Can any car be converted to HID?

[Villanuevas_BMW]

I want to first say that I have minimal knowledge of how HIDs work. Some box connected to the hid bulbs that make them High Intensity Dicharge and the higher the lumens the less brighter but purple they are. Thats the idea in my head correct me If im wrong. Sounds easy and simple enough so can this be done to any car. Lets say my 2002? Im sick of my dim lights. I have H4 bulbs in a non projected assembly and allows me to take the bulbs out. The previous assemblys that I had did not allow a bulb exchange, the whole assembly had to be replaced. If any of you can shed some info please post it along with where I can get parts. I know I have to convert to H1 but have no idea how. I really dont care what NHTSA has to say about this but ill try my luck. Maybe with my non projected set up the light will spread and not be all toward an oncoming drivers eyesite but a bit more on the ground so I dont piss people off.

[///Samson]

The answer would be..... yes, but not well - because:

Xenon light is a very bright source of light. Hypothetically you could retrofit any headlight unit with a xenon bulb at get it to shine. But for safety and legal issues - getting the light to shine correctly on the road surface and surrounding environment comes easier with specific headlight units with certain optics to help focus and disperse the light. Ellipsoids, commonly named as a good unit to equip with xenon, have what is simply called a cut-off in the 'projector'where the light is cut off at certain heights - at different angles - to help the driver have good light coverage over the road, while keeping the light from directly entering the vehicles in front (unless they are at a far distance or to the right of your vehicle). The light in a ellipsoid is projected through fish-eyed lens (called a projector) that is designed to concentrate the light in different angles, but not let it escape in all directions. Put xenon in a 1995 Dodge Dakota headlight unit, which is the standard square unit with a plastic or glass cover that has a textured surface to spread halogen light - and you’d have one bright flood light, causing every driver on the road to flash their brights at you. The key is good optics. Honda's have headlight units with reverse optics - where the rear section of the headlight has a reflective surface that reflects light at a specified dispersion.

Remember though: EVERYTHING CAN BE MODIFIED. I am sure you can find a bulb/conversion kit to fit your 2002 OEM headlights - -- but you might want to retrofit an ellipsoid projector lense sold for E30's, E34's etc to your current set-up. That's my take on your situation.

Referencing Bavauto, stock 2002's have this lense:



They sell an H4 upgrade lense from hella that looks like this - you could ask hella if it would withstand/work with an H4 xenon kit.



Or just grab one off an E30 or E34 kit (not sure what diameter would be close).

[Villanuevas_BMW]

Thanks Samson. I have no idea how to find out if they can handle an HID kit. The guys at BavAuto didnt know and the only hella website I found was not exactly in English

[E31]

If you can find an HID kit now (thanks to ricers) it would fit in your 2002. All they need is to have the focal point of the light be at the same focal point of the OEM bulb and it would be OK. It will be brighter, but Xenon doesn't blind as much on the periferral as hallogens do.

You are right on your views of HID lights. You really don't want a more "purple" light, because it attracts attention to you. You really don't need more than 4-6K brightness. I retrofitted my Viper with an HID kit and works fine. There are H4 Xenon bulbs with the ballast to fit in your car. Good luck!

[s_ribbens]

That's a sweet '02 you have! I briefly looked into those for my '02. I have the hella upgrade and have some PIAA super-whites. They are significantly better than any standard halogen, even the higher wattage ones Bavarian Autosport initially recomended. Let us know what you end up doing.
Seth

[fabadabean]

You can't retrofit "Pop-up" headlights with HIDs... For some (obvious) reason, they're not completely waterproof, and, however much you insulate and cover your cables, they will never completely be waterproof. I also drive a '96 E31 850Ci, which has really bad lighting... in an attempt to fix that, I had Xenons retrofited to it, and they did help. Unfortunately, about a month down the road, one of the bulbs went out. I got it fixed, and a few months later, again. It's been about a year now, and I've already had two problems with them.. I almost regret having done that....
Anyways, NO: HIDs cannot be retrofitted anywhere!!!

[rdh2002]

Villanuevas, here's my take on them. I also have a 2002, a '76, I have upgraded to the Cibie H4 conversion. These lights are awesome! Someone mentioned projector lenses, that's what these are like, they have a definite cutoff, and then angle up on the sides, to see road signs. I have several buddies who also have '02's with either Bosch, or Hella H4 upgrades, and they don't even compare, the Cibies are in a different league. One of them has Bosch H4 w/ some brand of "hyperwhite" bulbs or something that are supposed to be comparable to a halogen 70/100W bulb. We parked side-to-side with our lights shining on a row of trees, and mine, with standard 55/60W bulbs were significantly brighter. With my high beams on I can see further down the road with my '02 than I can with my '95 M3! Oh, and as for the E30/E34 bulb idea, they are 5-3/4 in., where 2002's have 7 in bulbs. You could do it, but it's more work than it's worth, and you would only low or high beam bulb.

Another buddy of mine is an HID dealer, the real deal, not just bulbs. He had a Ducati M750, which has an H4 bulb just like our '02's. He put Xenons in it and they worked awesome, but he only had low beams, which were bright enough. I asked him about it a couple months ago, and he said that they now have H4 bulbs with bi-xenon, meaning hi and low beams, but you'll basically have to buy two kits, because you'll have to have a ballast for the highs as well as the lows. He also said that PIAA Superwhites are the closest to real xenon's you can get without the expense of real xenons.

So, in short, to answer your question... Yes, you can put Xenons on a 2002, but if you don't want to spend $7-800, or possibly more, to do it you can get the Cibie H4 conversion with a higher wattage bulb, say 80/120W, or some PIAA Superwhites for them. You can get Cibies from Talbot & Co., they also carry a large line of driving/fog lamps for just about any driving style or need you have. Lots of places have PIAA bulbs. If you're interested in talking with my buddy about the HID kits, I can get you in touch with him, just PM or email me.

Here's what the Cibie H4 lens looks like. Very crystalline looking, gorgeous.

[OldSkoolBmw]

Or you can be like me and swap the GM one wire 90amp alternator conversion and have a bolt on rally ram bar on the front with 4 7" rally lights 110w x 4 says you can see everything

[rdh2002]

Unless you live in a state where that would be illegal, like NC. It's illegal to have more than 4 lights shining. You can have 2 head and 2 fog/driving, or 4 headlights, but not more. That's why newer BMW foglights go off when you turn on the highbeams. Of course, if you just use the 4 7" rally lights, I guess that would be okay.

[Villanuevas_BMW]

And I was just about to but the hellas! thanks rdh2002. Also they are pretty close to my houde where they sell them. Also, are they glass, or plastic?

[rdh2002]

THey're glass. I've also seen places where you can buy protective covers for them. Some are the old fashioned type, which are a plastic cover that goes on the top of them and sticks out about an inch. The ones I've seen that I like are made of real thick vinyl, that stick to the lens, I think Griot's and a couple other places carry them, maybe Bav Auto as well.

The hellas are pretty good I suppose, the buddy that I was telling about with the Bosch had Hellas before he changed over to Bosch, I can't remember why he switched though.