Anybody have HIDs?
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I installed set of LED headlights on my TH. I was going to go with the HID's but I couldn't figure out where I wanted to put the ballast. I didn't want to cut into my rubber cover. The LED's I have are 3600 lumens and 6000K. They are super bright but the headlight housing casts shadows with the reflectors. The HIDs would have less of this problem I think. I am hopping jeep will make the fish eye lenses available here in the US so we don't have those issues with the LED and HID kits. My dealer said that the drop in LED kit would not void my warranty because there is not external ballast. The service manager said FCA could claim a ballast causing problems but I tend to think he was blowing smoke.
Per Federal law, retrofits are not legal (circa 2001 NHTSA ruling) but not often enforced by police.
OEM HID systems are available for European spec Renegades but not made available for US (maybe in the coming years as mid-product-cycle updates?)
I've yet to see anyone try to order the OEM kit to try to retrofit on their US spec cars. I suspect, because of the use of CANBUS on all things electronic in the vehicle, the retrofit will be a costly nightmare.
Unless the factory halogen lighting is sub-par to you, leave it alone and wait for more knowledge to come to light or for the aftermarket to catch up.
Avoid wasting your money on snake oil bulbs that claim Xenon-like performance. Especially the ones that are coated blue. Those only look whiter, but if you examine the science, you are actually putting out less light. In brief, the coating acts as a filter. It allows light from the blue spectrum to pass, not the rest. They change color of the light, but do not in anyway increase light output.
The only type of halogen bulb that I know of that is scientifically proven to provide Xenon/HID level light are HIR bulbs. These bulbs use fine specks of metal in the glass globe to super heat the filament to produce more light output than a conventional halogen bulb. The trade off is shorter bulb life. This technology was first introduced and used in the first generation Dodge Viper.
I had a set of HIRs in my Honda Element. Light output was excellent, but they lasted only a year. They're also more expensive.
I'm weary of the plethora of LED conversion kits out there. There is no telling how good their construction or engineering is. With parabolic reflector light housings, placement of the light source is critical for optimal performance. Many of these kits are made cheaply in China, where quality control and engineering is... you guessed it: anyone's guess.
OEM HID systems are available for European spec Renegades but not made available for US (maybe in the coming years as mid-product-cycle updates?)
I've yet to see anyone try to order the OEM kit to try to retrofit on their US spec cars. I suspect, because of the use of CANBUS on all things electronic in the vehicle, the retrofit will be a costly nightmare.
Unless the factory halogen lighting is sub-par to you, leave it alone and wait for more knowledge to come to light or for the aftermarket to catch up.
Avoid wasting your money on snake oil bulbs that claim Xenon-like performance. Especially the ones that are coated blue. Those only look whiter, but if you examine the science, you are actually putting out less light. In brief, the coating acts as a filter. It allows light from the blue spectrum to pass, not the rest. They change color of the light, but do not in anyway increase light output.
The only type of halogen bulb that I know of that is scientifically proven to provide Xenon/HID level light are HIR bulbs. These bulbs use fine specks of metal in the glass globe to super heat the filament to produce more light output than a conventional halogen bulb. The trade off is shorter bulb life. This technology was first introduced and used in the first generation Dodge Viper.
I had a set of HIRs in my Honda Element. Light output was excellent, but they lasted only a year. They're also more expensive.
I'm weary of the plethora of LED conversion kits out there. There is no telling how good their construction or engineering is. With parabolic reflector light housings, placement of the light source is critical for optimal performance. Many of these kits are made cheaply in China, where quality control and engineering is... you guessed it: anyone's guess.
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Don't mean to hijack a post, but.... What LED kit did you buy, could you post a link to it. Thanks in advance.
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http://www.gtrlighting.com/gtr-ligh...-led-headlight-bulbs-4-500-3-600-lumen-bulbs/
That's the pair that I purchased. I also had to install there canbus balancer to keep my headlights from flickering when the jeep was off. They are super bright. But like I said in my other post the headlights reflectors are not designed to make these perform their best. I am waiting for a fish eye lenses to really bring them to there best.
That's the pair that I purchased. I also had to install there canbus balancer to keep my headlights from flickering when the jeep was off. They are super bright. But like I said in my other post the headlights reflectors are not designed to make these perform their best. I am waiting for a fish eye lenses to really bring them to there best.
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61 Posts
Hid
I installed HID's in my Renegade last night. I attached the pics to show where i made the cut in the rubber grommet and where i hid the ballast. I bought the H13 Extreme 4300k BiXenon kit from Xenon Depot. This made my 6th install of HID and it was extremely easy...especially because i didnt have to take the bumper off like in my wifes car...lol
http://www.xenondepot.com/H13-HID-Kit-Xtreme-HID-p/xt-h13.htm
They have always honored the warranty, and are easy to talk with. I ordered the 9006 canbus adapter's to keep it from flickering.
I installed HID's in my Renegade last night. I attached the pics to show where i made the cut in the rubber grommet and where i hid the ballast. I bought the H13 Extreme 4300k BiXenon kit from Xenon Depot. This made my 6th install of HID and it was extremely easy...especially because i didnt have to take the bumper off like in my wifes car...lol
http://www.xenondepot.com/H13-HID-Kit-Xtreme-HID-p/xt-h13.htm
They have always honored the warranty, and are easy to talk with. I ordered the 9006 canbus adapter's to keep it from flickering.
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