I have some lighting questions. Specifically about the fogs and HID kits.

Is the E36 a replacement lens for us? I already have a cracked fog light lens.
What's the difference between Raptor, DDM, Apexcone, EverPower, and Depo?
Will a 55w HID kit be legal on the road if they are that much brighter? Will they be too hot for the lens for the headlights?
Would you do a 35w for the low beam and a 55w for the high beam or something else?
Is a lower color HID even worth it over a regular bulb since you still get a yellowish look?

Thanks

 

Oh, and do they just plug in to the factory wiring harness and back of the lens? Or do you have to splice them in or get an adapter and something else to hold them in the back of the lens?

 

The H7 kits for our cars require the H7 adapter. On mazda3forums there is a group buy for Apexcone/DDM for 89.95 I believe it is. It will give you the adapter needed. I remember when we talked on the phone that I told you about the $58 I spent on the same kit, I didn't recommend that simply because I don't know if it comes with the adapters and didn't want you to recieve the kit and have to wait even longer to install it because there was no adapter. As for how they connect, it's completely "plug n play". All the connectors are "idiot proof" and there is pretty much no possible way to screw it up. Simple answer on the high beam HID's: Don't. The ballast's will die on you quicker than hell. With HID's, the repeated on and off motion of the lights will fry the ballast's very quickly. 55watt kit will NOT melt your headlight housing. HID's throw off way less heat than a halogen bulb, but 55watt may be a little too bright for a halogen reflector. The beam cutoff with 35watt is already bad enough, so just up it 20watts and people will be blinded. A lower color temperature bulb will work out better for you in the long run. The higher in the temperature range you get (also called the blue spectrum), the less usable light there is on the road. I have 6K for my lows, and see just fine, even on wet roads. 4500K and 5000K will be your best option IMO, but a lot of people (inluding myself) like the blue hue you get with 6K bulbs. A 35watt HID kit is 80% brighter than a 55watt halogen bulb. I've pretty much answered all of your questions, but I can't comment on the differences between the different kits. All I can say is that I will never go from Apexcone/DDM to a different brand. Oh and btw, don't EVER pay $500 for an HID kit. If you had done that, with what you can save here, that would get you an HID kit, and front and rear sway bars with a little left over ;-) Have fun everyone.

 

Thanks
How would a 35w 5000 HID compare to a Sylvania Ultra?
I read pretty much everything on www.danielsternlighting.com which has a lot of good info. So, that leaves me with some questions. How are people getting away with 'illegal' aftermarket HID kits? Do HID kits in our halogen projector lenses cause a lot of scatter?
I also read some of the install pages. Some say to remove the front bumper. Some say you don't need to. Which is it? Also, how are people mounting the balasts? Are you drilling holes in your sheetmetal?

 

"How would a 35w 5000 HID compare to a Sylvania Ultra?"

Now take this pic, and subtract some of the blue and add more white. I looked for the 5k comparison and couldn't find one.



"How are people getting away with 'illegal' aftermarket HID kits?"

Most people with projectors are getting away with it because there really isn't any way to tell that it is an aftermarket kit. Now the people that are putting them in reflector housings typically get pulled over frequently, at least around here. I went up to the police department in my old town, which is a lot stricter than Lafayette, and told the deputy that my low beams are an aftermarket kit. He said as long as they're not blue, no one will bother me. Now from an angle, mine are blue as hell, but directly coming at you they are white. He actually complimented me on the lights and my neon's and proceeded to tell me that his personal vehicle (Hummer H2) has blue neon's underneath it. Heh, go figure.

"Do HID kits in our halogen projector lenses cause a lot of scatter? "

Out projectors don't give out a LOT of scatter, but enough to know that it isn't an HID projector. I will take pics of my HID's here shortly tonight and post a reply showing you on my car how it looks in a halogen projector, and throw in a nice little shot of my 2500K halogen highs for ****s and giggles. :P

"I also read some of the install pages. Some say to remove the front bumper. Some say you don't need to. Which is it?"

You don't have to remove the bumper, but it is HIGHLY recommended. One (1) scratch to the bulb with drastically reduce the life of it. So removing the bumper and pulling out the headlight unit will help you aim in getting the bulb in properly without scratching it.

"Also, how are people mounting the balasts? Are you drilling holes in your sheetmetal?"

I, for now, have mounted my passenger side ballast with zip ties to the black plastic that is just behind and above the housings. My driver side is mounted, once again with zip ties, to the sheet metal below and behind the housing. I will be drilling holes in the sheet metal and remounting the ballasts soon.

 

Nice job Mazda3sport, you explained it very well. I have the 5k's in my Mazda3 installed the same way with zip ties. Im not sure about drilling any holes I will just keep checking the zip ties.

 

Thank you M3. I plan to drill in the sheet metal that is behind the driver side light and down to the right of it. Same will be done with the passenger side. Now the fogs on the other hand, I have no clue where I'm going to mount the ballast's for those at.....BTW, where can I get an AMB Temp sensor and how do I install it? Sorry, I know it's off topic, not trying to thread jack.