mk2vr6t

Been doing some searching, sounds like the DEPO lights are a good go-to option for an OEM replacement. I may consider this, but in an ideal world, I would be getting a replacement housing, in black, without washer nozzles, and maintaining the factory HIDs. Now, it seems this is generally not an option. However, I am wondering if there is a housing option out there that features a "stock" look but with black housings, that I can just swap my factory HIDs into? Or, am I stuck buying aftermarket ballasts and bulbs and swapping into an aftermarket housing made for the stock CTS?

Thanks.

Paul Ashley

From what I've seen there are no aftermarket housings that will let you use an OEM HID setup. I'm not sure why you feel the need to keep your OEM HID setup though. As far as I know, all of the aftermarket options are plug and play with the HID temperature of your choice. You really aren't spending any extra for the aftermarket HID's. If you are looking for a stock look with black housing, Spyder has a great option. But if you decide to get something other than stock look, my personal and favorite setup is the dual halo with projector (pick a brand, they all look the same).

mk2vr6t

Not a fan of the halo look, basically looking for stock but with a black housing. I'm not stuck on having to retain the stock HIDs, it would just be nice. I've only had the car for 3 weeks and so far I like their performance much better than previous drop-in HID's i have had experience with in factory and aftermarket projectors. Its been a number of years, I'm sure technology and quality is getting better... But, my housings are pretty trashed, and they need to be replaced. So, if going the route of an aftermarket housing and an aftermarket HID kit is the best way to go without spending the better part of $1k, I'll go that route. I'm in Canada and the exchange rate hurts right now buying from the states!

Paul Ashley

There are definitely a few options to get a stock look housing in black on carid.com. I do agree with you on the quality issue concerns on the HID's. The two I've owned have been headaches. I would look to buy the cheapest housing you like, and then just swap the electronics. Just confirm what bulbs and adapters it needs. There is also some decent LED options out there now. I picked up and love them. I'm not sure if these specifically will fit your application, but know that LED has become a good aftermarket option the past few years. They shine exactly at the same temp color as 6k HID's.

84FSP

iTrader: (3)

The cheapest oem hid option I found was Fleabay for ~700 a pair. They did not have ballasts with them for that price and only cheap bulbs.

The reasearch I did told me I was going to be happier with an oem style halogen setup with the correct 6k led bulbs. All the bulbs from Hikari and the headlights set me back 259 delivered from amazon.


I’ll have the lights tomorrow but it will be a couple weeks before I get them in the car. My oem lenses were past buffing so time to replace. Front end just got repainted and didn’t want nasty lights on such a pretty girl.

Paul Ashley

Yeah i think you picked out a good set. Its unfortunate the premium you have to pay on the OEM lights. Hard to justify when you can get an aftermarket set for $200. Let us know how it goes!

mk2vr6t

My factory lenses have cracks in both, one let's in moisture enough to be a pain. I've never liked the grey housings so it's sounding like I'll be looking at an aftermarket black housing with aftermarket HIDs. I'm not against the LED options either. Any recommendations for a good HID bulb/ballast?

Paul Ashley

I can't recommend any specific brand but I would just find something thats well reviewed. I will say that Ive done 4 HID installs on my cars and all of them have given me huge headaches because of how sensitive they are to undervoltage and transients. My current setup is pro tuning labs dual halo set up with 6k HID lows and I put in the LED bulbs i mentioned earlier in for my highs. With that being said, i would still avoid pro tuning labs, as ive gone through 3 sets of ballasts. If I were to do it again, id just find a housing you like, and then throw in a well recommended LED setup. LED headlights have come a long way in the past few years and can now shine bright and stay cool. I found that using the LEDs on my highs was maybe 10% less bright than halogens, but i prefer the color of the 6k LEDs