high/low HID idea..

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high/low HID idea..

February 18, 2012, 09:19:44 PM

so i was thinking earier about how i'm going to set my headlights up, since i went 4 eyed with the 'new' car.. i want HIDs, because of the obvious light quality/quantity.. i'm going to ditch the glass bulbs and go with 'diamond cut' sealed beam conversion lamps.. with these.. http://www.racinglab.com/redicutsebeh.html

now, my idea..

get 2 'low beam only' HID kits and set up the outter lights as my low beams.. then set the other ballists up to run the inner lights for my highs.. NOW.. when the inner lights are on for my highs, the outters (low beam) would stay on, to produce (in theory) twice the amount of light..

what do you guys think? it'll take a bit of 'trick wiring,' but i've wired things way worse

high/low HID idea..

Reply #1 – March 03, 2012, 01:08:23 AM

When I did this in the 86 stang, I had to get a harness, that would keep the outers illuminated, when switching to high beam, as the low beam filament is turned off.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HID-Xenon-H4-Bi-xenon-Hi-Lo-Relay-Harness-With-Fuse-/290562417821?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43a6dea49d&vxp=mtr

I ended up keeping the highs as 100W halogen bulbs.(barely need highs anymore anyways!

Unless you can see a beam pattern of those, I'd go with a free form hella. Known good brand name

http://www.amazon.com/Hella-165mm-Replacement-Headlamp-Standard/dp/B000FNJ6FM/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1330753565&sr=8-6

You would want a clear lens with a fully shielded HID bulb or going to be glare ahoy!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/55W-9003-H4-BI-XENON-High-and-Low-HID-BULBS-6000K-White-/220962687326?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item337267095e&vxp=mtr

And if cost is a worry, do relays, and stick to halogens with decent housings.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/165mm-H4651-H4656-H1-H4-EURO-CONVERSION-HEADLIGHTS-SET-/330678825326?_trksid=p4340.m185&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC.NPJS%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUA%26otn%3D5%26pmod%3D230154656431%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D6733587332495169931

Here is the beam from the autopal housing

Here is the autopal with the HID shielded bulb. Has a bit of glare that is not evident in the pic, so I'll be switching either back to halogens, or switching to a free form housing.

Found a pic of glare:

Creating HID projectors can be done, it's just a pain. here's how the attempt turned out. I may try thid again, but need to find shallower HID projectors as these hit the core support.

Left is HID right is the E code autopal

Taken when I had my SLR. The Ecode cutoff. Shows why the HID must be shielded even in a free form housing, as the bottom part of the reflector will reflect light upwards, creating glare.

high/low HID idea..

Reply #2 – March 03, 2012, 07:00:05 PM

thanks for the input.. i ordered 1 pair of my housings, they should be here sometime next week.. they are smooth/clear lenses with the 'projector shield' built into the housing.. i'm not sure if that harness would come in handy or not, as i have 4 'low beam only' ballasts/bulbs.. it may work if i used 2, but not sure.. this is really kind of being put on the back burner as a project.. for now, i'm just going to run the outters with the HIDs and no HI's for now.. main focus is getting it road ready and driving it to the shop, so i can get rid of some of the rust.. THEN i'll tackle the hi/lows when it's reassembly time lol

high/low HID idea..

Reply #3 – March 03, 2012, 08:20:33 PM

Modding the headlights for "four on high" is crazy simple (but only recommended on 4-eye cars. 9004 bulbs in aero lights are not designed to have both elements lit at the same time and WILL melt the ground terminal). Just a word of advice: HIDs are not meant to be switched on and off multiple times, they're meant to be turned on and left on. Indeed, they will not even attain full brightness until they've been turned on for half a minute of so. This is why most cars with factory HID setups retain halogen high beams, and the ones that have HID high beams either physically move the reflector to change beams, or they have built-in "eyelids" that block out the upper part of the beam for low beam operation and then open them up for high beams. In both cases there is only one HID bulb that remains lit constantly. If you plan on driving at night at times when there are a lot of oncoming cars I'd recommend against HIDs for high beam, otherwise you'll be burning up bulbs and ballasts left and right.

high/low HID idea..

Reply #4 – March 03, 2012, 09:19:28 PM

to be honest, i never even took the 'warming up time' into consideration.. HIDs are plenty bright enough on their own, with the projector housings.. maybe i will use halogen H4 bulbs for the inners/high beams and bypass the multifunction switch for the ballasts on the outter lights, so they aren't effected when pulling the multifunction switch to trigger the inners (high beams)

i don't know, i'll figure it out and set it in stone when the time comes.. i have a lot of other to screw with before i actually tackle the high beam situation.. for now, only the outters will be functional with the ballasts.. the inners will basically be dumby lights until i start reassembling the car after body work (probably next winter)