Thinking of making the HID conversion. Need some help here guys!

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martinneallewis

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I bought an '09 Yukon XL about a month ago, and since then I've installed a Denali grill (upper and lower) and the chrome roof rack, and I've got a chrome strip for the rear bumper step pad and a body-colored hitch cover ordered. I'm wanting to change the factory headlights to HID's, and I've got a few questions.

35w or 55w? I've been told that 55w ballasts throw off more light, but anyone on here know?

I assume if I'm doing 5202 HID fog lights and H13/9008 HID head lights, slim ballasts are the way to go? 2 for the fogs and 2 for the bixenons.

Anyone suggest projectors? I mean, do I get anything else besides the crisp cutoff?

Color? I'm wanting something that looks close to factory, so I'm thinking 4300K, since over time you get a little bit of a shift toward the 5000K. Probably 4300K for the fog lights too, just so they match. Thoughts?

And finally, price! HID Direct charges $132 for the bixenon, digital slim ballast (<5/8") head lights and $82 for the fog lights, for grand total of $214. 2300-3500 lumens.
http://www.hiddirectstore.com/h13-9008-hid-kit.html
And a pic of a Tahoe install. http://www.hiddirectstore.com/gallery/album/view/id/134

Or I found a similar kit on eBay for $269.99 OBO, maybe not worth the extra money. Looks like standard ballast. Claims brightest lights available, 3600 lumens.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Bi-X...Accessories&hash=item19c22f3f6d#ht_6281wt_952

I know HID Guy has a forum on here, but it's $250 for head lights and fog lights.

Both kits come with stainless ballasts and lifetime warranties.

Let me know what you guys think!
 

felixgun

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35w or 55w? I've been told that 55w ballasts throw off more light, but anyone on here know?

-35 watt is ample. 55w is brighter and may cause melting.

I assume if I'm doing 5202 HID fog lights and H13/9008 HID head lights, slim ballasts are the way to go? 2 for the fogs and 2 for the bixenons.

-The slim ballasts (35W) is all you need and is identical to the bigger ones but take up less room... same wattage same output. the fog housing is definitely not meant to take a 35W bulb much less an HID one... people on the forum find that installing 25W ballasts help with the fog housing melting issue.

Anyone suggest projectors? I mean, do I get anything else besides the crisp cutoff?

-Search forum for this-- they have a few threads where people have bought aftermarket headlights with projectors and added HID's or some people (the confident ones) retrofit projectors onto the stock housing. People have also talked about changing out the whole head light for the yukon with an escalade one (<---- sickest option for sure but requires a little more modding obviously)

Color? I'm wanting something that looks close to factory, so I'm thinking 4300K, since over time you get a little bit of a shift toward the 5000K. Probably 4300K for the fog lights too, just so they match. Thoughts?

-Theoretically 4300k is the "brightest" and as the k's go up, the less brightness/light output there is... depending on what company you get, the kelvin temperatures DO vary a little (i've experienced having purchased at least 6 sets of HID bulbs). I used to have 10k but i've moved on to ddmtuning's 8k (which looks a lot closer to 6k compared to my last 8ks bulbs I had) but I like it, because it matches the stock factory look of an escalade and is pretty much white with a very slight hint of blue.
 
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martinneallewis

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Great to hear from you again, Felix! I'll bet the Escalade head lights on a Yukon do look sick. Sounds like a lot of trouble though if you have to mod the Yukon to fit it.

25W ballasts for the fog lights? I'll look for the lower wattage ballasts. Definitely don't want the fog light housing to melt like I've read about.

You said your 8K bulbs look more like 6K ones and match the stock Escalade ones. Do Escalades not come stock with the standard 4300K?

Am I good using the stock halogen reflector housing for the HID conversion? Really wanting to keep the head lights looking as factory as possible, and (correct me if you disagree) I've read on the forum about questionable quality of aftermarket headlight assemblies. Read some of the threads, and it looks like just installing the HID kit without projectors ends up blinding people I'm meeting on the road.

Dude, you're seriously a life saver.
 

felixgun

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Great to hear from you again, Felix! I'll bet the Escalade head lights on a Yukon do look sick. Sounds like a lot of trouble though if you have to mod the Yukon to fit it.

25W ballasts for the fog lights? I'll look for the lower wattage ballasts. Definitely don't want the fog light housing to melt like I've read about.

You said your 8K bulbs look more like 6K ones and match the stock Escalade ones. Do Escalades not come stock with the standard 4300K?

Am I good using the stock halogen reflector housing for the HID conversion? Really wanting to keep the head lights looking as factory as possible, and (correct me if you disagree) I've read on the forum about questionable quality of aftermarket headlight assemblies. Read some of the threads, and it looks like just installing the HID kit without projectors ends up blinding people I'm meeting on the road.

Dude, you're seriously a life saver.

Yes 25W ballasts. They are rare on eBay but the internet's got em somewhere. Someone has posted a link on these forums too so do a search and you'll find a link to them. For the Low Beam/High Beam, you can go with 35W and not worry about melting. Anything > 55W is brighter but not worth the extra trouble (melting issues, too bright for oncoming traffic, durability and how long the actual bulb lasts, etc, etc..

Yes my 8k's look like 6k's -- pure white with a slight hint of blue (I know this bc i've owned multiple company branded 8k's which usually have a good bit of blue in them) and yes again the esky does have a stock 4300k but gives off a white (instead of yellow or blue) light and for some odd reason match up with my HID's pretty damn well. Personally, I think you are good with the stock housing. I also think aftermarket headlights are super sketchy... build quality is not up to par with OEM standards. It would take a LOT for me to change out the stock headlights for both the yukon and the tahoe.

No prob glad I could help!
 
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ezdaar

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look here for your 25watt HID's for fog.

http://www.hidgeeks.com/5202-XENON-HID-KIT/5202-HID-Conversion-Kit-p59.html

---------- Post added at 01:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:55 PM ----------

Sales are limited time offer, it will ends anytime.
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5202 HID Conversion Kit
Ballast Type: Regular
Bulb Color: 6,000K
Wattage Type: 25 W
Warranty: Lifetime
$79.00

H13 HID Conversion Kit
Ballast Type: Regular
Bulb Color: 6,000K
Wattage Type: 35 W
Warranty: Lifetime
$42.99


2 item(s) in cart Subtotal: $121.99

This is from HIDgeeks.com. I chose 6k due to them not listing anything but 3,6,8 and 10k. You may beable to call them and ask for 4500's or 5k's or what ever you decide on.

I was looking for a set of 4500's in the 5202 but cant seem to find them at all.. even tried to crossrefrence the 5202 into a diff style but cant find that either.. so in that I get a FAIL! LOL

If there is infact a 5202 in 4500k, try asking ddmtuning, as they sell bulb pairs for real cheap. Then you could resell the 6k's that came in the HID kit to someone here, craigs, or ebay..
 
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martinneallewis

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Thanks for the link.

One more question, Felix. Probably more a repeat than anything new. Stock housing and no projectors?
 

ezdaar

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Everything you can ever want to know about projectors and retro fitting them into your OEM housings can be found at HID Planet. The amount of info there is insane.

Look here for your Retrofit Parts.

That page takes you to complete kits, you may want to just get the projectors there and HID's from elsewhere.

you could also look into these Projector Retrofits from V-LEDS.com
 
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martinneallewis

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Still wondering though, are projectors necessary or totally optional for the HID's installed in factory housings?
 

OklabyGodhoma

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I have the DDM 55 watt setup in my 2007 Yukon XL and I am using the 5000K bulbs. All I can tell you is that they are FANTASTIC!!!! The 5000K bulbs give off a pure white light with NO color hues of yellow, blue or purple. The 55 watt ballast are wonderful for the wide open spaces here in Oklahoma but beware.....in the city people will flash their lights at you thinking you have brights on. Yes this happens even with properly aimed headlamps. Hope this helps.
 

ezdaar

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HID's in OEM NON projector housings are what pisses ppl off. They scatter the light all over the place. More into the oncoming drivers eyes than on the road.. Thus you get flashed by everyone and pulled over by that pissed off cop cause he has to deal with that all night.

Projectors are a HUGE bonus for running HID's in your low's
If you have the skills, do a retrofit.
If you dont buy a Ebay headlight assembly, search here, there are tons of posts with links to the higher end assemblys.
 

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