Help?....hid's and headlights

[nosnibor2000]

Hey there forum,
new to the site and have a question. Just bought a 98 civic ex 4dr, and want to do some hid's. From my research i know i need to get some h4 bi-xenon high/low all in one lights for my year. Also read that you shouldn't use the stock headlight enclosures. One, they suck, and two, illegal cuz the hid's spread too much and blind people. Thus i need to also get projector headlight enclosures. I like the look of the spyder brand halo lights but i dont know if they will work cuz they all look like they need two lights instead of one.

http://www.spyderauto.com/product_list.php?car_make=Honda&car_model=Civic&year=1998&cat=Projector Headlight

my question is this.... what enclosures will work with bixenon hid's? Most i've seen look like they are for seperate highs and lows.

Thanks

 

[2slo4u]

no they wont work, although those ARE projectors, they aren't the ones that people talk about when talking about retrofitting..the projectors people talk about are ones such as s2000's, tsx's, etc..

 

[nosnibor2000]

ok, well then what will work? I would rather have a plug and play application as opposed to having to retrofit, just for the sake of time. But i can do either if it works. never done hid's before so kinda lost as to what works with bixenon being even more complicated.

 

[JohnS.]

This may clear up some questions you have: http://www.clubcivic.com/board/showthread.php?t=208090

 

[nosnibor2000]

This may clear up some questions you have: http://www.clubcivic.com/board/showthread.php?t=208090

Helpful link but still doesn't answer my question. I already know i don't want to use my stock enclosure, that was my whole point. back to my original question, are there any non-stock enclosures that work with b-ixenon lights that i can buy?

 

[JohnS.]

Why don't you want to use your stock enclosure? Every person with a retrofit uses their stock enclosures. If you're worried about the little bit of glare/scatter you may have, you can paint the reflector cone and any other shiny surface for that matter.

 

[nosnibor2000]

Because i dont want to have to take them apart and do the whole oven thing. simply dont have the time. if there is an aftermarket headlight casing that i can just buy that will work with them, id rather do that.

 

[2slo4u]

the projectors you linked with make the output worst than having it in the stock housing..if you dont want to do it the right way just do it anway you want.john and i have told you the correct way to do it

 

[nosnibor2000]

the projectors you linked with make the output worst than having it in the stock housing..if you dont want to do it the right way just do it anway you want.john and i have told you the correct way to do it

sorry, like i said, never have done hid's before so kinda ignorant of how they work.
found a different site that really helps explain it,(still reading)

http://www.hidretrofits.com/

i was confused about what he meant by plug and play. NOW i know that virtually 95% of sites that offer hid's are the crappy plug and play type (which means virtually all the hid's in cars i see are done wrong i assume). Now that i see to do it right you have to buy an actual hid projector i just have more questions. I would still like a high/low projector, but since the real ones are actually mechanical in nature to adjust the lighting do you still buy a bi-xenon filament (i like the acura tl or the fx-35projector) ? or just a regular one, since the projector itself does the work? Also on that note, where do you buy a good hid? everything i've found is all plug and play... And how much does it cost to do it the RIGHT way? sorry for the huge mass of questions, but i'm learning.. seems like it's just getting more complicated as i learn.

 

[JohnS.]

That depends on the amount of work you want to do. They sell plug and play projectors (morimoto mini series. H1 or D2S.). They aren't of the best quality but they're better than eBay projector headlights. WAY better. I personally have the Morimoto Mini H1's. All you do is lock the projector in, no cutting involved. But if you go with other projectors that come stock in cars (ie - TSX, S2K, etc.), you'll have to do some custom fab work. If you want to see pictures of my output, see the links in my sig.

And HID bulbs do not use filaments. Power from the ballasts excite the gas molecules inside the bulb therefore producing light. For single xenon projectors, a secondary bulb (halogen) is used as a high beam. On bi-xenon setups, there is a solenoid which when activated, allows the shield to move/flip in order for more light to escape the projector.

I spent $210 for my setup. I think it was $120 for the projectors, $35 for the relay harness, and $35 for a P&P HID kit. Yes, you can use a P&P HID kit with projectors. It's just that the light quality won't be as good. If you go with something like the Morimoto ballasts and bulbs, you're looking to spend closer to $300. And that's on the cheap end. You can spend nearly double that or more once you start getting into better projectors, ballasts, and OEM bulbs (Phillips).

 

[GACivic]

It's illegal? Modifying your stock headlights is illegal too btw.

 

[nosnibor2000]

"And HID bulbs do not use filaments. Power from the ballasts excite the gas molecules inside the bulb therefore producing light. For single xenon projectors, a secondary bulb (halogen) is used as a high beam. On bi-xenon setups, there is a solenoid which when activated, allows the shield to move/flip in order for more light to escape the projector. "

thanks for the info. i chose wrong choice of words. i meant bulb. what i meant was, if i am getting a bi-xenon projector than i just need a regular bulb right? it would be redundant to get the actual projector plus a bulb that changes as well right?

 

[JohnS.]

It's illegal? Modifying your stock headlights is illegal too btw.

I think it varies state to state. But retrofitting projectors into non-DOT approved headlamps is indeed illegal I believe. Most people don't know that or care enough to stop it. A lot of places that do inspections don't even do the full inspection. It takes more time and time to them = money. A lot of people wouldn't even know what cars come with them stock or not.

"And HID bulbs do not use filaments. Power from the ballasts excite the gas molecules inside the bulb therefore producing light. For single xenon projectors, a secondary bulb (halogen) is used as a high beam. On bi-xenon setups, there is a solenoid which when activated, allows the shield to move/flip in order for more light to escape the projector. "

thanks for the info. i chose wrong choice of words. i meant bulb. what i meant was, if i am getting a bi-xenon projector than i just need a regular bulb right? it would be redundant to get the actual projector plus a bulb that changes as well right?

You can't get a bulb that changes lol. All HID bulbs are the same. They don't work like halogen bulbs.

At least to my knowledge....

 

[GACivic]

I think it varies state to state. But retrofitting projectors into non-DOT approved headlamps is indeed illegal I believe. Most people don't know that or care enough to stop it. A lot of places that do inspections don't even do the full inspection. It takes more time and time to them = money. A lot of people wouldn't even know what cars come with them stock or not.



You can't get a bulb that changes lol. All HID bulbs are the same. They don't work like halogen bulbs.

At least to my knowledge....

Yeah, most things we do to our cars is illegal. Georgia doesn't care though We don't even have emissions in my county.

 

[nosnibor2000]

You can't get a bulb that changes lol. All HID bulbs are the same. They don't work like halogen bulbs.

At least to my knowledge....

there are plug and play ones that have a little shield built into the light that moves when you hit the high beam switch. but i think it is designed for if you are just sticking it in without an actual correct projector.
One example i just looked up:
http://www.hidfoglight.com/customerService/highLowVsBiXenon.html

 

[JohnS.]

there are plug and play ones that have a little shield built into the light that moves when you hit the high beam switch. but i think it is designed for if you are just sticking it in without an actual correct projector.
One example i just looked up:
http://www.hidfoglight.com/customerService/highLowVsBiXenon.html

You'll find those standard on P&P kits for cars that have low/high beam in the same bulb (ie - H4). On a true bi-xenon HID setup, the HID bulb never shuts off or changes. Those P&P bulbs are made to "mimic" a bi-xenon setup on a dual filament bulb. When you get a bi-xenon projector, the high beam is activated via solenoid. Again, the bulb never changes.

 

[nosnibor2000]

You'll find those standard on P&P kits for cars that have low/high beam in the same bulb (ie - H4). On a true bi-xenon HID setup, the HID bulb never shuts off or changes. Those P&P bulbs are made to "mimic" a bi-xenon setup on a dual filament bulb. When you get a bi-xenon projector, the high beam is activated via solenoid. Again, the bulb never changes.

Yep, cheesy for sure. definetly think i like what you did, the morimoto h1. looks like a pretty decent price too considering what all you get from them. now i just need to figure out what headlight casing to use for a base. My 98 stock one is kinda beat up it looks like, might be able to take it apart and clean it up, we'll see. I like the ones on yours. Is that stock? your's is a 99 though so it might be different anyway....

 

[mylovehx]

DS2 retro here And to the OP you will spend more time waiting for new headlights to come rather than doing a simple retrofit

 

[mylovehx]

Yep, cheesy for sure. definetly think i like what you did, the morimoto h1. looks like a pretty decent price too considering what all you get from them. now i just need to figure out what headlight casing to use for a base. My 98 stock one is kinda beat up it looks like, might be able to take it apart and clean it up, we'll see. I like the ones on yours. Is that stock? your's is a 99 though so it might be different anyway....

and being a 99 is no difference. mines a 97 did it exactly like his. Except I rock and painted everything
and incase you were wondering john im fixing my droopy shroud tomorrow lol

 

[JohnS.]

Yep, cheesy for sure. definetly think i like what you did, the morimoto h1. looks like a pretty decent price too considering what all you get from them. now i just need to figure out what headlight casing to use for a base. My 98 stock one is kinda beat up it looks like, might be able to take it apart and clean it up, we'll see. I like the ones on yours. Is that stock? your's is a 99 though so it might be different anyway....

Depending on how beat they are, you can restore them. If they just have a minor haze, they can easily be buffed, polished, and waxed.

and being a 99 is no difference. mines a 97 did it exactly like his. Except I rock and painted everything
and incase you were wondering john im fixing my droopy shroud tomorrow lol

to another retrofitter! I'm not a fan of the painted housing. It looks too much like eBay headlights to me . But I do want to paint mine to cut down on a little bit of scatter since the light coming out of the projector hits the chrome.