My Civics HID DIY Installation

[Orient Express]

Originally Posted by bluetroll

i couldn't get the driver side bulb to fit... it wouldn't lock!

Did you try putting some silicone lubricant on the base and on the O ring?

The other trick is once you have the bulb twisted in as far as you dare by hand, take a mid-sized jewelers flat bladed screwdriver, and place the tip against the base in the socket to push it the last millimeter or so. You will hear the retaining latch click when it is in all the way.

I agree that the tolerances are very tight, and the bulb base can bind, that is why the lubricant helps. Don't spray the lubricant directly on the bulb, as you will probably get it on the glass, but rather spray some on a Q-tip and dap it on the bulb base fingers, and the O ring. Another trick is to take a hair dryer and heat up the housing bulb receptor to make it expand a little, then put in the bulb.

[Exeon]

i'm really tempted to buying one of these sets, could you take a pic on a road/street with the car at a stop

[Avenger]

My drivers side on my PnP kit didn't lock in properly (as well as the passenger side) either...........meh, it still seals fine :)

I have 8000k HID's. Had em for 3 years now, just pulled them from my Intrepid when it went into storage, and put em into the Civic. Never got pulled over by the cops, and I've only been flashed a handful of times.

Love em.

[ethlar]

after hearing most peoples good experiences with these kits im actually going to order a set in the next few days, im torn between 4300k and 6000k, ASM LX sedan if it makes a difference

[Mikey6p]

go 6000

[Exeon]

looks like i'm ordering the 6000k kit tonight

[vtloki]

Ordered mine 2 days ago. Can't wait to get them, and install them. I also ordered 6000K, and it was this post and a few others that had such good experience and results with this kit, I just had to get it. $160 for the HID look and performance is awesome.

[striker_1818]

if u want this cheapo kits then don't go past 6000K if u want decent light output on the road. On the 1st page, he posted a night picture of his lights against a wall. If you're too lazy to look then here's a quote

Originally Posted by Orient Express

Credit where it is due for this image:

Do you see the hotspots above the cuttoff line? Those are the brightness that can blind you temporary and cause you to get into an accident if u are of course driving on the opposite direction.
The light output on the ground is not really good hence halogen bulbs such as the new sylverstars which have a wider output on the road can get u the same results and for 40 bucks a pair with less glare.
And to finish this off, even though I'm not a fan of hid kits, i can see the effort you put into your DIY thread and hey man thumbs up for your effort and easy to follow DIY!

[ethlar]

Originally Posted by striker_1818

Do you see the hotspots above the cuttoff line? Those are the brightness that can blind you temporary and cause you to get into an accident if u are of course driving on the opposite direction.
The light output on the ground is not really good hence halogen bulbs such as the new sylverstars which have a wider output on the road can get u the same results and for 40 bucks a pair with less glare.
And to finish this off, even though I'm not a fan of hid kits, i can see the effort you put into your DIY thread and hey man thumbs up for your effort and easy to follow DIY!

If you look at the halogen beam pattern vs that one there those hot spots are there too, the housings are designed to throw some light up to illuminate reflective road signs and reflectors on other cars and trucks. The hotspots do become somewhat more pronounced with the brighter hid bulbs but for the most that not a horrible beam pattern. I ordered 4300k btw, figure it will colorshift towards 6000k some and il still be happy.

[striker_1818]

Originally Posted by ethlar

If you look at the halogen beam pattern vs that one there those hot spots are there too, the housings are designed to throw some light up to illuminate reflective road signs and reflectors on other cars and trucks. The hotspots do become somewhat more pronounced with the brighter hid bulbs but for the most that not a horrible beam pattern. I ordered 4300k btw, figure it will colorshift towards 6000k some and il still be happy.

after 100 hours or so your bulbs will colorshift. If you drive a civic(stock) you can see the beam pattern which is pretty good and a lighter to no hotspots above the cutoff line. Also, they have aim-ed the headlights to the ground which makes it ridiculously difficult to see road signs.
but yeah...just picked up a set of tsx projectors =D

[bluetroll]

has anyone tried installing these without removing the wheels?

[GETxERxDONE]

Originally Posted by bluetroll

has anyone tried installing these without removing the wheels?

you take out the battery for the drivers side..but your screwed for the passenger side. unless you just turn the wheel to get more room in there

[bluetroll]

cool... i'll try tonight... thx.

[Orient Express]

As an update to this HID story, the lights have been in for over 2 months with absolutely no problems, and not one on coming car has flashed me, suggesting that the light pattern is not bad for oncoming traffic.

I have also installed the fog light kit and have upgraded the high beams with PIAA 4000K 60w bulbs. I also upgraded the fog ligh bulbs with Hella Extreme Yellow bulbs.

[gbae007]

Bump for an excellent thread.

[Orient Express]

I finally got around to taking an actual photo of the light pattern of this HID kit that I put in my Civic sedan. I also have a photo of one of my other cars that has Bi-Xenon lights for comparison.

1st the HID Kit shining on a wall from 20 feet:



Next the Bi-Xenon lamps from the same distance:



While the upper cutoff is not quite as sharp, the overall beam pattern of the reflector based HID retrofit is very close to a Bi-Xenon projector HID system. There is very little if any spurious light on these reflectors. Notice that the light color is whiter than the Bi-Xenon lamps.

While I won't bore you with what kind of car the Bi-Xenon lights are on, the replacement cost of each those headlight assemblies is $3800. My $165 HID retrofit is probably 95% as good as the high-priced units, so I think that it is a very good investment. It is a shame however that there are not cheaper or easier solutions for Civic projector headlights.

[Tim]

That is an excellent comparison photo! It won't bore me. Come on. What car are those bi-xenons on?

Your photo does help to see the difference in dispersion of light. The projectors casts light evenly, widely, and without the hotspots in the center of the field of vision. The reflector results aren't half bad though. Good info!

[jasongg06]

good stuff OE, i'm going to get one soon if the HIR bulbs aren't as good as i expect.

i'm just curious though, how does your highbeam work? because when i use my highbeam when my lows are off, it flashes both the highs and lows. How does it work with HID's now?

oh yeah also, where'd you buy your hell bulbs from? thx

[Orient Express]

The high beams seem to be fine. I retrofitted the high-beams to PIAA Xtreme white plus lamps. Most of our driving with this car is Urban, so there is not much chance to use the high-beams, but when we do use them they are much better than the stock Sylvania bulbs, especially in the rain.

Here is the link to the Hella H11 foglight bulbs. Note that the "each" in the order guide means a pair, not a single bulb.

Lastly here is the car of mine that has the B-Xenons:

[Tim]

haha what a "boring" car. If by boring, you mean beauteous.