Say you have a budget of $800-$1000 CDN for a retrofit to be done (someone else will be doing it for me). What components would you use? what kind of look would you have? I'm still debating if I want the lights to be painted black.. (I have a 07 SSM Sport) or just left stock colour...

so I'm just trying to get ideas of different bezels, projectors, lenses etc... any helps and or existing setup pics would be greatly appreciated!

 

I also have a ssm fit and, I want a set made for me to, The do need to be black they look better that way. But as far as the feature's I personally want the q45 machine gun projectors, with the audi R* style led's in the bordering the bottom, with a Hid 8000k setup but thats just me if for some strange reason you feel like thats How you want them built the make sure You give me the credit for coming up with the Idea.

 

I'm toying with the Q45 projector look... haven't seen enough yet though to get a good idea... for me, I wouldn't get the LED's... and I would go 4300K

do you have any pics or links to pics of some prior Q45 projector setup done on our cars?

 

I agree, 8000k looks horrible and barely puts off any light. Definately paint the headlight housing black, your on the right track.

 

800k should put out more light than 4300k I like the led's the audi's have put that just my taste, and not exactly sure I would do it anyway cause thats more things to have to wire but the Q45 projectors and HID's is a must

 

the member BITOY would be your man for these questions

 

I'd like to see someone do this:

Although that would be more of a custom fabrication than a retrofit...

 

id recommend the reliable, fx45 projectors...allows you to keep your high beams. OEM 4300 phillips bulbs( there is no bulb with better lighting). if you want more color, mod the projector...dont change the bulb.
i used a gas stove drip plate as a shroud. i know its not the "nice" chrome ones that you can buy for $80+...but it got the job done, fits perfectly (after making the center hole larger and making the overall diameter slighly smaller), and only cost me $10.
polish is before its installed and it will nearly match the chrome housing perfectly.

also, go for OEM ballasts. id recomend anything off of an OEM equiped car except for honda/acura. their ballasts arent sealed very well and need special care when mounting them to not allow water near them. other ballasts are sealed better and dont need to be so picky (my lexus ballasts havent had a problem yet after 1 year). a tip for ballast location is screwed into the bottom of the headlight housing. just coat the screw in silicone before you put it in so that it seals the housing tight.

 

8k bulbs put out alot less light than 4300k.

anytign higher than 4300k is slowly moving to"blacklight" territory. 4300 is as close to sunlight as you can get.

 

It doesn't realy work like that. 4k-6k is about the idea range to be in for the best light. any higher then that and you start loosing light and getting color. Those ricers running around with the purple HID PnP kits probable have less light output then there OEM lights.

As for suggestions im going with the FX35 projectors and having the lights color matched, although my car is NHBP.

 

ya, I'm going with 4300K Phillips... probably Matsushita ballasts.... probably gen2 ... but maybe 3, if I can get it sealed properly.. supposedly they're not water-proof....

the colour of the housing matched you mean? to the car? ie. don't paint the current housing? I'm still debating with that ... because everyone and their mom paints their housing's black (no matter what colour car)... but I still like that look... and black looks pretty good on SSM

 

just wanna contribute here are some pics of an SSM retrofit with the red and purple ring inside but on a black fit just to give you an idea of how it would look.

 

haha there you are

 

I have seen a 8000k kit in person and it s definatly brighter than the stock lights, so im not exactly sure where your info on that came from or what kit you seen or used before, it is purpleish in color but, the police around here seem to ignore those. I am allready aware of the fact that you cant use the high beam with the q45 projector, but in my state you cannot get caught using your high beams, and you cannot have headlights to bright either. Now if your car came with HID's and its bright enuff to get you pulled over that you have to prove that your car came factory with those lights so I more than likely wont want the purple color so as not to draw attension. But if what you say is true then I dont really want 4-6k cause it will be to bright.
Does anybody know how many (K) the 2005 Nissan Mirano HID,s are, something thats a little less bright would be perfect for my state

 

look at light wave length graphs and check out hidplanet.com. 4300k has the most usable light. higher kelvin may appear brighter, but its not.
http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/view...ghlight=kelvin
from hidplanet:
http://faqlight.carpassion.info/hl-general.htm
BTW, ALL cars with OEM HId's come with 4300k bulbs. if there is a difference in the color or flickering, its becuase of the projector.

and just as my contribution, heres my retro

 

So if what your saying is true then all cars that come with HID's from the factory are 4300k, but from what your chart says that 4300k should be white, but there are plenty of cars that I have seen with factory hid light that are blueish, or kinda purple colored, and I am sure the second gen Acura TL did not have a projector, and neither did the 90's A4 when they were first offered with a HID from the factory, but had a kinda blue kinda purple color. IDK cause im not a expert on the hid thing but have had and installed quit a few sets of them and I tell you what I do know the white and white/yellow ones get you into alot of trouble in maryland, so either way I do not need them to be the brightest, I dont need to use the high beams, and they dont need to be closet to natural light. Just need to be brighterthan stock which I know they will be. I figured out what I need based solely on being legal which I thought I explained in my last post. But maybey other state law are different. But I did come up with a chart I sourced from tmtuning and there kits come in different colors regardless of kelvins it puts out and a in car view of what the differnt kits look like. It does show even the 12000k purple lights are brighter than stock, and are the dullest most colorful ones.
HID kit, H1, 4500K US $ 249.00 / set order no.: EC-128-3
HID kit, H1, 6000K (white) US $ 249.00 / set order no.: EC-128-1
HID kit, H1, 8000K (white/blue) US $ 249.00 / set order no.: EC-128-2
HID kit, H3, 4500K US $ 249.00 / set order no.: EC-129-3
HID kit, H3, 6000K (white) US $ 249.00 / set order no.: EC-129-1
HID kit, H3, 8000K (white/blue) US $ 249.00 / set order no.: EC-129-2
HID kit, H4 double beam, 4500K US $ 299.00 / set order no.: EC-130-3
HID kit, H4 double beam, 6000K (white) US $ 299.00 / set order no.: EC-130-1
HID kit, H4 double beam, 8000K (white/blue) US $ 299.00 / set order no.: EC-130-2
HID kit, H7, 4500K US $ 249.00 / set order no.: EC-131-3
HID kit, H7, 6000K (white) US $ 249.00 US $ 189.00 / set order no.: EC-131-1
HID kit, H7, 8000K (white/blue) US $ 249.00 US $ 189.00 / set order no.: EC-131-2
HID kit, 9006, 4500K US $ 249.00 / set order no.: EC-132-3
HID kit, 9006, 6000K (white) US $ 249.00 / set order no.: EC-132-1
HID kit, 9006, 8000K (white/blue) US $ 249.00 / set order no.: EC-132-2
HID kit, 9007, 6000K (white) US $ 249.00 / set order no.: EC-133-1
HID kit, 9007, 8000K (white/blue) US $ 249.00 / set order no.: EC-133-2
HID single beam bulb (1 PIECE) US $ 59.00 / pc order no.: EC-133-3
HID H4 dual beam bulb (1 PIECE) US $ 69.00 / pc order no.: EC-133-4

 

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/gaug...rojectors.html

just got these installed

works awsome

 

the OEM HID bulb is always 4300k. the projector cutoff changes the color that you see.
if you have a friend with a car that has OEM projectors, have them park 30ish feet from a white wall. at the cutoff you will probably see a small "rainbow" of coloring. you can slightly see it in this pic...its the blue coloring to the left and right of the center. the further that car gets from the wall, the larger that blue area becomes...that is the color you see. all the light below the cutoff is that pure white 4300k light.


most people that go through the process of retrofitting want more of that color, but dont want to sacrafice light (which would happen by putting in bulbs higher than 4300k)
here you can see a modded porjector to get more color, yet still using a 4300k bulb.


cars such as the tl and other that had HIDs without projectors also use 4300k bulbs (reflector housing is specifically designed for HIDs though). the color is still the white lgiht, its jsut your eyes thinking they are bluer...but if you ever compare them next to a higher kelvin light, you would see the difference instantly.

im not sure why you think that white hids attract cops...its the blue/purple ones that do. and of course yellow.
lumens = intensity of the light that you see
kelvin = color.....yellow->white->blue->purple. dont confuse kelvin for light output..its only the color.
to sum it up the higher the kelvin the lower the lumens.

 

What he said ^^^

4300k is the only way to go if you want more light.

Anything over won't be as bright and you'll get harrased by cops. As mentioned the bluish purple tint you see is the cutoff. Some cars cutoffs are more pronounced than others depending on the cars height and other factors.

 

Because I have been pulled over numerous times for this allready, not saying they should be able to but its not like I could have refused to pull over. Just like the high beams, the reason they come on cars is help you see better but if you ever been riding on a back road, and turned on your high beams to see better, but the sharp corner kept you from noticing a on coming car and when you pass them with your high beams on, and come to find out it was a cop you just passed you will more than likely get a ticket just like I did. Yes its stupid because there there to help you see, and I neither made the law nor the car but I have been in that situation befor like I have said more than once, its not really a debate, so you dont have to explain to me the difference in the light colors, how many K and or what color they APPEAR to be. I need the headlights built for three main things.
1 to be brighter than stock
2 not to be to bright as to get harrased buy the cops, and has to be black.
3 And for it to have some color to it, to help with the fog if you ever had really bright white lights or tried to use a stock highbeam then you know that it makes it worse, and dont bother telling me to get fog lights.
Not trying to be smart but there is a reason I want the light the way I said and its not for looks, well the Q45 projecter part is but, is to have a HID for extra lighting and saftey without the hassel of the cops. My black housing projector headlight I had on my DA integra with the 8000k where the only set that didnt attract cops, which is more than I can say for my previous 3k or 6k kits. I never had a 4K kit or seen anybody try them, even though I think they would be to bright based on info you gave and the both charts you and I posted.
But im sure you been a help to somebody's situation, just not sure you have really understood mine