Alright well I've owned a 06 mazda 3 for about 2 months now and its time for mods. I wanna do something with my headlights buy i don't wanna spend a ton of money i was thinking of doing a HID kit but a little prices from what i saw so i went out and bought some blue tinted halogen bulbs and i can't tell a difference at all, they were from Pepboys and they were called hyper white so should i do darker ones? (Also i live in a small town when the cops don't have much to do so i don't want them to be super blue so i don't get a ticket. And also i like the halo lights but i don't wanna buy new headlights completely so i found some halo rings you add to the owns, how hard would these be to put on? I know you have to take apart the headlights is that hard? Also how would i wire them? Last question LED eyebrow? They look cool and pretty easy to install o ky question is how to wire them? Any help would be great. And im also open for opinions. So please give me what ya got!! Thanks!

 

So here's the thing. Blue tinted halogen lamps actually put the same or less usable light than your stock halogen lamps. They also tend to burn out more frequently and cost more than standard lamps. The one thing they provide is a white appearance. They do that by having a blue filter on the glass. All halogen lamps are required to emit light in a certain range of brightness.... can't remember, but for conversation let's assume its 900-1,100. Putting a filter on the glass decreases the amount of light emitted, so let's say it drops it to 800. Most manufacturers will then overdrive the filament to make it produce a higher than normal amount of light so that once the blue filter is accounted for it's back to within that "normal" range. This overdriving is what causes those lamps to burn out more quickly.

Now about HIDs. a 35w HID kit will produce 3x the light output as a 55w regular halogen lamp. So yes while the color of the light may look the same with "hyper white" halogens, the actual result isn't the same. It's like putting a corvette body on a ford fiesta. Sure it looks like a corvette, but it certainly doesn't perform like one. If you're wanting to improve your lighting then I recommend getting HIDs and not wasting money on any more filtered halogens.

On to the "blue" look. All OEM HIDs are in the 4100-4300k range, pure white light. Many people see higher end cars (BMW's, Acuras, Mercedes, etc.) with that blue flicker and then go out and buy 6000-8000k (and god forbid 10000-12000k) in order to have that blue look. Remember that those BMW's are using 4300k, not 8000k, so how are they getting that blue look. It's an effect of the optics of the projector, not the color of the light being emitted. It's also something you can achieve on your 3 by installing clear lenses and spacing the lens. Then you could have bright white light plus a little blue flicker and look just like those nicer cars without decreasing your light output. More on those mods in a minute.

You don't have to buy new headlights to install these. Like you said you just open the headlight housing, install the halos and then put them back together. It's not really a difficult procedure, but it is one that can be slightly tedious and you want to take your time and not rush things. You could easily have it done in an afternoon, but it's good to give yourself extra time to account for Murphy (such as don't have something scheduled in two hours where you have to drive at night.... bad idea). Anyway to install them, aside from taking apart the housings, it really just involves cutting a few little notches in the chrome rings for the halos to go through and adhering them to the rings. I recommend RTV clear silicone to attach them. Then you just drill a hole in the back of the housing for the wires to go out and seal it all back up. For wiring it all depends on when you want them on. Some people have disabled their parking lights (turn signals still work, but no amber glow on the first headlight setting) and hooked their halos up instead so the halos become the parking lights. Some people hook them up to a slot in the fuse box so that they come on with the car. I personally have them hooked up to a switch so I can turn them on/off at will. Same thing with LED strips, it all depends on when you want them on.

Now back to the projector mods. If you're looking to install angel eyes then I would highly recommend doing a few mods while you have the lights open, namely:
1) swap in clear lenses. Substantially cleans up the cutoff and produces color flicker
2) cut off tab on front of shield (optional) helps reduce glare above the cutoff
3) paint the front of the shield black, reduces glare but not as much as #2
4) space the clear lens. Extends the focal length of the projector and provides for more color.

You can get a pair of clear lenses from theretrofitsource for around $60 and they come with a spacer ring to use. If you're just swapping the lenses then it's a matter of removing the lens retention rings while you have the projectors exposed (two screws each) and putting the new lens in. If you do the other projector mods then you need to remove the projector from the housing so that adds a little time. For the other things if you search around you can find HIDs and halos for as little as $30-50 each, so you could easily do all this for less than $200.

 

I have a few things to add with Icspots post, first off when ordering HID's there are a few things you MUST realize. First is that ANY no name ebay kit will not last long assuming it worked in the first place, second, there is a 35w kit and 55w HID kit, get the 35w. If you want the blue tint without having to cut or retrofit anything i recommend getting a 6000k bulb, thats what i have and its a light blue and a lot better than the stock bulb.

Since you plan on putting halo's and LED eyebrows in you could do what spots suggested by improving the stock housing since you have to take apart the headlight cluster anyway. If you want know how to do this look on mazdas247.com how to section, they have a writeup with pics

 

Wow ok thanks alot guy you've been very helpful. Ill definetly check that out. Also I've heard of some people wiring up the LEDs and the halos to a wire (the person im refering to didn't know what the wire was) and it stayed on even after the car shut. Do you know what this wire actully is

Also if you have any pics of your set up id appreciate It

 

sounds like the wire in question is supposed to spliced into something that comes on with your parking lights or turn on separate via switch

 

well they said that after they turned the car off the lights stayed on any where from like 7 seconds to a min or so... btw my lights are manuel not auto

is this to good to be tru?

best xenon hid conversion kit 6000k 8000k 10000k 12000k - eBay (item 140406956389 end time Apr-05-11 18:11:04 PDT)

 

yes, dont go to ebay for hids, i said that in my last post

 

Where should i go?

 

There's a spot in the front of the engine bay fuse box that many people have used for angel eyes or LEDs. It's hot with the ignition and turns off a short time after the ignition. I believe it's somehow connected to the throttle body wiring.

I also recommend not buying off of ebay. Sure you might get something good and pay a very small amount of money for them. You could also get a cheap piece of crap. Try taking a look at vendors for some of the forums. Most of them will offer lifetime warranties in the event you have any issues. I got my DDM slimlines from rpm.

 

I believe you are referring to how I have my eye brows wired. I still don't know what this connection was originally intended for but if you turn the car on and then off, or only drive a short distance they will stay on for about 7-8 sec. If you drive longer or the weather is warmer, tI have timed mine @ well over a minute... approx 1:20.



You will also need to modify a std crimp connector like this....