C5 Forever

Now I'm looking at this package that comes with two glass headlamps, uprgraded wiring, and PIAA's. Everything is plug and play. If I get these lamps, will I be ok then to install HID's? I'm just making sure this is what I need to hold my beam pattern. The HID's will fit in this set up, correct? I don't want to go with the Le Mans style lights that are exposed. That's why I'm getting these, so I can retain my pop ups. Thanks.

C5 Forever

t t t

skytower31

iTrader: (4)

Do you have details on the headlamps?

To get the proper beam pattern for HID, you need either a projector housing or a housing specifically made for reflective HID. If the new housings you are looking at take a normal halogen bulb, you can get HID bulbs rebased to physically fit in there, but it will look like *** and blind EVERYONE. If you have more info on the headlamps, I can help you out. Also, you will need to run all new wiring anyway for the HID ballasts, etc. I recently finished retrofitting a set of Hella HID projectors into my Trans Am so I am very familiar with HID technology, etc. I will be happy to help you out.

C5 Forever

I assume the headlamps are what I need. They are put on all C5's going to Euroupe, and a lot of them run HID's. They are made of glass instead of plastic, only have one port for bulbs (because they hi/low are the same bulb), and they do look different. The HID kit I've found comes with the ballasts, wiring, and bulbs.

C5 Forever

Here they are. I saw another pic of them somewhere. They look like they are tinted also. Here's what they say about them on the site:

*US headlamps are cheap plastic and would melt with high wattage bulbs; European headlamps are glass and metal and much more apt for high wattage applications

*US headlamps send light out in a general direction, with no designed-in cutoff to prevent glare to other drives, which makes upgrading to a higher wattage bulb dangerous to oncoming cars; European headlamps were designed with stricter standards in mind, and have a sharp cutoff while the low beam is on, meaning you can increase wattage as much as you like without causing a dangerous situation for oncoming drivers (make sure to aim them properly!)

*US headlamp high beam is just a brighter version of the low beam; European headlamp high beam is a different light pattern that spreads out like a spotlight for superb vision in the darkest areas

*US headlamp low beam concentrates much of its light output at a single hot spot in front of the car; European headlamp low beam distributes the light output evenly across the entire frontal area of the car and out into the distance for even vision in the viewing area, as well as has a nice rising edge feature where the light output rises towards the right side of the car for a much better view of the side of the road where signs, people, and animals may be hiding in the darkness

C5 Forever

skytower31

iTrader: (4)

Do they tell you the bulbs that are made to fit in these lamps?

If it is a H3, H4, H7, H9, 9006, etc halogen "style" bulb, you are going to have to get rebased HID bulbs for it to work. These rebased bulbs are standard D2S HID bulbs that have been put onto different bases. Because of this, they may not be as good of quality as going with a straight Philips D2S bulb, etc. I would recommend seeing if anyone has found a way to adapt the headlight housings to accept D2S bulbs. That is the only way you can guarantee a quality bulb. Also, when looking at bulbs and ballasts, I would suggest ONLY Philips D2s bulbs and Hella Gen III ballasts.

It sounds like the units are well built and have the ECE cutoff. This "could" cause legal issues in the US as we use a different HID cutoff here. In reality ALL HID retrofits are illegal in the US, so if they want to nail you, they can no matter what the cutoff style.

For comparison, here are the two cutoff styles

US DOT Style:


Europe ECE Style as described above in their info about the cutoff:


So as long as they do in fact have a cutoff shield built into the housing and you can figure a way to adapt the housing to accept D2S bulbs or don't mind using a rebased bulb, you should be good to go. The light output is going to be awesome, however, keep in mind that when you look at the lights from the front, they are going to look like this:



as seen on '02 and '03 Nissan Maxima's and pre '04 Acura TL's. These are reflected systems that still have the same light output and color look to them, but the light is more spread out and not focused like these projectors:



as seen on my Trans Am, BMW's, Audi's, etc.

Hope this info helped you and again, if you have any more questions, let me know! I am sure you will love them! I can't wait each night to turn on my HIDs in my Trans Am!

C5 Forever

That Euro cut off pic looks just like my friends SVT focus that came with HID's. At what distance was that US DOT pic taken? It looks like it is a lot closer to the wall than the Euro pic. I'll try to find out more about the lamps. They said it takes and H4 bulb, so I'm assuming I'll need a rebase. I'll only go with Phillips or Hella from everything I've read. The HID kit I'm looking at is completely Phillips.

C5 Forever

What are the difference in cut off's? Is it a specific height at a certain distance? I don't see how that ECE cutoff would affect traffic, except maybe that it shines out too far to the left. Could you explain that a little more. Thanks again for your help.

skytower31

iTrader: (4)

The US DOT pic is much closer than the ECE pic. Below are drawings to better represent the two cutoffs. Also, that ECE pic I have up there is kinda weird because it looks seems like there should be two flares on the right side for each housing. I am not familiar with the ECE housings though... Either way, the cutoff isn't that critical, just the fact that you have one! Plus with them not being projectors, they won't be quite as intense.

Europe ECE


US DOT


The rebased bulbs will probably be ok, but of couse, it would be best to use an original D2S bulb. Also, when looking at kits, there is only 1 Kelvin rating you should look for, 4100K or sometime listed as 4300k. If they are a philips bulb, they should only have a color rating in that range. This is the color rating for ALL OEM D2S bulbs. Anything else will be a colored or cheap bulb and not produce the bright light you are looking for with HID.

Here is a good site on aiming HIDs. http://faq.auto.light.tripod.com/hl-aiming.htm The only thing I can see with the ECE cutoff is if you are in the fast lane on the freeway, you could be blinding people in the slow lane. The power of the light does dissipate out on the right side of the light, so in reality, I am sure it is fine. Again, since all HID retrofits are illegal in the US, the cutoff doesn't really matter. Just be sure you aren't getting oncoming people flashing you or someday it will be a cop flashing you and then pulling you over. So make sure they are aimed properly and you should be fine!

C5 Forever

Sounds good. I really like the stage II kits that are rated at 6000k. I know they are about 20 less light, but the tint of blue is really easy on the eyes. Hopefully, I will be able to find everything I'm looking for. How much was the kit you made all together? Would you consider making one for a Corvette? If you have a vette around that you could make all your measurements? PM if you would like to make some money.

skytower31

iTrader: (4)

My setup cost about $650 total for projectors, HID bulbs, ballasts, making my own wiring harness, relays, aluminum for various mounting plates and also round high beam halogen lamps to complete the look. I would be happy to look at a corvette to see if my setup would work on that as well. I am unfamiliar with their flip-up housing but if you can find someone in the Los Angeles area that would be interested and wouldn't mind a little Trans Am guy pokin' around their vette I would be happy to talk a look at it. Eventually when I do a full how-to for the setup I did for the Trans Am I would probably charge about $700 to ship a fully completed system. The only problem I can forsee with vettes is the depth available for the projector housing. Clearances were tight on my TA and it think it would be even tighter on a vette, but I have never even looked at their headlight assembly.

Let me know if you have any vette friends out here in LA