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So where did you guys with HID mount the ballast hardware and how did you mount it?

Where does one mount the HID ballasts? Our engine bay is pretty damn cramped once you start trying to put a ballast, igniter, and other electronics in there.

I'm looking at the side, just under the front fender beside the top of the strut towers. The only problem is I'm hesitant at drilling into the frame...

The other location is along the plastic bit near the top of the engine bay where the strut towers are. I'm planning to make a small metal plate to give it some more surface area to mount.

Any other suggestions?

 
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I'll try and post pics tomorrow.... but i mounted mine one right next to the battery... and the other underneath the driver's headlight... although i don't have an ignitor... i think you got an old kit, seeing how the newer ones are coming with just ballasts and bulbs, plus wiring.

 
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I got the Catz H4 dual-beam kit. There are ballasts, igniters (small), and a high/low control box. I'm planning to put the high/low control box in the fender (where a CAI usually sits).

 
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Very nice! How much did you pay for the kit? How much deeper is the back of the bulbs compared to regular H4?

 
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I have the Catz low beams only. I put the boxes under the lip inside the top of the fenders and stuck them in with 3M double sided tape. You can put them inline and there's plenty of room.

 
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I've since neatend up the wiring, but this is the location of the electronics.

 
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I paid $599 USD - 10% 7thgencivic.com discount ($60 USD) + $10 USD shipping.

It is deeper, but there is enough room behind the bulb/servo still. I'd say no more than an inch.

 
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BartKat: Your engine bay looks squeeky clean! I wish I could say the same for mine. I tried using double-sided tape but it wouldn't stick good. I was afraid that the ballasts would come loose and shift around while driving. I ended up building some custom mounts up nearer to the windshield and put the high/low-beam controller in the bumper.

The high/low-beam kit has sooooooo much wiring. I can't believe how much time I spent tidying it up, zip tieing, etc.

I'll post pics later tonight.

 
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How is the beam pattern? Did you have to adjust the aim at all?

 
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The beam pattern is fairly similar to my halogen beam pattern. There are some hot spots in the pattern but nothing drastic. Cutoff is about the same. Looks like Catz did their homework regarding the bulb geometry as there was nothing changed.

The kit comes with an optional cap shield to protect against light coming straight forward from the bulb. Our headlights already have one but it is not a very good shield. The included shield covers the entire front well so that the only light you see is reflected off the back of the headlight housing.

I think better than I can explain in words, I'll post pictures of beam patterns after this weekend.

 
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Sure you have to adjust. Actually you need to check the aim any time
you change bulbs.

 
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klam

Did you use the shield that came with the lights?

 
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Well, I got impatient waiting for responses. So I ended up finding a create way to mount my ballasts...

 
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Yeah, I used the built in shield on the bulb base, and the optional cap that attaches to the bulb base shield to protect the forward direction.

 
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Go here and scroll down to the second pics. Those are my pics.

http://www.liteswap.com/customersrides.html

 
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the EL headlights are different with 7thgen civic??? do you have pic for the headlight from the front (Lights off)

thanks

 
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I didn't use the bulb end cap. I might give that a try, although the lights seem ok to me now.


It really is hard to find places to put stuff under the hood. I never did find a good place for my Venom 400 box so I ended up putting it on some foam behind the right headlight and then stuffing foam around it.

 
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I had to make custom brackets (galvanized steel courtesy of Home Depot) to mount the ballasts in the engine bay. They are mounted up near the windshield simply due to all the congestion around the headlights and avoidance of heat near the header/engine.

The high/low controller is a big box, about four packs of cards. I had to mount this in the lower bumper area, under the headlights, in front of the turn signals. This required removing the bumper.

The igniters are simply zip tied in the engine bay near the front fenders. This is not the ideal situation but they need to be near the bulbs due to short wiring and I resisted drilling into metal there. It is fairly secure as I zip tied the igniters on the X and Y axis.

Now the wiring. There is so much wiring!! I had to use a LOT of zip ties and plastic wire loom/tubing to protect the wires running all over the place.

 
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Here are some pictures of the Acura EL headlights. This is not my car, but I grabbed some pictures of an EL Forum that showed the headlights well.

 
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Kewl .......... does it fit civic 7thgen? looks better that civic's headlight

 
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WOW , those headlight are way better then ours. Anyone try a swap yet?

 
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I don't think it is possible, they are shaped slightly differently. I remember people discussing this a while back.

Also, I know that we cannot use Civic's aftermarket headlights such as the TYC projectors because they don't fit.

 
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Nice site update.

Here's the 7th Gen Civic on the Catz page.

http://www.liteswap.com/Merchant2/me...Code=civic4500


That's my ride and lights in the pics.

 
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dirty dirty engine bay...Clean it!!! simple green is godsent