HID lights

2002_lincolnLS

2002_lincolnLS

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So I was looking around the site at what people have said about HID's in a halogen housing. I would just like to know what people think who have HID's in the halogen housing

I do understand the glare concern, but even with that I have seen mixed experiences. Some say there is glare some say there is not.

Another concern I have before ordering a set is that the heat point is different and you can melt the reflector bowl or houing parts. I couldn't find the thread I saw that in, I don't even know if thats true.

On a positive note i did find all the info about the LED conversion specs so i did ad that to my sticky

So what are peoples experience with HID's in a halogen housing good or bad.
 
I know the technical reasons why putting HIDs in with a Halogen reflector shouldn't work well, but I haven't tried it so I won't speak to that.

Heat shouldn't be an issue. The Halogens are around 50 watts and the HIDs are 35 watts. (Less power in = less heat out)
 
2002_lincolnLS said:
So I was looking around the site at what people have said about HID's in a halogen housing. I would just like to know what people think who have HID's in the halogen housing

I do understand the glare concern, but even with that I have seen mixed experiences. Some say there is glare some say there is not.

Another concern I have before ordering a set is that the heat point is different and you can melt the reflector bowl or houing parts. I couldn't find the thread I saw that in, I don't even know if thats true.

On a positive note i did find all the info about the LED conversion specs so i did ad that to my sticky

So what are peoples experience with HID's in a halogen housing good or bad.
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I haven't done the conversion, but as much glare as my stock halogen's cause in my '06 LS I can't imagine the HID would be any better. I get people flashing their lights at me in oncoming traffic already. Since the stock headlights are pretty good I haven't really pursued it. Instead I'm just trolling ebay and craigslist and here waiting for OEM HID housings to come up that aren't ridiculously expensive.
 
Kumba said:
I haven't done the conversion, but as much glare as my stock halogen's cause in my '06 LS I can't imagine the HID would be any better. I get people flashing their lights at me in oncoming traffic already. Since the stock headlights are pretty good I haven't really pursued it. Instead I'm just trolling ebay and craigslist and here waiting for OEM HID housings to come up that aren't ridiculously expensive.
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that why I was asking, I can't afford the whole loghts and when i g-rells post about his kit which is only 89 dollars and he has had great luck with them. But as far as glare and other complications he didn't mention much.
 
Whoever says HID retrofit kits don't cause glare are FLAT OUT LYING. I do think some people also make the issue into something greater than it is. Do they cause more glare than stock? Of course. Is it tolerable? I think so. I've had the GF drive my car (while I drive her's) so I can see how it looks. They are bright, but nowhere near the point where I would flash someone for it.
 
pektel said:
Whoever says HID retrofit kits don't cause glare are FLAT OUT LYING. I do think some people also make the issue into something greater than it is. Do they cause more glare than stock? Of course. Is it tolerable? I think so. I've had the GF drive my car (while I drive her's) so I can see how it looks. They are bright, but nowhere near the point where I would flash someone for it.
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Exactly what I was going to say. Unless you aim them like a dumba55 and point them really high, the glare is very tolerable. And I havent had any problems with heat from my set.
 
HIDs inside a halogen housing means the optics will not work correctly. Your beam will be out of focus, and uniformly spread. It looks like you see more, but in reality background lighting will be lacking.
 
The glare on my HIDs in stock 1st gen housings is tolerable, but barely.

but the light disperses everywhere, so all you really have is more output of a whiter light.

when they are aimed correctly, the glare shouldnt be too bad.

I'm using DDMs that I paid 40 bux for, and have had in for over a year now without issue.
 
Since we are on this topic about HID's, is there any place on-line or dealerships on where we can buy the the stock HID headlight that came on the Lincoln LS, I guess year 2004 and up? also is it gonna fit on all the Lincoln LS models 2000 and up?
 
You can get the OEM HID's from tascaparts.com for something like $1200 per headlamp, and IIRC no they dont just go in, you need the header panel as well for them to fit.
 
Hid kits in halogen housing have glare, some people just dont care.
 
I've never messed with the headlights on my car but they seem to be aimed right. From about 15-20 feet away from another car they are about 3-4 feet off the ground before they are clipped (not counting the right-hand flare for road signs). I still get oncoming traffic flashing me sometimes and I have verified that I have halogens and not an HID aftermarket kit. The kit would just cause more glare.

Honestly, the halogens in my '06 are amazing compared to other cars I've owned. For me the only real attraction aftermarket HID kits have at the moment is being able to say I have them and maybe a different light temp. I'm sure an OEM HID conversion would be even better then what I have but it sure as hell isn't worth the price. I'd rather spend that money on an 8.8" swap.

I think there was a thread on here where someone took apart a halogen and HID housing and the only functional difference was the reflector. Depth of housing, placement, keys, bulb socket, etc, were all identical. Don't quote me on that though, I'm running from memory and it pretty much sucks :)
 
8K HID kit. Never been flashed once in over 2 years of having them, never even seen anybody so much as look at me irritated. Pektel summed it up perfectly. Stock is best of course, and a kit doesn't get you there, but it's a viable alternative and nothing to worry about.
 
pektel said:
Whoever says HID retrofit kits don't cause glare are FLAT OUT LYING. I do think some people also make the issue into something greater than it is. Do they cause more glare than stock? Of course. Is it tolerable? I think so. I've had the GF drive my car (while I drive her's) so I can see how it looks. They are bright, but nowhere near the point where I would flash someone for it.
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I agree. I have had HIDs for 4 years now without any problems. Only been flashed twice and that was within the first week I had them. I will never own another car without them.
 
Just saying... I have OEM Gen2 HIDs and I have been flashed before. It really depends on the angle you are approaching vehicles too. Like my lights have a decently sharp cut off, but if I go over a small hill or something @ the exact time someone is approaching me from the front, I can see the beam go around eye level with them.

Honestly I can't see how anyone flashes anyone. Unless someone is blatantly rocking their hi-beams, then don't look @ their lights? And if it is that unsafe, slow down and use your eyes focusing on the road, not your hi-beam switch.

The only time I ever flash anyone is if I am feeling generous and want to warn someone of radar or someone flashes me thinking I have my brights on.




I also want to use this thread to express my displeasure with my current light setup. At the moment I have two failing fog light LEDs and one failing Angel eye ring. I am thinking of going back to an HID in the fogs as the LEDs just are not reliable. It is probably the extreme heat that they cannot handle. I have already taken them out once and beefed up the solder points.
 
You all need more old people driving around who wear blinders because it's too bright during the day. You can have some of ours, Florida has enough of them already :)
 
Andrizzle said:
Just saying... I have OEM Gen2 HIDs and I have been flashed before. It really depends on the angle you are approaching vehicles too. Like my lights have a decently sharp cut off, but if I go over a small hill or something @ the exact time someone is approaching me from the front, I can see the beam go around eye level with them.

Honestly I can't see how anyone flashes anyone. Unless someone is blatantly rocking their hi-beams, then don't look @ their lights? And if it is that unsafe, slow down and use your eyes focusing on the road, not your hi-beam switch.

The only time I ever flash anyone is if I am feeling generous and want to warn someone of radar or someone flashes me thinking I have my brights on.




I also want to use this thread to express my displeasure with my current light setup. At the moment I have two failing fog light LEDs and one failing Angel eye ring. I am thinking of going back to an HID in the fogs as the LEDs just are not reliable. It is probably the extreme heat that they cannot handle. I have already taken them out once and beefed up the solder points.
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Damn, Andrizzle. I was considering switching from HID to LED in the fogs hoping THEY would be more reliable. I had one fog that took a few attempts to come on for a while. Now it's just dead completely and I'm sure it's the ballast. Also lost a headlight ballast this week. Angel eyes are the only things not giving me any trouble.
 
Yea I am going to trouble shoot the ring that is giving me issues tomorrow, hopefully finding out it is the ballast and not the ring, but I am almost certain it IS the ring.

The LED bulbs were great to me for a while. Then all of the sudden they started dying out, some of the rows of LEDs flicker while on, and it looks terrible. So I am not even using them as fogs right now, thinking of putting my HID kit back in and getting 6kK bulbs for them.

The reason I went with LED is to avoid as much heat as possible. Because as you know (being in DAL) It has been 100+ here for over a month now.
 
I ran a HID kit in my 02 and in my opinion the only real difference I felt was the fact that on the 02 (halogen housing) the entire bowl lit up and on my 06 (OEM HID) the beam has a shape to it, the shape is not round like the bowl. This I am sure contributes to the glare every one refers to, but it is an aftermarket modification, it is not going to function exactly like OEM.
Realistically if you see HIDs in any car that didn't come with them stock and they have an OEM color and they are aimed right you should be fine.

Yes, the dispersion pattern is different. Yes, if you compare to OEM there will be what is considered glare. However considering your vehicle is something that most common people would think could come with HIDs, if you have them aimed right you will be fine. Consider the HIDs in the first gen Acura Legend, they have what some may consider glare but they were OEM just not as sophisticated as OEM is today.

The chioce is yours, $1200.00 per headlamp OEM HID or less than $100.00 for a HID kit with minor issues that most people will not notice. I ran aftermarket HID in my 02 LS for 2 years, I currently run 4300K HIDs in my fogs on my 06 and I have been running HIDs in my wife's MKX for 3 1/2 years now and have never been flashed, ever, unless I had my brights on. I do recommend staying close to OEM color though, just a personal preference.
 
Andrizzle said:
Yea I am going to trouble shoot the ring that is giving me issues tomorrow, hopefully finding out it is the ballast and not the ring, but I am almost certain it IS the ring.

The LED bulbs were great to me for a while. Then all of the sudden they started dying out, some of the rows of LEDs flicker while on, and it looks terrible. So I am not even using them as fogs right now, thinking of putting my HID kit back in and getting 6kK bulbs for them.

The reason I went with LED is to avoid as much heat as possible. Because as you know (being in DAL) It has been 100+ here for over a month now.
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Yeah I was feeling like heat may have been a factor in my recent deaths. I've been running without fogs since that ballast went out, which I hate. The headlight that died, my friend had a ballast laying around and he switched it out. I was good for half a day, later that night that ballast was gone too. I've been having to beat the sun home until I decide where to buy another kit from.
 
trifelife said:
Damn, Andrizzle. I was considering switching from HID to LED in the fogs hoping THEY would be more reliable. I had one fog that took a few attempts to come on for a while. Now it's just dead completely and I'm sure it's the ballast. Also lost a headlight ballast this week. Angel eyes are the only things not giving me any trouble.
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I was about to say the same thing. I've also been thinking about making the switch over to LED fogs but with what I'm reading I'm thinking it's not such a good idea, This heat is no joke.
 
I've got hids in my ls. Way better than stock. Mine are aimed slightly lower than they should be. I don't get flashed cussed at or mean mugged so they aren't bothering people (I guess). Idk exactly what is meant by glare but I see great at night even with a tinted windshield.
 
I have 6K Hid kit never had anybody flash me at all, my only complaint is the lighting is unevenly dispersed but other than that its been great, I also have led fogs and still no problems with them either.
 
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