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HID kits?????

X

XJ_holmes

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Pell City, AL
hey guys i'm new to the forum but have had my jeep since mid may. right now i have a rough country 3" lift and 31x10.5x15 s. ive been looking into a lightbar for the roof and some extra fog lights for when im going wheelin. i was wondering whether i would be better off getting an hid kit instead of the extra lights on top. save my alternator and battery ya kno. any help would be great thanks.
 
well it depends, are your headlights enough when wheeling. or do you need more light coverage? HIDs are cool but if you need more coverage then your better off getting some lights to bolt on
 
hella is probably your best bet that i know of for some good lights. i've ran them i liked them better than the cheap-o baja lights at walmart, but for the $65 price tag i would be weary of braking them. btw the baja lights from walmart are like $16 and ok
 
StumpXJ has some Hella's that he has converted to HID's with kits he got off Ebay IIRC. I can tell you those are some bright lights. Stump...you on here???? Chime in.
 
thanks for the info guys. i really just need the light coverage for when im wheelin like this sunday. i think an hid fog setup could be the right thing bc im not sure i want to put a light bar across my roof. but thanks for the info if you have any other ideas or even pics please let me know thanks again
 
i also remember reading somewhere im not sure what site i was on but an off road site had a project 96 xj and had put some hids in it that when you turned the high beams on the low beams stayed on for maximum light coverage the pics made it seem like it lit up the whole forest. if anyone knows what im talking about i would love to find that kit
 
Something else to consider if you don't want to spend the coin on HID's just yet...upgrade your factory lights. For $45 on Ebay I picked up a set of Autopal headlights that have European housings and they made a huge difference. I tried to find the place I got them from again but couldn't, i'll try later and see if I can come up with a link for you.
 
thanks man im kinda second guessing the hid or any headlight conversion bc i just talked about our trail with my step dad and he reminded me that the trail is very low and im gunna need some lights up high as in a light bar. which i dont really mind but i want maximum light coverage bc im gunna need to light up the trail for his and my brothers honda atc when we are riding at night. sorry to completely change direction but what would you guys think is the best option for a gutter mounted light bar and what kind of lights should i go with. thanks again
 
I dont know if you are talking auxillary lighting or converting your headlights, but if its aux lighting, you cant beat HID. You can use the HID kits off of ebay for converting just about any regular Halogen light. I have (4) Hella 4000's on my roof, and two Hella 700FF's on my front bumper, and I converted all of them to HID. You cant look at the front of my XJ when they are on, day or night. literally.

I dont really like HID for street driving because of the sharp cutoff, so I still have the regular old halogen bulbs. I fire up the 700FF's with my high beams if I need to see better, and if I want the sun to rise, I turn on the 4 4000's.

Not including the price of the original Hella's, it cost me about $160.00 bucks to convert all of them to HID.
 
thanks stumpXJ i am talkin auxillary i love your setup. im looking more toward the roof light bar with 4 hellas like you said and then converting them. a couple questions. what kind of light bar are they mounted on and where did you buy the bar and lights. also im pretty sure you had to convert your housings on the hellas, how hard was that to do. thanks for all the info and hopefully soon ill be making the sunrise to. thanks again.
 
I made my own roof rack, and I got the Hella's through ebay from a Hella dealer here in Georgia. There is a Hella factory in peachtree city, GA, and they sometimes have public sales.

The housing conversion is simply drilling a 1 inch hole in the backside to allow the fitment of the rubber grommet from the HID kit. Other than that, its nothing to it. There is no other 'conversion' process.

Here are a few shots from when the same lights were mounted on my old yota to give you an idea of how they work.

From inside the truck, just standard low beam headlights.

SS100237.jpg


Outside the truck, same spot, same low beams.

SS100235.jpg


Inside truck, same spot, with the (4) 4000 HID's on. They hadnt been aimed yet. The treeline in the back ground was 1/3 of a mile away.

SS100230.jpg


From outside the truck.

SS100231.jpg


This is broad daylight, about 1pm.

SS100223.jpg


I went with the 5K bulbs for the whitest/brightest light.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

~James
 
What HID kits did you use for the conversion? I need to get a couple of them.
 
Wow Stump, that's incredible. I have 4 Hellas mounted up high on my rack, and I've hit them and banged them up due to low hanging branches. No damage as of yet.

I would say that if you are on kind of a budget, to mount some lights up high on the top and not worry a whole lot about them. The are really good for driving in the country, too.

They're not HIDs, but they give pretty good coverage from left to right. I will say that with the stock alternator, the battery voltage goes down with continual usage of the lights, so it's a GREAT idea to upgrade to the 195A(?) alternator.

2546396327_24eec4df0b_b.jpg
 
I can sell you a set of HID for your XJ... Special Wires for HID, Covers for H4 bulbs, 1 year warranty $ 160.00 call me 954-4792257
Click to expand...
Thats what I paid for six kits, that are 3 years old now....

Mark, I dont remember the guys name, but they are pretty much all the same. I got the ones made in Japan, not China.... if it helps.

Bigalpha, thanks! I built kind of a cage around my lights, and its held up well thus far. I also use limb risers that help tremendously. They are just steel cables running from my front bumper to the top of the light rack. I am re-doing the roof rack soon though, and will make sure they are protected. Also, I know plenty of people who have converted those Hella 500's like you have. The difference is amazing, and since they are HID, they pull almost no amperage. I had 4 of the cheap KC knockoffs with 125 watt bulbs in them, and it would suck some juice. Not to mention the light output was horrible.

you can see the limb risers, and cage.

DSCN0550.jpg


~James
 
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thanks stump those hids are exactly the kind of coverage im talking about maybe even too much what would you think about two hella 4000s with the 5k hid mounted to a light bar instead of a roof rack. as for the alternator hopefully i wont have to replace that for a while but when the time comes. thanks alot for those pics it gives me alot to think about. i really like the mounting being on the roof i have 2 little auxillaries on my front bumper and they just arent doing it for me. stump what was the exact name of your hellas im gunna look around and see if i can get a pair. thanks again everyone
 
The two center Hella 4000's are the pencil beams, the two outer 4000's are the 'euro beams' (they have a small internal 10w halogen light for highway use, that you hook up seperately) The two on the front are the 700FF's.

If I had to do it again, I would just get 4 of the euro beam patterns, I have no use for the pencil beams. Unless you run in the desert or VERY long straight roads, they are too bright in a narrow beam.

Do you mean light bar on the roof or what? Either way, two of the 4000's will be plenty bright. These things only pull 35 watts each with the HID kits, so the alternator should have no trouble.

I use the two 700FF's on my bumper the most, as I hooked them up to come on with my high beams. (high beams trigger the relay) It makes the dark country roads a lot more friendly.

~James
 
ya man im thinking light bar on the roof and then like you said two of the hella 4000 euro beams with the hid kit and did you upgrade your alterator. thanks again for the info

-Ian
 
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