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Has anyone tried installing Xenon lights on a STS? How hard is it to convert the OEM headlights into Xenons? Is there a good place to purchase them online?
Cheers,
Cheers,
Xenon headlights for '98 STS
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Heres a site, I dont know anything about them, but its a start
http://www.theneonedge.com/exterior/exteriorhid.htm
Also since HID's were offered from the factory on STS's maybe your local cadillac parts counter could be of help. Though probably pretty expensive
http://www.theneonedge.com/exterior/exteriorhid.htm
Also since HID's were offered from the factory on STS's maybe your local cadillac parts counter could be of help. Though probably pretty expensive
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Actually this will probably be the only "visible" mod the the Caddy. Everything else will be performance but I want it too look completely stock. The reason I'm adding it is because I'm dissapointed with the low beams in the car. I had a chance to drive through New Brunswick, Nova Scotia at Night, in the middle of nowhere, couldn't see much. The high-beams on the other hand. Holy Shit, those light up the road.
And no, I won't be adding any Type-R stickers or Fart Cans. Even tho I hear adding a Type-R sticker to your car adds 50HP
And no, I won't be adding any Type-R stickers or Fart Cans. Even tho I hear adding a Type-R sticker to your car adds 50HP
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You're blocking all the colors on the spectrum except the blue if you use tinted bulbs. This just chops all the light output.
This is why I four 4 real xenon low beams.
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This is why I four 4 real xenon low beams
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I know what you talking about . Drove across North Ontario on labour day weekend and when you turn off the high beam I have to check to see if the low beams are noBlackThunder said:Actually this will probably be the only "visible" mod the the Caddy. Everything else will be performance but I want it too look completely stock. The reason I'm adding it is because I'm dissapointed with the low beams in the car. I had a chance to drive through New Brunswick, Nova Scotia at Night, in the middle of nowhere, couldn't see much. The high-beams on the other hand. Holy Shit, those light up the road.
And no, I won't be adding any Type-R stickers or Fart Cans. Even tho I hear adding a Type-R sticker to your car adds 50HP
Have you change your bulbs
Has anyone found any good bulbs
Are Silver star any good?
I am retrofitting the stock Guide Corp. H.I.D. Xenon projector headlamps (D1S I believe) with HB3 high beams onto a 2004 SLS Seville with the halogen HB4/HB3 projector headlamps. I have the lamps, is there anything I have to do to the wiring harness or connectors? I have yet to take the the stock lamps out to get a good look.
I was surprised to see that the low beam stays on with the high beam on these new Cadillacs, which will be great for the Xenon install as the low beams have to stay on with the high.
This is far from my first Xenon swap, so I know what is involved, just need to know about possible codes to change in the computer, wiring harnesses with beefier grounds for the Xenon ballasts, etc.
I was surprised to see that the low beam stays on with the high beam on these new Cadillacs, which will be great for the Xenon install as the low beams have to stay on with the high.
This is far from my first Xenon swap, so I know what is involved, just need to know about possible codes to change in the computer, wiring harnesses with beefier grounds for the Xenon ballasts, etc.
Its always better to go with a stock setup, but really the biggest change you will need to make is to go with thicker gauge stock wiring, and upgrade your fuses. There are several other "recommended" safety modifications, but I installed Hella Xenon Micro DE HID fogs in my old passat even using the stock wiring and never had a single problem. HID kits are more rare with the new laws but certainlygood ones can be found. www.hidforum.com is an excellent place to research Xenon upgrades.
Thanks for the info.
Its my belief that Hella only makes a driving lamp that is Xenon for the Micro DE. Not a fog lamp. A driving lamp is to aid the high beam and not to be used as a fog lamp or when other traffic is around.
Xenon fog lamps are not worth the $$$ if you think about it. Fog lamps should only be used when the weather is poor, if you use them when the weather is clear your eyes will look directly infront of the bumper instead of a quarter mile down the road. If you use your fog lamps correctly...they really do not get much use, and if you have a great low beam or a well focused Xenon low beam, they are pretty pointless.
Its my belief that Hella only makes a driving lamp that is Xenon for the Micro DE. Not a fog lamp. A driving lamp is to aid the high beam and not to be used as a fog lamp or when other traffic is around.
Xenon fog lamps are not worth the $$$ if you think about it. Fog lamps should only be used when the weather is poor, if you use them when the weather is clear your eyes will look directly infront of the bumper instead of a quarter mile down the road. If you use your fog lamps correctly...they really do not get much use, and if you have a great low beam or a well focused Xenon low beam, they are pretty pointless.
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No offense to Brett who posted a link in this thread, but do yourself a favor and stay away from that company and any others like them.
Brett mentioned checking at your Caddy dealer for the OEM parts. That is a source for the right parts, but buying new will be VERY expensive......close to $2,000. That's not a typo.
I converted my 2002 STS from halogen to HID with OEM parts by purchasing them on E-Bay. I got all the parts I needed for about $600, which is not much more than an aftermarket kit would cost. You have to be patient, though. It took me several months to find them on E-Bay and to outbid others trying to buy them. They go fast cause there's not that many on there.
Whatever you do, please don't buy an aftermaket "conversion kit." Your halogen headlight projector housings were just not designed for a Xenon bulb. The light will not be nearly as good as factory HID and you will likely get more people flashing their high-beams at you because of the glare you'll be putting out with a "kit."
Be patient and get them on E-Bay. Or try doing a search for parts from salvage yards. HID's were available as an option on the STS starting in 2001, so more and more of them should start to show up as available used.
Good luck to you.
Brett mentioned checking at your Caddy dealer for the OEM parts. That is a source for the right parts, but buying new will be VERY expensive......close to $2,000. That's not a typo.
I converted my 2002 STS from halogen to HID with OEM parts by purchasing them on E-Bay. I got all the parts I needed for about $600, which is not much more than an aftermarket kit would cost. You have to be patient, though. It took me several months to find them on E-Bay and to outbid others trying to buy them. They go fast cause there's not that many on there.
Whatever you do, please don't buy an aftermaket "conversion kit." Your halogen headlight projector housings were just not designed for a Xenon bulb. The light will not be nearly as good as factory HID and you will likely get more people flashing their high-beams at you because of the glare you'll be putting out with a "kit."
Be patient and get them on E-Bay. Or try doing a search for parts from salvage yards. HID's were available as an option on the STS starting in 2001, so more and more of them should start to show up as available used.
Good luck to you.
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I didn't even know I was subscribed to this thread, but I quickly ran through it. If you have projector lamps the cutoff for the new Xenon kit should work pretty well usually. I was running Xenon lights in a 93 Eldorado with just the stock reflectors. The beam pattern wasn't perfect, but it wasn't blinding anyone. You can always retrofit some sort of projector or create your own custom light shield. I didn't have to change any of the stock wiring. The Xenon lights only have a high current draw at startup. They have to raise the voltage to about 23kV. Once that happens the current draw drops to rates lower than the stock headlights.
Hella doesn't make the only driving beam. Close though. Sylvania has X1010 auxillary driving low beams which I have. They are great if you mount them well.
Hella doesn't make the only driving beam. Close though. Sylvania has X1010 auxillary driving low beams which I have. They are great if you mount them well.
I was refering that Hella makes a Micro DE based Xenon driving lamp, not a fog lamp like a previous poster mentioned having on his VW. There is a Optilux Xenon fog lamp, but it should not be confused with Hella, even if the companies are related.chrisngrod said:
Id have to disagree. The Hella Micro DE Xenon driving lights the way I had them mounted were completely unobtrusive when I had them on, and in fact did improve my driving visibility, especially on dark roads. Another thing that people typically forget with Halogen, is that its very easy to "outdrive" ones own lighting. Here any Xenon, and in fact the Hella's on my Passat did a great job of taking up the slack where my Halogen lighting quit in fast driving and cornering maneuvers. The 2003 Passat had decent lights, but the Hellas really complemented the overall spread of light out in front and to the sides as well. They were the perfect fit for the mounting holes for the stock fogs, and at 350 bucks they were practically a steal. I didnt want to go through the trouble of retro'ing the stock lamps in the Passat because with the tight openings and the bulb type it ended up being just too much work. Not to mention that the complements I got on the overall looks of the car with the lights on were pleasing as well.
I do agree with one of the above posters, as a long time xenon fan myself I can say that nothing urks me more than IMPROPERLY retrofitted Xenon kits. There is a Honda Civic running around here with extremely blinding xenons retrofitted in his stock reflectors, which on the Civic are pretty large and throw light all over the place. Thats not to say that a GOOD retro cant be done, but it takes some level of expertise, and proper shielding and aiming, even with the "kits" out there. There is no substitute for the real thing however, and the best true retrofit is either purchasing the stock Xenons for the vehicle you own, or 2nd best, remove your stock projectors, and insert units from vehicles like the Audi A6 or another popular one is the BMW X5 projector kit. Once again, properly aimed these are downright killer.
On a final note, I am selling my stock xenon lighting, the lenses have become somewhat blurred by deterioration of the plastic and I want some shiny new ones from ebay, so the old ones will have to go, these are about 1300.00 from my dealer so used they will make a great buy. If I happen to find JUST the lenses and housing for the Xenons on ebay then I will not be selling anything. If someone is interested let me know.
I do agree with one of the above posters, as a long time xenon fan myself I can say that nothing urks me more than IMPROPERLY retrofitted Xenon kits. There is a Honda Civic running around here with extremely blinding xenons retrofitted in his stock reflectors, which on the Civic are pretty large and throw light all over the place. Thats not to say that a GOOD retro cant be done, but it takes some level of expertise, and proper shielding and aiming, even with the "kits" out there. There is no substitute for the real thing however, and the best true retrofit is either purchasing the stock Xenons for the vehicle you own, or 2nd best, remove your stock projectors, and insert units from vehicles like the Audi A6 or another popular one is the BMW X5 projector kit. Once again, properly aimed these are downright killer.
On a final note, I am selling my stock xenon lighting, the lenses have become somewhat blurred by deterioration of the plastic and I want some shiny new ones from ebay, so the old ones will have to go, these are about 1300.00 from my dealer so used they will make a great buy. If I happen to find JUST the lenses and housing for the Xenons on ebay then I will not be selling anything. If someone is interested let me know.
OK, so we are in aggreement. I was pointing out that the lamps are DRIVING lamps, not fog lamps. The lamps if used with the high beams are great, but they would badly blind oncoming drivers. Xenon fog lamps are what I was pointing out as a waste of money. Xenon low/high beams or driving lamps are wonderful if realized correctly.
Here is a pic of the lamps pattern from Hella's site:
http://http://www.hella.com/produktion/HellaPortal/WebSite/Internet_en/ProductsServices/ForDriversAccessories/XenonHeadlamps/DEXenon/Isolux_DE_Xenon.jsp
you can see its long and narrow, which makes it great for use with quad systems like the Passat B5.5 with the H7/H7 projector/optic free lens reflector system. The low stays on with the high beam, so the low beam handles width, the high beam handles reach with some extra width, and then the Micros would add more intensity to the high beam. Mounting them in the fog locations would reduce the reach of the lamps greatly, but if aimed parallel to the ground, some decent benefit.
I completely agree with the comments about Xenon retrofit...the drop in lamps are garbage. If projectors are installed correctly into a stock lamp without lens on the optics and they do not bounce or leak, thats much better. OE Xenon headlamps are not always best...the Escalade headlamps(Autosystems) are pretty horrible as far as smoothness and cut off is concerned. The STS HID lamps are nice, but from memory have a hole in the pattern infront of the car. I guess this makes the poor fog lamps look like they are doing something.
Here is a pic of the lamps pattern from Hella's site:
http://http://www.hella.com/produktion/HellaPortal/WebSite/Internet_en/ProductsServices/ForDriversAccessories/XenonHeadlamps/DEXenon/Isolux_DE_Xenon.jsp
you can see its long and narrow, which makes it great for use with quad systems like the Passat B5.5 with the H7/H7 projector/optic free lens reflector system. The low stays on with the high beam, so the low beam handles width, the high beam handles reach with some extra width, and then the Micros would add more intensity to the high beam. Mounting them in the fog locations would reduce the reach of the lamps greatly, but if aimed parallel to the ground, some decent benefit.
I completely agree with the comments about Xenon retrofit...the drop in lamps are garbage. If projectors are installed correctly into a stock lamp without lens on the optics and they do not bounce or leak, thats much better. OE Xenon headlamps are not always best...the Escalade headlamps(Autosystems) are pretty horrible as far as smoothness and cut off is concerned. The STS HID lamps are nice, but from memory have a hole in the pattern infront of the car. I guess this makes the poor fog lamps look like they are doing something.
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I might try a Bi Xenon setup with normal reflectors. Hopefully this doesn't cause too much glare... We'll see. I'd have to do a lot of rewiring if I wanted to go with projectors because for my vehicle the newer model has them (03-04 MR2 Spyder).
I did a check on ebay and found nothing. So I did a Google search. I am not privy to what is considered good quality and what is not. I came across this website and wanted to know from someone in the know if they are worth the money:
http://www.brightheadlights-hid.com/Xenon-HID-Lights-Kits.htm
Thanks.
http://www.brightheadlights-hid.com/Xenon-HID-Lights-Kits.htm
Thanks.
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Don't buy from brightheadlights-hid.com. It's not that thay aren't a decent retailer to work with. I tried them and got good customer service. The problem is that they only sell HID retrofit kits. Please refer to my other post above.....I've been there, done that. You are asking for nothing but problems with these kits. Be patient and check E-bay every few days for the OEM stuff. Eventually you will find it and be much happier for it. Oh, and for the record......HID retrofit kitd are not street legal, despite what some websites say..........for what it's worth.
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hah thats funny but seems true.AKPsiMC03 said:
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