lowblow

Last night I finally got around to installing my HID kit, (e-bay kit). WOW!, what a difference. While I was in there I replaced the high beams with the Silverstar bulbs. This made a nice difference but definitely doesn't come close to the intensity of the HID's.

I took before and after pictures but they really didn't turn out as well as I hoped and aren't worth posting.

I followed the directions as posted by JohnJL, (Thanks John!), but did find that there were a few things that were incorrect, (not at all bashing John because overall his directions were great and made the job fairly easy).

If anyone has any questions feel free to PM me.

This is an awesome cost effective upgrade that I would highly reccommend.

Mike

MonkeyBoy

How long did it take? How much was the kit?

lowblow

MonkeyBoy, (classic name)-

The kit was about $250.00. The install time was about 2 hours although the first one took 1-1/2 hours and the 2nd one took 30 minutes.

If you knew exactly what you were doing you could do it in an hour.

Mike

vjd3

If anyone's up for doing this as a group project in the Boston area, I'm in ... I have a Catz kit to re-install but no garage to work in at the moment.

Vic
95 C4

Blaine S

I just received my kit and was going to do it this afternoon, or over the weekend. If anybody has any tips beyond the DIY threads let me know!

Looks like a great upgrade.

MonkeyBoy

I've got a garage in Wellesley - but also a crazy travel schedule over the next few weeks. Maybe if it can wait to the end of May or so... Congrats on the new car, btw. I actually called you about your old one a while back.

jdoc7

Recently installed my HIDS from the same vendor as above off EBAY and agree with all those who've done the upgrade...WHAT A DIFFERENCE! A couple tips on install though:

1) the plastic retaining tabs on the connectors are somewhat stiff and brittle so if you have to disconnect them, be very very careful bending them as they can snap (Yes, it happened to me)

2) if you have to enlarge the opening for the new bulb to fit in the bulb housing, use a round sanding tip with a DREMEL. I used one that was the same diameter as the new bulb and it sanded down cleanly. I initially used a file like others had suggested but it wasn't as clean and particles were getting inside the housing.

3) Be carfeful when cutting the original thick grommets on the insides of the trunk. They absolutely must be cut to pass the large connectors through but, they rip easily causing too large of an opening. Note that there is a very thick part of rubber which is where you should make the slice. Try not to cut the thin parts of the grommet. I initially cut the thick part on one side and had no ripping but to save time, I cut through the thin part on the right side and it ripped too easily.

4) There isn't a completely flat spot inside the trunk wall to mount the ballast on the driver's side. The best location seems to be over the brake fluid reservoir mount but the ballast doesn't sit flat due to some plastic mounting bolts on the reservoir support. This prohibits velcro from being 100% effective. So, in addition to velcro, I used 2 of the screws supplied with the kit to mount to the plastic reservoir support. Make sure the ballast is low enough so you don't drill into the reservoir.

5) The current fuses for each low beam lamp (Positions 22 and 23 in the fuse box) are 15 amps, I changed them to 20 amps for piece of mind.

6) When dremeling out the bulb hole, try not to put too much pressure on the housing as you will alter the leveling of the lights which may require adjusting afterwards. Not a big deal but may save you time and hassle in the end.

7) The bulb retaining clip won't fit perfectly. It has to be bent in different ways to hold the bulb in. There is a fix kit that comes with a new spring clip and retaining clip but I bent the original clips in such a way that they aren't going to come off on their own.

8) Take your time, it's really pretty simple and straight forward. Definitely a must-do upgrade!

That's all!

Blaine S

Excellent advice jdoc7 - printed out your suggestions and ready for the install.

I'm off to get some 55W H-1 Silverstars for the high-beams.

Greg Bell

I've done a search on google and can't find what I'm looking for. Does someone know where I can source a kit in Australia?

Many thanks

trevor townsend

Just what I'm looking for. Before I get on to ebay could you let me know what to look for? Hope that they will ship to Cape Town South Africa!
Thanks

Chuck W.

Here is the vendor we used and a current listing. Besure to tell him you want the H1 bulbs. Good luck.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...spagename=WDVW

Midnight C4S

When we did the group install at DEVEK some months back we didn't cut the rubber to get the connectors through but because we did not that was the hardest part, so I would say you don't have to but it likely will save a lot of time and trouble.

About mounting with Velcro, it can be done and works really well BUT it has to be done with a double Velcro job. In other words because you need clearance you need to put one piece down flat then the opposite piece on top of that, THEN put two more pieces on top of the frist two, not at all hard BTW. Then you will have the clearance you need and no holes will need to be drilled.

Good luck, it's very do able but it does take time, we found about 2 to 2.5 hours seemed to be about right for a first timer which is what we all were that day. Second time I would imagine you could cut that nearly in half.

I also second that this is a huge bang for the buck upgrade.

I should add that perhaps the $250 group buy HID kit that we got may not be exactly the same as the one you are getting.

SCMomentum

What would be the difference between...
http://www.hid-online.com/hidonline/
and the ones sold on e-bay?....besides price. The HID-online does use some German hardware.

Dudley

Hey Vic, I am in.