Hello,

I was wondering if anybody can give me some advice and information about HID lighting. I've done a little research on site as well as offsite as well to try to get a clue for what is going on. Onsite, it seems like everybody is talking about either Philips or Osram for their HID solutions. Particular of acclaim would be the Philips HID 4100/6000 Kits. From what I read on site, I really like the look and the advantages of the E46/E39/ECE HIDs. Is there a difference between these items? Are the Philips/Osram just brands of lamps and the E46/E39/ECE a complete "setup"? How would I go about searching for what I want for my car? I have a 2000 ES300 without the HID option and told I have H7 for my lows. Do I just call a vendor and say " I want a E46/E39/ECE kit for a 2000 ES300?" Now these kits...I also read onsite and elsewhere that the car's lighting system is comprised of several components, highs/lows, running lights, fog lights, and whatnot, what do I have to worry about? Will the kits cover all components or just parts of it? What does installation actually entail? I somehow have a picture in my head that I cut off the front of my car, send it in and by magic, they send me the front of my car back with HIDs. I know that sounds ridiculous, but that's what in my head right now. How do I ensure I'm putting it in right and its not crooked with the left lights pointing one way and the right lights pointing in a completely different direction? Also how about my lenses, I read that HID lenses are special in that they are completely clear to let light out better and not smoked or has cut designs on them, so I need to worry?

Thanks for reading this whole thing, i know its long. I hope I don't come off sounding like a complete idiot asking these questions, hopefully I can figure this out cause I really would like to get this upgrade for my car. Thanks in advance.

 

Welcome to CL!

If you want to do upgrade your headlights to HID there is a couple of ways you can do it. Are your current headlights the projector type that has the two separate 'bug eye' domes, or the reflector type that has a shiny molded backround where you can see the bulbs themselves. If you have the projector type, the ES projectors do not distribute HID light efficiently. TIGUY99 has a cool article on replacing the stock projector with a projector out of an AUDI or BMW with HID, you might want to do a search and check that out.

If your headlight is the reflector type, the easiest thing to do would be to find a good phillips 4100k or 6000k H7 conversion kit. This kit will come with the HID ballasts and the HID bulbs mounted on an H7 base so it will fit perfectly into your headlight. This project would be the easiest because you would not have to aim your headlights due to the fact that the HID capsule is located precisely where the fillament of your current halogen bulb is.

If you find headlights out of a 2000 with HID, you can use them but you WILL have to cut out a small amount of metal at the top of the hole for the headlight(core support) because the back of the HID units are bigger then the halogen ones the harness plugs would also have to be changed or hard-wired.

good luck!
-c

 

thx cheapsk8 for the info. I checked out my headlights and I don't know if I can tell the difference. I'll try my best to describe what I see. I don't have a digital camera and lack of scanning tools make life difficult. I think they sort of look like the picture which you posted on my thread a while back. There is two "things" inside my headlight, one thing has a **** like instrument in it that has a buckyball look to it, this is on the outermost thing, the inner thing has a bulb in it. The back/housing on the inner thing is very reflective, but it has lines cut across them like pieced together.

From what I gather, it looks like i have a reflective housing? Now..what about my foglights and running lights? Or is this something I don't have to worry about? Does this also mean I don't have to worry about my lenses also? You mentioned the Phillips 4100k/6000k H7 conversion kit, is this the same as a E46/E39/ECE kit?

Thanks again.

 

Ta ta ta tahhh!!! ! Guess whos bacc!! LOL just joking. After reading the posts I can take a stab at it. IF you have the ES from the 2000 model year, your headlights are the reflective type bud. This simply means thatyou have a couple options adding Xenon to your ride. Your lights look like these right?


If so, to add HID in the easiest way, just grab an H7 HID KIT like cheapsk8 mentioned before and you're all set. Make sure that you get either 4100K variety or even 6000K is fine. The numbers stand for color temperature and not how bright the appearance is. So make sure BEFORE you buy that you understand that 4100K is the factory setting for ALL cars that come equipped with HID. 6000K is supposed to be for show but because of the popularity of the color temperature, its the highest legal color you can buy in regards to HID. Buy only Philips or Osram bulbs. Remember, there's a ban on HID Kits sales as of August 2003. Some vendors still sell them, I'm pretty sure some folks here know where to get them. Ask around.

This method of HID upgrading is the simplest and that's why I recommend it. Make sure you get the proper kit meaning H7 in your case because its really important that your new light bulbs matchup in the exact spot the old ones did. Other than that, the whole process shouldn't take any more than 30-40 mins on your first attempt. Ask away if you have any other questions. And take pics with your regular cam than have them scanned at walgreens and upload them here at Kinkos or whatever big photocopy chain exists near you.

 

thx tiguy and cheapsk8 for the info. I am probably gonna start searching out places to buy in the next few days and looking to do the install this month..hopefully.