So I have my '89 Mustang LX, and I want to upgrade the lights to HID lights. So I check out AmericanMuscle.com and I find lots of different headlights. Then I also find an HID conversion kits. So I assumed I needed that and also the actual head lights coverings....? This is kinda confusing. Thanks.
HID lights and conversion kits
- Thread starter sixty8fastback
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5.0TailPipeHump
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- Dec 5, 2006
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You can get your self a nice set of lights and its pretty much 1 of the easiest swaps from what iv herd , i just recived my kit and come spring ill be installing mine and makes a world of difference and looks clean. Welcome to the party.
millhouse
Founding Member
Unless you get the proper projector housings...you will be throwing light out in all the wrong directions (including oppising drivers). The retrofit kits simply will not illuminate the road properly, and a proper stock setup will be far better in the end.
strtrcr50
New Member
millhouse
Founding Member
Either do a retrofit with existing OEM projectors like this here ... http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=670834&highlight=retrofit+hid
...or do a stock setup with an upgraded wiring harness. Either one will light up the road better than the cheap retrofit's available for the stock headlights.
strtrcr50
New Member
cenok is family
15 Year Member
man, despite what millhouse says, i like my HID kit. i've got a retrofit 5000k kit and they light up the street AWESOME, i don't get anyone flickering their brights at me like i'm blinding them, and most of all, they look BADASS
I got some new headlights a while back that aint to bad. The have a round regular headlight next to a smaller projectorlight housing. I use them both when I drive. The light output is way better than the stockers I had just purchased a year ago. I was also considering puting a hid conversion where the projector housing is at. and just leaving the regular beams alone and just puting silverstars in those ones.
cevtv
Founding Member
Got any pics from the drivers seat, and looking at the car from the front, with them on?
cenok is family
15 Year Member
no i still don't, i will soon enough though, when i decide to get off my lazy ass. lol
millhouse
Founding Member
Keep in mind too that those retro fit kit's are not street legal....and you can get ticketed for using them.
Here is what a HID setup is supposed to look like...
Notice the crisp cut-off line?
Compare that to a non-projected HID setup...
Notice the big light blotch on the ground directly infront of the car...along with the intense glare thrown out in all directions? A properly working stock setup will throw the light where it needs to be, unlike the picture above.
There is some interesting reading on the subject here... http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html
Here is what a HID setup is supposed to look like...
Notice the crisp cut-off line?
Compare that to a non-projected HID setup...
Notice the big light blotch on the ground directly infront of the car...along with the intense glare thrown out in all directions? A properly working stock setup will throw the light where it needs to be, unlike the picture above.
There is some interesting reading on the subject here... http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html
strtrcr50
New Member
Good read Millhouse. According to that article, even the retrofit you posted isn't a good idea because it still has the wrong lenses and housings. I was interested in this just for the cool factor. I don't drive my mustang very much(under 2000 miles a year), and even less at night. Looks like I will keep it with the new lenses and halogens.
millhouse
Founding Member
While that may be true...it is the only real way to get "close" to the original design intent. It's far less likely to produce dangerous glare...and will yield far better light distribution than the plug and play kits.
Black1987Stang
Active Member
im a fan of hid's myself but Not in the stock headlamps, I had a set in my stock lamps and i got high beamed at least 4x a night, i could like light up a 3 lane highway all by myself so I took em out....But I don't see why it's bad to use them With projector lights, isn't that what they're designed to do? (to focus the beam straight forward and not scattered everywhere like the stock lamps)
Black1987Stang
Active Member
im a fan of hid's myself but Not in the stock headlamps, I had a set in my stock lamps and i got high beamed at least 4x a night, i could like light up a 3 lane highway all by myself so I took em out....But I don't see why it's bad to use them With projector lights, isn't that what they're designed to do? (to focus the beam straight forward and not scattered everywhere like the stock lamps)
haha thats my car in the 2nd pic and the only reason they look like they really scatter the light is because the camera is a piece of sh**. They are projector housings and when looking at a wall like in the first pic there is a cut off line almost the same. I've been pulled over numerous times for my taillights and window tint and never once bugged about the headlights. I've had friends drive right at me and they said it didn't glare at them at all. So i dont think they are that bad. I still want to do the retrofit when i have time but going to school and working all the time leaves no time for me now. And I also have another car i'm doing some mods to completely different than the mustang, 1999.5 Audi A4 quattro.
millhouse
Founding Member
I'm actually quite surprised you have projector headlamps. Even so...it's not camera flare that I'm talking about. You'll notice in the pic of your car the light is focused in a small blotch in front of the car with scattered light both to the sides and to the front. The pic of the real HID setup shows how unifor the light is throughout the pattern.
I'm actually quite surprised you have projector headlamps. Even so...it's not camera flare that I'm talking about. You'll notice in the pic of your car the light is focused in a small blotch in front of the car with scattered light both to the sides and to the front. The pic of the real HID setup shows how unifor the light is throughout the pattern.
i know what ur saying. I mean I know its not great but it really isn't that bad when ur looking from behind like in the pic of the car with the factory setup HID setup they look pretty close. Not exactly the same but close the car with the factory setup has a more perfect crisp line where mine is a little fuzzy at the edges but it really isn't throwing light in all directions.
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