Ruphix

I've got the factory HID's installed for my 08 Mustang, but from reading around the bulbs installed seem to be 4100K from either Philips or Slyvania.

My question is can I swap out the bulb for a 4300K bulb to color match my 4300K HID foglights from StangMods?


If I can just swap out the bulbs, would it be fairly easy to swap the bulbs? The manual states to take it to a dealership to get HID bulbs replaced. Manual also states that their "D3R" bulbs.

Lastly where can I find 4300K bulbs for these Ford Headlight HID's?

steevr

Check with Steve @ xenondepot.com. They sell conversion kits along with original HID replacement bulbs for OEM HID systems.

Ruphix

Two Questions:

Anyone have an idea where the Ford Factory Ballasts are located for the head light HID's?

Also can I retro fit factory halogen head light assembly?

mrkabc

You don't want your HIDs any more?

If not, I'll take them!

kevinb120

you would never be able to notice the difference in color temperature if its only 200k I don't think the 4300 designation is correct anyway, I think its something like 4150k or something to that effect and the 4300K is just a generic number. Sylvania only makes them in 41-something K.

Falchion

Yeah, the Factory HID's aren't as bright as I thoughgt they would be. They seem to be little better then the Halogens I had on my V6, but not as much as I expected. I'm not sure they worth the $465 that I paid for them, but maybe it will increase my resale value in the future?

mrkabc

Get HID fogs!!! That will REALLY make up the difference.

Ruphix

I have HID fogs My problem is that the headlights look lightly yellow compared to my fogs now. Before it was the opposite. Doesn't seem to be a solution atm, since theses HID's have unique bulbs.

I was just hoping to replace the factory bulbs, because I really like the foglights at 4300K.

Silverback

Those fogs look great!

kevinb120

I think the color has a bit to do with the shape of the reflector housing too, having the unmodified stock fog housing allows the bulb to just glow at its unaltered color. You can see it when you look at the factory hids during the day when you walk at different angles it changes slightly to a more yellow or blue hue depending on angle. I wouldn't worry about it, who's going to notice? oncoming drivers? I definitely wouldn't use HID fogs when there is any oncoming traffic anyway, the glare is obnoxious. At least when the halogen factory headlights are converted to HID bulbs there is a squared off section at the top of the reflector and the unit is hooded.

mrkabc

Who is going to notice? Meeeeeee... I don't like having 4300k headlights and 6000k foglights... I need to change my headlight capsules...

I haven't had anyone bright me for running the HID fogs. It's surprising because I do agree that they glare. Then again here in SoCal there are *lots* of people of all makes and models of cars that have converted to HID (stock light housings) so maybe I am just "one of the crowd."

The 2007 on up factory halogen light doesn't have the hood remember?

metroplex

It's not a surprise to me. Ford chose to cheapen the HID system by using a lossy reflector assembly instead of an apsherical optic (like the projector HIDs found on foreign cars).

Switching the HIDs for ones with a different color temperature will do nothing for light output unless the modules were design to put out more light. This goes back to my argument with the color-temperature-apologists here on the board. Candelas are candelas when you're dealing with SAE J578 selective white colors. I think a lot of the OEMs use low-cost HIDs with bluer/whiter light to make the consumers feel "safer" when they could spend more money to design efficient halogens or use high-performance HIDs.

IMHO the halogens on my 07 GT are very good. They're not on-par with high-end UNECE-code projector HIDs, but they're significantly better than most of the typical domestic halogens. The VOR cut-off is a very nice touch!

kevinb120

Yea I heard that somewhere

The top of the reflector is flat in the housing itself, and the recessed assembly blocks a lot of upward glare. With most vehicles being higher, its not really an issue, and much lower glare then newer factory HID's and just about all factory reflector setups like the last gen TL/LS430/S-class/Escalade, ect. I'm not sure what the hid fogs add anyway, they will not put light out as far, and the HID-converted stock headlight reflectors on an 07 put out light at nearly 90 degrees to the sides and directly saturate the road with light for 200'+, and light reflective tape at over 1/4 mile. I mean at speed its easy to see 30' into the woods with just the headlights.

Hence, I dumped the fogs altogether to kill the overbite look of the stock grille. If I were to add HID driving lights to match the factory 08 HID's, I would match the headlights with 4300k bulbs. The natural glare from the color temperature itself would put out less glare and be even brighter then 6000k units anyway.

To our ever-present Mr Wikipedia hid-hater, driving stock ones regularly as well as the factory HID 08's and my own vehicle makes it quite obvious how woefully dim the stock halogens are before you even leave the parking lot. The Hella projector unit is not THAT wonderful a unit, after driving many late model Porsche/Corvette/Cadillac/BMW/MB/Infinity/Lexus etc vehicles with them, and even the Euro Package SVTF (that also had the ubiquitous Hella 4100K projector units before most of the hi-line imports had converted to them back in 03), there isn't a hell of a lot of difference, in some cases less apparent light output(as in the amount of light that you can see that helps you at night see where you are going, regardless of some college test that may say different). For instance, my 6000k ebay special does a lot better job then Porsche's projector solution in the 996. If you want to check it out, come by sometime, I have two of those turds here. I have a GS430 with the reflector lenses, several MB's and other toys as well. Funny enough, with the projectors, I used my halogen hi-beams quite often, with this setup, I never do.

Even the newest bad boys still use halogens as backup

Ruphix

Sooo, would it be possible to retro fit the Factory Headlight assembly in place of the HID's without the need to splice or major changes?

Hoping it's plug and play

kevinb120

You actually want to take the factory HID setup out of the car? What do you want, the blue lighting, is that the hangup?

Ruphix

This is my hang up:




The fog's are 4300K, and the color temp difference bugs me from the headlights.

You stated earlier that 200K wouldn't make a difference but is this what you mean? Cause to me that's a difference.

Also if I could just replace bulbs, that would work too, but I don't see any available.

theedge67

I think the fogs look stupid like that. I like the headlights in that pic...just not the fogs. I think you need to worry more about matching the fogs to the headlights, and less about matching the headlights to the fogs.