Has anyone done an HID conversion kit upgrade? - Hyundai Performance Forums

kagemusha · 06-26-2003, 07:18 PM

The idea of upgrading to a HID system is appealing for both functional and stylistic reasons. I've traveled a bunch this summer for my company and have had a few rentals with HID installed. They are just as impressive on the inside looking out as they appear (at least to me) on the outside.

The price of HID conversion kits seems to be coming down to the $400-$600 range with online vendors and even in the $300 range on eBay. I'm wondering if anyone has done an upgrade with an aftermarket kit? I think I want to give it a shot, but am a little spooked about its actual effectiveness with my Halogen designed projectors. The factory installed HID's come with leveling systems and headlight washing systems as well, which I obviously wouldn't have in the XG. I don't want to spend a bunch to find out it's totally ineffective due to glare etc, or worse, potentially damage the headlight assembly in some way.

So, has anyone tried this in a Sonata or an XG? How did it turn out? Any recommended manufacturers? Even if you haven't tried it, any ideas or thoughts as to how effective such a kit would be? I'd be doing just the low beams (H7 bulbs) as they're all I use 95% of the time and keep the Philips H1 Truevision bulbs as the high beams.

OneandOnly1 · 07-05-2003, 05:15 AM

I have them on my 2003 Tiburon. There are two types of HID bulbs- D2S and D2R. One of them is made for reflector headlights and the other for projector headlights. I am assuming the XG and Sonata both have projector (headlight) lenses for lowbeams.

Well, the HID bulb made for projector lenses has specific shielding or anti-glare device on it to prevent glare so the glare would be minimal and comparable to that of other OEM HID kits found today.

Here is a good link for HID's to aid you in your decision.
http://www.intellexual.net/hid.html
An aftermarket HID kit would not be legal for safety inspections; however, being that they are completely plug-and-play (and come with install instructions) you can return to halogens for inspections and pass- then re-install the HID's. Simple as that.

Also, being that the Sonata and XG both are luxurious in styling, you may never get pulled overt by a police officer since they will not know your HID lights aren't stock nor illegal.

ANy more questions, feel free to PM me. You will love HID's and they will make Sonatas and XG's look twice as nice.

yoon · 07-05-2003, 10:17 AM

go for OSRAM/philps Bulbs... and HELLA/Philips BALLASTS...

OneandOnly1 · 07-07-2003, 11:01 PM

Absolutely yoon. Great advice.

Rudy H · 07-08-2003, 09:14 AM

I am in the midst of having to buy replacement HID bulbs. Let me tell you, DON'T GO CHEAP.

I bought the Sharkracing HID kit they got, which was $200 cheaper then some of the others ($500 US), and the bulb burnt out after a year. Oh well, a new bulb is what $30 for a pair? WRONG!!! $260 Cdn. The HID bulbs are suppose to last next to forever for example the OSRAM or Philips bulbs.

Therefore don't get it off EBay cause 1) It will likely not be the true HID kit 2) It will be cheap as possible.

I recommend checking out www.hid4less.com or www.xenondepot.com. I am buying replacement Philips bulbs from Xenon Depot, mostly cause they are located here in my province. From the sounds of things, they likely are out of someones basement, but if the quality is good thats all that matters!

SPIKE · 07-09-2003, 03:03 AM

Yoon: there is no HID OEM kit on them in korea?

kagemusha · 07-09-2003, 09:21 PM

Thanks for the advice and replies from everyone. I've done a fair amount of research online and learned quite a bit of helpful information before making what I think is an educated decision. I thought I'd share a little about what I've learned regarding HID upgrade kits and the projector lenses used in the XG and the latest generation Sonata.
First off, there's a ton of misinformation and false claims out there regarding HID kits. Anyone with a glue gun in a basement can take an HID bulb, modify its base, and throw together ballast and wiring from who knows where to make a kit. I would recommend being very selective in choosing which vendor/kit to use. As Rudy H noted, don't go cheap. I was initially attracted to an HID upgrade partly because of the low prices offered on eBay, but after learning more, I was willing to pay more for peace of mind and major brand components.
For starters, You'll want a kit with proven major-brand components (i.e. Philips, Osram, G.E. bulbs and ballast), you'll want a bulb whose base has been refitted at least semi-professionally and is specific to the bulb you plan to replace, and you'll want a high quality wiring harness.
When choosing the kit's bulb, do not be easily impressed by Kelvin ratings. Simply learn what they mean and make your choice from there. Philips, Osram, and GE offer 4100K bulbs which are the three primary suppliers to all OEM HID headlamp systems. Philips also makes a 5000K bulb and an "Ultinon" bulb for a more blue look rated at 6000K. The higher the number, the more the color changes from white to blue and beyond. I didn't pay any attention to anything advertised beyond 6000K (And there is stuff out there at 8000K and higher) because the major manufacturers aren't offering anything in those ranges. I wanted the most outstanding and practical light output, regardless of color, which happens to be 4100K.
I've read lots of horror stories on forums and seen some pretty bad pictures of HID upgrades into stock halogen-based headlamps. Glare and distorted beam patterns seem to be the major issues when using a kit in a halogen based system. If you're blinding oncoming traffic and/or your beam pattern produces "hot spots" or an uneven spread of the beam then you're doing no good to yourself and others around you.
Fortunately, as far as I can tell, the projectors Hyundai uses appear to be highly compatible to an HID upgrade for a couple of reasons. First, the headlamp on the XG is a "harmonized" headlamp, meaning it is both DOT and ECE approved. The advantage there is the ECE headlamps have a higher output, lower glare, and sharp horizontal beam cut-offs. They are a higher standard of headlamp versus DOT only spec headlamps. Secondly, if you are planning to upgrade the H7 low beam as I am, you'll be upgrading a projector beam unit, which in all the information I've come across are the preferred type of unit (compared to reflective or sealed beam units) to upgrade. Finally, it will be less expensive to upgrade the H7 bulb as it requires a single beam kit and not a dual-beam or bi-xenon application. True, your H1 highs won't be HID, but as I said earlier, I rarely use mine and this isn't an issue.
I narrowed my choices down to two kits, a CATZ kit or a kit produced by hid-online.com. HID-online is in the UK, and are affiliated with autolamps-online.com. They use only Philips components in their kits. CATZ have been a major manufacturer of headlamp and fog lamp systems and have been around quite a while. Their kits are relabeled Bellof Japan HID kits. The vendor selling the CATZ system I looked at was liteswap.com, based in Maryland. I was in contact with both vendors and they were very helpful and quick to answer my questions and concerns. Both kits were in the $500 range. All things being basically equal in my eyes, I ultimately settled on the CATZ kit because the vendor is located more conveniently in the US in the event I need technical support or a return, and because I have been in contact with the owner several times and feel comfortable working with him.
So...I need to wait and see now if I put my money where my mouth is. The kit should arrive next week and I'm going to take before/after and installation pics. Regardless of the results, I'll post them on my own site and link them to a post here in this forum. In a perfect world, I'd be able to get a hold of the OEM HID lights that are an option in Korea for the XG, but I looked and looked and couldn't find them anywhere. Hopefully I've chosen the next best option with the CATZ kit.

One link I found most helpful to answer my questions and where I got much of the info I've posted above:
http://faq.auto.light.tripod.com/

A link to info on the CATZ kit:
http://www.fet-usa.com

OneandOnly1 · 07-14-2003, 03:56 AM

Yage, I'm not sure about CATZ' quality. I would have gone with HIDs4less (don't let the name fool you- great quality and not necessarily cheap at all) or Xenon Depot. Both deal Philips bulbs and Philips or Hella ballasts. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy your CATZ HID's. Can't wait to see the pics.