HID Light Kits

4008 Views 11 Replies 6 Participants Last post by nevadagarth, Sep 1, 2005

Ridge Man

Discussion Starter · Aug 26, 2005

Am sitting on the fence on this subject, gotta to know more about them. Legal to buy--Illegal to Install-- street legal ??? Would appreciate feed back on them, what's your 02 on this topic??

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I believe they are illegal in most places. That is if it is not OEM. BMW, Mercedes, and some Acuras have HID as factory equipment. They are legal - DOT approved.

I understand the reasoning behind the law against aftermarket sales of HID. Most people purchase the wrong kind and install them incorrectly. The intensity and dispersion of the HID bulb does not match the factory lens pattern, either.

HID conversion is very popular - big business. People selling the stuff will tell you all kinds of lies. Best bet is to check with your local police or Province/State/County motor vehicle branch.

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shingles

· #3 · Aug 26, 2005

Ridge Man said:
Am sitting on the fence on this subject, gotta to know more about them. Legal to buy--Illegal to Install-- street legal ??? Would appreciate feed back on them, what's your 02 on this topic??

They are actually illegal to sell and install aftermarket kits in the USA.
The BEST way to get HID in our car is to have someone retrofit BiXenon projectors from say an Acura TL or BMW 3 series.

Now the retro route, should technically be legal. The units you are using are DOT approved from the TL or 3 series.

That's the route I am going to go. Typical aftermarket off the shelf system does not provide good lighting pattern and cut off.

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captmiddy

· #4 · Aug 26, 2005

I have never understood the appeal of these things. Most places people drive aren't that dark anyway, so all you are really doing is blinding the guy coming toward you for no reason. If you want to know dark, drive on a back road in northern Maine, now that is dark. There is so much light around where I am that you could drive around after night fall without your headlights and not even notice they weren't on if it were for the people flashing you. Besides you just become a target for people who steal the HID lights to put into their vehicles.

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rrbhokies

· #5 · Aug 26, 2005

What about replacement bulbs like Sylvania's Silverstar and "Cool Blue" lights. They aren't as bright as the HID lights, but they are supposed to be brighter than stock lights.

However, when I checked the Sylvania website, they don't list the 2006 Ridgeline yet. Has anyone replaced their bulbs with Silverstars or the like and if so, how well have they worked for you and what are the replacement part numbers?

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shingles

· #6 · Aug 26, 2005

Those bulbs are NOT and never WILL be brighter than your oe lights. To obtain that color (color temp) they have to tint the bulb. Tinting the bulb removes a lot of light outputs(lumens).

The appear of true DOT approved HID - they provide a LOT more light and provide much better contrast. Step behind the wheel of a car with good HIDS (there are good and bad ones) you will never look back. Having said that, the Ridgeline has pretty darn good lights.

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nevadagarth

· #7 · Aug 26, 2005

I used both the Sylvania Silverstar's and the "Cool Blues" (or similar name) on my '03 Accord and my wife's previous Subarus. DO NOT buy the cheap "Cool Blues" (or similar). They are cheap for a reason. I think the longest I got a set to work was about 5 months. One of them would always burn out. I finally ponied up the money and put the Silverstar's in my Accord. I really liked them. They do produce a brighter, whiter color. It was really amazing how "yellow" the old halogen bulbs are compared to the Silverstar's. These bulbs are also the same shape as the original bulbs so the lighting pattern should be the same and not compromise the light beam's path.

As far as the website not listing them, just either bring a bulb into an autoparts store and ask someone for help or just find out what the bulb number is and go into the store and buy them. The Ridgeline is not going to have unique bulbs. They will be off the shelf bulbs that you could get almost anywhere.

I will eventually replace my factory bulbs with the Silverstar's when I get around to it. The brightness and whiteness just really helps make images in the beam path stand out more. Think of them as High Definition bulbs.

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shingles

· #8 · Aug 26, 2005

User trucks use H4/9003 bulbs.

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nevadagarth

· #9 · Aug 26, 2005

Thank you shingles.......you just saved me some leg work. I may go buy them on my way home tongiht!

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nevadagarth

· #10 · Aug 30, 2005

I took some pictures from my installation of Sylvania Silverstar HID look-a-like headlights. The total install time was under 10 minutes. Cost was $32.98 + tax. The auto parts store I bought them at was offering to install them for $5.

Tips:

#1 Gently open the packaging in order to save it to store the factory lights.

#2 Allow a couple of minutes for the bulbs to cool before removing them if they have been on. The heat up quickly.

Once I get the photos sized down, I will post them. In the mean time, just send me a note and I can e-mail them to you.

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nevadagarth

· #11 · Sep 1, 2005

Here are the before and after pictures.

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nevadagarth

· #12 · Sep 1, 2005

And here are the during photos. I installed the Silverstar Headlights on the driver's side first.

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HID Light Kits

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