Well, I finally switched to HID's. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THEM! I've tried several halogen bulbs that try to match the color & brightness but nothing really compared to the real thing. This is an Apexcone HID kit from DDM Tuning. You can find them by Googling DDM Tuning. The kit I orderd was 35W and 8000K. It only cost about $75.00 including the cheapest shipping. Installation was fairly simple. It required drilling a 1" (plus some filing to fit a connector through) hole in the back of the headlight cap. A rubber gromet was supplied to make the headlight splash-proof. It didn't need a battery harness or a DRL stopper (you can just turn them off via a small screw next to your headlight switch). Glare doesn't seem to be an issue and 8000k doesn't look as blue as some sites claim. If you need some advice on installing HIDs in your 850, just leave me a comment and I'll give you a few tips. Having slim digital ballasts really helps when it comes to mounting because at just over 1/2" thick, they fit almost anywhere.
Sylvania Silverstar (Halogen) on left and 8000K HID on right
Halogen on passenger side and HID on driver's side
Halogen on left and HID on right. That's not a wierd beam pattern, it's a reflection on my hood. With the stock glare shields, there isn't much glare at all.
This is what the kit contained (manual etc. not pictured) This is the slim balast attatched to the fan shrowd.
This is the other ballast next to the battery. I ran the wiring for the passenger one across the ECU wiring.
View at night. I aimed them down further after this was taken to avoid getting pulled over for blinding people. Picture on the right is a look at the cutoff. An overhead light was on when I took the picture so the glare is exadurated.
I replaced the warm white bulbs that come on by your feet when you open the door with blue bulbs.
This is basically what it looks like now. They are much dimmer than the stock ones.
I swapped the normal filament bulbs in the instrument panel for some bright white (blue by comparison) LEDs. I ordered them from www.v-leds.com . It was kind of tricky to get the contacts to stay lined up and I had to take the guages out about five times before they would all stay on.
After swapping the instrument lights for LEDs, I finally decided to switch the dome lights, buttons, and license plate lights out too. So far the front dome lights, switches, and the license plate lights work. The lights in the back aren't turning on, even with the stock bulbs. Hopefully I can get some help and get these all working soon. Here are some pics for now.
The bag of LEDs that I got /// License plate lights
Now my blue floor lights look green /// You'll find one in every car.
Changing the shifter lights might happen some rainy day /// Tracs and sunroof
Lights and Locks
PAGE 1 /// INTRO
PAGE 2 /// ENGINE PERFORMANCE
PAGE 3 /// LIGHTING (You are here)
PAGE 4 /// SOUND SYSTEM
PAGE 5 /// FAMILY'S RIDES
PAGE 6 /// SUSPENSION
PAGE 7 /// EVENTS
PAGE 8 /// WHEEL & TIRE
