Ragingfish's Next Modification!

[ragingfish]

And 2 more pics.I don't think I have any more room for any more ballasts! 4 is enough!

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[ragingfish]

Gonna be a mild delay on those night shots...Discovered tonight my lights are HORRIBLY out of alignment -- even the fogs are shooting straight down to the ground...As soon as I get them properly aimed and I can get you an ACCURATE shot of their capabilities, I'll snap some...Needless to say though, these are SOOOO hot!!!

[kostby]

I know nothing about HID's except that they provide whiter light (=higher color temperature toward the blue end of the visible spectrum) and look very cool on the highway at night. $900? I recall seeing them on an SVT Focus as about a $450 option. Apparently a one-off custom install on a Vibe costs a lot more than a factory mass-production option!Were they tough to install? Looks like a lot of front-end disassembly was required? What does this install do to the ability of "Mr. Goodwrench" to aim them? (I'm thinking state inspections and the like, down the road. Thankfully Indiana doesn't have a state inspection requirement currently.)Did you have to install a higher capacity alternator to run all these ballasts? Higher capacity battery required?

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by kostby »I know nothing about HID's except that they provide whiter light (=higher color temperature toward the blue end of the visible spectrum) and look very cool on the highway at night. They also put our more USEABLE light. They run cooler, so the energy not lost to heat becomes useable light.Quote »$900? I recall seeing them on an SVT Focus as about a $450 option. Apparently a one-off custom install on a Vibe costs a lot more than a factory mass-production option! $900 for a full conversion. No car comes from the factory with HID fogs, and most come with only HID lows. I paid about the same for my dual-beam headlight conversion as a focus owner would pay for just lows from the factory...HID highs are not common. This was a $900 conversion for 6 beams: headlamp low, headlamp high, and fog.Quote »Were they tough to install? Looks like a lot of front-end disassembly was required? Hardest part was trying to find a place for the ballasts. Wiring was all a premade harness, which was a HUGE timesaver. But yes, I had to remove the front end and the headlamp assemblies to get the ballasts where the ended up...Quote »What does this install do to the ability of "Mr. Goodwrench" to aim them? That's the question of the moment...I don't particularly relish the thought of trying to aim them myself, but I'm almost positive the dealer won't go near them because of all the crap in the way of the aiming screw...I'm gonna see if STS will do it for me...Quote »(I'm thinking state inspections and the like, down the road. Thankfully Indiana doesn't have a state inspection requirement currently.)Technically, these are not street legal (shhhhhhhhhhh!) so come inspection in 2006, if I fail because of them, I'll simply swap traditional halogens in for inspection purposes.Quote »Did you have to install a higher capacity alternator to run all these ballasts? Higher capacity battery required? Nope and nope! The ballasts PUT OUT about 20,000 V (yes, that's twenty thousand), but only consume about 35 W per ballast. The system DOES have to be run off of the battery directly, however, to ensure that they receive a clean power supply...

[kostby]

Thanks for taking the time for great informative posts like this, raging! GenVibe really IS the encyclopedia of Vibe!

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by kostby »Thanks for taking the time for great informative posts like this, raging! GenVibe really IS the encyclopedia of Vibe!That's why I love this place! Edit:Night Shot:

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[damronjr]

Looks awesome! Wish I had $900, oh wait, I'm spending it on a body kit, fenders, and roof caps ! If not that, I would have put it into a stereo! Oh well, someday .

[Jahntassa]

Mike is a little overboard, which i'm sure he'll admit, but I can't blame him.I'm buying the first kit he had (if I can ever get enough money to pay him back.. ), which just gives me HID low beams. The hi-beams on my kit are a joke, and I still have silverstars in the fogs. I don't mind my setup at all. Mike needed the low/high. I'm not as picky, though he has to go through New Jersey Bi-annual inspections, so it's important to keep the low/high functionality. You can get H4 low-beam only for around $300-500 depending on what you want. Much cheaper than the $1000 they used to be.

[russ257]

"900? I recall seeing them on an SVT Focus as about a $450 option. Apparently a one-off custom install on a Vibe costs a lot more than a factory mass-production option!"well consider when you add the HID option you can subtract the cost of the original lights out. I run into a similar problem here at work (tractor sales) when dealers want to add an air ride seat and find the dealer installed price to be significantly higher than the factory installed price.

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by kostby »Thankfully Indiana doesn't have a state inspection requirement currently.Down here in my part of the state, I don't think they even care if you have two functioning headlights. lol!Ragingfish, she's looking VERY good! I remember the insane amount of light your HID's put out from the Ohio meet, can't even imagine how things look now with even more! Good job!!!

[Kari]

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »Down here in my part of the state, I don't think they even care if you have two functioning headlights. lol!LOL...neither does Tennessee, apparently. I saw a car on the interstate once with ONE functional taillight BULB...not even the whole taillight, just one bulb functioning...and when I passed it, I saw that it only had one headlight. I figured that would be the case. Wonder if they've been hit yet.

[ragingfish]

Ok, after a very long wait, I'm finally getting the headlights PROPERLY aimed Tuesday...After which time I can get you HID distance/visibility shots...

[ToolGuy]

Looks sweet Mike! Good job!