Bluegs300

iTrader: (1)

I just bout my 2000 gs300. The car didn't come with hid’s. I need to know what I need in order to have hid's. I would like to keep it OEM, I’ve heard after market are no good. So if some one can help and tell me what I need to buy or do would be helpful.

DarKnight

iTrader: (3)

Just get an aftermarket plug and play kit. It's the same damn thing. The lights are going to be brighter regardless.

Lexbox

I see this is your first post, welcome to the CL family

By using the search feature you can find a plethora of information on the HID debate. Whether PnP kit, retrofit, or just buying an OEM HID setup. The rich will recommend a retrofit, the rest will recommend buying an OEM setup, and as always there are two or three that will recommend the inferior PnP kit.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

it's not fully plug and play. the oem autoleveling won't work, and also the headlights plugs are not the same, so you have to tweak it a bit (though now hard).

i would recommend oem hid headlights swap as well. but it's not cheap if you get them new. shop around

and welcome to cl!

Bluegs300

iTrader: (1)

i try doing a search didn't work, can you give the site for the PnP kit. thank you for the welcome.

macd7919

iTrader: (10)

Actually, it's no where near the same thing.

1. Factory (Oem) hid headlight housings have totally different reflectors in them designed to cut off the light pattern sharply so it isn't glaring in other peoples eyes and has that nice sharp cut off line you see when you drive next to a mercedes, lexus or bmw.

2. The retro fit bulbs are rigged up to work in a housing that was never designed for hid's, the positioning of the bulb (depth) is not correct inside the housing which further adds to the bad light pattern.

3. Aftermarket hid kits for the most part are inferior quality to Oem. For the price of a nice aftermarket kit you could easily take your time and source together some oem hid housings, bulbs and ballasts.

Hope this helps you.

varcity64

iTrader: (2)

the most cost effective way to get HIDS is to purchase an aftermarket kit and install them. now the lighting wont be the best, but u will have hids... the next "cheapest way" is to wait for a set of HID bulbs, ballasts, and headlight housings in the CL classified forum... this can be tomorrow or next to never, but it will cost you considerably more $$ than an aftermarket kit but it will look MUCH better imo BUT the auto leveling feature will never work in your car... and the last route you can go is doing a retrofit... getting some projectors retrofitted into your headlights, but this will cost lots of $$$ but will prob leave you w/the brightest lights out there imo. i went from the stock bulbs to the aftermarket HID kit and what a differnce!! i was able to see sooo much better. however, it was not what i wanted... i wanted more so i went ahead and got the Q45 retrofitted headlights for my car and WOW is all i can say... the lighting is unbelievable and better than the after market kit by far!!! i never went the oem route, so i cant compare that... but good luck with what u decide to do

black_gs99

try checking out xenon depot they are one of the cl sponsers.

Bluegs300

iTrader: (1)

How much did it cost to retro fit?

corkycal

iTrader: (8)

look to spend between $700-1000. some people sell these already retrofitted and all you would have to do is install them on your car.

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

Well for a retrofit. You gotta buy the parts first. Projectors ($100-600), bulbs ($50-200), ballast($150-250), and a custom relay wiring harness($20-35). I listed such a wide range in the prices because there are many different options for projectors. The rarer they are, the more coin its gonna cost you. Usually, also the rarer they are, the better light output, colorband, and cutoff as well.

On average, parts will cost about $400-500. Then you gotta pay someone to retrofit the projectors into your headlights. This process usually takes about a week or two, so it's good to have a second set of housings so you can drive around at night. Extra headlight housings are going to run about $250-450 depending on the condition. When I used to do a ton of retrofits, I charged $500. Everyone has their own prices though. I know some people that charge $1000-1500 just for labor! If you find a retrofitter, make sure they do good work. I've seen hackjobs where paint and glue was hanging all over the place. Anyways, a good rough estimate of how much it will cost to have a set of retrofitted headlights is around $1000-1200.

As most people said here, easiest and cheapest route is plug n play, but thats also the most glaring route. Next step up is to get the OEM hid housings which will run about $400-800 depending on condition. After that, the best route is to go with a retrofit. The HID optics tech/design in the OEM housing is almost 9 years old. Optics have changed a LOT since then. Major differences are longer light throw distance, wider field of view/peripheral vision, and more light output in general.

I hope my info helps, and good luck on your hunt!

DarKnight

iTrader: (3)

Well I'm eventually gonna get the Q45 retrofit done on my car but I'm happy with my plug-and-play kit for now.

chinkster

yeah can someone get a direct site to buying a plug and play hid kit for a 98+ gs400. thank you guys in advance!

DarKnight

iTrader: (3)

You can try xenondepot.com for some Philips or ultrabrightlights.com for some McCulloch.

G Star

iTrader: (2)

The performance on those are sub-par to some of the cheaper projectors you can get your hands on.

Also they look pretty ugly, but that's just my own little opinion.