoiding tickets.. but how well does this actually work as far as your sight vision? i try to look for some pics, comparing HID KIT vs RETRO beam pattern and cut-off. yet, i only saw pics of RETRO and not too many for HID KIT except for this one...
http://www.yoursciontc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9153
I would love to hear from the ones that already have the PLUG and PLUG kIT installed. why did you pick KIT over RETRO? and your evaluation on the PLUG/PLAY kit.

last but not the least option is...
They have the reputable HID Retro set for about $450, cost which falls between the two previous options at...
http://www.hidplanet.com/package.html
however, i am not sure how easy the installation is...
and part of me is telling me, if i am going to spend 450, why not spend little more and get a bad @## looking HID with halo for $600ish..

so what do you guys THINK??

 

[Plissken]

Just a little note: Any HID install is illegal unless installed as an OEM option. All the others including a good retro are sold under the disclaimer of "for off-road use only". Just so you know.

 

[Einstein]

I thought that I read that Eggnog was selling his old setup...or who was that....damn.

Looked clean.

 

[tcrease]

You end up getting those Jake?

 

[EddNog]

Yeah he's buying my current lamps (with an upgrade to the halos!) once I get my new ones in.

W/regard to the topic at hand: all non-oem lighting is illegal, including my retrofits. The only difference is that mine looks more like something oem, so cops are less likely to give me trouble about them, but they still can if they choose to.

-Ed

 

[krdshrk]

Look around - I've posted pics of mine, and the cutoff, and the view while driving. The Flowlighting HID Kit is what I have.

 

[JFBP4991]

I would go with Plug-Play.
Faster
Cheaper
Better (IMO)

 

[fuzion]

Acura, Infiniti, and MB <maybe some others> use non-projector HIDs in some of their cars.. as mentioned above, ANY aftermarket Xenon/HID kit is illegal because it doesn't have auto leveling and a high pressure wash system (dirt on the lens causes abnormal light disbursement which can irritate other drivers).

I have the McCulloch 12k kit in mine; I love it.. Projector lenses do have a nice even cut off -- but I have the plug-n-play kit because the lighting is so much better, I don't really care if it's got a straight perfect cut off line or not.


<Acura TL Headlight shot>

<Infiniti G35>

 

[jlcartoon]

thank you all for all of your comments... truly appreciate it. please keep it coming.

it is very interesting to see the differences in opinion of many people..

i posted the same exact post on hidplanet.com and all of them favor RETRO.

http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/viewtopic....abf9463b8e29b12

(you might need to sign up to see the threads)

one guy wrote...
"Assuming you can see a whole lot of nothing with your halogen headlamps and you buy a HID Plug/Play kit to get a brighter output, but... you aim your lights lower to compensate for excessive glare... The end result is that you STILL CAN'T SEE JACK. So you consider whether or not it's worth the money only to aim your lights lower so that you still can't see farther down the road."

fuzion do you have pics of your headlights.. it would be nice to see them.
also, i see that you mention that lighting is better on your McCulloch 12k.
from what i know, 12k is one of the darkest light which reduces much luminen(visibility). i am confused as to why you think that?

 

[krdshrk]

I have the Flowlighting HID kit in 8000K color. The lighting is definitely brighter than stock. I can see much more of the road and the signs are definitely brighter.

Cutoff's not to glarey.

 

[simplespirit]

^^^ Looks like the other one I commented on, the glare is horrid. It makes my eyes hurt looking at it on the screen, I can't imagine what would happen if I actually saw it in person. I'm just glad you guys don't drive around me.

I agree with the guys on the other forum, if you're going to do this then do it right and get a retrofit. It might still be illegal but at least you won't be blinding other drivers on the road.

I'm actually expecting the day where I hear on the news that some ricer is being charged with vehicular manslaughter because their "plug&play" HID lighting blinded an oncoming driver and caused an accident resulting in casualties. I'm pretty surprised it hasn't happened yet given how much I read about people putting these crappy lights in their cars.

 

[basilisk4]

I agree with you, simplespirit, but on the other hand, lots of factory-installed HIDs (especially on SUVs) are blindingly bright, too...

 

[simplespirit]

Yes, there are. Unfortunately our society has a fascination with HID even though it's been proven that it's not really superior to conventional lighting. Actually, I think the only thing that is actually better about it is that it takes less power to create an equivalent amount of light even though that light doesn't necessarily provide better vision for the driver.

It's also very well known that lighting more towards the yellow end of the spectrum is superior in foul weather so if you live in a foggy/rainy area switching to HID lighting is actually going to impede your road vision. The further up the ladder you go in light temperature the worse your lighting will be in all but crystal clear weather. How often do we have crystal clear weather anymore?

All you ever wanted to know about US automotive lighting

 

[krdshrk]

Glare is horrible? It has 2 areas of light above where the cutoff line is!

It's really not that bad. During foul weather it's not horrible either. I do want fog lights to cut under the weather - that'll help.

 

[simplespirit]

Originally posted by krdshrk@Feb 8 2006, 07:51 AM
Glare is horrible?  It has 2 areas of light above where the cutoff line is!

It looks to me like the cutoff line is one big blur where it should be very well defined. I was basing the glare comment on the picture of the actual lights, they're blinding.

Further HID reading (about retrofitting)

why HID isn't necessarily better

 

[krdshrk]

They're blinding because I have the camera under the cutoff line. The stock aiming of our cars is actually pretty decent - it shouldn't hit anyone's eyes unless you're cresting a hill.

 

[fuzion]

jlcartoon --

I took some pictures last night but for some reason my internet is being el crapo and I can't access my domain.. or my other domain.. or even the comcast FTP server.. I'm @ work right now; hopefully it will be working when I get back home tonight.


I'm pretty sure mine are the 12k -- they are more purple-blueish than white; they are certainly better than halogens, I can see mucho better with them. I pass numerous cars every day with HIDs and they don't bug me at all; i'm going to assume everyone on here knows that if you stare at the headlights of an oncoming car you might get into an accident and it will most likely annoy you / bug you? That's got nothing to do with HIDs, if someone has their halogen high beams on and you stare at them the same issues are there.

 

[fuzion]

Here are my lights:

 

[krdshrk]

Nice

 

[simplespirit]

More horrid glare.

For reference, this is what the cutoff on an HID should look like (this is a fog so it would be higher on a headlight but should still be just as clean and sharp):