I purchased some bright white PIAA led lights to replace the stock bulbs.
Removing the bulbs was a pain in the ***, mostly due to space constraints and large hands. . . but I managed to get at the plugs after removing fuse, battery, and ecu covers.
Lining up the plugs back into the head lamp proved to be far more difficult. The drivers side went in with only minor lacerations to the hands. The passenger side became a 2 hour ordeal. --- I managed to get the plug lined up and into the head lamp. As I was trying to turn it to seat the plug, the bulb popped off INTO the housing!! So, off I go to find some mechanical fingers that are small enough to fit through the opening. Third store was the charm, thank you Sears.
Another hour was spent trying to grasp this bulb, get it turned around in the claw and try to get it out of this 1/2 inch diameter hole.
So after much cursing and whining I finally got the damn bulb out, only to discover that the claw had broken one of the contacts I am too proud to drive with only one light working so I removed the drivers side that I had already installed. And you know, I think I like the look of the car at night without those stupid driving lights. I'm in no hurry to go through that again.

 

man oh man, sometimes you gotta wonder why it was so important in the first place. I feel your pain. I've had similar experiences w/ other vehicles, like you said thank god for the sears tool dept.

 

But how do they look? Now that it is over, was it worth it?

 

I changed my halogen bulbs too but it was very dim. So thought I'd ask a friend to install my HID's. If I were you remove the wheels that way you'll have a bigger space to work with good luck.

 

I did the same thing it's not worth it! But HID's are hehe

 

You'll really not think is not they're worth it when the LED's burn out. If you got them from autolumination.com, they will burn out! I've gone through 2 sets of whites, now i'm going to try amber lLEDs instead. I haven't had my amber sidemarker bulbs burn out yet, so i'm hoping i'll have better luck.

 

GotZoom asked: But how do they look? Now that it is over, was it worth it?


Well I only got to see one illuminated in place. Yes, it was a great improvement over the dull yellow stock bulb. But like I said, now that I removed the bulbs completely, I like the look just having the low beams w/o the little driving lights next to them. I suspect I will get another set of the white LED's someday, but not until my current cuts and scrapes on my hands heal!!

 

Just to clarify, you are referring to the driving/parking lights (the ones closest in to the center grille)? If so, I agree that it's very cramped. But I didn't find it that terribly bad. If you want some real fun, try replacing your low-beams. I blurted more than one 4-letter word in that process. Finally got them (and the high beams) replaced with PIAA Extreme Fusion bulbs, and love the result. The appearance is cool, but more importantly, the night visibility is significantly enhanced.

Best,
Bill

 

Yep, the parking/driving lights closest to the grill. I went at them from above because I didn't see any easier way to get at them. Sillygrl suggested removing the wheels and approaching them that way. May have to investigate that further when I decide to go at it again.

 

Hey Rotario, I cannot find the high beam bulb by PIAA. They say they currently do not make a H9, and a 9005 is not compatible. Can you enlighten me? Thanks

 

Hiya Xrider,

Not sure who you talked to on the PIAA's, but I got mine off a guy on Ebay. Yes, they are hard to find, but they do exist. Mine are the Xtreme Fusion version, which have a slightly "cooler" temperature (color) rating than the Xtreme White's. You might also try emailing here:

office@hitechimportlighting.com

I think they are in Canada, and I had tried to order some H9's from them a while back. I just got an email saying they (finally) had them in stock, but I don't need them any more. I think they have the Xtreme Whites. The H7's for the low-beams are easy to find, so you might get the H9's in your hand first before buying the H7's to be sure that you can match the color, if that's important to you. Beware though: the H9's are pricey, likely due to limited supply.

HTH,
Bill

 

You know, you can always take your front bumper and headlights out, I found that to be very easy. About half an hour to get the headlight assembly off of the car, and then replacing the bulbs takes seconds.

 

Dude, the same damn thing happened to me!! I guess us folks with fat *** hands wont be able to put in the lights. I spent about 45 minutes in the Hot *** Texas sun trying to intall them until i was too fed up. i finally got a friend to do it. He had small hands! haha

 

i have skinny hands and it sucks...i'm working on replacing the autoillumination bulbs right now...they lasted about 4 months...and thats with the car being down for about a month and a half. i'm just gonna put the stock 194s back in and not worry about it. friggin pissin me off about the LEDs though.