Higher Wattage Headlights

[iamfiredup]

So here is the scoop. I know that the whole headlight thing has been rehashed many times over in this forum. I am not looking for any recommendations on bulbs, HID or not (I have done 6 months of research on products and brands [yuk! ]). I do have a question that is not easily researched unless someone has experienced it themselves.

For now, I have made the decision to go with a higher wattage, wannabe HID, blue halogen bulb (for those of you who don't know, even though these bulbs say *xenon* on them...they have absolutely NO xenon gas in them...just a blue halogen [fyi]). I have placed these bulbs in my 1998 Dodge Stratus with DISASTEROUS results. Apparently, late model Chrysler products use something called a data bus electrical system that when you use a device (such as a headlight) that pulls more wattage than it's supposed to, it freaks out this data bus system.

Well, I don't want the problems of having this with my nice, shiney, new (to me ;-)) 1994 LS 400 to walk away with the same problems. I need more visibility at night (I do mostly night driving) and am not quite prepared to shell out $600 bones for a quality HID system.

Has anyone placed these higher wattage bulbs in their LS? Anything I should be cautious of? I am very interested in a report from anyone that has used them for a year or longer.

Sorry for the disertation (sp?) but I don't want to repair electrical damage, especially in a Lexus ($$$!).

Thanks in advance.

Brenden

[SKperformance]

The lens on the LS is Glass not plastic right?

It should hold up but the housing holding the bulbs is what usually always fails from heat warpage.

HID;s can be had for 200-300 with simple plug and play 10 minute installs.

Get tehm and you won;t be disapointed ,ever,.

[iamfiredup]

They in fact do have a glass housing. ...and as long as it doesn't burn up my wiring, connector to the bulb or my fuse system, I will be pleased as punch! I do understand that with the higher wattage bulbs, I will need to boost the amperage on the fuse for the headlights.

Regarding the HID's in the price range you mentioned, my experience is that (depending on the manufacturer) the hid bulb is poorly glued to an H4 (9003) base. A sign of a quality HID bulb is that it is actually manufactured into the base and not glued. If you know of any less expensive HID kits that have this quality that I might have missed, I would be open to suggestions!

Brenden

[SKperformance]

Having the base glued is no problem as i have 2nd gen ones on my ES with the better ballasts with an internal ignitor, never had a hickup with them.

My civic has them with the moulded base and it has been a problem with ballasts not the bulbs.

MC cullogh ballasts are ok, their bulbs are goodwith the moulded base.

The best kind of kit is a retrofitted oem ballast from a lexus mercedes or bmw then using the base works perfectly for them.

EBAY all day has brand new kits for 200-300

[blake918]

Would a Philips HID($470) setup be worth the extra $200 over the McCulloch($290)? Do these aftermarket ballasts work as well as OEM? Do they level when you start the car and that kind of thing?

On eBay:

Philips: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...&category=36476

"McCuloch:" http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...me=STRK:MEWA:IT

[iamfiredup]

Hmmm. Some aftermarket ballasts work better than others. I belive some luxury brands do use Philips ballasts as OEM. Make sure that when they say they are Philips HID's that it is the ballast as well as the bulb. I have found that when they claim that, it is just a Philips bulb. As for the auto-levelling, that is actually in the headlight casing itself and not the ballast or bulb itself.

One thing to keep in mind as well is that when HID's break, it is usually the ignitor. Some ballasts have the ignitor built in, others are separate. If the ignitor goes bad, it is less expensive to replace a separate ignitor than the ignitor/ballast combo.

I have also heard that hella ballasts have issues, but I haven't been able to get a solid confirmation on it.

Brenden

[SKperformance]

MC culloghs are ok

phillips makes almost all ballasts as they own the ballast patent and bulb bases(9006,9005 ad so on)

Hella doesn;t maek their own ballast.

tehir are cheaper taiwan ones.

I prefer the oem styles which are old with an internal ignitor as they rarely ever go bad

[jzz30]

i recently purchaced 3rd gen. denso ballasts off or a ls 430 and i just put it in my sc with some modification to the bulb base on a D2S burner. i got the pair of ballasts and phillips 5000k bulbs off of a subaru legacy in japan for about $160 total! and it works great!

[iamfiredup]

Well, I decided (for now) to go with a set of the blue halogens (90watt low/100watt high). I needed a quick fix for my night vision (or lack there of) issue. And to be quite honest, I am very impressed with the output of light that it gives! Hopefully in the near future I will get the real deal. Until then, I am quite pleased!

Brenden