So im in the market to buy a HID kit for my 98 z28. But I have some questions on what to buy.
1. 35w vs. 55w I heard 35w is the way to go due to the fact they last longer and won't burn up ****.
2. AC vs. DC I don't see many people talking about this. Clearly the AC ballasts make perfect sense but making sure someone esle has tried it.
3. Do I need to invest in a relay? I thought I read something that the 98 wouldn't need one. And the 99 to 02s would.
4. Pretty much boils down to Im just in need for someone to tell me what exactly I need. These kits arent cheap when you add them all up.
5. Going with the 8k low and 8k high 8k fog.

 

I'm no expert, but I've done research and am about to start a full on projector retrofit (materials just arrived yesterday)...

1) My understanding is that the 35w will be plenty bright. 55w creates more heat, washes out the color more, and burns out bulbs faster. Not to mention, costs more upfront too.
2) Not sure what you mean? In order to run HID's you will need a ballast. The ballast converts DC to a high voltage AC. Theoretically, DC ballasts would work too, but they don't promote even wear on the bulb electrode. Early on, some manufacturers ran DC, but AC won out as the standard. Any system you buy is going to be AC. The ballast also provides a much higher current at first to "fire" the bulbs and slowly backs off as the bulb heats up.
3) It's always recommended that you run a relay harness. People get away without it, but for the cheap cost of them and the insurance they provide, both for the vehicle and the new HID system, I don't see why anyone wouldn't run a relay harness. There's no material difference in the headlight wiring between 98 and 02 - run a relay harness.
4) There are kits available, I'll PM you.
5) 8k? Not trying to be a dick, but do you like blue lights and not being able to see? As a rule of thumb, 4300 is the "brightest", although has a yellow tint. 5k is going to be really white, 6k white with a hint of blue, anything above that and visibility goes out the window.

Don't be the dick that just throws HID's in the OEM housings and thinks it's great. First off, it's blinding other drivers. Secondly, the housing was never designed for it, and you're going to miss out on the actual benefits of HID lights - HID's "burn" differently than halogens, and the halogen reflector is going to give crap HID output. Seriously, if avoiding blinding other drivers isn't incentive, the fact that you're going to pay money for a system and leave a large chunk of the potential on the table hopefully is more incentive.

Additionally, there are going to be some headaches with the high beams... our vehicles turn the low beams off when high beams come on. If you were to cycle the high beams in a non-bixenon setup, you're going to turn off the low beam HID and then when you kill high beams, you'll fire it back up. That's going to be rough on the low beams and shorten their life.

I'm going to send you a PM with some more info...not sure if the source I used is a sponsor, so I'll keep it to PM.

 

dont get 8k , its too blue and looks like a young kid has them , go with 4300 or 5k , they will be brighter also .

go with the 35w kit no need for the 55w


you dont need a harness just plug and play , ive been using ddm kits with no harness for so long . I used it with the kit for a little while until it got corroded and no difference with or without.

 

I just installed a DDM kit, no harness, even though I have the harness. I will sell it cheaper then DDM if u would like it. I have 2 brand new. Just plug and play. Work great. I agree don't do 8000k. 6000k is the most blue I wanted and is still alittle to blue for me.

 

If you insist on using your stock headlight housings, DO NOT use 55W. You'll just totally blind the crap out of everyone. 35W is bad enough, similar light output to the stock high beams almost, but not quite focused right.

I agree with the others, don't do 8k. Too blue, and our eyes are less sensitive to blue than others. Whiter the better. Been there, done that with 6k and I dropped down to 5k.

I had no problems with 35W HID without a relay harness on a Camaro, but some have. This time around I did get a relay harness with my BLS projectors.

 

Also, don't run 55w in BLS projectors. I am 99% sure they use Morimoto Mini H1 projectors in DEPO housings. The 55w bulbs are too hot and allegedly will blister the chrome reflector in the projector.

 

im running 55w in a bls projector and havent had any problems. As long as your running proper projectors 55w has far better output in my experience. Yes you get the extra heat but ive had zero problems with mine burning ballasts up like all the 35w kits i had in the past. Ive gone a year now on the same bulbs and ballasts no issues at all

 

Ah, good to know.

 

I'm pretty sure yours aren't the same projectors as the Camaro gets however. The smaller Morimoto projectors won't handle the 55W. I forget what is in the LT1 BLS kit but I seem to recall it being a different (and larger) projector.

 

i agree though, dont put hids in a halogen housing... do it the right way

 

I'm a moron - didn't even realize he wasn't talking Camaro.

Yes, everything I have read says the MH1's can't handle 55w. I don't even think the seller (theretrofitsource) recommends it - I think they recommend against the 55w bulbs in MH1's.

 

yea i believe your right, my bad didnt relize we were talking about minis either. TRS wont sell them with a 55 kit i dont believe so thats probably the case, although i do see a 50 watt offering (maybe they dont burn quite as hot)

 

I just purchased my 35W 5K BLS kit from Brian over at Blackbird Lighting Solutions for my 02 Camaro SS! He was very persistent in selling me the 35W over the 55W for the Morimoto minis and I was glad to take his advice! Yes 55W is a nice boost over 35W, but when you're spending top dollar for a great product... the last thing you want is for a ballast or bulb to burn up in your setup. I was more than happy to take a Pros advice and go with the 35W... Brian was very helpful, professional, answered ALL of my questions in a very fast and timely manner and overall was a great businessman to work with! If you are needing a great setup, I suggest you check them out!

As far as the 8000k setup, like the others said... if you are buying HIDs just to have a "cool" blue tint to your lights and no visibility (which is pointless) then go for it! I bought the 5k Morimoto HID kit though!

 

BLS uses 35W kits for setups using the MH1s such as the 98-02 Camaro. The 93-97 Birds use a FX-R which can handle the higher wattage. As mentioned, do try to not just throw in a HID kit into stock housings without a projector. It's cheap and you basically get what you pay for.

 

I say go with 35w because you get more light then stock and you actually REDUCE the power draw vs. the stock bulbs. Thats one thing I liked about having them in my last car, no matter how loud I blasted my radio my headlights wouldn't dim.

from my understanding there are 2 "styles" of ballasts out there, Digital and Analog, you want the Digital ballast as they are less likely to have a flicker issue, the flicker is the ONLY reason you would need the relay harness kit, remember your actually using LESS power with the 35w ballast then stock lights.

6k is the absolute TOPS and in my last car I had my 6k JLM bulbs (bought on amazon) hooked to the JLM ballast and to the ballast I pulled out of my sisters old car when she totaled it, and with my JLM ones I had the flicker but when I put her's in the flicker disappeared and the color was more defined so quality of the ballast is really your number one concern.

Also don't bother going HID in your High Beams, Especially if your car is one of the ones where the low beams turn off when the highs go on (I know some years do this) you'll end up with a minute long "warm up" cycle that leaves you with **** poor light for that time and HID's don't like to be constantly turned on and off (which you do LOTS with High Beams).

FYI, try doing a search, this has been covered literally DOZENS of times on here, including as recently as in the last 2 weeks.

 

Initial power draw to fire the HID is higher than Halogen. Its the sustained/running power draw that is lower.

Also, there is a helpful Lighting FAQ:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/appearanc...hting-faq.html