I need to replace, or repair one of my head light assemblies (has water / condensation inside)
TYC replacement from Rock Auto is around $100 per light for Halogen and $300 for the HID model. the current ones that are on the car are Halogen, is there a reason to pay the $200 extra for the HID model? the sport model ones are also available for for another $56 over the regular HID models. Both include the ballast as well as the bulbs.
Is there a point in changing to the HID one here? a Good quality LED H11 replacement kit is about $150 as well for the Halogen model. If I was to swap in the HID model headlight, would it be as simple as changing the H11 connector to the connector used on the ballast ?

Also I was looking at replacements from OEMassive : OEMassive blacked out with led strip or OEMassive blacked out with HID , any input on quality?

Also while on the topic, is 55W usable in the max? or should I be sticking to 35w

Thanks in advance

 

HID is not a direct plug and play. If you switch to HID you have to do some splicing and grounding. You could find LED kits that are plug and play but LEDs bulbs as primary lighting for driving at night are not very good. I know from experience.

 

for HID's I'm looking at a morimoto HID kit, can I run 55W without a relay?

 

I have morimotos on my car. The difference between 55w and 35w is not much. 55w is not dramatically brighter. So there is no need for 55w unless that’s all you can find or it’s cheaper.

Second,yes you can run it without a relay but I wouldn’t. Like me,your car came with the halogen setup. The oem wiring wasn’t meant to support that amount of energy for the lights. So running it without relays,your brand new expensive morimotos aren’t going to have the full light output,they will flicker,one side might be brighter then the other. Because of the amount of amperage they draw,oem wiring might not be able start both ballast at the same time. So 1 headlight will turn on,wait for the power to level down then the other will turn on.

These are just possibilities. Doesn’t mean they will happen,but chances are increased without a relay.

 

Thanks for your input, 35W it is. There are hardly any street lights where I drive, so I figured 55W might benefit, but I don't really feel like wiring up relays to avoid those possible issues.

How did you find the Morimotos? which kit did you end up with? (color etc)

 

I got my setup from theretrofitsource.com. I got 35w and 5500k. I work at night so when driving to work I needed actual good light output.

 

Alright, I just picked up the 35w / 4500k Kit from there as well .

 

Nice. Personally I think they are one of the best aftermarket HIDs you can buy. Great build quality and warranty.

 

Done! Also replaced fog lights, both seemed to have issues (melted interior, cracked lense, and other was fogged over)
I'd say it's a 4000% improvement over stock halogen, before, I would easily notice my fogs being off, now I really have to focus to tell.

Morimotto 35w 4500k HID kit

 

Much better. Actually makes night driving fun . Prepare to look back at your car 20 times after you turn it off and wait for the headlight delay. Such a pretty sight