vdub08

Alright for the past couple days I've been doing a lot of reading on headlighting and i still do not know what i am going to do.

i can go with bulbs, but they wont be as bright as a conversion kit or a retro. They are cheap, but apparently most bulbs are crap. so bulb change is a maybe. i read eran's post and the philips xtremes dont look too bad

a conversion kit is kind of what i am leaning towards. it gets the brightness I want for a decent price. no i was not planning on getting the generic kit, but i was planning on getting the xenondepot kit that comes witht he philips bulbs, or a catz if i could find it (most likely not). but it seems like everyone on this site is against a conversion kit, but it makes life so much easier, and if i were to get my hands on a catz, would anyone object that? and I havent gotten any good reason why a conversion kit is bad except for the fact that the components are shitty

a retrofit is of course the final option, but frankly, I just dont have the time and the money to be doing this. I think when it is all said and done, I would still be spending at the very least 500 bucks seeing as how I have zero tools and materials to start with. then it would also take me a good week to do because i can only put in very few hours a day.

moneywise i'm kind of short and i really need some more luminoscity because it's getting pretty hard to see on the darker roads.

what do you guys think?

Padawan

First, what kind of car are you looking to upgrade?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vdub08 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if i were to get my hands on a catz, would anyone object that? and I havent gotten any good reason why a conversion kit is bad except for the fact that the components are shitty</TD></TR></TABLE>

The main issue with plug-and-play kits is not the quality of the components. The issue is the fct that you're putting HID capsules into halogen optics that were never meant to control or distribute that type of light. In general, you end up with an inferior beam pattern and excessive glare. This of course varies greatly depending upon what housings you're using, but the results will never be as good as actual OEM HID lighting.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vdub08 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">a retrofit is of course the final option, but frankly, I just dont have the time and the money to be doing this. I think when it is all said and done, I would still be spending at the very least 500 bucks seeing as how I have zero tools and materials to start with. then it would also take me a good week to do because i can only put in very few hours a day.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, $500 is probably a decent estimate, and is honestly not all that much to spend when you're talking about OEM HID lighting. The results of this setup will be by far the most impressive, so if you're looking for a true upgrade, that's the way to go. How much time it will take really depends upon your skill level and what housings you're starting out with.

In the end, I'd either go with some upgraded halogen bulbs (such as the Philips X-treme), a pair of HIR bulbs (if your application is 9006), or an HID retro-fit. The quality of the results will basically also follow that order.

vdub08

i guess bulbs it is, becuase i am not in the position to be spending 500 dollars for just lights at this point

thanks

you got a good place to buy these bulbs?

Padawan

Judging by your signature, I assume you're shopping for bulbs for your Civic, in which case you want H4.

The Philips X-treme Power is available from http://www.autolamps-online.com

You may also be able to achieve a further improvement in performance by wiring up a relay setup, as described here: http://www.danielsternlighting....html

vdub08

man thanks

this sounds like a cheap and easy solution to my problems