One of my other cars is a Mini cooper S. It has factory Xenon lights, the projector type. These lights are very bright with a great pattern and cut-off. My wife's accord has descent lights.. I even added the lower fogs.. but it still doesnt come close to the Xenons.
I have seen some plug and play xenon light kits on ebay for about $200.
No doubt these are some cheapo chinese made lights with ballasts.
The accord lights seem to have a descent cut-off.. but I am doubtful it would work well with xenon bulbs in the stock housing..

Just curious if anyone has upgraded or tried xenons in the stock housing.
Thanks

yeh tons of people. it works pretty well in the stock headlamps.

people also do retros.

check out www.v6p.net.

try driving with the high beams





but seriously..if you just get the plug and play ones, youll blind everyone on the road

like owace said, do a retro (which consists of putting a projector on your stock honda headlights)...there are a couple diys over at another forum by the name of www.v6p.net ..just use the search function

One of my other cars is a Mini cooper S. It has factory Xenon lights, the projector type. These lights are very bright with a great pattern and cut-off. My wife's accord has descent lights.. I even added the lower fogs.. but it still doesnt come close to the Xenons.
I have seen some plug and play xenon light kits on ebay for about $200.
No doubt these are some cheapo chinese made lights with ballasts.
The accord lights seem to have a descent cut-off.. but I am doubtful it would work well with xenon bulbs in the stock housing..

Just curious if anyone has upgraded or tried xenons in the stock housing.
Thanks
Come on now, you can look a tad bit harder and find some that are made in Germany. I know cause those are the ones I'm looking at. The way I see it, the "ooooo look at that car, it has those mysterious blueish headlights, I wonder how they do that" days are over. Just about every car that hits the strip over here has some type of HID on it. The Euro-club with their Absolute white headlights and yellow fogs, the Ricers with their plasma blue headlights, and the "BET"esque Hip-hop trucks with the Caddy purpleish light.

Come on now, you can look a tad bit harder and find some that are made in Germany. I know cause those are the ones I'm looking at. The way I see it, the "ooooo look at that car, it has those mysterious blueish headlights, I wonder how they do that" days are over. Just about every car that hits the strip over here has some type of HID on it. The Euro-club with their Absolute white headlights and yellow fogs, the Ricers with their plasma blue headlights, and the "BET"esque Hip-hop trucks with the Caddy purpleish light.

I haven't seen the German ones.. Im not into the blue or purple ones. I just want some more light for our aging eyes at night. The mini are white.. with only a hint of blue...

Still...glare doesn't come from the bulbs being made in China, Germany, or any other place for that matter. The stock reflectors in the Accord ARE NOT designed to handle the output from HIDs, and WILL blind others on the road. As far as I am concerned the only way to get HIDs into an Accord is via a retro, otherwise you are just putting your own needs (better lighting) over everyone else on the road. Not to mention one of the big reasons why the Mini has better lighting is because the projectors are focusing all the light at the road...HIDs in reflectors will not do that, unless they are designed for HIDs (and reflector-based HID systems are still "weaker" than projector-based HID systems).

Think of it this way, sure if you're traveling down a dark road you will be able to see better...but what about the car coming in the opposite direction that ends up drifting part-way into your lane because they can no longer see where they are going...

I am not out to blind anyone or do anything irresponsible. I am looking at HID for halogen reflectors. They make these kits for existing OEM setups.
They may not be as good as the projectors, they would still be better than stock.

Still...glare doesn't come from the bulbs being made in China, Germany, or any other place for that matter. The stock reflectors in the Accord ARE NOT designed to handle the output from HIDs, and WILL blind others on the road. As far as I am concerned the only way to get HIDs into an Accord is via a retro, otherwise you are just putting your own needs (better lighting) over everyone else on the road. Not to mention one of the big reasons why the Mini has better lighting is because the projectors are focusing all the light at the road...HIDs in reflectors will not do that, unless they are designed for HIDs (and reflector-based HID systems are still "weaker" than projector-based HID systems).

Think of it this way, sure if you're traveling down a dark road you will be able to see better...but what about the car coming in the opposite direction that ends up drifting part-way into your lane because they can no longer see where they are going...

yeh tons of people. it works pretty well in the stock headlamps.

people also do retros.

check out www.v6p.net.

what type of xenon bulbs work well?
the cheap ebay ones?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/05-06-Xenon-HID-bulbs-Hi-Low-Accord-90-04-BMW-E36-92-98_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ36476QQihZ003QQitemZ 130060798563QQrdZ1

what type of xenon bulbs work well?
the cheap ebay ones?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/05-06-Xenon-HID-bulbs-Hi-Low-Accord-90-04-BMW-E36-92-98_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ36476QQihZ003QQitemZ 130060798563QQrdZ1

those are just regular bulbs.

philips, bosch, hella make good kits. mculloch is also good. hids consist of a ballast and a bulb.

www.xenon-depot.com makes a quality kit.

those are just regular bulbs.

philips, bosch, hella make good kits. mculloch is also good. hids consist of a ballast and a bulb.

www.xenon-depot.com makes a quality kit.

oh, oops i thought you meant people replaced their stock lights with xenon :lmao:

Ebay blue bulbs-> Looks better, but light output not much better.
Ebay blue bulbs + headlight booster kit-> Just a tad less bright than HID,
however get ready to change bulbs every 2 or so months
(this is what I have).
Ebay HID kit-> Heck yeah, true HID, looks sweet; but people will be blowing
their horns at you and you'll most likely get pulled over
for "driving with your high-beams on".
Ebay HID kit + retro conversion-> The way your car's headlights would have
come had it been an Acura :thmsup:

If you can't wait, just go buy some PIAA Xtreme Whites (don't get the Plasma Blue ones they sell however).

Ebay blue bulbs-> Looks better, but light output not much better.
Ebay blue bulbs + headlight booster kit-> Just a tad less bright than HID,
however get ready to change bulbs every 2 or so months
(this is what I have).
Ebay HID kit-> Heck yeah, true HID, looks sweet; but people will be blowing
their horns at you and you'll most likely get pulled over
for "driving with your high-beams on".
Ebay HID kit + retro conversion-> The way your car's headlights would have
come had it been an Acura :thmsup:

If you can't wait, just go buy some PIAA Xtreme Whites (don't get the Plasma Blue ones they sell however).

thanks for the info :D the headlight booster kit sounds interesting, but i can't find any on ebay. any suggestions?

oh and why shouldn't i ge tthe Plasma Blue?

I am not out to blind anyone or do anything irresponsible. I am looking at HID for halogen reflectors. They make these kits for existing OEM setups.
They may not be as good as the projectors, they would still be better than stock.

I've never seen "aftermarket HID reflectors" for cars that didn't come with that design from the factory. Considering each vehicles reflector is shaped differently...I don't see how its possible unless you were replacing the entire headlamp assembly/housings (and I've never seen any for sale, besides those from Inspires in Japan).

Again I could be wrong, but don't get confused in thinking that your car's reflectors are designed for D2R bulbs, or any type of rebased bulb for that matter. Unless you do somehow retro a HID reflector into your housings, and use D2R bulbs and ballasts its gonna glare (light output is too much for them, and the beam pattern is wrong for anything but halogen and possibly HIRs). Technically even if you did all that, the cost and labour involved would probably exceed retro'ing projectors into your housings, and HID projectors always perform better than HID reflectors (case in point, G35 coupe (projectors) vs G35 sedan (reflectors)).

One of my other cars is a Mini cooper S. It has factory Xenon lights, the projector type. These lights are very bright with a great pattern and cut-off. My wife's accord has descent lights.. I even added the lower fogs.. but it still doesnt come close to the Xenons.
I have seen some plug and play xenon light kits on ebay for about $200.
No doubt these are some cheapo chinese made lights with ballasts.
The accord lights seem to have a descent cut-off.. but I am doubtful it would work well with xenon bulbs in the stock housing..

Just curious if anyone has upgraded or tried xenons in the stock housing.
Thanks

I've been running hid lights since I got this car. Have had no problem with people flashing me. I've been the oncoming car to my own, they're bright but not blinding.
Took my kit from my old Integra, then had to replace the whole kit after a mishap with a deer.
Got them from xenondepot.com they're a bit on the high side but the kits are excellent quality.

btw, I've only ever used the 4300k color temp, which is the same as oems with hid. The bluer you go, you lose light output and they do get VERY aggravating to oncoming drivers.

the 7th gen headlights are perfectly suited to taking a hid bulb. it does not have excessive glare. i know from experience.

fredsvt just gave his own experience as well.

You might want to check out HIR bulbs. About $25-30 per bulb. I can't say they are better than Xenons, but they do put out about 30% more light (over standard bulbs) as claimed for the low beams. I put a set in this week and they seem to be a significant improvement. I just ordered an additional set for my wife's 03 and a set of high beams for myself. Check out this thread:
http://www.bmwcca.org/members/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Let_There_Be_E36_Light

When I get more more night driving on the lows and get my highs installed I'll post some additional impressions. They are very white and I haven't had anyone flash me yet. I think 1-2 people on this forum use them? Any additional impressions from other members using them?

thanks for the info :D the headlight booster kit sounds interesting, but i can't find any on ebay. any suggestions?

oh and why shouldn't i ge tthe Plasma Blue?
Yeah the Headlight boosters are cool (when not changing out blown bulbs). These kits are just heavy duty ballasts the wire in series to your headlight bulbs. So you connect the OEM headlight wire into the ballast, and the ballast wire into the bulb. When you first turn on your lights, you'll see the original brightness of your lights, then 2 secs later, your lights turn really bright. From what I understand, the ballasts make it so your headlights are always at a certain voltage and give each light its own battery so-to-speak.
Now for the crumby part; You will blow bulbs. They don't blow right away, or even that month, or the next, but you'll want to keep an extra pair of bulbs in the trunk.
As for getting the kits, huuuummmmmmmm when I went on ebay to get mine there were a good number of them, now it seems with the reasonable price of HID kits, the booster kits have died off. Here is the only one I could find, but it's not the right bulb size.
http://store.racinglab.com/simhidkith4.html
Oh, and those ballast wanna-bees are so cheap (mine are bigger and in a sealed box).

Looks like true HID is the ticket now, jump aboard :)

I've been running hid lights since I got this car. Have had no problem with people flashing me. I've been the oncoming car to my own, they're bright but not blinding.
Took my kit from my old Integra, then had to replace the whole kit after a mishap with a deer.
Got them from xenondepot.com they're a bit on the high side but the kits are excellent quality.

btw, I've only ever used the 4300k color temp, which is the same as oems with hid. The bluer you go, you lose light output and they do get VERY aggravating to oncoming drivers.

Thanks for the info on this... I took a look at that site.. I would go with the 4300K color for sure. Good to hear that people are using the stock housings with good results.

Just thought I'd throw this out there . . . . Just by raising the headlights a tiny bit, IMO improved the lighting quite a bit. The sharp cut off is not as evident, especially on hilly roads. The light reaches just a bit further down the road - lights up road reflectors and signs especially well farther than it did. Compared to some other cars I've driven (notably my Passat) the Accord's lights ae very good. Nice even beam, wide - just didn't like the fact they cutoff seem to be to close to the car. The fog lights are actually functional, too, throwing tons of light low and to the sides in a nice *wide* pattern. :thmsup:

Just be caredul of some alternate lighting available. Brighter is OK but if its just tinted blue to mimic HIDs, its actually going to be less light. A tint blocks part of the visiible light.

If you get them, post pics and give some feedback. :thmsup:

there is a brand call Xetronic out there. It is made in Japan, and the whole balancer, and the bulb are water proof. The quality is very good, and the price is acceptable too. I suggest you can take a look on that.

You might want to check out HIR bulbs. About $25-30 per bulb. I can't say they are better than Xenons, but they do put out about 30% more light (over standard bulbs) as claimed for the low beams. I put a set in this week and they seem to be a significant improvement. I just ordered an additional set for my wife's 03 and a set of high beams for myself. Check out this thread:
http://www.bmwcca.org/members/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Let_There_Be_E36_Light

When I get more more night driving on the lows and get my highs installed I'll post some additional impressions. They are very white and I haven't had anyone flash me yet. I think 1-2 people on this forum use them? Any additional impressions from other members using them?

Which ones did you put in your car (highs or lows)? I'm thinking about ordering now while they are on sale (24.95 vs 29.95) but still am debating the difference over the stock lowbeams on the Accord. Also, I know when I contacted hir_headlights in the past they offered a slight discount for buying more than 1 bulb...did that apply to you as well?

Which ones did you put in your car (highs or lows)? I'm thinking about ordering now while they are on sale (24.95 vs 29.95) but still am debating the difference over the stock lowbeams on the Accord. Also, I know when I contacted hir_headlights in the past they offered a slight discount for buying more than 1 bulb...did that apply to you as well?

I put in the low beams. There was no discount. The shipping does stay the same for up to 8 bulbs. I thought they performed noticeably better than stock, but I've only been out at night 1 time so far. They came marked for where you trim the base to make them fit. Real easy with a Dremmel.

I like Trip's tip about aiming the lights up very slightly. I might look into that in the future. I did that on a previous car and agree it can make a sizable difference.

Hi, My first post here ..but been browsing awhile. I did install those HIR bulbs made by toshiba. It has same color as stock but puts out a lot more light. you can get them cheaper here gmpartsdirect.com for $ 18.89/ bulb for the high beam "9005" 65 watts (toshiba 9011). the part # is 15094219. apparently they use it for 02 & up avalanche high beams.

Now for the low beams "9006" you can get it at a local john deere parts dept. It is a toshiba 9012 (55 watts) for about $ 10-12/bulb. the part number is
AH211917. I think it's the bulb used for their 9000 series tractors.

Maybe you can help me out here directing me to a thread or maybe just directing me to where I can find instructions to adjust the headlights aim a bit further down the road. Thanks and have a Happy New Year.

Forgot to mention I trimmed the 65 watt toshiba 9011 for use in my lo beams using both toe clipper and dremmel.

Hi, My first post here ..but been browsing awhile. I did install those HIR bulbs made by toshiba. It has same color as stock but puts out a lot more light. you can get them cheaper here gmpartsdirect.com for $ 18.89/ bulb for the high beam "9005" 65 watts (toshiba 9011). the part # is 15094219. apparently they use it for 02 & up avalanche high beams.

Now for the low beams "9006" you can get it at a local john deere parts dept. It is a toshiba 9012 (55 watts) for about $ 10-12/bulb. the part number is
AH211917. I think it's the bulb used for their 9000 series tractors.

Maybe you can help me out here directing me to a thread or maybe just directing me to where I can find instructions to adjust the headlights aim a bit further down the road. Thanks and have a Happy New Year.

that's some great info, ive been looking into HIRs myself. but not sure about those 9006 bulbs :dunno: only place ive seen them is eBay

oh, and i thought the light they emitted where white? not stock yellow-ish?

Too lazy right now to properly quote everyone so I'll just reply directly...lol.

Anyhow, I'd be wary of the GM 9011s unless they directly say their are HIRs on them. 9011 is just the connector type (which is what needs to be trimmed), and I know from reading various posts on hidplanet and other websites that although both GM and Chrysler offer "9011s" on a few models (Avalanche and Viper come to mind), really they just use overdriven halogens to put out almost enough light to reach the bottom of HIRs DOT-spec rating. Also because they are overdriving the bulbs, I wouldn't expect them to last vary long at all.

In regards to the tractor light, if they are GE bulbs stay away too. The reason why GE got out of the automotive HIR game was because their bulbs were too fragile for all the vibrations caused in daily driving. If you look at GE's spec, their bulbs almost looked like an HID bulb, whereas Toshiba HIRs are round in shape.

As for putting an HIR (or any overdriven 9011) in your low beams...DON'T DO IT. Since these are really high beam replacements, they are not designed to block glare light low beam bulbs do. I wouldn't doubt that by putting them in you are somewhat blinding other drivers. Also, since they would be using more power to run, I'd figure you could run the risk of melting your wiring the same way as you can by using "85w" halogens in your low beams...

As for colour, I know from looking at my friend's Subie which is using 9011s as high beams the colour is slightly more white than stock halogens are. Not much at all, but it is a little whiter. IIRC correctly this is due to the IR coating reflecting some of the heat back at the filament, causing it to burn hotter and as such, at a slightly higher colour temperature.

They sure are yellowish but a lot better than my MTEC superwhite 4X (80 watts draw). The Mtec has the HID look , fine on pavement but basically blind at night when it's raining plus it operates too hot for the headlights.
The HIR really does a good job than any bulb swap for the purpose of lighting up the road short of the real HID...the only draw back is you don't have the "HID look".

I agree with you there envee...I'd love the "HID look", however I refuse to use coloured bulbs to do it. That means it has to be real HID. I also refuse to put HIDs in my stock housings, which means my only HID option is real retros...lol. I know some people here are going to bash that saying that HIDs in stock reflectors are fine...but imo they are not, but thats just me.

I've done some searching using your John Deere part number and it does seem like "AH211917" is a real Toshiba-made HIR bulb (9012 for low beam application only). I'll have to see if I can find a place nearby that will sell them to me. If I can, you might have just saved me a fair amount of money considering what crossing the border would have charged me...

For anyone interested, here is a link:

http://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?p=1597155

Please don't just go by any photos you do see of these bulbs...If you know anything about optics and how cameras work then its obvious without properly adjusting the camera you cannot get a true representation of how these work "in person".

Some of the John Deere parts dept may not have it on stock. Better give them a call first and pick -up later so you won't waste your drive...unless it's a deserted winding road :D

Some of the John Deere parts dept may not have it on stock. Better give them a call first and pick -up later so you won't waste your drive...unless it's a deserted winding road :D

Well I signed up up for John Deere's online part's website, and yeah, the closest place to me doesn't have any stock atm. They are closed for the day, so I'll give them a call on Monday and see if they can get some for me. Price is approx $12-13 (so $30 for 2 bulbs with tax) according to the website...a far cry from the near $80-100 all said and done from getting them from the US/eBay.

Oh and no winding road to get there...lol. I'll probably take my parent's car as well because my guess is (and by looking at the pics on their actual website) I might be mud-bogging part of the way to get there...lol.

Good luck with that and always wipe bulb with alchohol after clipping that tab

can someone post pics of what their cars look like with the toshiba HIRs on?

can someone post pics of what their cars look like with the toshiba HIRs on?

The car on the left has HIR bulbs, on the right are stock (Stanley?) bulbs.

They only look a little whiter than stock to me. I'm not sure the picture does them justice. They are supposed to be rated @ 3600 Kelvin vs the stock @ 3250K. I just added a set of high beams to my car the other night but haven't had an opportunity to use them yet.

The car on the left has HIR bulbs, on the right are stock (Stanley?) bulbs.

They only look a little whiter than stock to me. I'm not sure the picture does them justice. They are supposed to be rated @ 3600 Kelvin vs the stock @ 3250K. I just added a set of high beams to my car the other night but haven't had an opportunity to use them yet.

thanks for the picture, i'm not really sure i can tell a difference. on the right picture, the HIR seems to be slightly whiter and brighter. i've changed out my headlights for so long i didnt realize stock headlights were actually pretty white :lmao: my current ones are white with a very very slight blue to them

p.s. i love your lip and fogs :notworthy :notworthy wish they had the lip for '06

Well I ordered 2 HIRs from John Deere (wow that sounds weird...lol) which should be here on Monday. Cost was $12.65 each plus tax. Will post my opinions once I get them and put them in.

Well I ordered 2 HIRs from John Deere (wow that sounds weird...lol) which should be here on Monday. Cost was $12.65 each plus tax. Will post my opinions once I get them and put them in.

hey, sorry to revive an old thread, but im in the process of upgrading my headlights once again. how do those HIRs look? could you take a picture? im really interested in the color they emit, as im not a fan of yellow :)

hey, sorry to revive an old thread, but im in the process of upgrading my headlights once again. how do those HIRs look? could you take a picture? im really interested in the color they emit, as im not a fan of yellow :)

ypsibird posted pics way back in December...(just scroll up). I'm still waiting on mine as last time I called John Deere (last Saturday), they told me they are on backorder and will let me know when they come in.

As far as looking "yellow", HIRs will look almost the same as stock halogens in terms of colour temperature. They do burn a bit closer to pure white, but not by much at all. Also pics do not do HIRs justice (remember I know a guy with them in his highs), as yes "head on" they look almost the same, but they do cast more light.

Yep, that's about right. They're just a little whiter than stock. Not much difference. The lows don't seem to throw much farther than stock, but the area they cover seems much brighter. I might raise mine up a little when I get some warmer weather. I've had a few opportunities to use my HIR hi beams finally. They are noticeably brighter and seem to throw a lot farther than the stock lights. Overall, I'm pleased with the upgrade.

^^ i know about the picture up there ^^ :D i was just wondering about how well they work, because it is hard to see from head on shots. after hearing from you guys again, i guess i'll order a pair soon!

Do you guys have pics of the HID's in stock housings? I am kind of with Conundrum about not putting in HID's in stock housings, but I saw it once a while ago and it wasnt that bad looking glare wise, but I wasnt driving in front of him. It seems a lot are doing it, so maybe the glare isnt that bad. I know some housings on cars dont glare that bad and some do. My friends Altima glares like crazy, but my friends Galant does not. Maybe the Accord wouldnt either, but I assumed it did. You guys have pics?

I'm kind of interested as well...but then for the cost of a good HID kit, I feel that you might as well throw in a few hundred more and get a good retro since there will be zero chance of glare and it will throw the light much better as well (considering you'd already have the bulbs, ballasts, ignitors, and wiring harness all you'd need are the projectors, shrouds, and time to put it all together). Plug in HIDs in reflectors have never bothered me much on the road (so long as the person actually aligned them right), however I can't comment on the other drivers on the road, and it only take 1 person to drift into the glare to cause an accident. Not putting HIDs in reflectors is more of a courtesy to other drivers at least to me.

I agree, I dont want to just slap in the kit because I dont want to blind other drivers. People say the output will be crap compared to projectors. You have to think of that the opposite way around though. I am happy with the stock output, and putting a Xenon bulb in there will only be brighter. So if the light is as good/better then stock I would be happy. And then that plus the look of xenons would be nice but I just dont want to blind anyone else and cause them to do something stupid.

True and your logic is sound (if you're happy with stock light HID will be brighter than stock), but really, you have to think where all that light is going. Since it is all largely unfocused, its gonna be thrown every which way, and that equals glare. Now some glare is good as Ben pointed out (glare is what lights up street signs), but since more reflected light = more glare...you can see where I am going with this.

Now with projectors, you have much more focused light/tighter beam pattern, meaning more of that light you paid for is where you actually need it to be. Sure, if a good HID kit was $100 and good retros were $1500 then you'd have reason to not go the retro route...But since really you are only talking about $200-300 more (a lot depends on if you do it yourself) on something that is already costing well over $100, I'd spend the extra and do it right.

Still with all that said, I'm sure putting in a HID kit and lowering your lights would help immensely with the glare issue (but probably will also reduce your lights throw distance as well, depending on how low you have to go).

would higher wattage bulbs be a nice alternative? what is the stock wattage for accords?

I stole this from another post:

7th GEN. BULB REPLACEMENT LIST


EXTERIOR LIGHTS

Headlights
Low Beam - 9006 (HB4) (51W)
High Beam – 9005 (HB3) (60W)

Fog Lights (oem accessory)
Coupe & Sedan – H11 (55W)

Front Turn Signal/Parking Lights
Coupe & Sedan – 1157A (amber) (27W/8W) (24CP/2.2CP)

Brake Light/Tail Lights
Coupe – 7443 (clear) (21W/5W) <--- ***Needs Confirmation***
Sedan – 7443 (clear) (21W/5W)

Tail Lights
Sedan – 194 (4W) (2CP)
(Note: No separate tail light on coupes.)

Rear Turn Signals
Coupe – 7440 (clear) (21W)
Sedan – 7440A (amber) (21W)

Third Brake Light - In rear window
Coupe & Sedan – 7440 (clear) (21W)

LED Third Brake Light – On oem wing
Coupe & Sedan – ???
(Note: It’s warranted by Honda.)

Reverse Lights
Coupe – 921 (clear) (18W) <--- ***Needs Confirmation***
Sedan – 7440 (clear) (21W)

License Plate Light(s)
Coupe & Sedan – 168 (5W) (3CP)
(Note: 2 bulbs used on coupes, 1 bulb on sedans.)


INTERIOR LIGHTS

Overhead Light (aka Dome Light)
Coupe & Sedan – DE3022 (8W)

Maplights
Coupe & Sedan – DE3022 (8W)

Door Courtesy Lights
Coupe & Sedan – 194 (4W) (2CP)

Glove Box Light
Coupe & Sedan – 194 (4W) (2CP) <--- ***Needs confirmation***

Vanity Mirror Lights
Coupe & Sedan - ??? (1.1W)
(Appears to be a special Honda bulb (# TS-14V10P). Looks like a fuse. Available at Honda for only $9.)

Ash Tray Light (oem accessory)
Coupe & Sedan - 74

Trunk Interior Light
Coupe & Sedan – 168 (5W) (3CP)

would higher wattage bulbs be a nice alternative? what is the stock wattage for accords? higher wattage bulbs are risky, because the stock harnesses aren't made to handle that much power. most people end up melting their harness, sometimes the housing, with higher wattage bulbs. the accord stock wattage is 51w for the lows and 60w for the highs.

even with a higher wattage bulb (85 w) 9006, the HIR still puts out more light on the road where you need it

True and your logic is sound (if you're happy with stock light HID will be brighter than stock), but really, you have to think where all that light is going. Since it is all largely unfocused, its gonna be thrown every which way, and that equals glare. Now some glare is good as Ben pointed out (glare is what lights up street signs), but since more reflected light = more glare...you can see where I am going with this.

Now with projectors, you have much more focused light/tighter beam pattern, meaning more of that light you paid for is where you actually need it to be. Sure, if a good HID kit was $100 and good retros were $1500 then you'd have reason to not go the retro route...But since really you are only talking about $200-300 more (a lot depends on if you do it yourself) on something that is already costing well over $100, I'd spend the extra and do it right.

Still with all that said, I'm sure putting in a HID kit and lowering your lights would help immensely with the glare issue (but probably will also reduce your lights throw distance as well, depending on how low you have to go).


Again I agree with you, but even though a retro is only $200-$300 more, some might not have the money. Logically though, then you should wait and save up more money and not rush into anything, which is what I would do. But not everybody has the guts to oven a headlight and cut the back of it open. I know right now I dont have the money or time to do a retro, which is why I went with Sylvania Ultras. But I am very tempted to throw in a 10,000k 9006 HID kit, which many people in my neighborhood have done, but for now I will leave it as is, as I have 8 million other car things I need to do. As I said before, my friends Altima lights up the moon, and my friends Galant has a nice beam pattern. Im still curious has to where the Accord sits.

(BTW, its snowing here and I have to worry about the salt stripes on the car as we discussed in the OCD thread) :banana:

But I am very tempted to throw in a 10,000k 9006 HID kit, which many people in my neighborhood have done, but for now I will leave it as is, as I have 8 million other car things I need to do...

...(BTW, its snowing here and I have to worry about the salt stripes on the car as we discussed in the OCD thread) :banana:

If you do it, please stay far far away from the 10,000K kits and get something around stock HID colour temp (I think thats around the 4300-4600K mark). Anything higher than that uses tinted bulbs, which mean less light, plus a lot more of a chance that in the rain your not going to be seeing anything at all. 10,000K is technically purple, not white.

Btw I hear you on that salt issue...my baby is currently 1/4 white because of it. I wanted to do a QEW bucket wash (using a 2.5 gallon garden sprayer as a presoak) last weekend, but temps were too cold so any water on the paint would have simply become ice. Luckily I have 1 coat of NXT and another coat of Wolfgang on the car right now, so I'm hoping it's still holding up. Spring and the warmer weather simply cannot come soon enough.

Haha, damn salt, last time I washed my car it was a little windy and the trunk and roof spolier I have both basically froze over. I have 6 coats of wax on the car, you think im covered? :)


Back on topic though:
From everything I have seen with Xenons, the K rating also has a lot to do with the maker of the kit. My friends both have 8,000k, one of them is white, and one of them is very blue. I of course love the blue a lot. All the 10,000k kits I have seen are very blue, and from what I have seen 12,000 is purple. I do like the OEM white color, but I would really like the blue xenons too.

Also, has a personal issue, I use my lights more for the fact so that other people can see me better. My area is pretty well lit. There is a 300C that drives around, and you can see his blue xenons from a mile away, gratend they are probably projectors, but its the color you can see.

Im still very torn on this whole issue, which is why its staying as is for now, but its interesting to think about. Thanks for talking it out with me, I hope you dont think im being annoying.