HID Lights

[ManfromSnowyRiver]

Ok, I know search....Did not really answer my questions as usual. Driving back from the carnage at night was a real chore. My 20 year old headlights were like tiny little yellow spots on the road. My new light bar will kick butt on rural roads when there is no one around, but for the rest of the time I need new bulbs. Thinking HID. Questions;

1. My understanding is you need separate sets for both high and low beams?
2. What wattage, higher the better?
3. Do I need some sort of new reflectors, and where the heck would I find them for a Gen II
4. Any proffered HiD brand?

 

[Eric M]

Good halogen bulbs like Philips Xtreme Vision 100s are the best thing you could do.

 

[IncorpoRatedX]

Ok, I know search....Did not really answer my questions as usual. Driving back from the carnage at night was a real chore. My 20 year old headlights were like tiny little yellow spots on the road. My new light bar will kick butt on rural roads when there is no one around, but for the rest of the time I need new bulbs. Thinking HID. Questions;

1. My understanding is you need separate sets for both high and low beams?
2. What wattage, higher the better?
3. Do I need some sort of new reflectors, and where the heck would I find them for a Gen II
4. Any proffered HiD brand?

took your list and added answers.

1. My understanding is you need separate sets for both high and low beams?
That used to be the case, now you can run a single switchable ballast and it's all plug and play. takes about 20 minutes for a full install. I've run DDM tuning's HID set ups on many cars over the years, they seem to be the most reliable of the lower priced HID's
2. What wattage, higher the better?
Short answer, no. 35w will be more than you need, you'll have to take into consideration that your headlight housing are designed for halogen, so using them with HID means glare will be high for oncoming driver, it will be higher with the higher wattages with only a marginal gain in terms of foot-candles to the ground unless you upgrade to a tuned projector then the higher powers really start to get you big gains.
3. Do I need some sort of new reflectors, and where the heck would I find them for a Gen II
Ideally you want projectors with a cut off as mentioned above, but short of having your housing custom retrofit (which if you're into that, i have a guy that does outstanding work but it can run from 500-1500 depending on the work) you likely wont find a bolt in projector solution and if you do, it will probably be a cheap ineffective chinese attempt. It's ok, the stock housing will work, since the lenses are barely fluted and there's a deflector in front of the bulb the glare is less than the terrible ones you see running around (fluted lens, no deflector)
4. Any proffered HiD brand?
as i mentioned, ive had good luck with http://www.ddmtuning.com/Product-Categories/HID/HID-Kits/Car-Truck-SUV

 

[IncorpoRatedX]

also in terms of additions, for highway driving the 7" hella driving lights were spectacular for me. I have done HID's without driving lights and i have done halogens with 5" driving lights and 7", the 7" were the best addition i've made. I wired them to work like factory fogs; on with the low beams, off with high beams and put an override switch so i could run them on high beam if needed.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

I really like the factory lights on my 98, with a good replacement bulb you may be surprised how much more light you get out of the housing.

 

[TheMole]

Retrofit is the way to go if going with HIDs. There are a couple of members here who have done it with some $50 hid projectors from amazon and they came out pretty nice. Try a quick search.

 

[Toasty]

The glass on the 92-97 Gen 2's scatter HID, it'll work better with the cutoff of the late model 98-00 headlights. Get you some bubs...

 

[ManfromSnowyRiver]

Are there better regular bulbs?

 

[IncorpoRatedX]

Definitely and higher wattage too. You could run 100w halogens with a patch harness (sold on eBay) you want a bulb that is 4500-5000 kelvin and don't let anyone tell you any different. Blue light actually has negative effects on our brains resulting in fatigue. Not ideal for road trips. In case you are wondering lighting is what I do for a living

 

[czd3my]

I did mine with bi-xenon projectors from The Retrofit Source. Bi-xenon gives you high and low beam. They have them that fit the H4 socket on Gen 2 headlights and secure with a large nut. Simple really, took about 30 minutes once I had the glass lense off the headlight assembly. Mine is a 98 so it has the clear lenses, not fluted like the 96 and back. You can buy the complete kit with everything you need short of a new boot to seal up the back and butyl tape to seal the lense, they carry those too. The factory adjusters still work too. Looks almost factory when done.

 

[billygoats]

I did mine with bi-xenon projectors from The Retrofit Source. Bi-xenon gives you high and low beam. They have them that fit the H4 socket on Gen 2 headlights and secure with a large nut. Simple really, took about 30 minutes once I had the glass lense off the headlight assembly. Mine is a 98 so it has the clear lenses, not fluted like the 96 and back. You can buy the complete kit with everything you need short of a new boot to seal up the back and butyl tape to seal the lense, they carry those too. The factory adjusters still work too. Looks almost factory when done.

That's what I did! Light output is amazing

 

[Eric M]

Are there better regular bulbs?

Yes. Osram Nightbreakers or Philips Xtreme Vision 100s are what I use, they're the easiest to get in the USA. Don't use "higher wattage" bulbs.

 

[IncorpoRatedX]

Yes. Osram Nightbreakers or Philips Xtreme Vision 100s are what I use, they're the easiest to get in the USA. Don't use "higher wattage" bulbs.

Could you elaborate on why you're against 'higher wattage' bulbs?

 

[IncorpoRatedX]

I did mine with bi-xenon projectors from The Retrofit Source. Bi-xenon gives you high and low beam. They have them that fit the H4 socket on Gen 2 headlights and secure with a large nut. Simple really, took about 30 minutes once I had the glass lense off the headlight assembly. Mine is a 98 so it has the clear lenses, not fluted like the 96 and back. You can buy the complete kit with everything you need short of a new boot to seal up the back and butyl tape to seal the lense, they carry those too. The factory adjusters still work too. Looks almost factory when done.

I hopped on the page to check it out, looks like kits start as low as $270, looks like a decent deal once you put in the work.
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/complete-retrofit-kits/universal-kits.html

 

[ManfromSnowyRiver]

What part number is the one that fits ours?