HID/LightPipe Headlight Question....

[Mr Snappy]

I have the standard lights, not the HID/Lightpipe headlights. Can you just "plug & play" to upgrade the lights or are the harnesses and computers controls different? Can you order the lights from GM and do this yourself?

Thanks

[MidLifeinMI]

The harnesses and controls are different. The HIDs have to plug into a control module for the steering motors and one for the HID ballast/ignitors, which you would also have to purchase and figure out how to mount. The turn signal stalk is also different, since it has a switch for the foglights on it as well. Oh, and the cables are intentionally different, so the assemblers at GM LGR can't accidentally install the wrong one. By the time you're done messing with it, you will understand why they charge so much more for the HIDs.

[Ron Price]

HID lights can be installed without too much trouble or expense but that does not include the "Adaptive" feature nor the light pipe. It basically amounts to changing the bulbs and adding other electircal/hardware needed to operate the HIDs. When I had my fog lights put in I didn't want to spend another couple of hundred bucks just to have HID lights. My lights seem to be just fine altough I have never had HIDs. The info on the harness is correct. They are not the same which is also the reason you can't just plug in the fog lights.

[Zymurgy]

Originally Posted by Ron Price

... My lights seem to be just fine altough I have never had HIDs...

Once you have driven a car with HIDs, you'll never want regular headlights again.

[Mac141]

Originally Posted by Zymurgy

Once you have driven a car with HIDs, you'll never want regular headlights again.

You're not kidding. Not only could you catch a deer, but you just may be able to light up a runway for small planes coming in for a landing. They are great!

[WhtDmnd04CTS]

Originally Posted by Zymurgy

Once you have driven a car with HIDs, you'll never want regular headlights again.

i feel the same way, but honestly i feel like the HID's on my 04 CTS were brighter then the one's on my 08

[cts_mark]

What I've noticed with mine is that they seem really low to the ground. They are very bright but they don't seem to light up very far in front of you. I use my highs more than I thought I would. When I drive to work in the morning it is dark out and I drive very curvy (fun) dark roads and I am always afraid of meeting a Deer so I like to see as far ahead as I can.

-Mark

[STS2002]

Originally Posted by WhtDmnd04CTS

i feel the same way, but honestly i feel like the HID's on my 04 CTS were brighter then the one's on my 08

I would definately agree that our HIDs in the 08 CTS seem to be a little yellow than blue or white. I had an STS and the HIDs on that were definately bluer and brighter.

[yatesd]

Well..I kind of like the more natural light that our CTS produces. However, there is no blue in the output that makes people shout, "Hey, are those HID lights?".

[Mbai2]

Xenon lights get bluer as they age. You may have gotten used to the aged HID's on your previous cars. Give it a year and it'll be just as blue.

[bobelew]

I have had my CTS for ten months and they are still very much yellow. At first, I missed the blueness. Now that I have driven with the yellowish colored HID's, I find that they actually work much better than my blue HID's ever did. I think that the yellowish color adds a lot of depth and contrast in rainy, foggy and snowy conditions. It just might be me, but I can see much better at night than before. I love them the way they are. I hope that they don't turn blue!

[Workaholic]

blue is cool, but human eyes are designed to see yellow hues better.

[Maynor]

For reference, yes, you can replace the stock (non-HID) headlamp module for the factory HID module with light pipes etc. Its plug and play. I found my replacement HID's on Ebay that were very inexpensive.

1) You can't utilize the adaptive feature unless you rewire which is nice to have, but not a must have.
2) The dedicated day time running lamps on the HID/Lightpipe headlight module will not work. The HID's will come on instead. If you're willing to re-wire, you can utilize the build-in dedicated day time running lamps but this is not a big deal for me.

Taking the bumper off is required but not hard to do. There is a 10 mm bolt on each side of the bumper that needs to come off and two more on top of the grill which bolt up to the radiator support. It requires removing 7 plastic clips in each wheel well, 8 on top of the grille and 4 more under the bumper cover, but its not a big deal to do.

It is much faster and easier to do with the front wheels off the car however. The front half of the wheel well liner needs to come out to access the 10 mm bolt. Again, not hard to do. Maybe 2 hours to remove the bumper cover the first time you try.

[Workaholic]

Interesting Maynor, how much is inexpensive when all was said and done?

[Maynor]

All depends on the bid obviously. I got them for about $250 total.