[IronStomach]

I was wondering what people's thoughts were with the '08 HID headlights. I'm looking at an '07 GT that has the driving lights but no HID, obviously (... '08's are the first year HIDs are offered).

Do the driving lights help compensate alot? I live out in the far, far western burbs of Chicago and bright lights are definitely a necessity - two lane and even four lane roads with no street lights are very common.

The '07s are $1500 cheaper and I'm sure the dealer could cut me more slack on the '07 than the '08.

There aren't any aftermarket conversion kits I would trust - calibrating HIDs so you don't blind people is a PITA. But by the same token, the '07 is prolly gonna be $3,000 cheaper - and I don't know if HIDs are worth three grand. Three grand would get me a spyder shaft and some yummy, yummy suspension mods.

Thoughts?

[Luis_GT]

I drive through pitch black roads all the time and the stock head + fog lights light the road well... bet then again... I have good vision

[Emay]

Efyl,

I have my fogs relocated down for the aftermarket fascia, and that lessened my lighting, but those fog/driving lights are not that great and they turn off when you turn on your bright lights.

I did add some Sylvania Silverstar bulbs in the headlamps and they brightened things up considerably, they are no where close to HID material though. I'm close to you, and if Huntley road is a familiar road for you head out toward RT 47 and such, then you know I travel some dark roads as well. I see fine and cannot even come close to saying HIDS are worth the 3k. Keep in mind, the 08 hids are not projectored hids.

[06RedfireGT]

You could try to get some of the Saleen HIDs off of Ebay.

[Goldenpony]

Before you say there are no after market kits you would trust, look into Retro-Solutions.com. They're much more sophisticated than most of the kits.

[IronStomach]

Originally Posted by Goldenpony Before you say there are no after market kits you would trust, look into Retro-Solutions.com. They're much more sophisticated than most of the kits.

Thanks for the link, Goldenpony. Those angel eye kits look pretty gosh darn cool. I'm almost sorry I'm trading in my wanna-be-a-ricer Scion any day now on an understated muscle car. Those would have looked nice on the little scion.

And you're right, Retro-Solutions do look like they try pretty hard with their retrofitting.

But aren't retrofitted lamps illegal?

I'm not one to shy away from something merely because there are vague rules about it and someone (me, heh) posts a stern warning from some website - but they make at least one good point - the original halogen enclosure, with all of its refracting surfaces, is focused by the engineers at the OEM R&D specifically for the halogen bulb, not a xenon arc. Apparently that changes the reflections considerably and is why the aftermarket HID kits have bits of glare that pop out beyond the angle of the intended cutoff.

I guess my mistake was in assuming all factory HID lighting is the same. Do the Ford HID systems have an auto-levelling feature that the European cars do? From what Emay said, I'm beginning to think I'd be expecting too much.

I wonder about the practicality of attempting to mod in an auto-levelling feature. Can't be that hard... I just wonder if its worth the bother. I was used to the systems from BMW and never, ever got any angry flashed lights while motoring around in my poor ole z4.

[06RedfireGT]

Originally Posted by EfylSetaf I'm almost sorry I'm trading in my wanna-be-a-ricer Scion any day now on an understated muscle car.

If you are that worried about it just buy the Saleen HIDs.

[IronStomach]

Originally Posted by 06RedfireGT If you are that worried about it just buy the Saleen HIDs.

Dude... you're right. Those do sound good. The certified compliant with DOT regulations sounds good too. I'm in the middle of a deal for an '08 Dark Candy Apple Red right now (HIDs weren't the deciding factor after all), but if the deal falls apart, I'll aim for an 07 Redfire next month and add the Saleen HIDs later.

Hehehe. Thanks for the info everyone! I certainly learned a helluva lot about headlights. Damn, and not the ladies' kind either!

[06GTMustang89]

HID Dual Beam Headlight Conversion Kit for 2005+ Mustang (H13 Bulb)

those aren't good?? i was thinking about those...

[Luis_GT]

Originally Posted by 06GTMustang89 HID Dual Beam Headlight Conversion Kit for 2005+ Mustang (H13 Bulb) those aren't good?? i was thinking about those...

it just converts the lines to support HID lights... the stock headlights aren't made for HID... you need headlights designed for the HID ark

[IronStomach]

Originally Posted by Luis_GT it just converts the lines to support HID lights... the stock headlights aren't made for HID... you need headlights designed for the HID ark

Exactly. From what I've read, the housings made for Halogens have reflector panels designed, engineered and tested for the point where a halogen gives off light.

The kits that put "xenon bulbs" in the stock housing are technically illegal in the US and Canada (and most of Europe and South American nations, etc,) because the xenon (HID) arc point is different from the Halogen point. The end result is the housing, with all the reflective surfaces aimed specifically for halogens, can never fully and accurately reflect the Xenons and thus have the possibilty of sending light directly at the eyes of an oncoming driver. Which is very, very, very painful. Ow.

But if Saleen actually did develope their own system that's DOT approved, that works for me.

[leebunnyz]

where exactly can i find these saleen HID's????

[Luis_GT]

@ the saleen intranets webbing site

[leebunnyz]

LOL @ $900 for headlights!

[Luis_GT]

yah...

[IronStomach]

It looks like they're sold out too. And Ebay turns up nothing. Talk about wild snipe hunts.

Darn. Xenons don't dare cost that much even on fancy sports cars....

[06RedfireGT]

Just buy a Saleen that already has them

[TheUNZippee!]

I'm with Emay, go for some GE Silverstars, they work very well.

[06RedfireGT]

Originally Posted by TheUNZippee! I'm with Emay, go for some Sylvania Silverstars, they work very well.

Fix T

I have these in my Expedition and they were a big improvment.

[TheUNZippee!]

lol thx. It doesn't help that I delivered to both companies this past week.