Guest Kitskaboodle Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 I was just curious if anyone has put HID's on their Reatta.If you have info on prices, brand, where you bought them, ease/difficulty of installation, wiring issues if any, your driving impressions, whether you have been pulled over for having them and if you have pics, that would be even better. Thanks, Kit P.S. And yes, I know they are not legal to put on a Reatta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wws944 Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 Just plugging H4 rebased HID bulbs into reflector housings is bad. Stray light everywhere on low beam. You really need projection type optics - like a bi-xenon setup to do it right. However I don't think there is enough space for it in our Reatta headlight buckets - unless you wanted to forego the rotating headlights altogether and make something custom. (Would like to be proved wrong though.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Recian Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Ive put bi-xenons in other cars and there's not enough space. Unless you get a different kit. If you want more light I recommend putting LED bulbs in the fog lights and run with fogs on. I've got HIDs with globes in my hyundai fog lights. HIDs need globes to concentrate their light or they suck. The hyundai OEM fogs are just 2 globes so i notice a huge difference with fogs off. I could run without headlights out if I wanted. It kinda sucks driving without fogs. Since the reatta doesnt use globes and modifying globes to fit could prove costly and time consuming i recommend LEDs, theyre as bright in non concentrated conditions but unlike HIDs they wont heat up the housing of the fogs to the point of melting since theyre plastic cuz LEDs run low current. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Richard D Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 If you are lazy like myself I installed a pair of Sylvaina SilverStars. Good white light while not blinding oncoming drivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonlabree Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Before I modified my head lights I had HID kits in them with no problem and no clearance problems. I did buy the hollow headlight unit and mounted the HID lights inside them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBlackMoon Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Before I modified my head lights I had HID kits in them with no problem and no clearance problems. I did buy the hollow headlight unit and mounted the HID lights inside them.Uh, yeah... So did I. No probs with clearance or anything else. Can't even fathom what the others are referring to.I used a standard 6054 H4 Conversion kit with a Projector lens and a H4 HID kit (although I think it was Bi-Xenon, as it had Hi and Lo beams):H6014/H6052/H6054 7X6 CRYSTAL HEADLIGHTS 6000K HID KIT | eBayThere's an example.Stayed on car til I garaged it the last time and an overzealous "friend" busted my headlight out with my Blazer while trying to "nudge" the Reatta backwards into the tight garage.In fact, plan on doing it again. All of the electronics (balast and such) were mounted below the hood latch (under the latch cover/cowl), I believe (been a few years since I did it and took it off over a year ago before putting car back on road.).Never had a prob with cops and since when did it become "illegal" to put HID lights on a car (as long as they are not the deep blue kind)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kitskaboodle Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Unless I'm mistaken they are not legal for use on a car that didnt have them originally. If you go down the bottom of most aftermarket HID auctions on Evilbay there is usually a disclaimer that they are for off-road use only.I am not worried about the legality of it all anyways. I was simply pointing that out in my original thread.On another note, for those above saying they have done it, does anyone have more info, pics on the actual cars you installed them on?By the way, as Walt was alluding to I knew there might be challenges installing these type of lights given the tight clearance of the Reatta headlight assembly when it goes up and down. That's why I am asking pics and info from those who have actually overcome these obstacles.As for the Silverstars.....I already have them but I want more light! (gimme, gimme, gimme) By the way, another reason I want to get past the Silverstar's is that their lifespan is rediculously short! Kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I like my SilverStars but would like to improve my fogs (use them more as DRLs). You implied that there were LEDs that can approach headlight brightness. What are these ? Is there an 89x replacement ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wws944 Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 A decent post on this subject would require more time than I have this morning. Maybe the following will help.REFLECTOR optics (in this case a E-code Hella #72206). On low beam, the light bounces off the back of the TOP of the reflector (thanks to the bulb shield on the BOTTOM of the low beam filament in a H4 bulb) so that it aims downward at the road. When the high beam filament is active, both top and bottom of the reflector are illuminated:PROJECTOR optics (in this case a Hella EVO-X bi-xenon). Light passes through a movable shutter and lens to provide the correct beam pattern for both low and high beams:If you use a re-based HID bulb in a REFLECTOR housing, light will go every which way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest spiering.lucas Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 I have put H.I.D.s on all of my cars and trucks including the headlights and fog lights of both my Reattas. There is a lot of people who dislike H.I.D.'s on this forum. Everything they say about being illegal and inefficient are true to an extent. If you aim your lights properly you shouldn't have a problem with blinding anyone but the fact of them not putting out optimal lighting without a projector lens are true too. The optical lens concentrates the light into an even pattern. Standard reflector housings do not. LED's are a good way to go because they are super bright and efficient but you might not be able to use your stock housing and a good pair of lights with run you about 300$. As far as putting hids on a Reatta. The fog lights are simple, plug and play. The headlights are not so much. Mounting the ballast and getting the wires tucked away can prove to be challenging. That is not the tricky part. Some rewiring is in order to make the stock headlight motors function with the hids and relay switch setup. I can't remember the details but basically the headlights will go up but then won't go down again and the relay keeps clicking over and over and over. Take in mind this is just my experience with my particular 1990 Reatta. Different years have different setups. When it comes to the hids they are pretty simple. You want 5000k for the bulb temperature because that puts out the most lumens. 3000k actually puts out a bit more but those are yellow and are illegal in the state of Washington where I live. I do however have 3000k in my fog lights. Another things about hids is that you get what you pay for in cost. Cheap ones suck. The construction counts. Most of the cheap starter kits you with find on Evilbay are cheaply made products that wont last long and won't do much compared to the real thing. They need to be DC input to AC output. Not DC to DC. Big deference in quality. The hids I have on my car are 200$ that's relatively inexpensive considering some of the ones used on high end luxury vehicles cost over $1000. I have not done a projector lens swap on my Reatta yet but it is among the bucket list. For now I'm focused on putting in my SC3.8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wws944 Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Kit: I still maintain that the best way to get better lighting on a Reatta is the traditional way. Buy decent, i.e., metal and glass, H4 E-code housings. Fashion a relay harness with 90 degree connectors on the headlight ends to keep the high current path between the battery and the lights very short. A wide variety of higher wattage H4 bulbs are then readily available. (For off road usage only, of course.)Sylvania made their Xenarc HID lights a few years ago in 6054 form factor. These were discontinued, but perhaps a pair might show up somewhere like ebay.As far as LED retrofits go, gosh - wouldn't it be nice! (As an aside, I have been converting a lot of the bulbs/downlights in my house to LED. Like them way better than CFLs.) A company called Truck-lite makes LED headlights in the round 6024 form factor. They sell a lot of them to the military because of their ruggedness. Cost is around (...googling...) $500/pair. Unfortunately, they don't make them in the rectangular 6054 form factor that our Reattas need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reattatude Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 No. But put those Euro H3 lamps in and tho they worked great on hi-beam you cant see very far ahead with lo-beam. Out where we live in the middle of nowhere driving with lo-beam was kinda spooky. Also one lamp blew in less than a year. I am less than impressed with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 Until LEDs in a 6054 bulb that are brighter are available, I'll stick with SilverStars. Legal in the US, proper patterns, 55w Low beam, 4000K. Ones I installed in 2001 are still fine.Is there a brighter LED replacement for the fogs ? I like the concept of cool light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 Until LEDs in a 6054 bulb that are brighter are available, I'll stick with SilverStars. Legal in the US, proper patterns, 55w Low beam, 4000K. Ones I installed in 2001 are still fine.Is there a brighter LED replacement for the fogs ? I like the concept of cool light.i have 886 50 watts in my fog lights.they are barely bright enough to drive with at night.i used to use them to drive the mile to a store at night to save wear and tear on my headlight switch til i passed a cop one night and decided i didn't want to chance a ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 I suspect the 886s are hot lights, I want cold ones. BTW the stock low beam is 37.5W, a lot has to do with the reflector/lens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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