I got these off of Ebay - genuine Hella ballasts and Philips 4100K D2R bulbs. Look for auctions by sebas233, he's really easy to deal with. THey will take a while to arrive due to customs, but can't beat the price . . . $220 shipped.

First thing I did was sacrifice an H7 bulb for the ring. I JB welded it on, and cut a bit of the D2S away to create the notch. When putting the ring on, the insulator wire should be pointing down, with the notch facing up.

 

Then I cut the H7 connector off and soldered on a heavy duty 9006 connector I got from Pep boys. The polarity is wrong on the plug, so I just reversed the pins. Double shrink wrapped the wires.

 

I mounted the ballast right under the headlight. It barely fit - took a bit of wedging. I JB Welded the ballast in place, and secured it with tie wraps. I also had to cut a bit of plastic away to make room for the new 9006 plug.

 

I then mounted the blubs in place. Remember folks - never touch a blub. The wire that keeps the bulb in place needs to be re-bent to allow for the new dimensions of the bulb. Its a bit of trial and error.

 

I cut a hole in the cover that seals the headlights up. Used a rubber grommet and the rubber thingy that came with the ballast. Sealed it up with some silicone and she be ready to turn on.

 

Here they are turned on. On the left are Silverstars, on the right the new HIDs. There definitly is a color difference, although my camera corrected it out. But the obvious difference in luminance is quite spectacular.

I'll have to see if I need to re-aim. If people start High-beaming me, I'll know for sure.

All told it took me way too long - most of the time trying to find the perfect location for the ballasts. When I did the second one, it took me about 45 minutes.

 

good post! as a base owner looking for HIDS..I am very jealous.
They look great.

 

In the picture it seems like the SilverStars looked pretty good too...
is it because of the camera? or did the Silver Stars look that good in person? do they look like cheap bulbs, or they do look HID like as they claim?
please let me know..
by the way awesome work with the conversion.. as another fellow base owner.. very jealous...=)

 

Hey Aylop,,

Have u found any HIDs for a good price? I might try this one because 220 shipped is a definite good find..i haven't been able to find any lower than 350.

Khoi

 

The silverstars are ok - but they definitely have a yellow look in person next to the HIDs. (the camera couldn't handle the light and just made a white hotspot.) I'd compare the difference to yellow teeth, and freshly whitened teeth.

The thing to notice is the luminence - see how the silverstars, you can still see the turn signal bulb? The HID's corona is way larger.

Silverstars just were not bright enough too - especially at night in the rain. Check out the auctions by the guy I mentioned above - with a little luck you'll get an auction that doesn't go to high. It took me a good month to get that price.

 

Dave 079...

Was the Brightstar a plug in installation? This thread seems to require a lot of modifications to the bulbs and the wiring. I'm looking for a plug in type installation.

Les

 

dave,

do u have any pics? im considering this too but i i thought it was a d2s type bulb and our z uses d2r..how is the light reflection?

 

thanks Dave...do u have any pics against a wall?
just want to see how much light is emitting.
i really want these but just want to be sure..
thanks

 

thanks Dave...do u have any pics against a wall?
just want to see how much light is emitting.
i really want these but just want to be sure..
thanks

 

Thanks Dave!
also, was it just plug n play. u didnt have to do any cutting did you? when the hids are on, do u still see that annoying yellow parking bulbs on? I have some cheapo xenons but i can still see the yellow bulbs,,,