[hebert92]

Hello fellow CTS owners i have a few question i cant seem to find answers to in the fourms. My CTS is a 2010 CTS4 Luxury

-Can you install aftermarket HID's in the halogen housing. Low beam H11
-Can you change the Aim of the low beam so it doesn't have glare to others
-Is there enough room to install HID and ballest
-Am i better off just putting in a high quality halogen bulb, since i have to remove bumper to replace bulbs if i was to have issues with hid kit

Thanks

 

[andrewhuynh1995]

Yes you can, I wouldnt advise it I did it and it blinded everyone I immediately took it out I felt too bad.

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You can also plug and play hid assemblies I heard but that'll cost you a good amount.

 

[hebert92]

do you think a better way would be to get Philips diamond vision lights
http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Diamond-Vision-Halogen-Bulbs/dp/B007JZKBVW

i heard they give the look of HID thats what im looking for, not liking the oem yellow

 

[andrewhuynh1995]

I also tried Phillips diamond vision and they do not help with vision compared to a regular bulb. They are purely for looks. They make it much harder to see.

 

[hebert92]

oh okay is there anything you would recommend bulb wise?

 

[andrewhuynh1995]

As of right now all I want is to get a pair of OEM hid assemblies and plug and play those, I don't recommend HIDs in the halogen assemblies because of the issue with blinding others. I bought myself some Spec-D tuning aftermarket headlights and I love the LED strip, but it feels cheaply made. They're not bright either, but since they're not bright at all I might throw an hid kit in these and see what happens. They're blacked out and do not have any chrome to reflect the light and blind others. I feel it might work, but I am trying to figure out which hid kit to use. Also, if you buy an hid kit and decide to throw it in. Do not buy Xentec. They lasted me a week. And I would go 35w instead of 55w. They get really hot.

 

[spanky55amg]

I dont know about the Cadi's but I have put HID's in other cars. Now my Mazdaspeed3 has projection halogens from the factory and I am running DDM 6k headlights and fog lights and KNOW I do NOT blind people. I have put HID in sealed beam headlights and did have to aim them down.

 

[jimmie jam]

I changed mine to Sylvania Ultras. Much brighter, cleaner light (not yellow). FWIW.

 

[HurstGN]

Good luck with the Ultra's. They are brighter, but horrible on longevity. :mad2:

 

[jimmie jam]

Good luck with the Ultra's. They are brighter, but horrible on longevity. :mad2:

Everyone seems to have a different experience with bulbs. I have used Ultra's in my Gen 1 and in other vehicles with no issues at all. Bulbs are a lot like batteries...everyone "taxes" them differently.

 

[HurstGN]

My experience was in a Bonneville, so the ride quality of different cars most likely has something to do with it. I know I got a class action lawsuit notice in the mail because they were being sued over the longevity. I did notice after I had my less than longtime experience, the package has wording saying they will not last as long as other bulbs. http://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/closed-settlements/39284-sylvania-headlight-false-advertising-class-action-settlement/

It would be interesting to know how long they last for you. Mine wouldn't go any longer than 6 months.

 

[jimmie jam]

Well, we're going to find out!

 

[Diode Dynamics]

A quality 35 watt HID conversion kit will a nice improvement in a projector style housing. I wouldn't recommend putting HIDs into a reflector style housing

Nick C.

 

[spanky55amg]

There is always some on forums that will tell you not to put HID's into a reflector or sealed beam headlight... I did it, it was fine. aim them just a little lower.

 

[Anthony M]

There is always some on forums that will tell you not to put HID's into a reflector or sealed beam headlight... I did it, it was fine. aim them just a little lower.

Our cars sit low to begin with,you won't bother anyone.

 

[dandunham]

Another option is to look at some high power LED lights. I replaced my daytime running lights with them and it made a massive difference in the look of the car. I also replaced the halogens in my Honda odyssey with LED lights and that made a massive difference in the quality of light and beam pattern. You should be looking at about $100 a pair and the really bright ones will have a large heat sink on the back of the bulb. Some of the heat sinks have fans built in and some do not . But make sure you do the research to make sure the heat sink will fit in your headlight housing. This is one of the newer options out there. http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=191519208514

 

[Diode Dynamics]

LED's are not well suited for low-beam use, but they are fine for auxiliary applications like fog lights.

Be sure to avoid LED products with rounded lumen numbers (2,000 / 5,000 some even say 9,000!)

Make sure you are buying something that has been measured and tested for the automotive application or it won't last very long

Nick C.

 

[zeevert]

I just installed an aftermarket HID kit in my 2009 CTS.
I bought my APEX kit thru Amazon for $30:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LDRA342/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

although it may be less expensive from ebay.

I got the H11 6000k HID kit. It may be little bluer than I expected.

Picture of the headlights shining on the garage wall. The left is the new HID. The right is a 1.5 year old Sylvania ExtraVision.
The HID is much whiter than the old bulb.


The kit came with everything needed. The most difficult part was there are two wires that need to be inserted into a clip/plug. Look at it very closely and be ready to switch the wires. At random, I got one correct and one wrong. The HID will not work with wrong polarity.


There is room for the ballast and other hardware in the side compartment of the headlight housing.


I did have to adjust the headlight slightly down. Before you put the top cover back on... The adjustment screw requires a LONG allen hex drive down this hole.

 

[jimmie jam]

Zeevert, you just put the ballast in the housing? Did not secure it? This sounds interesting although the price does not seem to be enough for a quality product.

 

[Diode Dynamics]

Zeevert, you just put the ballast in the housing? Did not secure it? This sounds interesting although the price does not seem to be enough for a quality product.

You are spot on with your price concerns

There's a large disparity in quality between aftermarket HID conversion kits

Nick C.