Headlights, please look wanna order today

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Jord516

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Hey guys I searched and searched and got a lot of my answers so I did try not to post so dont be mad.

I am going to oder and HID kit today, I have read a lot of good things about the fusion kit from lskoncepts. Thinking about getting the 4300k, because they are the brightest and I dont care to much about the look, want performance, is 4300k the best bet? My 300zx had projector lenses which made the cut off line on the hid kit on that car very clean and crisp, I noticed this car 7 years later doesnt have them, how do they HID kits look without projector lenses? Plus is it really worth it?

I also read that those HID kits can only be used if you dont have the gray filling in the headlights, I dont even know what that was all about, my car is an 01v6.

From what I understand the bulbs dont actually come in that box, which bulbs to buy?

Thanks, Jordan
 
the grey sealent has nothing to do with HIDs. Only if you want to install angel eyes. Yea go with the 4300 for the brightest I also would recommend the digital kit. I have it (6000k) and would do it again if I had to.
 
Many vehicles use both projectors and reflectors for HID setups, just depends on the manufacturer. In fact, all LS's that came stock with HID use a reflector setup (like my stock 04 V8). One really isn't better than the other, although some people will argue that projectors better handle the lumen output associated with HID. I've driven cars with both, and have not noticed a difference other than slightly sharper cutoffs with the projectors (Audi A8). Cars that come stock with HID and use a reflector setup use a D2R bulb, and projectors use a D2S bulb.

If you can afford to and can wait a bit, I would try to find a pair of OEM HID headlights off of a 2003+ LS (they pop up on ebay from time to time, or can be had directly from Ford for about $900/pair). They are designed from the factory for optimum lighting, as opposed to sticking an HID kit in lights designed for halogen where you might run into messed up focal point issues. I do agree with your decision to go with 4300k though, as it offers the highest lumen output and is the same color temp as most, if not all, OEM HID setups. Just my 2 cents.....
 
i read somewhere on here that there is no difference in the reflector set up for the 2000-2002 halogen headlights and 2000-2002 hid headlights and the same for 03+ headlights
 
Ok what is this reflector you guys speak of?

I will look for a pair of those headlights but for now which HID kit should I order and what bulbs do I get and is there any other advice you can offer me, I am a little confused on all this.

gt95coupe, what exactly are you selling, your actual headlights?
 
Jord516 said:
Ok what is this reflector you guys speak of?

I will look for a pair of those headlights but for now which HID kit should I order and what bulbs do I get and is there any other advice you can offer me, I am a little confused on all this.

gt95coupe, what exactly are you selling, your actual headlights?
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I would order one from lskoncepts.com. I have the digital kit and like it very much. Yes I am selling the headlight assemblies with the angel eye kit in them with the smoked corner lenes. Most cars have the reflector if they dont have projector headlights.
 
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eastcoast27959 said:
i read somewhere on here that there is no difference in the reflector set up for the 2000-2002 halogen headlights and 2000-2002 hid headlights and the same for 03+ headlights
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HID was not an option from the factory in 2000 through 2002, it became available starting in 2003. And there absolutely is a difference. I have a set of stock halogen headlights from a 2004, and my 04 has the stock HID's. The cutoffs are completely different when on, and just looking at the complex surface on the reflectors, they are two radically different designs.

Sticking an HID kit in headlights designed for halogen will not yield the best results, not to mention you run the risk of blinding oncoming drivers from the massive amount of glare. Again, just my 2 cents....
 
moundtown said:
HID was not an option from the factory in 2000 through 2002, it became available starting in 2003. And there absolutely is a difference. I have a set of stock halogen headlights from a 2004, and my 04 has the stock HID's. The cutoffs are completely different when on, and just looking at the complex surface on the reflectors, they are two radically different designs.

Sticking an HID kit in headlights designed for halogen will not yield the best results, not to mention you run the risk of blinding oncoming drivers from the massive amount of glare. Again, just my 2 cents....
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info on the comparison of the two headlight physical diferences... I have been wondering that for some time now.
I do have one question for you in that regard... If I purchase a set of factory HID headlights (housing and all) can I simply remove the non-HID lights and plug in the new ones, or does it require a different connector?

thanks,
n8
 
moundtown said:
HID was not an option from the factory in 2000 through 2002, it became available starting in 2003. And there absolutely is a difference. I have a set of stock halogen headlights from a 2004, and my 04 has the stock HID's. The cutoffs are completely different when on, and just looking at the complex surface on the reflectors, they are two radically different designs.

Sticking an HID kit in headlights designed for halogen will not yield the best results, not to mention you run the risk of blinding oncoming drivers from the massive amount of glare. Again, just my 2 cents....
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That's not exactly true. If you add an HID conversion kit to a set of non-OEM HID headlights you will HAVE to adjust the beam. This is no different than a car that has the OEM HID's. Since halogen bulbs do not project a beam as far as an HID bulb the adjustments are not the same. I ran the Xetronic Digital HID system in my LS before I sold it and once I had the beam adjusted they were fantastic and did not produce excess glare. I now have the Xetronic Digital HID system in my Pathfinder and it is the same way.

Now, most projection headlights will have a defined cutoff. I'd say that if you want to have projection headlights added then expect to fork over quite a bit of money. Not to mention spending a lot of time retrofitting them into a set of LS headlights.
 
n8bachelor said:
Thanks for the info on the comparison of the two headlight physical diferences... I have been wondering that for some time now.
I do have one question for you in that regard... If I purchase a set of factory HID headlights (housing and all) can I simply remove the non-HID lights and plug in the new ones, or does it require a different connector?

thanks,
n8
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Nate,

The lights will interchange. However, if I remember correctly there is a small plastic piece that you will have to file down to make the connector work. I ran into this when I had a set of the OEM HID's. But they will interchange without any problem. Now, finding a set of OEM HID's without spending $1500 is going to be tough part.
 
GrayGhost1 said:
That's not exactly true. If you add an HID conversion kit to a set of non-OEM HID headlights you will HAVE to adjust the beam. This is no different than a car that has the OEM HID's. Since halogen bulbs do not project a beam as far as an HID bulb the adjustments are not the same. I ran the Xetronic Digital HID system in my LS before I sold it and once I had the beam adjusted they were fantastic and did not produce excess glare. I now have the Xetronic Digital HID system in my Pathfinder and it is the same way.

Now, most projection headlights will have a defined cutoff. I'd say that if you want to have projection headlights added then expect to fork over quite a bit of money. Not to mention spending a lot of time retrofitting them into a set of LS headlights.
Click to expand...


I think we're essentially agreeing on the same thing here.....stock HID cutoffs usually have a 2" drop or so at 25 feet, and I believe halogen can come up quite a ways from that. So yes, to drop an HID kit in halogen headlamps, you would definitely need to adjust down.
 
n8bachelor said:
Thanks for the info on the comparison of the two headlight physical diferences... I have been wondering that for some time now.
I do have one question for you in that regard... If I purchase a set of factory HID headlights (housing and all) can I simply remove the non-HID lights and plug in the new ones, or does it require a different connector?

thanks,
n8
Click to expand...

On 2003 and up LS's, yes it is 99% plug and play. As Ken mentioned, there is a tiny plastic rib that needs to come off of the plug on the headlight housing (can be shaved off with a sharp knife in seconds....). On pre-2003 LS's, I believe there is a little more work to do since the bottoms of the housings are very different designs. I've heard of having to replace/modify a cross bar in the front bumper.
 
Thanks for the info Ken. Now another question for you. If I drop in a HID kit how do I go about properly "adjusting" the beam patern on an 04 LS? I know the pre 03's had a level float on the top of the headlight housing but the post 03's do not. Is there an adjustment screw? I looked in the owner's manual but it just said to adjust the headlights until the light patern looked like that in the book but did not say how.

Thanks again. You are a great resource.

n8
 
n8bachelor said:
Thanks for the info Ken. Now another question for you. If I drop in a HID kit how do I go about properly "adjusting" the beam patern on an 04 LS? I know the pre 03's had a level float on the top of the headlight housing but the post 03's do not. Is there an adjustment screw? I looked in the owner's manual but it just said to adjust the headlights until the light patern looked like that in the book but did not say how.

Thanks again. You are a great resource.

n8
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Nate,

On the 03+ headlights there is an adjustment that is right on top of the headlight. You can't miss it. It looks like an allen wrench sticking up. IIRC, that will adjust the beam up and down. I checked on the 03+ headlights I have in the garage and it looks like there is only one adjustment on them.

The best thing to do is find a wall on a level street to adjust your headlights. I found this good article on how to properly adjust your headlights:

http://automedia.com/Aiming_Headlights/ccr20010801ha/1

I recommend with the HID bulbs to adjust the concentrated beam just below the zone line. This will ensure that the HID's will not "blind" oncoming traffic.
 
Ok so the best thing to do if I want a good cut off line is to get projector bulbs from an 03 plus year model LS.

HID kit from lskoncepts would be just fine, prob get the fusion kit? does it come with bulbs if not which ones do I get??

So how do the hid kits work without the projector lenses.
 
Jord516 said:
Ok so the best thing to do if I want a good cut off line is to get projector bulbs from an 03 plus year model LS.

HID kit from lskoncepts would be just fine, prob get the fusion kit? does it come with bulbs if not which ones do I get??

So how do the hid kits work without the projector lenses.
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The 03+ LS HID headlights do not have projector lenses. The housing is just made a touch different than the halogen version. If you get the Fusion HID kit it comes with bulbs, ballasts, ignitors and all the necessary hardware. I recommend getting the 4300K bulbs. I had the 8000K, 6000K and 4300K bulbs and for light output the 4300K is the best. Once you get into the higher Kelvin color ranges the light output becomes less.
 
none of the LS' came with projector headlamps, if you search on here you will find someone that has retro fitted some projectors with HID's.
 
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