So I recently purchased a 06’ subaru impreza with a projector headlight setup and Im looking to swap out the factory halogen h7 setup and go with a 6k xenon hid conversion kit . Ive done some looking and before I do purchase anything I figure I would ask for recommendations. I have looked on ebay and heard some horror stories about the cheap kits and some mixed reviews about the more expensive ones. Im looking to stay under $200 for everything and Id be installing it myself so plug and play is a plus.
Based off most of the images Ive seen 6k seemed pretty white as far as color purity. Id be open to step it down, but then I almost would be better off ordering those sylvania silverstar ultra’s they claim to be around 4k. I dont want it to look ricey at all so I want to do my homework on this before anything is purchased and installed.
Headlights are supposed to be functional… I still don’t understand why people like to go with less visible light when spending money on aftermarket headlights.
I have actually had good luck with the ebay kits, I’ve been running mine since 06, and only went though one ballast. With the price some of them are going for, you could just get 2 kits for like $75 and have 2 backup ballasts and 2 backup bulbs in the event that anything ever burned out. For the bulb temp, I would recommend staying closer to the 4000K-5000K range.
The better option would be to get oem bulbs and ballasts, but that will be a lot more pricey.
They are going to be functional, I dont want to go blue pink purple yadda yadda. I want to stay as close to pure white as possible, the standard halogen just doesnt cut it IMO. I have had the silverstar ultra’s in my nissan for a while and I found myself replacing them annually. I want to get away from the halogen and move into something brighter and more reliable seeing how as at night my vision kinda sucks (yes I do wear glasses). Ive compared images and im starting to agree with the image comparison statement more and more. So maybe 5k?
First off those projectors are made for halogen use and are not great for an HID set-up, Id suggest swapping out for a good OEM HID projector setup. Also go for an OEM 43-4500K bulb.
^^ I have the $50 kit from DDM in my fogs, 6k, its not blue at all. They’ve been taking a beating, soaked, frozen with snow, and still work like the day I put them in 1.5 years ago. No need to spend any more, and any kit like that will work with your car as long as its the right bulb type.
For most of you recommending 4000k. You realize factory in most cars is 5300k right?
6000k is fine, you really will not lose any light output going so mild, and it’ll look nice. When you crest over 8000k is when you start to lose some lighting performance.
Cheapo HID’s are all really the same, 99% of them are knock offs of either Philips or Hella parts (hell even the Bosch ones were licensed from Hella last I knew), and they all will burnout out quicker than the factory stuff. You can get away with super cheap bulbs, the ballast is really the part that counts. Soooo that being said if you can spring for some used ballasts from a benzo or BMW that’s your best bet.
OEM’s generally use Phillips 85122, 85122+ or Osram 66040’s. Theyre rated at 4150K, 4300K, and 4300K respectively.
The 85122’s color shift fast and loose a measurable amount of light, so people often look for 85122+s which run a bit whiter out of the box, but are intended to resist color shifting and do maintain more lumes over the life of the capsule. Some people claim the 85122+'s are 5000K, and the Philips data sheet says otherwise.
Regardless, you can get cheap chinese HID kits that say 6000K that are actually about 4000-8000K… I would never, ever, go over 6000K, probably go with something in the 4-5K range from a chinese HID kit. The less you pay for the kit, the better it is. For the most part theyre all garbage, but you can usually get a few years out of them. Any quality OEM projector and bulb/ballast swap is the best bet by far. You wont believe how much ‘brighter’ you headlights appear when the light is going in the right places.
i wasnt happy with mine at all either…both ballasts went within 6 months…it was an ebay kit…but the replacement ballasts that i could buy from some well known places on line sold the same brand ballast that i got with my ebay kit…so i just bought a set of silverstarts and put them in an called ir a day…
if i were to do it again i would get some ballasts and ish from a car that came with HIDs and retrofit
I have also read if you go with a 55W kit (rather than 35W) you might want to take a step up in the temperature. I have heard 5,000k 55W bulbs look close to 4,300k. I went with a 55W 4,500 kit for my fogs from DDM tuning.
Should have them installed in the next couple weeks.
