Hi,
okay i've been reading through a few HID lighting threads. I have the base Z and wanna get the look of the enth. and up headlights. I know i need around 5000k and sdr. BUT i dont wanna pay 200 bucks. I was looking around and found "super white xenon bulbs" for like 50 bucks. Is that way off or what? Is there anything around 150 range or just under and how long will they last. also, what about the little daytime lights that i keep on during the day and at sunset.. what lights do i get for those because i dont wanna have xenon or whatever for the headlights and not the little ones. thanks in advance for any help
-michael

 

should have bought the enthusaists.

Cheap!

dont waste your money on Fake xenon ****.....they are worthless.

save up and buy a kit!

 

dont want to pay for HID? no problem, you didnt.. this is why you still have factory halogen headlamps.

now, you have three choices:
a) pay for HID
b) pay for bulbs that look but dont perform like HID
c) keep what you have

good luck,
- mike

 

$200 to upgrade to HID ????? DAAMN!! i'd be more than happy to pay that, even if it is US dollars !!!

we're talking AUS$1000+ over here...

 

200$ hid kit sounds cheap to me as well, they are more like 3-400 for a good kit.

the bulbs you saw are little more than a blue coated halogen bulb, and are not worth 50$. they are not HID or anything even remotely like it. they are just tinted with blue to offset the yellow. this tint makes them dimmer than a regular halogen bulb. sometimes they will fill the bulb with xenon which is cooler and lets them run them hotter without harming the housing. still, not remotely like HID.

if you want HID, buy HID, and pay more than 200$.

 

ouch i almost feel like ive been flamed...ok then. I was reading other posts about buying bulbs that put around 5000k and were around 200 bucks. still no good? i know it wont be exactly like OEM but if i can get the look close enough i will be happy...

 

ha the other thread you read are probably about people UPgrading their factory HIDs about 4300k...to 5000k HID BULBS.

you can do this once you have a kit. ballasts etc.

you cant use a HID bulb without a kit.
Plus 5000k aint enough for me either.....6000k all the way

 

I had a set of PIAA superwhites on my old non HID max. They did perform well. Gave a brighter white definatly.

 

HID bulbs won't work with proper ballaster. Basically HID kit is composed of 3 components. HID bulb, Ballaster, and wiring plugs. Since you have halogen light system, you will need to buy a HID kit. And if you are going to, don't hesitate investing money and buy some good ones with reputable names. Bulbs don't make huge difference, but the quality of ballaster determines pretty much everything of that HID kit's quality. (If you get cheap HID kit, the ballaster is more likely less quality and it'll eventualy cause problems. A lot of problems reported on HID kit is due to those ballasters.)

Or another alternative and cost-effective choice is to get a HID-look bulb like you said. Of course some random crap won't do sh*t. Get PIAA Extreme White bulbs or Plasma white or whatever. (They have so many different bulbs with different names.) You can find them at ebay easily.(Around $60-$90) Just read the description carefully and pick one that fits your taste most. A friend of mine used that bulb in his Audi A6 (His car didn't come with Xenon either) and it looked really nice. I couldn't tell that much of an diffenence with real HID lights. (Maybe cuz I don't have sensitive eyes. ) And they DO PERFORM BETTER than halogens, but not better than HID obviously. Just make sure you get PIAA and H7 size.

 

Id agree with the 6000k comment, all things equal if your going with a kit. may as well get atleast 5500k Id head towards 6000 though.

 

The Tire Rack sells the H7 PIAA lights. Direct replacement for the Base Z.
Check it out.

http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/...tremewhite.jsp

 

u Z drivers are lucky...at least u got projectors...the Gs dont got as white lights as the Zs has

 

Ok, well thank you all for the help...I think i'll give the piaa h7 extreme whites a try and let ya'll know if they look at all like HID. What about the little daytime light...what size is that? thanks

 

ares 4 posts up sells those little ones. Click his link. They look real good.

 

i looked at his website ... how do i know which size i need? will just any of the white ones work or do i have to have the perfect size?

 

i have a 2004 touring roadster. what is the kelvin rating of the bulb that comes in the car?

 

1) Ballasts do not determine a good or bad HID, its the entire kit that matters. The issue with HID kits is that they are not legal for sale in the US and therefor, the smaller companies that manufacturer these products have a lot of inconsistencies. I've seen angled bulbs which should be straight, cheap wiring, you name it. You have a car that came with HID, getting factory HID is the best option. Second best would be to buy one from a reputable vendor, try: http://autolamps-online.com/

2) PIAA is like monster cable, all marketing. While Monster Cable does sell nice quality wire, its over-rated. Same goes for PIAA, their bulbs are designed for show with NO benefits in terms of light output. Paying more than 40-50 for a pair of bulbs is just absurd.

- mike / clearcorners.com

 

So if i want just a bulb for show effect I need to go just find a cheap 30$ bulb from say sylvania maybe? I saw some but couldn't find anything in H7 and also dont know what size for the little daytime light.

 

Just get the PIAA's I had them in my max for like 5 years. They worked great, never blew out and gave a high quality pure white light. The imitation bulbs you run a chance of them burning out easier. At least in my opinion.

-Steve

 

ares' little parking bulbs are type 194 and use one super bright LED, much brighter than any "bulb" out there. I have tried several . . .currently I am using a 6 led 194 type bulb from superbrightleds.com.

While they are much cheaper than ares bulb, the longevity is not great. I think the housing gets too hot for them due to the other bulbs. I run these 6 led 194 bulbs in several places and the parking light location burns them out one led at a time. I can change them in a matter of minutes now so its no big deal. I am a few bulbs shy of ordering ares bulbs. Infact while I am thinking about it today I will go ahead and get some. JAG, you are getting some too cause no need to keep changing these.