As you guys already know...i'm thinking of converting. however...i need a reference. I've been looking at the auto lamp conversion kits......

4100 and 6000 k's.

however what are the new maxima's running, acura's and bimmers? Are they even in the same category as in kelvin's?

tim

All the OEMs should be running around 4000-4300K. The output color of each car you mentioned is different because it is dependent on the housing. If you look at for example the S2000 or the new A4 from a distance, those things are BLUE! But the output on the road is white.
I'm currently running a 6000K kit on my car with no problems. It actually is very white with a slight hint of blue in it, not as extreme as the S2000 or A4 but it's noticeable.
If you plan on putting HIDs in your car I suggest you swap out your headlight lenses with some E-codes. The E-codes will help you with the cut off and provide more light onto the road. Plus it avoids getting high beamed all the time.
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Mike H. - 1998 Nautic Blue C70 - minor mods here and there...and HID!!! -- kickin' again!

Where did you get your hid's and how much? Was it really worth it?


tim

I got them through a groupbuy on the maxima forum. I believe I got something like the K2 kit (Asian). There are a lot of complaints about those kits but I have yet to have any problems with it. I got the for $395 shipped. I would probably go with the Philips Autolamps kit. It's a 1-piece ballast (mine is 2-piece) plus it already has the relay in the harness included (mine didn't come with one, extra $). Plus their service is top notch.

Was it worth it? HELL YEAH! The difference is night and day (pardon the pun). I frequently drive at night so gettting brighter lights was almost a necessity for me. It was totally worth the money. If I would do it over again, I would get the autolamps kit. It's more compact and from what I've seen easier to install.
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Mike H. - 1998 Nautic Blue C70 - minor mods here and there...and HID!!! -- kickin' again!

hey....
sorry to ask you all these questions...but I really want to make the right decision due to all the $$$ involved. Now what temp of hid's did you get? 4000's or the 6000's.

I know that we talked earlier and i do apologize for asking you all these questions. It just sounds to me that you know your stuff and you are using it too.

Now...if I go ahead and buy them..i'm going to do it through auto lamps. Pretty much, they say that it is a plug and play feature. that you don't have to modify anything on your volvo. is it really that easy to install?

also..you said that the halogins....I have vision plus, run at around 4000k. Now auto lamps has hid's that run at 4000k. are they going to do the same exact same due to the color temps or will the hid be more noticeble like day and night. Also....do you have a pic of how the hid's look on your car?

thanks.

tim

No prob. Yes, I got the 6000K. It was some generic (bootleg?) brand, hence the low cost. So far it is holding up but who knows down the road? As far as the 6000K, it's white with a slight hint of blue, whereas the 4300K is more white (with the slightest hint of yellow still). But in terms of lumens (light output) the 4300K give out more light. I wanted to best of both worlds so I went with the 6000K. It does it's job for me.

From what autolamps shows and told me, it is plug and play. Take out the haolgen bulb, put in the HIDs, plug it all up and you're good to go. The relay is already built into the harness so you should have no problem. My kit didn't have relays hence I needed to tweak the wiring. Probably to toughest job is trying to find a spot to put the ballasts.

As far as halogen and HID, eventhough they both advertise as 4000K, it's purely a color term. It means it's white. The 4000K halogen does jack in terms of light output. The lumen figure is most important.

I don't think I ever took pics of my HIDs. I'll try to get some this weekend. But really, pics doesn't do justice. Imagine the acura tl (my gf has one so that's a goof comparison), the 6000K is a little bluer than that (think A4). I have pics of E-codes and standard DOT lenses to give you an idea on what it looks like. http://www.geocities.com/mike_c70/HID/

Good luck.
--
Mike H. - 1998 Nautic Blue C70 - minor mods here and there...and HID!!! -- kickin' again!