Hey guys I am about to order my Bullitt. I would really appreciate some pros/cons on the HID headlamp option from the Mustang community. Need quickly as I am leaving the US for six weeks on Fri and need to order by Thu.

Thanks,

Mike

 

I say just order the HIDs

 

If I had had the opportunity I would have ordered them.

Pro: From what I've read they improve visibility at night to a huge degree. I don't think anyone would argue how well they work.

Con: To order the HIDs you have to also order the anti theft option. Total ends up being $850.

One other thing to consider is the cost of replacing a "bulb". I have no clue how much, but it's gotta be more than a halogen. I don't know how long they last either - might be a lot longer?

 

Is the anti-theft a LoJack?

 

....From what I've read they improve visibility at night to a huge degree. I don't think anyone would argue how well they work.

I have them on my '08. I have halogens on my '05s. I've got to say that the color is different, white vs. yellowish. That's about the only difference I can tell. The HIDs are NOT any better in functionality, including visibility. I don't see any further, wider, or clearer with them. And to tell the complete truth, I like the halogens better. The yellowish tint tends to reflect off surfaces differently, yielding better depth perception.

The only suggestion I can make whether to get them or not is to actually drive a car that has them, preferably a Mustang. Take a new one that has them on a test drive and see for yourself. If you can get by the fact that they project a white light, look at the beam pattern. See if you can objectively say they are better. I cannot.

 

HIDs supposedly last 10 times longer - they don't go out, they just progressively weaken with age. I'd imagine if one goes out before it's time they'd be covered under warranty. I don't Ford's had them on their vehicles long enough to see reliability though.

One word of caution with HIDs: if you get used to them, it's a marked decrease going back to halogens. Then you end up like me, whining about not having them on the car you "had to buy" off the lot.


+1 I have to say I've never used Ford's HIDs. My experience was with an import. Maybe I should follow Willie's advice, maybe I won't feel so bad then. : )

 

No, that would have been nice I suppose - though isn't Lojack a subscription service?

The anti-theft is an interesting thing: it has motion sensors inside the cabin that will go off if it's locked and the windows are down, presumably also if the window gets clubbed. The system operates independantly of the main battery. And there is an inclination alarm that will go off if the car gets towed.

If someone knows the car has it and is a pro can they take the car? Of course. But it would give the casual teenage punk some trouble.

 

Okay, I will take one of those and the LoJack. I'm gonna get the lights.

Thanks,

Mike

 

LoJack only works if the local police are equipped with the means to monitor for LoJack signals. Nobody around here uses the system that I know of. Make sure and check into your local PD to see if they use LoJack or not.

 

I do not think this is correct. It operates off the main battery. However to get the main battery disconnected, a thief would have to get to the battery and disconnect it first. The doors and hood all have sensors on them. Getting to the battery would set off the alarm.

 

Very good point. I am pretty sure the Houston police use it, but I will have to check.

Thanks,

Mike

 

That's a good point, I forgot the trunk and hood are sensored as well. As for the battery - I remember reading that bit in a big book on Mustang: 40 Years of Fun. Not sure how accurate it is, but I'll end up double checking it sooner or later.

Well, I stand absolutely and fully corrected on the battery point. My apologies for not looking it up first. What the book said was that there's a seperate alarm sounder that operates independantly of the main car horn since most thieves first move is to cut the horn.

 

In a way it's good to hear that, maybe I won't feel so bad about not getting them. It's interesting you say that - I have a really hard time seeing at night, and the fogs are GREAT. I was thinking the other night maybe it was not MORE light that helped, but rather WHERE the light is directed. HIDs would not help in that way.

 

I wouldn't mind the HID, but I don't want that alarm. You can not set the sensitivity on it, and it does not page you when it goes off. So it's just another annoying alarm going off in the parking lot.

The alarm is bundled with the HID, so no HID for me.

 

I'm waiting for an aftermarket HID option, it will eventually come. Or may change the grill and get the fogs, who knows.

I agree about the alarm. Did me no good when my brand new '98 got the interior stripped out in the middle of the night in my own driveway. I never heard an alarm, but I WAS woken up by the alarm exactly one week before. Police said it was probably them the week before and they came back with a stun gun and zapped the frame of my car. I never got to the bottom of that, but I know I never heard an alarm and I know it took Ford FOREVER to get my electrical system straightened out after that.

 

Man! what a horror story. Guess I'll buy a shed for the motorcycles and put them in the backyard. The car will go in the garage! I'm getting LoJack also.

Thanks Lynda.

 

As far as the sensitivity issue, it really is not an issue. There is no "bump", or vibration sensor that will go off if the car is nudged, or a pimped out Escalade goes by thumping gangsta rap that can be heard 2 miles away. The only sensors are trunk, doors, hood, inclination (to prevent tow away), interior cabin motion sensors. It has a seperate horn in the trunk to prevent a thief from cutting the main horn.

The only time I have had the car give me 1 false alarm was when I set it with the windows down once. Some kids walked by the car (I saw them) and the alarm went off. They didn't reach in or anything. That happened once and never again. As long as I roll up the windows when the alarm is active, I have never had a false alarm.

I also believe (but I'm not 100% on this) that after an alarm event the message center alerts you when you start the car the next time. I think it only does this if the alarm is not silenced by the keyfob. I have set the alarm off several times on accident or on purpose myself, but have always silenced it...no messages.

 

edge,

That's good to know. So what is it that sets off these car alarms? I mean I hear them go off in parking garages all the time when a car drives by. What specifically makes the alarm in the Bullitt different?

Thanks,

Mike

 

Many of those alarms you hear are aftermarket alarms that are not set up specifically for that car. They are a generic alarm and generically sensitive. Many of them have "bump" or "nudge" sensors that will trip if the car is bumped or nudged. Any little vibration sets them off. That is usually what you hear in a parking garage going off.

The factory alarm system is set up specifically for the Mustang and the sensitivity is set low. That does not mean it is ineffective, just that a loud exhaust or ghetto thumper passing nearby won't set it off.

I assure you that if someone breaks your window, the alarm will go off. If you leave a window down and someone reaches into the car to grab a cd case, the alarm will go off. If someone hooks up a tow truck to your new ride, as soon as they lift one end and the tilt of the vehicle changes, alarm will go off. Someone pries open the trunk or hood, alarm goes off.

I have 58,000 miles on my car and lock it EVERYWHERE I go, even parked in the lot at work (police station). I've only had one false alarm ever, and that was with my windows down like I said earlier. I'm not even too sure a leaf didn't blow into the car, or the wind didn't move around a paper on the seat since it was a windy day...the kids were really not that close to the car, maybe 4-6 feet away.

 

Thanks edge. I appreciate the feedback and you taking the time to write that.