My HID DIY with before and afters

[Mattzilla]

Here's a short summary of what I had to do:

1) Get car on jackstands (might want to loosen lugs first if you're not using an impact gun).
2) Remove front wheels.
3) Peel back inner fender lining just enough so you can move it behind the brakes on each side.
4) Disconnect factory wiring from bulbs, remove bulbs.
5) Install new bulbs - a bit of a pain, just apply some even pressure and twist and you're done.
6) Route your wiring. It would be a good idea just to hook everything up and test it out to make sure it works.
7) After that, you can start mounting your ballasts/adapters, zip-tie any wiring as needed.
8) Connect your ground to any sufficient source, and positive to battery.
9) Put any finishing touches as needed with zip-ties, etc. to make everything look neat.
10) Re-install inner fender lining and wheels.
11) Lower car, re-torque lugnuts.
12) Enjoy HID's.

Here are the goods:




Wiring laid out, as posted in my other thread:




Driver side:




Passenger side:




Here is where I routed my wires through the engine bay:








Bonus pic of my Injen CAI. Just shows how you DON'T have to remove the bumper to install it. So far I've installed the CAI and HIDs and didn't need to remove the bumper.




OK and now the before and afters


Before:










After:

[Civic_DC2]

Nice, who makes them and how much

[Streethonda06]

NICE DIY.... all i have to say is thank god i got the plug and play kit!!!! just a lil wiring and i was done... that looks crazy w/ all those relays and all

good job nice look

[Mattzilla]

Originally Posted by Streethonda06

NICE DIY.... all i have to say is thank god i got the plug and play kit!!!! just a lil wiring and i was done... that looks crazy w/ all those relays and all

good job nice look

Thanks! This particular setup draws more than 20amps at startup, so relays were necessary IMO to be safe.

[Nomar06]

nice.

[Thunderbolt]

That is correct. I don't believe in doing a half ass job on anything electrical, so relays were used. Besides preventing the stock harness from possibly being overdrawn, the relays serve their original purpose, which is to protect the stock harness in case of a short or malfunction. The relay is a sacrificial device after all. The harness is not.

Using true battery voltage, as opposed to harness voltage, also gives you faster warmup, better appearance, more light output, and more even color between both lights. I have never seen an HID system that didn't improve from a relay kit.

[bilzfan]

Matt,

What kit is this? I'd like to do this with the relays already in the kit.

I have built two harnesses in the past, nut it takes a long time to custom build the harness. I have built one for the Mazda 3, and the other for the RSX. This kit looks very interesting.

[Mattzilla]

Thunderbolt^ got me the kit (THANKS again!). They're Philips ultra-slim ballasts, and Ultinon 6000k bulbs.

[blaznhot_23]

nice!!!

[wishingsi]

How is the light disbursement on this plug and play kit with the stock reflectors. (ie. no projectors). Do u blind oncomming traffic, or are the stock reflector housings good?

[Mattzilla]

Originally Posted by wishingsi

How is the light disbursement on this plug and play kit with the stock reflectors. (ie. no projectors). Do u blind oncomming traffic, or are the stock reflector housings good?

The cutoff isn't great, but the light distribution is still pretty good. So far, I haven't had anyone flash their high-beams at me.

[torch02si]

Originally Posted by wishingsi

How is the light disbursement on this plug and play kit with the stock reflectors. (ie. no projectors). Do u blind oncomming traffic, or are the stock reflector housings good?

just check out the glare in the garage pic on the first page....not as bad as some reflector housings i'll give him that...but i wouldn't want to be the car in the opposing lane

[drfters13]

where did you put the ballast at? and did you screw them in?

[seaman]

Are you planning to change your multireflector housing for a projector housing ? So far it seems to work great, but on some situation you might blind the surrounding cars....

I'm installed with the plug and play setup right now, using the OEM housing like you do. My projector housing is ordered and I'll install it later this week.

I'll post some pictures juste to compare..

[HondaFREAK]

are you talking about the projector housing as in TSX projectors? or a multi-reflector housing built for HIDs like the IS300

[seaman]

Originally Posted by HondaFREAK

are you talking about the projector housing as in TSX projectors? or a multi-reflector housing built for HIDs like the IS300

Well, I don't think that you can find one like the IS300, so I'm talking about like the TSX.

[ASM07LX]

thanks for the DIY. I installed my kit on Friday night. I didnt have to take the wheels off though. I think the hardest part was getting the stupid coolant tank out and putting it back in.

[striker_1818]

Originally Posted by Mattzilla

Thunderbolt^ got me the kit (THANKS again!). They're Philips ultra-slim ballasts, and Ultinon 6000k bulbs.

next time buy rebased D2R's =]
better light output distribution

[Thunderbolt]

Those are rebased D2R's. The light distribution on his setup is better than the OEM setup on my Lincoln Mark VIII, so the distribution is more than sufficient for use on the road.

People freak out way too much over light distribution. I think I get blinded on a daily basis by more trucks with halogens than I do cars with HID conversions.

And no, there are no plans for a projector conversion or reflector conversion of any type. The purpose of this system was to increase lighting without tearing the car to pieces.

[Mattzilla]

^What he said. And for the record, I still haven't had anyone flash their highbeams at me.