Bumper Removal, Headlight Removal, and HID Kit Installation

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PittsburghJoe
Posts: 95
Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2012 5:55 pm

Hey KuroNekko.

Great write up. I've read it many times. I have 44K on my Kiz and assume I'll have to replace a headlamp soon so I think I might take the plunge and use your tuturial to just convert to HIDs. Do they still sell your kit? Still happy with it?

Thanks again for all the good work you do on this forum!
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KuroNekko
Posts: 5170
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:08 pm
Location: California, USA

PittsburghJoe wrote:Hey KuroNekko.

Great write up. I've read it many times. I have 44K on my Kiz and assume I'll have to replace a headlamp soon so I think I might take the plunge and use your tuturial to just convert to HIDs. Do they still sell your kit? Still happy with it?

Thanks again for all the good work you do on this forum!
No problem. I like this car and this forum so it's my pleasure.

The Morimoto kit has performed flawlessly since I installed it last winter. It worked well in the bitter cold and just fine in the humid heat of this summer. I'd recommend it.
The only thing to note since installing it is that I now notice the return wire shadow more. Bootymac wrote on this issue in the first few pages of this thread. It's not really a big deal at all and disappears with the use of fog lights.

I'd recommend the Morimoto kit from The Retrofit Source like I have. The kit is rather high quality and has an awesome warranty. The folks at TRS are also great with customer support. I've corresponded with them a number of times. Also, one of the unique things about this kit is the Relay Harness. It draws power directly from the car battery to stabilize output at the bulbs. This is a nice feature that should increase both performance and stability. Many other HID kits don't have this relay harness.

You'll have to decide what bulb color temp you want and what ballast output wattage you want. TRS' website will have more info on this but keep in mind that 4300K is technically the brightest on the road. It's also considered the OEM color temp for OE HIDs. Also, OE HIDs are 35W and so are most HID kits. There are high power 55W HID kits, but they run hotter and don't last as long. If you want the maximum output, 55W kits are brighter, but 35W will last longer in theory.

As my write-up detailed, my set up is the Morimoto kit with the 5000K (bulb color temp.) XB35 bulbs (type of bulb) with the 35W ballasts (ballast wattage).
I went with 5000K as that's the purest white output. 5000K is actually rather rare as most other kits offer 4300K or 6000K and no in-between. I went with the XB35 bulbs as they are said to be better due to the superior construction and "halide salt mixture" in the bulb. Lastly, I chose the 35W ballasts as I valued reliability and longevity over maximum output performance.

Here's the TRS site for the very kit: http://www.theretrofitsource.com/hid-sy ... A5AEPldV8E
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
bootymac
Posts: 1602
Joined: Fri Jul 19, 2013 1:04 am

If you bend the alignment tab on the bulb socket, you can orientate the HID bulb so that there's no shadow from the return wire
PittsburghJoe
Posts: 95
Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2012 5:55 pm

KuroNekko wrote:
PittsburghJoe wrote:Hey KuroNekko.

Great write up. I've read it many times. I have 44K on my Kiz and assume I'll have to replace a headlamp soon so I think I might take the plunge and use your tuturial to just convert to HIDs. Do they still sell your kit? Still happy with it?

Thanks again for all the good work you do on this forum!
No problem. I like this car and this forum so it's my pleasure.

The Morimoto kit has performed flawlessly since I installed it last winter. It worked well in the bitter cold and just fine in the humid heat of this summer. I'd recommend it.
The only thing to note since installing it is that I now notice the return wire shadow more. Bootymac wrote on this issue in the first few pages of this thread. It's not really a big deal at all and disappears with the use of fog lights.

I'd recommend the Morimoto kit from The Retrofit Source like I have. The kit is rather high quality and has an awesome warranty. The folks at TRS are also great with customer support. I've corresponded with them a number of times. Also, one of the unique things about this kit is the Relay Harness. It draws power directly from the car battery to stabilize output at the bulbs. This is a nice feature that should increase both performance and stability. Many other HID kits don't have this relay harness.

You'll have to decide what bulb color temp you want and what ballast output wattage you want. TRS' website will have more info on this but keep in mind that 4300K is technically the brightest on the road. It's also considered the OEM color temp for OE HIDs. Also, OE HIDs are 35W and so are most HID kits. There are high power 55W HID kits, but they run hotter and don't last as long. If you want the maximum output, 55W kits are brighter, but 35W will last longer in theory.

As my write-up detailed, my set up is the Morimoto kit with the 5000K (bulb color temp.) XB35 bulbs (type of bulb) with the 35W ballasts (ballast wattage).
I went with 5000K as that's the purest white output. 5000K is actually rather rare as most other kits offer 4300K or 6000K and no in-between. I went with the XB35 bulbs as they are said to be better due to the superior construction and "halide salt mixture" in the bulb. Lastly, I chose the 35W ballasts as I valued reliability and longevity over maximum output performance.

Here's the TRS site for the very kit: http://www.theretrofitsource.com/hid-sy ... A5AEPldV8E
I think I'd like to go with your exact set up. The only question is (and I may have missed it) is which harness type? The HD Relay H7 or the Canbus H7?
bootymac
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Joined: Fri Jul 19, 2013 1:04 am

HD relay. You don't need CANBUS for the Kizashi
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KuroNekko
Posts: 5170
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:08 pm
Location: California, USA

Bootymac got it right. You want the HD Relay as I have.
CANbus relays are for vehicles that have bulb outage warning systems. Therefore, it actually doesn't apply to our Kizashi as there is no bulb outage indicator other than for turn signals. I find that CANbus systems are usually for German cars. Not surprising given CANbus was invented by Bosch, a German company. Basically, CANbus relays have resistors in them to fool the car's CANbus system into thinking there is no difference in the wattage the bulb is consuming. LEDs and HIDs consume less power than halogen and incandescent bulbs so they set off the warning system much like a blown bulb. The resistors in CANbus relays work to fool this system to prevent the warning from going off. Given we don't even have a warning system for the low beam bulbs, a CANbus relay is not necessary.

That being said, if one was to get LEDs for the Kizashi's turn signals, you'd get the rapid flashing which is an indicator of a blown bulb. That's basically like a CANbus system at work. The solution is to either get a LED CANbus-type bulb that accounts for this or install a resistor in the wiring to that bulb.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
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KuroNekko
Posts: 5170
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:08 pm
Location: California, USA

bootymac wrote:If you bend the alignment tab on the bulb socket, you can orientate the HID bulb so that there's no shadow from the return wire
True, but I'll just live with the shadow.
I've brought this up before, but some XB35 bulbs have a reverse-position return wire to prevent this shadow issue. However, it did not apply to the H7 bulb at least at the time I bought my bulbs. The XB35 H11 bulbs have this reverse-position return wire.

Did you actually bend and rotate your HID bulbs to prevent the return wire shadow issue?
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
bootymac
Posts: 1602
Joined: Fri Jul 19, 2013 1:04 am

KuroNekko wrote:
bootymac wrote:If you bend the alignment tab on the bulb socket, you can orientate the HID bulb so that there's no shadow from the return wire
True, but I'll just live with the shadow.
I've brought this up before, but some XB35 bulbs have a reverse-position return wire to prevent this shadow issue. However, it did not apply to the H7 bulb at least at the time I bought my bulbs. The XB35 H11 bulbs have this reverse-position return wire.

Did you actually bend and rotate your HID bulbs to prevent the return wire shadow issue?
No modifications to the bulbs are necessary. It's the alignment tabs on the bulb sockets in the headlights that you just bend down.

Edited for clarity
PittsburghJoe
Posts: 95
Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2012 5:55 pm

KuroNekko wrote:Bootymac got it right. You want the HD Relay as I have.
CANbus relays are for vehicles that have bulb outage warning systems. Therefore, it actually doesn't apply to our Kizashi as there is no bulb outage indicator other than for turn signals. I find that CANbus systems are usually for German cars. Not surprising given CANbus was invented by Bosch, a German company. Basically, CANbus relays have resistors in them to fool the car's CANbus system into thinking there is no difference in the wattage the bulb is consuming. LEDs and HIDs consume less power than halogen and incandescent bulbs so they set off the warning system much like a blown bulb. The resistors in CANbus relays work to fool this system to prevent the warning from going off. Given we don't even have a warning system for the low beam bulbs, a CANbus relay is not necessary.

That being said, if one was to get LEDs for the Kizashi's turn signals, you'd get the rapid flashing which is an indicator of a blown bulb. That's basically like a CANbus system at work. The solution is to either get a LED CANbus-type bulb that accounts for this or install a resistor in the wiring to that bulb.
So you wrote "warning system for the low beam" does that mean the HID system is for low beam only and when you're driving if you switch to high beam it will still be the original light? Also how does this mod affect the DRLs?
bootymac
Posts: 1602
Joined: Fri Jul 19, 2013 1:04 am

HIDs replace low beams only. High beams are still the inner halogen bulbs. DRLs use the high beam bulbs.
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