touring

thanks to kevinb120 for his write up's helped me with the whole install

MontrealStang

OK,

I'm about to order the Bi-Xenon H13 (headlights) & H10 (fogs) 6000k from VVME. They said that they will send me a special harness with relays in order to prevent the flickering from the SJB. Anybody not received the correct relay harness from them ?

If I understand correctly, I do not need a relay harness for the fogs, right ?

Also I live in Canada so I have DRL. I heard some have put a capacitor (no, not the kind you would find in a DeLorean !) of 4700 uF by wiring the capacitors between the + and - of the harness where it connects to the factory connector. Anybody else done this ? Where do you get those capacitors ? Any other solution to keep the DRLs ?

What was your shipping cost for these. They are quoting me $220 (including the relay harness for the headlights) for the 2 kits shipped ... that's about $65 of shipping. Isn't that a little steep ???

Apart from the info in this thread, any other special info for installing both the headlights & fogs ?

Thanks !

touring

As far as the shipping is concerned the lights are coming from china,so im guessing thats why they dont combine shipping. The price for this kit is the best on the market. As far as ordering both at the same time my h13 kit just came in and they are beautiful but when i put the fogs on i cant belive i was rolling with that color. Ill help you out in anyway i can but kevin already did some good write ups and the kit comes with great instructions.So your preety much good

rupdog

well, i can attest to the quality, look, and ease of install of the stangmods.com setup. i paid just over $400 (always free shipping), and that included plug n play foglight xenons (2 bulbs, 2 ballasts, misc. hardware) + plug n play headlight bixenons (2 dual filament bulbs, 4 ballasts, special HID harness, misc hardware). their setup doesn't use the moving bulb technology, but two separate ballasts, driving two separate filaments in one bulb assembly.

there was absolutely NO SPLICING of any kind needed, and everything works just as it's supposed to. no flickering, no stuck relays.

a few negatives...

the HID harness connects to the passenger side factory bulb harness connection, and the connect was a bit weak. i had to bend the 3 prongs a bit to make a solid connection, but not too big a deal.

the high beams are AWESOME, as are the low beams, but the 5-10 seconds needed to fully excite the xenon gas makes the "flash to pass" function nearly non-existent. not sure how to defeat this, other than to go to the moving bulb technology.

also... the kit came with german ballasts!!!

http://img89.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pic024uj0.jpg][img=http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/6416/pic024uj0.th.jpg][/url]

http://img138.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pic025li9.jpg][img=http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/1381/pic025li9.th.jpg][/url]

http://img106.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pic026yy9.jpg][img=http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/5568/pic026yy9.th.jpg][/url]

http://img106.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pic027so9.jpg][img=http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/8059/pic027so9.th.jpg][/url]

metroplex

Here's my review of the VVME Bi-Xenon HIDs used in my 2000 Crown Vic (9007, Bi-xenon moving bulb)

I've had a few days to try out the VVME HIDs and can attest that the scattering is definitely there but it is due to the reflector design and not the HID capsules.

The most intense part of the HID lighting is thrown out onto the road, but it isn't as focused as a projector system. I didn't have anyone flash their high beams at me, partially because SUVs, Jeeps, trucks, and other cars with misaligned headlamps were more annoying. I am now able to easily dinstiguish between halogen lamps and HID lamps due to the distinct color of 4300Kish lights. By scattering, I mean that the light is being sent all over the place and you can see how the light is "patchy" on the road. It's 3 times brighter than halogen headlamps, but it is sent all over the place instead of where you want it, making it not as effective as a true HID system.

I noticed that yellow and white road markings "glow" when hit by the HIDs, mostly due to the color temperature and possibly because there are some components of UV light being projected. I noticed this effect with using blue LEDs for map lights - they make highlighter markings glow on paper which is useful for reading maps at night.

I tried out the high beams and found them to work nicely as high beams, but I wouldn't get the Bi-Xenons in the future. I also don't feel these are as good as projector HIDs, but the price difference is too great ($1000+ for OEM-style projector HIDs vs $75-$130 shipped for HID retrofits). If your car has well designed reflectors, you may get away with using HID retrofits with minimal scattering.

Bottom line is that unless the HID kit includes new reflectors or projector optics, I wouldn't bother with it. The 4300K light is certainly very very white, and seems to make fluorescents "glow", as well as road markings. The distance lighting is still sub-par. You may outrun your headlamps without road reflectors.

There is a reason why German cars have superior HID lighting. You will easily outrun the lighting produced by American lights at 140+ mph on the Autobahn at night, or in the twisty curves of a dark mountain road w/o adaptive lighting.

MontrealStang

Kevin, are you sure of those connections ?

On another forum, this guy connected this way (http://www.mustangforums.com/m_42365...tm.htm#4236720):



Probably both work but was it the right connection ???

YaoNYC

thanks for this write up metro.

would you just stick with white silverstar bulbs for the stang GT?

metroplex

I plan to stick with the XtraVision H13s and the stock foglamps in the GT. I may give the SilverStar Ultra H13 and H10's a try when they are available. Sylvania claims 4100K color temp for the Ultras, which is very close to the HID's 4300k (which is a pure white!). 5000K-6000K is going to be too blue for my taste.

socal.2fast

Can you guys post photos?

I would like to see the cut off of both Headlights and HID's in the Fogs?

mhconley

I just received an H13 high/low HID kit and plan to install tomorrow. Those who have already installed kits - where'd you mount the ballasts?

Martin

YaoNYC

hi metro,
do you still have silverstars in your stang? can you post pics?

thanks!

MikeVistaBlue06

I am thinking about doing this to my '06 using the bi-xenon kit from stangmods.

http://www.stangmods.com/2005-Mustan...it-p/00909.htm

As for glare, what I find annoying/distracting is the really blue/purple ones that change color as you approach them. This has been my observations since they introduced these things, and yes, I have dog cussed these things on many an occasion. However, after having them in my new Lincoln MKz, I really like them and am a beliver in them.

The MKz's HIDs has lenses instead of reflectors. Since a lens is a refractive optical unit meaning that it bends the light, I see a band of purple and blue on the wall even though the temp of these lights are around 4100K. This is just like a prism bending white light in to a rainbow. It is that band of colored light that annoys the hell out of me when I have a car approaching me with similar lens setups.

Now for the ones that use reflectors, like our stock units have, I don't see that rainbow effect as the reflectors use a parabolic mirror to reflect the light and not a lens to bend it. That's a big difference from a physics standpoint.

That is why I've not been bothered by the ones like used in the Saleen or like I have seen in Mini Coopers.

Using the stock reflectors, even though there may be some unwanted scatter, it shoudn't matter as long as the low beam part of the bulb is not at what is called the "focus" of the parabolic reflector. The high beam part of the bulb should be at the focus to throw the light as far out as possible. Also, my '06 has the shield in place to prevent direct scatter from the front of the bulb.

If you look at old sealed beam headlights from yesteryears, you will see that one filament is at the focus of the parabola and the other is above it. It is the one that is above it that directs the light downward for low-beams. So if the bi-xenon kits have a similar arrangement, or mimic the stock bulb filament placement, they should not be that big of an issue.

I think the big difference in HIDs is the refractive units versus the reflective units and the glare caused by refractive units bending the light into its primary colors making you wonder what kind of UFO is that coming at you!

I want to do the foglights at the same time and am contemplating either rewiring them to stay on all the time regardless of hi/low beam, but I am concerned they don't have a shield in the front and will be annoying.

Any ideas on how to mod the foglight bulb so it will have a shield on it? Can you paint it black like the halogen bulbs?

Thx,

Mike

metroplex

There are two common types of HIDs:

Reflector based (what the 08 stangs have)
Projector based (what many European and Asian cars have).

The projector based lamps are easy to spot as you can see an aspherical optical lens (looks like an eyeball). The projector based HID capsules emit more light and the projector assembly is more effective at throwing light into a tight controlled pattern on the road. As you noticed the optic tends to throw a rainbow at certain parts of the beam and can be controlled with various methods.

The reflector based HIDs aren't as efficient.

MikeVistaBlue06

I ordered the stangmods.com HID conversion kits in 6000K for the main lights as well as the foglights. I got the bi-xenon so I will retain hi-beam mode. If the 6000K are too blue, I will send them back and get 4300K bulbs.

I have done a lot of looking, reading, studying, and observing before I made this decision.

I am now convinced that the projection method with an aspherical lens is the worst by far for glare due to the refraction of the spectral components in the generated light; i.e. the bending of the light into intense blue, violet, and purple components.

The light generated by these type of lights is broken into discrete wavelengths or spectral lines due to the elements that are used in the light bulb (the metal halides). Example: Mercury gives strong purple and green spectral lines because of the shell structure of the mercury atom. Sodium would give off intense yellow and red spectral lines (streetlamps) for the same reason

Blue light scatters more so it is prone to glare. This is why even a 4100K to 4300K in a projector system is more prone to glare from the refraction of the light due to an optical distortion known as chromatic abberation. You can coat lenses to get rid of this, but from what I have seen, there are no coatings on these aspherical lenses to stop this, even on the fancy BMWs and Lexuses. This is evident due to the blue/purple light they throw to cause the glare. Issac Newton had the same problems with optical telescopes which is why he chose a parabolic mirror as a light collector when he invented the "Newtonian Reflector" telescope!

I can tell a car with optical projection HIDs on it from a mile away! They are first purple, then they turn blue, then they become white the closer they get to you. From way off you are seeing that edge refraction of the blue and purple and that blue/purple scatters more leading to glare and distraction/annoyance.

Tonight, I confirmed my thinking when I saw an Acura with the projection system and a Mini Cooper with simple reflectors side by side. Both had HIDs. The Mini Cooper did not have any glare at all while the Acura's glare was quite noticeable with the scattered blue/purple light from the refraction.

I also saw a Prius this morning with reflector based HIDs and there was no appreciable glare either.

IMHO reflection is better than refraction for glare , and this is said by a 46 year old that can truthfully say it is harder now to drive at night than it was when I was a young pup! With the bulb properly placed in the current housing, it should work just fine.

I will try to take some good pictures before and after, and also put my Mustang beside my Lincoln (which has projectors) and try to take a picture of them from a distance as a measure of glare.

Thx,

Mike

metroplex

The problem with the Stangmods and aftermarket HID conversions is that you are stuffing a HID capsule into a reflector designed for a halogen bulb, resulting in excessive glare due to scattering of the light.

The OEM projector Xenon HIDs do not glare because they have a controlled cut-off and beam pattern DESIGNED specifically for HIDs. There is some chromatic aberration around the fringes of the aspherical optic, but that is mitigated by feathering the optic. That is not the cause of the glare though. Most foreign projectors have a UNECE cut-off, so you do not have glare unless they are aimed improperly. Most Cadillacs have a projector HID assembly and I there's no glare that I can tell either from 1/2 mile away or up close unless you are directly in front of them

Our Mustangs have a rather sharp cutoff as well (VOR gradient) but the reflector was designed for a H13 bulb, NOT a D2S or D2R HID capsule (the aftermarket conversions use a variant of the D2S or D2R capsule).

I read through the NHTSA test report on the 2007 Cadillac Escalade's OEM Hella projector Xenon HIDs. The maximum light output was comparable to the max light output of the 2006 Chrysler 300's halogen headlamps which are all under the legal limit. The aftermarket kits (like the Stangmods and Chinese eBay kits) are actually about 3 times brighter than the legal limit.

Steeda is now selling the 2008 OEM HID retrofit kit for $1000. This is a steal because it includes the wiring harness kit. The OEM HIDs use D3R (reflector based) capsules.

I suspect the projectors that caused glare were ones designed for halogen bulbs. There are plenty of cars with OEM projector halogens and people stuff a Stangmods-style aftermarket HID capsule there. The OEM projector Xenon HIDs have to meet FMVSS and/or UNECE regulations. From a distance, the OEM Buick and Cadillac projector HIDs look more blue than white and as you get closer they look like "HID white". Hella did a good job smoothing out the aberration. Again, I never saw any glare with those lamps and I know they are OEM HIDs.

SlamMan02

Didn't read through the whole thread, just want a quick confirmation


This in the H13 type will be the correct kit to run High/Low HIDs for my Headlights?? Correct?
http://www.vvme.com/product/detail-20022.html

SlamMan02

Bueller?