Rep Power: 0

What's going on guys? Got a quick question about HID lights. I've done so much research already and can't get an answer that I'm looking for. I have a 2005 Civic LX SE. I have aftermarket projector headlights with halogen bulbs and at night it just looks stupid. Can I put HID bulbs in them or do I need to put my stock housing back in? PLEASE HELP!!!

 
Rep Power: 811

nope, hid will not work in halogen projector. you can open the lights and change the projector inside with a real hid version (something smaller prolly so it fits without cutting) like from theretrofitsource.com

 
Rep Power: 0

Ok, what if I reinstall my stock housings? Can they handle the HID bulbs?? The retrofit stuff seems pretty complicated and pricy... If I had money that would def look awesome!

 
Rep Power: 811

no the hids wouldnt work in the halogen reflectors either. the design is different and you will not only look like your hi beams are on, but the light pattern on the ground will be spotty and even dimmer than stock.

 
Rep Power: 0

I've heard of many people who install an HID kit in their stock headlights?
Am I missing something or is this situation different? I was planning on installing HIDs in my stock headlight housings.

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...ml#post2154837

Is it the difference between the 2001-03 and the 04-05 headlights?

 
Rep Power: 811

has nothing to do with the year. hid bulb just does not work properly in a reflector designed for halogen bulb. they are two completely different technologies. the pics in that post are from when none of us knew better. notice how much light there is above the cutoff line (glare) and how poor the ground light is. this is output from my audi a4 valeo hid projector retrofit i have on the car now. i used aftermarket housings and swapped out the projector as seen here. this is the proper way to do it.

 
Rep Power: 0

Awesome. I think I'm gonna get the Mirimoto Minis H1 just to be safe with the size fit. I'm just nervous about tearing off the housing. Other then that, do you have any other suggestions, seeingthat you've done this before???
By the way I appreciate the help!

 
Rep Power: 811

should be pretty easy with the mini h1. opening the headlights is not a big deal and usually a heat gun on low heat and some patience is enough. you could also use an oven set to 200F for 10 mins which really makes it easy. when closing back up, add a bit extra butyl sealer, heat up, and press together firmly using pliars every inch for a tight seal. when they are open, its simply a matter of removing the old projector and installing the new one. you can use custom parts like i did (bolts/nuts/washers/brackets) from home depot. the main idea is to get the aim straight so you probably will need to test them on the car by just installing the back housing so you get an idea where they will point. the average reference point is 2 inch drop at 25ft using the left side of the beam cutoff.

 
Rep Power: 0

Gearbox,

If someone is lazy / untalented or otherwise unable to retrofit projectors.. are any of the premade HID projectors on eBay worthwhile alternatives?

 
Rep Power: 811

im not sure what you mean by premade. are you talking about halogen projector sold with hid kit? if so then no, they already suck too badly with halogen. you could always have one of the many retrofit companies put an hid projector in the stock headlight.

 
Rep Power: 0

Sorry, premade was a terrible choice of words.
I meant factory made. Like an HID projector kit for a 2001 Civic.

 
Rep Power: 0

sorry to side bust in this man's thread... Best place to pick up the butyl rubber? Is tape preffered or just the tube? Holla!

 
Rep Power: 811

you want the stuff that looks like coiled string cheese but black. 3M is my favorite and you can find it on amazon i believe. the autozone butyl is terrible and not sticky at all. 3M is very sticky but also pulls off fairly cleanly with enough force.

check hidplanet.com for pic comparisons of different oem factory hid projectors. there are big differences between them in terms of brightness, width, beam pattern, etc.

 
Rep Power: 0

good to know. i've gotten on TRS a few times but had trouble finding answers. Heard them recommend butyl tape just wasn't sure if there were different sizes. I'll check out Amazon... thanks again

 
Rep Power: 811

 
Rep Power: 0

i think he means these
http://www.ebay.com/itm/04-05-Civic-...#ht_4909wt_930
i was thinking about these too until i found out the cutoff is terrible

 
Rep Power: 0

I've done a lot of research but can't seem to find the answer I am looking for
I have a 98 civic si with an aftermarket headlight housing
The high beam and low beams IMF this hoisting are seperate and I have an hid bulb for each
So that's a total of 4 hid bulbs and 4 ballasts

The problem here is that at night when I switch from high beam to low beam the ballast has to warm up and it's like driving without headlights for 15 seconds or so until the ballast warms up

Since the high beam bulb and low beam bulb never run at the same time I was thinking there would be a way to use a relay in order to have on ballast per side on my car

This would be so that the one ballast on each side is always running and when I turned on highbeams the ballast would remain powered but switch power to the highbeam

Does anyone know if this is possible?