Dominus
Dedicated LVC Member
OK, so last night I finally installed my conversion kit that I got from him.
For those of you who are not familiar with this kit, it is a kit that completely replaces the HID system on 1997-1998 Lincoln Mark VIII cars with all new modern HID bulbs, wiring, and ballasts. The object is to escape the rapidly declining supply, and rapidly increasing price of the Sylvania HID bulb, while also giving a noticable improvement in light output.
Upon first opening the kit, I found everything well packaged and neatly organized, as well as a not including his contact info, and a link to photo installation instructions.
The kit itself is clearly one of the better aftermarket HID kits I have seen. Rather than coming with the shat knockoff ballasts I see in most HID kits (which always seem to fail), these ballasts are a familiar design that i have used before and know to be reliable. I have the same set in my old Dodge since mid 2003. The bulbs are 9006 sized D2S style bulbs with your typical aftermarket connectors on them. This is where the ease of replacement comes in. You can buy these bulbs seperately all over ebay in a wide variety of temps and styles. The bulb temp in this kit is 4300k, which is basically the same temp as what you already have. Best light output, and a white color.
The most important parts, the Mark VIII specific parts are more than adequately done. The grommet necessary to retain the proper (and watertight) use of the plastic covers that go on the back of the lights has been professionally mounted, and is of perfect size. Fits right in. The plexiglas adapters included were spot on, and definitely do the job.
The installation itself was actually very easy, despite seeming a little more difficult at first. The most difficult part of the whole thing is tapping into the stock wiring harness for the lights. Included are a set of T-taps for this purpose. I decided to forgoe this, and simply mated the wiring to my stock ballast connectors, removing the old ballasts completely. His instructions provided the perfect locations for routing of the wiring, and location of the ballasts. Be sure to keep them out of the engine bay, or they will have a very short life.
So, was there any improvement you ask? The answer is simply yes. There is not even a question. Compared to my old, but working HID-9500 bulbs, this thing blasts light like a cannon. The difference was the same as going from a halogen light to xenons in the first place.
The only change I will be making however, is the addition of a relay system to power the ballasts. A small problem I encountered (which he details in the instructions) is that on occasion, the lights may flicker upon startup, or only one may come on. This is a very familiar issue with attaching ballasts tot he stock relay system, and can easily be corrected by simply putting in a relay setup. But honestly, it is something I will be doing in my spare time, when I feel like it. Hasn't happened enough times to cause me THAT great of a concern. However, headlight relay kits are available preconfigured all over ebay, and even in your local auto parts store, and even a monkey can do a relay setup.
One other recommendation for anyone who gets this kit: Do not be concerned about the color of the light. 4300k bulbs produce a yellowish/greenish light while they are still new. Just leave your headlights on every time you take your car out for a drive, and within a few days, they should set into their true color. This is true of all 4300k bulbs, no matter the manufacturer. All HID bulbs mature in color as they burn on.
To put it simply, if you can manage an oil change, you can do this conversion, and it makes purchasing new or used HID-9500 bulbs look like a total waste. I am glad I chose this over paying basically the same price for a set of used bulbs. And speaking of used bulbs, I just sold my bulbs for more than the price of this kit, so he might as well have sent it to me for free, with cash included in the box.
I give it an A.
For those of you who are not familiar with this kit, it is a kit that completely replaces the HID system on 1997-1998 Lincoln Mark VIII cars with all new modern HID bulbs, wiring, and ballasts. The object is to escape the rapidly declining supply, and rapidly increasing price of the Sylvania HID bulb, while also giving a noticable improvement in light output.
Upon first opening the kit, I found everything well packaged and neatly organized, as well as a not including his contact info, and a link to photo installation instructions.
The kit itself is clearly one of the better aftermarket HID kits I have seen. Rather than coming with the shat knockoff ballasts I see in most HID kits (which always seem to fail), these ballasts are a familiar design that i have used before and know to be reliable. I have the same set in my old Dodge since mid 2003. The bulbs are 9006 sized D2S style bulbs with your typical aftermarket connectors on them. This is where the ease of replacement comes in. You can buy these bulbs seperately all over ebay in a wide variety of temps and styles. The bulb temp in this kit is 4300k, which is basically the same temp as what you already have. Best light output, and a white color.
The most important parts, the Mark VIII specific parts are more than adequately done. The grommet necessary to retain the proper (and watertight) use of the plastic covers that go on the back of the lights has been professionally mounted, and is of perfect size. Fits right in. The plexiglas adapters included were spot on, and definitely do the job.
The installation itself was actually very easy, despite seeming a little more difficult at first. The most difficult part of the whole thing is tapping into the stock wiring harness for the lights. Included are a set of T-taps for this purpose. I decided to forgoe this, and simply mated the wiring to my stock ballast connectors, removing the old ballasts completely. His instructions provided the perfect locations for routing of the wiring, and location of the ballasts. Be sure to keep them out of the engine bay, or they will have a very short life.
So, was there any improvement you ask? The answer is simply yes. There is not even a question. Compared to my old, but working HID-9500 bulbs, this thing blasts light like a cannon. The difference was the same as going from a halogen light to xenons in the first place.
The only change I will be making however, is the addition of a relay system to power the ballasts. A small problem I encountered (which he details in the instructions) is that on occasion, the lights may flicker upon startup, or only one may come on. This is a very familiar issue with attaching ballasts tot he stock relay system, and can easily be corrected by simply putting in a relay setup. But honestly, it is something I will be doing in my spare time, when I feel like it. Hasn't happened enough times to cause me THAT great of a concern. However, headlight relay kits are available preconfigured all over ebay, and even in your local auto parts store, and even a monkey can do a relay setup.
One other recommendation for anyone who gets this kit: Do not be concerned about the color of the light. 4300k bulbs produce a yellowish/greenish light while they are still new. Just leave your headlights on every time you take your car out for a drive, and within a few days, they should set into their true color. This is true of all 4300k bulbs, no matter the manufacturer. All HID bulbs mature in color as they burn on.
To put it simply, if you can manage an oil change, you can do this conversion, and it makes purchasing new or used HID-9500 bulbs look like a total waste. I am glad I chose this over paying basically the same price for a set of used bulbs. And speaking of used bulbs, I just sold my bulbs for more than the price of this kit, so he might as well have sent it to me for free, with cash included in the box.
I give it an A.
