Xenon Bulbs for my Vibe!

[BlockDaddy21]

Hey all!Well, my vibe was getting ready to hit another milestone (6000mi) so I figured I'd adorn it with something special. Well, I had HID lights on my previous vehicle ('99 Denali) so I figured, what the heck - I'll get some for my Vibe too.After looking around the 'net for a while, I came across a kit on Ebay. Well, I had to jump on it (7000k Hella lights, Osram ballasts). Sure $380 was expensive, but it's for my baby! (By the way, I know this is a shameless plug, but the guy I got them from - MisterJung@aol.com - is a total stud. One of the lights didn't work, and he replaced the free of charge. Really great guy to work with. If you're thinking about HID's, see this man.)Anywho, so I get the kit in and all sorted out. I haul out my little multimeter to make sure I have the positives and negatives correct, and I start installing the kit. 20 minutes pass, and :OOF:: I'm done! With much excitement, I drop the hood and throw on the lights. WOW! What a difference! I flip on the fog lights, take a look at the car from the outside, and I just can't believe the difference. The fogs are just a dull yellow in comparison to my bright white headlights. Hmmm.. I guess I'm lucky I yanked the 9006 Xenon's out of my Denali before I traded it in. So here are my observations as far as installing them goes:The positives: 20 Minutes of painless work to install Much increased visibility Looks like a Benz when coming at you Kit did not require re-aiming of the headlights HID's use less power (35W) The Negatives: Cost No longer have brights. Stupid 9003's... Um... Um... There ya go! If you have any questions about install or the kit itself, throw up a question on the boards or shoot me an IM. Cheers! Nick BlockSaint Louis, MO
[Modified by BlockDaddy21, 6:26 PM 9/20/2002]

[NovaResource]

HID lights are not just bulbs, they are an entire lighting system. The light produced is created from an arch of electricity unlike a glowing fimament found in regular bulbs. I'm assuming what you have are bulbs that are "HID-look", meaning they give the appearance of being HIDs. True HID headlight upgrades are about $600+ to install.http://www.autobarn.net/sylxenhidx6s.html

[NSimkins]

Here is a link to one of the auctions by MisterJung@aol.com reffered to in this post:http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 336842They have information and pics on what is offered.

[NovaResource]

Cool kit. That does look like the real deal. Good price too. I guess this technology is finally coming down in price.Ok, BlockDaddy21 said one of the cons was he no longer had brights. Does that mean high beams? If so, why?

[BlockDaddy21]

First of all, yes, it is the HID kit, not just bulbs. Older generations of kits came with both a starter and a ballast. New systems now integrate the starter into the ballast so there's not as much extra "junk" floating around your engine compartment. Also, when I mentioned no more brights (as in high beams) the reason is that it is not possible to have multiple filaments in an HID bulb. As well, they can only handle a specific amount of power (i.e. both wattage and voltage). If you attempt to add more volts to an HID system, it simply drops the number of watts it uses, and vice versa. That is the function of a ballast. Therefore, it is not possible to have two settings (i.e. high and low beams) in one HID bulb. Thus the H4/9003 HID kits remove the possibility of high beams.By the way, anybody who pays $600+ for an HID conversion kit is seriously getting ripped off. Just my $.02 (which, conincidently I'll sell for $600...)
[Modified by BlockDaddy21, 12:38 AM 9/21/2002]

[Flip-Side]

Arc-lamp, HID. Same difference. I still want to kill every car that has them comin at me. Now if I had em.........

[mu_ohio]

I know this is an old post, but I'm tired of going through $80 packs of PIAA fake HIDs Can you give a simple explanation or pictures of the install and where can I find a kit like yours for a decent price. Also, do they make the same kits for the 9006 fogs? Anyone with updated information, please share.

[DopeVibeGT]

Nick: Do you have state inspections out there in MO? I dont think no Hi beams would pass in PA.mu_ohio: PIAA has a one year warranty against blow outs. I have PIAA's in my Vibe, and so far, they are great! As long as you dont touch the bulb, they will replace them for free.

[mu_ohio]

How do I take advantage of the 1 year warranty? I looked on their web site and manual and didn't see any mention of a warranty.

[NY Pete]

Thanks for this info! It may be one of my first mods (originally I had a Mini Cooper S on order, with HID's)...

[BlockDaddy21]

The installation procedures are quite simple, actually. I'll hopefully have some pics up in the next couple of days. Since you're obviously adept at changing the bulbs (thanks to those PIAA's) I won't go into great detail there, but here's the skinny of it:Remove the old bulbs (including the little rubber collar that goes around the lights.Put the bulbs through the rubber collar so that the wires are sticking out through the back of the collar (so you can just slide it on once you have the lights installed).Stick the HID bulbs in. These are made to fit the 9003 socket and theoretically should just go right in. Put the retaining clip on, slide the rubber collar in place, and the hard part is done.The wiring to the ballast/starters is fairly self-explanitory. The wires slide into little shoes, and it's impossible to mess this part up since they only fit in a certain way.Plug the negative/positive wires of the HID system into the gray fitting for the old incandescent bulbs. I don't remember the wiring scheme off the top of my head, but I'll post later how these go in.Other than that, just tidy up under the hood. You'll mount the ballasts somewhere (I have mine zip-tied to the shock mounts so it's not a permanent modification). Hopefully the pictures later will give you a better idea of what I'm talking about, but it was literally a 20 minute install for me.The HID's have been invaluable to me. The increased night visibility the as well as the sexy look have given me an excellent return on my $380 investment. I honestly haven't missed the high-beams thus far, and I'm very happy with the setup.DopeVibeGT: No, Missouri doesn't have inspection requirements, so the lack of high beams hasn't been an issue.

[mu_ohio]

Thanks for the install explanation. Seemed to be simple since you use the stock connectors. I did some reading on the web and it appear that Catz has a high/low beam kit, but it is about $200 more than the others that I've seen. There are many auctions on eBay for both the H4 and 9006 fogs. The kits seem to be identical besides power rating. Anything that I should stay away from? I noticed that Catz states that anything above 5500 rating is not ideal. So I was thinking about a 6000 kit since it close to the range. I was wanting to spend around $350 if possible. Thanks again for the post. Shed some "white light" on the topic

[BlockDaddy21]

In terms of color, I owned a 6000K 9006 kit for my '99 Denali before this 7000K kit. Honestly, they're both very similar. The only thing I noticed is that the 6000k kit has a good bit more "purple" in the hue, whereas the 7000k is a true white.For some real-life reference, I'm fairly positive BMW uses a 5600k kit that has a good bit of purple and a few blue overtones (although a lot of the blue comes from the projector lens), Merc uses 6000k, and Acura uses close to 7000k.In terms of pricing, you'll find the good kits for between $350 and $400. I'm not familiar at all with the Catz systems, but I do know that you want Osram ballasts/starters for your kit. These are the most reliable, and are used by BMW and Merc (amongst many others I'm sure).FYI, my next project is to put the 9006 kit from my Denali into the fog lights giving me double the HID. The only holdback is trying to find places to mount the ballasts and starters for the 9006 bulbs - this is an old-style kit that has separate starters and ballasts and takes up quite a bit of room.

[Pawel]

Also, when I mentioned no more brights (as in high beams) the reason is that it is not possible to have multiple filaments in an HID bulb. As well, they can only handle a specific amount of power (i.e. both wattage and voltage). If you attempt to add more volts to an HID system, it simply drops the number of watts it uses, and vice versa. That is the function of a ballast. Therefore, it is not possible to have two settings (i.e. high and low beams) in one HID bulb. Thus the H4/9003 HID kits remove the possibility of high beams. This is not valid anymore. I have found a place on the net that sells H4 HID conversion kit which has both low/high beam. It's made by Phillips in Germany. I forgot the link (I'm at work now) but if anyone is interested, please PM me and I will send the link. P.S. No it''s not my site or anything like that.

[mu_ohio]

quote: Also, when I mentioned no more brights (as in high beams) the reason is that it is not possible to have multiple filaments in an HID bulb. As well, they can only handle a specific amount of power (i.e. both wattage and voltage). If you attempt to add more volts to an HID system, it simply drops the number of watts it uses, and vice versa. That is the function of a ballast. Therefore, it is not possible to have two settings (i.e. high and low beams) in one HID bulb. Thus the H4/9003 HID kits remove the possibility of high beams. This is not valid anymore. I have found a place on the net that sells H4 HID conversion kit which has both low/high beam. It's made by Phillips in Germany. I forgot the link (I'm at work now) but if anyone is interested, please PM me and I will send the link. P.S. No it''s not my site or anything like that.Catz sells the kits with high and low beams.

[Pawel]

What's the link for Caytz site?

[joatmon]

A quick google turned up many sites, one washttp://foglights.com/hid.html - FET CATZ Lighting ProductsHigh/low beam kits, don't know which would fit the Vibeand in case anyone was wondering (like I was) HID = High Intensity Discharge. One description of HID is at http://www.sylvania.com/xenarc/hidfaq.htm

[EddieandtheVIBE]

I just checked out the link and was greeted with this:High Intensity Discharge UPGRADE KitsFET CATZ has voluntarily suspended all sales of HID Upgrade Kits until the completion of the NHTSA investigation into the legality of the kits.