Lookin' at getting HID lighting.

[rabbitman]

I know this has been gone over and over but I still ain't sure about some stuff. Some say E-codes is all you need and some say you need housings that where designed for HID. So which is it.

What about these?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/190578527157?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Being bi-xenon they have a solenoid to actually move the bulb to make high or low beam. Weird but supposedly it works.

[CRSMP5]

problem with things like h4 and bi-xenon is scatter...

square 200mm lights are not too bad.. but areo h4.. like mk1 jetta euros.. the left/right will put out light differently.. its the angle of the reflector to lense..

thats my experiance with them...

now ebay. my 1st set... lifetime garentee.. LOL.. 6 mo after 1 blew.. company no longer existed... so no warentee.. the 2nd one died 4 mo after 1st one..

the 2nd set i got from a guy.. still going after 2 years... BUT one of the wiggly parts has been screwed up for a year now.. aka no longer moves for high beam..

vs 100w h4.. the 35w that they are is far better.. less load on alt.. more light.. and yes all my vws have had relay set ups used vs crappy stock wiring.. even my hid set up.. why.. so when hid blows i can install a h4 bulb right in...

[rabbitman]

That's mainly what I want is less load on the alt, brighter lights are a big plus. But I don't want to buy junk either. I also see no reason to have lighting that throws light where I don't need it. Mine is already relayed too.

[CRSMP5]

ive not delt with anything but hella lamps... those cheap ebay ecodes may suck arss.. so also rember that a light is only as good as the reflector/lense too..

[rabbitman]

so also rember that a light is only as good as the reflector/lense too..

Good point, I like the autopal e-codes so maybe I'll get a set and put ad a HID setup to that.

[8v-of-fury]

I have the Autopal E-codes. Love em!

I currently have all four on the front of my mk1 jetta. 90/100w ultra blue in the outer beams, and 100w ultra white in the highs. On highbeams I have 400w of light output on the front of my car. Its glorious LOL.

I would suggest against using an HID bulb in a Halogen projector though.. The HID bulb puts off light like no halogen with a tungsten element ever could.. Thus making light go through parts of the lens never intended .. It will scatter light everywhere.

Sure it will be loads bright than any sealed beam.. and will probably look half decent whilst doing so, but it will be hell to other people.

Just keep that in mind when choosing.

ALSO may want to check these guys out.

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/

For retrofitting full on HID conversions.. ballasts, bulbs, projectors, mounting, wiring. Can't be beat.

[catlin_cava]

Ive got 9007 HIDs 6000K in my MK4 and I LOVE IT!

[rabbitman]

I would suggest against using an HID bulb in a Halogen projector though.. The HID bulb puts off light like no halogen with a tungsten element ever could.. Thus making light go through parts of the lens never intended .. It will scatter light everywhere.

I don't like projectors so I wouldn't be getting them anyways.

Mainly what I'm wondering is if HID bulbs would work in an autopal E-code housing.

I think it was Op-ivy that was saying HID bulbs work with E-codes. But other stuff I've read says it won't. Currently I have slightly over 430W pointing forward and I'm trying to reduce it a little without losing light out put.

[8v-of-fury]

I mean really, you live in Alaska. Go for it regardless. How many people could you possibly piss off if they dont shine perfectly?

[R.O.R-2.0]

I have the Autopal E-codes. Love em!

I currently have all four on the front of my mk1 jetta. 90/100w ultra blue in the outer beams, and 100w ultra white in the highs. On highbeams I have 400w of light output on the front of my car. Its glorious LOL.

I would suggest against using an HID bulb in a Halogen projector though.. The HID bulb puts off light like no halogen with a tungsten element ever could.. Thus making light go through parts of the lens never intended .. It will scatter light everywhere.

Sure it will be loads bright than any sealed beam.. and will probably look half decent whilst doing so, but it will be hell to other people.

Just keep that in mind when choosing.

ALSO may want to check these guys out.

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/

For retrofitting full on HID conversions.. ballasts, bulbs, projectors, mounting, wiring. Can't be beat.

HOLY S#!*! i would hate to have you bright me in oncoming traffic. that IS glorious!!

and the way i look at having bright headlights is this:

basically, every new car has rudely bright lights anyways, so who really cares if the lights on our old VWs are equally obnoxious?

[DieselBalz]

HOLY S#!*! i would hate to have you bright me in oncoming traffic. that IS glorious!!

and the way i look at having bright headlights is this:

basically, every new car has rudely bright lights anyways, so who really cares if the lights on our old VWs are equally obnoxious?

Bingo

[rabbitman]

I mean really, you live in Alaska. Go for it regardless. How many people could you possibly piss off if they dont shine perfectly?

You have a point there haha. The only flaw with that though is I want the light to shine down the road not just here and there. Visibility is key here.......a big moose weighs almost as much as my rabbit so you don't go "thud, I think I hit something", it more like "were'd my roof go?" hehe.

[CRSMP5]

i highly suggest hella... i have the 200mm squares (non dot legal ones, most e codes are not legal) with hid in my toaster.. i had the hid in my mk1 jetta with euros which is how i can say what i know..

8v... you really need to try a set of hid once.. just for lowbeams.. they are to slow to warm up for highbeams.. but you will get much better used light with much less wattage..

[Toby]

Unless you have tried E code lights you are really missing out. They are vastly better than any DoT crap because they do not have the big spread between the high and low beams. DoT spec lights are designed to drop the low beams 2" for every 25 or 50 feet that they shine, (the so called "drop 2" spec)  which means they are about useless when set "correctly". They also have a poor cutoff on the top of the low beam. All of this means that when the low beams are adjusted so they actually work (drop 0) the high beams are so  high the light up the tree tops. If the DoT light has the high beams adjusted so they are giving you maximum distance the low beams disappear in about 75 feet. This all goes back to when sealed beams were high tech and has never been changed.

E code lights have much better in that the low beam has an absolute cut off on top so they do not dazzle the guy you are following or blind oncoming traffic. High and low beams are concentric on E codes with the high beam pretty much just filling in the missing top half of the beam.

FWIF: Hellas are really second rate lights. Muddy glass and grayish reflectors. 30 years ago they were generally regarded as better than tungsten lights but nowhere near as good as SEV Marchal or Cibie. Both of these had very clear bluish glass and very shiny reflectors and turned night into day. SEV Marchal is gone, but Cibie (pronounced see-bee-ay) is still going strong. I used to run H4 hi/lows and H1 100 watt Cibies quads in my cars; off and on with H1-100 Super Oscar ralley style driving lights. Flash some prick that wouldn't dim his anemic tungsten high beams and watch his retinas melt.

It is also vital to use the stock wiring to trigger relays to power the lights and keep the low beams on all of the time, just adding the high beams to the mix. It is also good to power the relays with big fine stranded wire from the back of the alternator. The alternator terminal has the highest voltage in the entire system. Sometimes 1/2 a volt more. Halogen bulbs are very voltage sensitive, so there is a big difference between a quartz light at 13.8 volts and 14.3 volts. Run big grounds as well. It is definitely worth the effort.

If you just want cheap watts, try aircraft landing lights. They come on 7" and 5 3/4" rounds (and maybe a smaller size as well) in 12 and 24 volts. The filaments are not very well supported so they tend to have unsteady beams on rough roads, but they sure put out the light.

[rabbitman]

My rabbit currently has e-codes (sharp angled cutoff for low beam) on it from the PO but they're dirty and rusty inside. One is a CIBIE and one is a BIGIE, kinda weird. I won't go back to sealed beam.

I emailed the ebay autopal guy and he said some of his customers put HID bulbs in ecode housings so I might go that route.

My MK2 golf has round autopal diamond housings with 130w high beam and it's just crazy bright, the price of autopal is nice too.......