Has anyone successfully done an HID/Xenon headlight conversion? My 996 has factory xenon litronic lights with projector low beam. My Range Rover's high beams are so much better in lighting up the road than my 996, I thought of trying to convert my hi beams to xenon/HID too. But I have heard it may melt parts of the headlamp cluster and cause discoloration of the headlamp cover because it wasn't designed to take xenon hi beam bulbs. Any thoughts, experience?

 

I have no personal experience with this, but my understanding is that the melting and discoloration issues are associated with "xenon look" bulbs as opposed to true HIDs. True HIDs actually run cooler than standard halogen bulbs.

To achieve an HID look, many bulb companies coat halogen bulbs with a blue or purple coating. This dramatically reduces usable light output, so their answer is to increase the wattage. This increases heat, causing the problems you mentioned.

I think you'll be okay if you use a true HID system to upgrade your highbeams, but I'd be curious to hear what others think.

 

Check out ddmtuning.com
I got a set for my wifes MB C-class. I did the conversion myself. It was plug and play. The most difficult part was finding a suitable placed to mount the ballasts.. which took 10 minutes for each side.

 

Yes, I've done the complete Bi-Xenon conversion on my '99. I'll try to post pics and details this evening. This is the process where you have to remove the lenses from the headlight housing. Takes MORE than 10 mins. Not just a light bulb swap.

Absolutely love the difference and the look.

 

Thank you all for your responses. I think I will try it! 15PSI - please post pictures if you can. Thank you.

 

I don't have the pics on this computer so I can only tease you. I'll post with everything soon.
Here is:
Morimoto Bi-Xenon kit
Headlight assembly in parts - note lens that won't be used
Bi-Xenon installed in headlight reflector - note lens cover in background
Final result

 

Damn 15psi you went all out on doing those headlights. What did you use to black out the bottom of the headlights?

 

This is my second version. The first time I used the VHT tinting paint that you get at auto part stores. It was chipping within weeks. After 6 months, I stripped it off and used 3M automotive paint materials that I used to paint my spoiler. I used '2 part urethane' clear coat and added a FEW drops of the black paint to tint it. Sprayed a few coats with HVLP gun. A few extra on the amber lens. A year later it is great.

 

Did you spray it on the inside while the lenses were apart?

 

X2. I have used DDMTuning's HID light kits on several vehicles, and they are very simple plug-and-play. Re-aiming has been the only issue.

 

My favorite post concerning aftermarket kits:

http://www.renntech.org/forums/topic...ost__p__193969

"Any aftermarket HID “kit” that does not include projector assemblies is going to be subject it intense glare for on-coming drivers. Some states have begun to crack down on the use of these kits, failing cars at inspection time, and a couple have begun to issue “unsafe vehicle” citations which require the car be repaired on site or towed to a shop before it can be used on the road again.

In addition to the glare and legality issues, we have had several cars with these aftermarket HID’s come into the shop with all kinds of electrical problems, ranging from error codes in the onboard computer system, charging problems, to burnt wiring, and HID’s that would not ignite. As the result of the problems we have seen, when we get a car with these systems installed in them in for a PPI, we rate this item as a “deduct” from the car’s value…….."

 

I call BS.

The DDMTuning kits simply replace the BULB with a new bulb (albeit HID versus incadecent). If there are wiring or glare problems, then its an inherent design problem. Error codes? Yes, they can throw error codes, because the HIDs draw substantially LESS current than the incandecents, causing the computer to think there is a burnt out bulb. But they arent going to cause wiring problems unless the installer did it wrong.

I think you are blaming something you dont understand for problems that you dont want to take the time to diagnose.

 

Hey I never said I agreed with that poster... just said it was my favorite post regarding the subject. I hear a lot of success stories, but there is the one very negative one out there.

In fact I would consider putting them on my car.

Why not engage a dialog with that person from my post?

 

Sorry to bring up an old thread. I did just get a HID conversion kit. it is an H7 bulb. My headlight housing already has a lens, and not a projector. However, when you put the bulb in, how do you secure it? Originally the bulb went into the socket and it screwed into the headlight housing. But with these HID conversion bulb, it has 2 wires coming out of it going to the ballast. It would not fit into the socket.

any ideas?? how do people install these kits on a 996?

 

Well, since this is an old thread...

The problem isn't so much with the power output, the power draw, etc. The issue with converting a halogen reflector to an HID bulb is the light pattern that is emitted by the bulb. It's very different from a halogen to an HID bulb. This frequently causes glare and "hot spots" that can creat major issues for oncoming traffic or during inclement weather like fog. Additionally, converting a halogen light by simply changing the bulb doesn't include the auto-level feature found on OEM lights to prevent glare from bothering oncoming traffic. There's more to it than just a simple blub/ballast change.