hid kit

[Guest trofeo73]

Anybody ever put HID lights on a 95 or newer riviera?

I read that special reflectors must be used so the HID bulb correctly lights the road, ect.

[NTX5467]

Are you talking about the HID "lookalike" bulbs (color of the bulb's light) or real HID? There ARE serious differences in these two setups! Not to mention "cost"!

Seems like the Sylvania website has information on HID conversions.

One reason that many factory vehicles with HIDs have them only on the low beams is cost. For example, GM doesn't sell just a HID bulb, but the whole headlight assembly (per side, as on the Escalades) that includes the transformer to run the HID light. Very pricey, compared to the price of a normal headlight bulb!

One other note . . . if the bulb does not fit the designated housing correctly, DO NOT use it. A while back, a new Cavalier came into the shop with the complaint that the DRLs would not work. Upon disassembly of the headlight housing, it was discovered that the registered owner's (high school age) child had installed some "trick" headlight bulbs, HOLDING THEM IN WITH DUCT TAPE(!!!!). Plus, the BCM read different resistance values and would not let the DRLs work, so OEM spec headlight bulbs were installed to correct the problem.

Messing with the reflectors on ANY headlight can seriously affect the designed beam pattern, just as a bulb with a different filament spacing from the reflector can. Beam pattern is something that is designed in and must pass "muster" with the DOT before the lights are approved for sale. Putting the headlight's filaments farther away from or closer to the reflector, as in putting different bulbs might do if they are not the same basic part number as the OEM production bulbs, will affect the ultimate beam pattern and light output of the assembly. Putting higher wattage bulbs in (for "more light") can also run hotter and cause issues with the headlight housings "melting", not to mention overloading the wiring to the headlights.

It's not the lights brightness or color that affects what we see as the light pattern on the road, it's the reflector and light bulb interface (plus the "fluting pattern on the inside of the headlight's outer lens surface) that makes a particular beam pattern. European code lights have different patterns than US code lights do, especially in prior times.

It's your car, your money . . . yet it could be the safety of others on the road and yourself if you end up with a bad set of headlight assemblies as the result of some modifications. Please do read through the Sylvania website, with respect to automotive products for more information. There's also lots of interesting information on the Daniel Stern Lighting website (www.DanielStern.com) (I think that's the url for his site, if memory serves correctly).

Just some thoughts,

NTX5467

[Guest trofeo73]

Thank you,

I was interested in the "real" hid set up. However I would prefere a setup that minimized any adverse effects to oncomming traffic. Some cars respond well to various kits, its just that I know of none who have done it to this car. I have read countless pages of info from reliable sources and it seems that a well defined "line" (cutoff point where light starts inreffernce to the horizon) is desirable. The examples that seem dangerous are the ones that just wash the light in all directions rather than have a definitive cuttoff point. Still doing research.