Halogen to Xenon Headlight Retrofit
 

I recently completed a retrofit of my base 8's Halogen bulbs to Xenon HID's using a XenonDepot kit (rebased 4300k Phillips bulbs, Phillips ballasts, complete wiring harness kit).

I was worried about the cutoff since I am using the original Halogen headlight assemblies for the retrofit, but everything seems fine. I get a good Z cutoff and I'm not blinding people in front of me or oncoming traffic. (I was really worried that I would be blazing right into everyone's passenger compartment, but the cutoff is just below the top of the trunkline when I'm behind someone - perfect!)

If there's interest, I will post a DIY (in the DIY section, of course) with pictures.

Install was easy except for one problem - the original halogen bulbs fit into a base connector and were held snugly in place by the mounting clip. The rebased bulbs do not fit into this base connector and therefore sit about 1-2 inches away from the clip! I had to rig up a mount to replace the base so the clip would do it's job.

Let me know if there's any interest in a DIY.

yes a DIY would be good for those that want to go for the aftermarket HID retrofit route, such as myself. in particular I'm interested in how/where you mounted the ballasts, and the custom mount you made to fit the new bulbs securely.

and that's what I'd expect with the retrofit, that there wouldn't be too much glare, if any, since our low beams are projector lenses, which are much better at forming a nice clean cutoff beam pattern than reflector headlights.

thanks in advance on the DIY :D:

Yea DIY are cool. But can we see some pic's of you 8 with the HID's? I'm intrested in this set up too.
Thanks.

guys you can get a kit from apexcone.com that comes with the adapters for about 300 bucks. i have one i use with our mz3.

Cool thanks man.

Will post DIY over the weekend. How did apexcone.com do the rebasing of the bulb with the adapter - I guess it was special for the RX-8????

Are they Phillips bulbs?

Went to the apexone site - not a lot of info. From their site they say -
"All Apexcone.com products are guaranteed forever. So there are very few parts offered for sale."

Nice guarantee, but I don't see any 8 items for sale. What's the deal with that?

Good job on the HID's. I have an aftermarket HID system too. Love these damn things. It has H7 bulbs, so the install was easy as hell. Only took like 2 hours. Congrats again.

I just did the HID conversion on my base 8 last weekend. I went with the Texon 8500k H7 kit. Purchased for $449 at a Local stereo shop. It was a compulsive buy and I probably overpaid a bit, But once I turned them on for the first time, I realized that they were worth every penny.

The installation was relatively simple to do. I decided to go slow and remove as much as possible to get to the headlights. Last time I tried to upgrade my bulbs to Silverstars, it took me about 2 hours trying to squeeze my hadn through the wheelwell. I started by jacking up the car on both sides, just enough to lift the front wheels off the ground. I removed the shrouds and then took off the front bumper (this is not hard at all..took me 10 mins, and I followed the DIY article). Then, I removed the headlight assembly and installed the bulbs, ballasts, and wired it all up. I mounted the ballasts on with zipties in the small space above the oil cooler. Putting everything back together took another 20 mins.

First impression....WOW!! 8500k bulbs look amazing. They are very bright, and make the car stand out from every other HID bulb out there on the road. These are a much sharper blue color. I know the 8500k blue reduces visibility by a bit, but they stand out and that makes it worth it. Feel free to ask any questions.


http://us.a1.yahoofs.com/users/41be5...o4xyDB5rryPGHk

http://us.a1.yahoofs.com/users/41be5...o4xyDBg1V9i82B

http://us.a1.yahoofs.com/users/41be5...o4xyDBAsyT85U7

http://us.a1.yahoofs.com/users/41be5...o4xyDBv.fMV7lJ

http://us.a1.yahoofs.com/users/41be5...o4xyDBCGvKbmj2

http://us.a1.yahoofs.com/users/41be5...o4xyDBSler2P3j

http://us.a1.yahoofs.com/users/41be5...o4xyDBOkRd0iym

http://us.a1.yahoofs.com/users/41be5...o4xyDB.xVmSPQl

http://us.a1.yahoofs.com/users/41be5...o4xyDBmux4zS64

Yes Yes...DIY please, thanks for the information!

Are after market Xenon HIDs as good as the real deal? Which after market set can u get that are a bit bluer? Also does it really take jus 2 hours even for a non-expert to fit them? cheers.

ExcelonGT, I cant see your pic's