headlight upgrade
 

im looking for a stock headlight upgrade. it could be something just as simple as new bulbs or whole new headlight assembly. budget isnt really a concern as long as its under $250. im lost when it comes to headlight types, there is projector, halos, led, hid not a clue of the difference. i dont want anything that requires re-wiring and sottering, unless it is very basic.

what is the best and easiest route to go with

well to start... halos are just for looks, LED headlight technology isnt far enough long for them to be safe(limited distance).

HID, high intensity discharge lighting is the best you can basically buy right now, however many people go about the upgrade wrong. First off, the PROPER way to install HIDs is only with the use of a projector lens which control the light output and provides an upper cutoff line to the bright light being put out. Yes you can get kits for a direct plug-in into your stock housing but then the light wont focus and its almost worse than driving around with your highbeams on becasue you will be blinding other drivers and in the rain its even more dangerous to oncoming traffic due to the glare.

If you want to keep you sock housings, I would recommend a quality bulb like the sylvania Silverstars and then also polish you headlight assemblies to remove and oxidation from the plastic lens. There are restoration kits you can buy to do that very easily, or use very very fine wet/dry sand paper and a little labor.

If you want HIDs, youd need to upgrade to a whole new housing OR custom fit projector lenses into a stock housing. Obviously the first option is the easiest. From what ive seen, all aftermarket camaro headlights that have projectors also have Halo rings, which just light up dimly to provide a custom high-end look. Halos dont really serve any real purpose. Once you have a projector lens make sure it provides a proper light cutoff and not that the lens is just a cheap piece of glass that truly does nothing. Once thats all good, you can then install one of the plug and play ebay HID kits. They go for about $50 shipped and ive bought them before and had no issues.

I have HIDs in my '01 SS in the stock housings so i know how bright annoying they really are. However i barely drive the car(maybe once every 3 months) and even less at night. Once i get the chance i will be installing the Silverstar 9006 bulbs though.
In my V, i have stock HID headlights and aftermarket HIDs in my foglights. The fogs once again are Very bright and im working on getting projector lenses to mount in them for a custom look and proper setup for those HIDs. That should be done next month.
In my ZR2 Blazer, i will be buying aftermarket headlights with a projector lens so i can install my other set of aftermarket HIDs. Those light i want also have Halo rings which i dont like but i can live with it i think.

so in closing ill say HIDs are best but not in stock housings...


BlackbirdWS6 makes awesome custom HID setups for 4th gens birds, (BLS) so he should be able to answer anymore question about HID setups and i think he'll agree with mainly everything i said.
heres a link to one of his threads... http://www.njfboa.org/forums/showthread.php?t=49750

http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/fi...emnew-1-1.aspx

that helps alot v. would this be a good choice as to a whole new housing option

thats just for the HID kit. In the picture you see they are using an aftermarket projector housing but that is not included.

what am i looking for a complete kit to include?

http://turbometal.com/lighting/proje...-chrome-1.html

that looks like a complete kit right?

that just appears to be the housings, no HID bulb/ballast/ignitor is included(most hids have the ballast/ignitor now in one module)


you'd be looking for something such as...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/98-02...Q5fAccessories

or

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/98-02...Q5fAccessories

those were just random items i found on ebay, i am not endorsing those exact items or sellers, just using them to give you an idea.

As far as the bulb "temp" ill make it simple, stick with a 6000k bulb and if need be max 8000k. That all determines color of the light output, but also the higher up you go, they may look cool, but the distance the light is projected is reduced.

http://app.infopia.com/x3racing/imag.../HID_chart.jpg

My SS has an HID setup out of a 2001 Benz S600, so i have a ballast and separate ignitor box. I installed these back in like 2003, wayyy before HID conversions became common. Now its still the same except i switched from the Benz bulbs i had custom mounted to aftermarket bulbs (12000k/9006 version)

As Paul said, that doesn't include housings, and you want to stay far away from 10,000k bulbs for the street. Will explain that later....

Look like they might be decent housings, I would just verify that they are HID projectors instead of halogen projectors, as the cutoffs are a bit different. Halogen projectors aren't terribly common, but they are out there.

In reality, you should stick with a 4300k bulb. That is the closest to natural light, and will provide the highest light output. 5000k is also acceptable, but I wouldn't go any higher than that.

- Justin

Some halogen projectors can do a decent job of controlling the light output of a HID lamp. Not all are created equal.

My recommendation, as I have already mentioned to you through PM, is to pick new projector housings (whatever suits your taste) and grab a 5000K HID kit from DDM with the upgrade relay harness. Hopefully the projectors will be halfway decent but the 5000K is by far the most popular on what I sell and use in my own cars.