Topic: HID Conversion...is it worth it?

[SCUBA_Dale]

Hey guys, I need some advice.  Is it really worth doing the HID conversion on my headlights, or should I put my money toward other upgrades?  I got the HID bulbs and ballasts, I would need to get projectors for headlights and Pro4x rooftop lights.  Thanks in advance!

[knightrider]

Thinking of putting HID bulbs in the stock reflector housings, NO!!! Don't do it.  No matter how low you aim the lights, you will blind everyone, and everyone will hate you(ok maybe that's just me, but I loathe people with HID conversions that use them on the street.)

Retrofitting an HID projector into the headlights, YES!!! Do it.  It's something you will use every night, totally worth it IMO. 

the roof lights are actually ok with just putting an HID conversion bulb in the stock housing, since they are offroad lights, you don't have to worry about blinding oncoming traffic.  I ran 9005 HID bulbs in the stock roof lights for a couple years and the output much better than the stock halogen bulbs.  I prefer how the HID conversion bulbs scatter light everywhere (the same reason why I hate them on the street) and give you near 180* of light vs the spot pattern of the stock halogens.  It makes exploring in the dark much better.

[EJsarus]

Would LED light bulbs have the same output pattern as HIDs?

OP, have you considered LED bulbs?

[RikRong]

I've run HID and LED at some point or the other. IMO, the LEDs are even worse than HIDs in stock housings.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

[steve c]

Here's my post about doing a retrofit conversion.

I finally made the leap to HID projectors!  Why the hell did I wait so long?¡

I ordered the miniD2S from The retrofit Source

Here's my exact order as there are like a million options

Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III (D2S)   
Bi-xenon Projectors   
2 x D2S 3.0: (O Lens/LHD)    
Compatible Ballasts   
2 x 35W: Morimoto XB35 Computer    
Ballast Igniters (Required)   
2 x Morimoto XB Igniter (D2S)
D2S HID Bulbs   
2 x D2S: XB 4500K
Shroud Style (Preference)   
2 x Apollo 3.0
Harness (Match stock bulb size)   
1 x MotoControl Bixenon: 9007/9004 
LED Halos   
2 x 100mm XSB Switchback

Here are some comparison shots.  Nothing scientific, but hey it's something!

Shot with (a week old and brand new to me) Sony a6000.

Camera settings
F8, 800 iso, 0.4 sec awb

(and for the sake of transparency and because I forgot, the stock shots are at 23mm while the HID shots are at 18mm)

The goal with the before shots was to choose the settings that best represented what I saw with my eye.  Is it perfect, definitely not.  Will it serve, SURE!

Low beam no fogs

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

Low beam fogs don't matter anymore

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

High beam no fogs

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

High beam no fogs

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

The difference is unbelievable.  Well worth the money and Jordan's effort. 

Now, if you guys care, here are some shots from our long day doing these.
If I was to do this again, I would do it over a few days.  It can be done in one VERY long day.  It's not physically demanding, but there are a lot of steps that all have time associated with them.  Oven, paint etc. 

Like I said earlier about being scientific... Tape on the garage! 
We even had tape on the driveway, but I didn't take a photo of that

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

Some disassembly required

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

I thought Jordan was kidding when he said we have to bake the lights... He wasn't

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

This step loosens the sealant enough so you can pull apart the lens from the housing

200F for about 20-25 minutes is what the recipe calls for

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

Ask Jordan how hot they were, .  He only had one glove. 

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

Presto-Bango! 
 

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

This is the part of the project that makes buying a pre done kit so expensive.  The labor!  These retrofits, at least on our Xterras are totally custom jobs.  You don't just buy a projector and drop it in the headlight hole and call it good.  Well maybe you can, but then you have a teeny-tiny projector that's not really worth it! 

So, Jordan made the whole bigger!
This presented an unforeseen problem-o... The projector needs to sandwich in there, but because we had to widen the hole, it had nothing to bite on.  Out come the calipers.  We measured the ID and OD of the space we need and started googling.  Jordan determined that we basically needed and M36 size washer, which is NOT available at your local Home Depot.  But, we came up with a plan!

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

To HOME DEPOT!  (and O'Reilly's twice)

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

An electrical conduit washer will serve just perfect with a little ID boring. 

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

Once back at the house, we figured we better make sure all of this works... It works!

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

Now it was time to scuff up those shiny chrome shrouds and headlight reflectors.
I do have to commend The Retrofit Source on the superb packaging of the shrouds.  I think they were in like 4 layers of packaging.  Kind of a shame that I took 320 grit to them! 

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

PAINT!

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

You can see in this picture that the shroud has been modified.  This was required to allow them to sit flush and nice inside the housing.
I ordered the biggest projectors we thought would fit and luckily they did!  Again, labor and custom.

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

It's been a LONG day and it's not over by a long shot. 

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

Our paint drying station

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

Here's everything assembled in the housing right before we put them back in the oven

HID Conversion...is it worth it?

We finished around 1am! 

HID Conversion...is it worth it?