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My Sport with HID 8000K's

I did the install over the weekend with 6000K VisionPro HID kit. The results are awesome, but the 6000K is more blue than I would have liked, so I dont know how you like the 8000K. The guy who installs VisionPro kits in Utah said the blue tint will lessen as the bulbs burn in.

I talked with Andrew at coolbulbs, but he claimed they make their own lights.. That worried me because all the parts are coming from China regardless of where they are put together. I decided to go with VisionPro and the kit looks fantastic and very solid. I will put up a review when I have some time.
 



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I would like to add my input regarding the debate about installing an HID conversion kit into our halogen housings.

It's my understanding that putting an HID bulb into a conventional halogen housing with a reflector is what's made this thread take a sudden turn starting on page 3. Putting an HID bulb into a reflector halogen housing makes the light scatter and can blind oncoming traffic, and is probably mostly to blame for giving aftermarket HIDs a bad name, for good reason.

Putting an HID bulb into a projector halogen housing is a different story. Projector housings (halogen or HID) by nature are designed to more tightly focus the beam with a very defined cutoff. Putting an HID bulb into these halogen projector housings is much, much better than the older reflector housings in terms of beam output (read: more and better lighting for the driver to see the road and little or no beam scatter to blind other drivers).

I would think putting HID bulbs into the halogen projectors in our Explorers probably isn't a bad thing assuming they're aimed correctly, appropriate Kelvin rating, etc. And assuming there are no functional issues such as fluttering or failing to ignite, which there doesn't seem to be, then I'm not sure there are too many drawbacks, if any.

I would certainly make sure that the dust covers on the back of the headlights can still be sealed in some way to keep out dust (obviously) but also to keep moisture and condensation out of the housings.

Just my .02.

Tony
 






I know that I wrote another thread concerning the few problems that some of us with the Explorer Sports have encountered while installing some of these HID kits where when the light switch inside the car is set to "Auto" and having both the mains and fogs lights on and when you turn the car on some of these lights are either flickering or at least one of them will not turn on. It has also been suggested that we may need a "time delay relay" or a "capacitor" in order for the lights to work as they should without having this problem at all and some of us have gone as far as doing so and the problem is gone.

I purchased last week two HID kits from Coolbulbs.com, one was the 9005 for the mains and the second one was the H11 for the Fog lights both in 8000K. I was a little skeptical at first about installing these lights because of the problems that some of us have had and most of all I didn't want to go and ad another relay to the kit so I called Andrew at Coolbulbs.com and spoke to him briefly and explained to him that I was thinking about returning the kits back to him and I also explained to him why. He understood my concern and at the same time talked me into at least trying the lights and if I was not still satisfied I can always return them and he will refund me the money.

Well let me tell you that I thank him so much for talking me into trying them at least. Today I took both HID kits to my local shop and they installed them within half an hour and the best part of it is that I did not need a "time delay relay" nor a "capacitor" to have both the mains and fog lights work when the light switch is set to 'Auto". There is no flickering at all nor any light was off when turning the car on. In fact the guy that did the installation said to me that "those are the best HID kits that I have ever seen or installed in any car" "Those kits and truly High End Quality" . And trust me that this guy has been installing HID kits for over 10 years so I know he knows his stuff.

So for those future or current Explorer owners that are looking to convert those stock hallogen lights for good HID kits without having any problems please try Coolbulbs.com . I am in no way affiliated with them nor I am putting any other brand of HID kits down. This is based solely in my own experienced with the kits that I purchased from them and that I am extremely happy with their performance. I will highly recommend Coolbulbs HID kits to my family and friends.

Below are some photos of both HID kits installed in my Explorer in my garage.

Hey, NY1PR2012.

I recently got my '15 Explorer Sport and I'm looking into getting HID headlights installed. I'm living in Brooklyn, so I was wondering whether you could possibly refer me to the garage where you had your HIDs installed? I don't want to take it just anywhere, I want it done properly and it seems that yours were done great. Also, did you have any issues with having them installed under warranty?

Thanks,
Kevin
 






Welcome to the Forum KevinJace. :wavey:
Just thought I'd let you know that NY1PR2012's last post was on April 4th, 2013.

Peter
 






Welcome to the Forum KevinJace. :wavey:
Just thought I'd let you know that NY1PR2012's last post was on April 4th, 2013.

Peter

Hi, Peter.

Thanks for the welcome! And damn, I didn't notice that. I was hoping I could get some valuable tips. :( I'll just try and look around for myself in that case.

Thanks,
Kevin
 






Just picked up my 15 Tux blk sport and am loving it. But IMO the headlights are crap. I couldn't believe it didn't come standard with HID's. Even my 14 SHO came with them. After reading about 10 threads on here there's so many differing opinions I feel I'm on information overload...lol

Still not sure what the best path to take is but I definitely want to get some better lighting.

Everyone on here is great but now you've addicted me to this place.. lol

Thanks a lot.
 






Just picked up my 15 Tux blk sport and am loving it. But IMO the headlights are crap. I couldn't believe it didn't come standard with HID's. Even my 14 SHO came with them. After reading about 10 threads on here there's so many differing opinions I feel I'm on information overload...lol

Still not sure what the best path to take is but I definitely want to get some better lighting.

Everyone on here is great but now you've addicted me to this place.. lol

Thanks a lot.

Hey, Maizinbo

I've also got a new Explorer Sport (3 months old next week). I'm interested in having it fitted with HIDs, but I'm reluctant to take it to just anywhere. I'm trying to find a place that really knows what they're doing.

I agree that a $50,000 car like this should have HIDs as standard, but I guess Ford wanted to keep that exclusive to the "Limited" as that is the kind of more 'luxury' option. However, I don't think the stock headlights are bad - they shine very brightly and light up the road nicely. I did exchange the lightbulbs fairly quickly, though - not because they were weak, but I wanted a whiter color. I went for "PIAA Xtreme White" headlight bulbs.

If you're not sure about HIDs yet, I'd recommend buying these bulbs for the meantime. You can't see much of a difference in color during the day, but at night they're very white and shine further than stock. They're pricey at $90, but I think they're worth it as they look much better.

-Kevin
 






Welcome to the Forum Maizinbo.:wavey:
I haven't had any experience with the halogens. My previous Explorer was a 2011 Limited and all Limiteds in Canada have standard HID. The halogens have been a big disappointment to quite a few members. If you've read some of the threads here on HID conversions you'll likely know where I stand but all the same I believe each owner can make their own decision on which way to go. Good luck and Happy motoring. :):thumbsup:

Peter
 






2015 Ford Explorer Sport _ HID Inquiry

I know that I wrote another thread concerning the few problems that some of us with the Explorer Sports have encountered while installing some of these HID kits where when the light switch inside the car is set to "Auto" and having both the mains and fogs lights on and when you turn the car on some of these lights are either flickering or at least one of them will not turn on. It has also been suggested that we may need a "time delay relay" or a "capacitor" in order for the lights to work as they should without having this problem at all and some of us have gone as far as doing so and the problem is gone.

I purchased last week two HID kits from Coolbulbs.com, one was the 9005 for the mains and the second one was the H11 for the Fog lights both in 8000K. I was a little skeptical at first about installing these lights because of the problems that some of us have had and most of all I didn't want to go and ad another relay to the kit so I called Andrew at Coolbulbs.com and spoke to him briefly and explained to him that I was thinking about returning the kits back to him and I also explained to him why. He understood my concern and at the same time talked me into at least trying the lights and if I was not still satisfied I can always return them and he will refund me the money.

Well let me tell you that I thank him so much for talking me into trying them at least. Today I took both HID kits to my local shop and they installed them within half an hour and the best part of it is that I did not need a "time delay relay" nor a "capacitor" to have both the mains and fog lights work when the light switch is set to 'Auto". There is no flickering at all nor any light was off when turning the car on. In fact the guy that did the installation said to me that "those are the best HID kits that I have ever seen or installed in any car" "Those kits and truly High End Quality" . And trust me that this guy has been installing HID kits for over 10 years so I know he knows his stuff.

So for those future or current Explorer owners that are looking to convert those stock hallogen lights for good HID kits without having any problems please try Coolbulbs.com . I am in no way affiliated with them nor I am putting any other brand of HID kits down. This is based solely in my own experienced with the kits that I purchased from them and that I am extremely happy with their performance. I will highly recommend Coolbulbs HID kits to my family and friends.

Below are some photos of both HID kits installed in my Explorer in my garage.



ExplorerSport12_zps56ec7dca.jpg


ExplorerSport13_zps7cb6979f.jpg


ExplorerSport14_zps033d4a60.jpg



ExplorerSport15_zps5237e08f.jpg



ExplorerSport16_zpsa5bb142e.jpg

Hi!

I have a 2015 Ford Explorer Sport in white color that looks just like yours. I had my local dealer install HID Headlights. The dealer recommended Philips brand as top of the line. I went ahead with the Philips 4300K and for 72 days after installation, was impressed with their luminance, until all of the sudden a little over a week ago, the passenger side headlight became intermittent and ultimately had to place another order under warranty as the ballast became defective. While I wait for the call to take it in to have my temporary halogen swapped for the replacement Philips HID kit, I have been interested on having my fog lights converted to HID too. I'm wondering now that time has passed since you posted your review and coolbulbs.com recommendation, can you please update us on how your H11 fog lamps have held up to date? Have you encountered any issues since your post? Also, I am curious about your 9005 HID headlights too. I would appreciate it as I would consider the fog lights from Coolbulbs.com in the near future.

Thank you!

Lewis
 






Hi!

I have a 2015 Ford Explorer Sport in white color that looks just like yours. I had my local dealer install HID Headlights. The dealer recommended Philips brand as top of the line. I went ahead with the Philips 4300K and for 72 days after installation, was impressed with their luminance, until all of the sudden a little over a week ago, the passenger side headlight became intermittent and ultimately had to place another order under warranty as the ballast became defective. While I wait for the call to take it in to have my temporary halogen swapped for the replacement Philips HID kit, I have been interested on having my fog lights converted to HID too. I'm wondering now that time has passed since you posted your review and coolbulbs.com recommendation, can you please update us on how your H11 fog lamps have held up to date? Have you encountered any issues since your post? Also, I am curious about your 9005 HID headlights too. I would appreciate it as I would consider the fog lights from Coolbulbs.com in the near future.

Thank you!

Lewis

Hi Lewis,

You actually got your local dealership to fit a HID kid for you? As in an official, Ford certified dealership? Wow. I enquired about getting original HID's from the Limited fitted on my Sport, but I was told the job would cost around $4,000 because the headlight assemblies are different for halogen and HID. A new headlight assembly for the Explorer goes for $1,300 a piece. :eek:

I'm reluctant to buy an aftermarket kit just in case it causes more problems than what it's worth. Right now, I have the PIAA Xtreme White bulbs installed, which definitely make a difference over the stock bulbs.
 






Not sure if the whole assembly is different but the most important thing, the projector, is different. The Halogen and HID each have their own specifically designed projectors because the bulbs produce light in different ways. If HID is installed in the fogs lights, they will no longer be useful for that function.

Peter
 






Not sure if the whole assembly is different but the most important thing, the reflector, is different. The Halogen and HID each have their own specifically designed reflectors because the bulbs produce light in different ways.

Peter

Yeah, after I spoke with my service advisor I looked into this for myself and did learn that the reflector, or I think it's correctly called the "projector", is different.

I'm not willing to shell out $4k on an original HID system, but I'm also reluctant to get an aftermarket HID kit. So I'm in a bit of a dilemma. My family and I love going on road trips and in fact took our newly delivered Sport down to Florida from New York in December. HIDs would certainly be fantastic on the dark portions of I-95 through the Carolinas.
 






My local Ford dealership "installed" some HIDs for me. What a joke. They sent my Explorer to Car Toys (where I specifically asked them not to) and the install was absolutely atrocious. The bulbs didn't fit right and wiggled in the housing, they cut the dust caps with a razor and left the headlight housing exposed to the weather (read: condensation), they broke one of the ballast's housings, they scratched the paint on the inner fender well down to bare metal when drilling a hole for the ballast (that's what broke it), didn't use enough (and/or cheap) double-sided sticky tape to attach the other ballast so it fell off, they didn't use a wiring harness, and they left a bunch of loose wire ties all over the engine bay and didn't bother cleaning up afterwards.

Dealership said the kit cost $600. I found the vendor they bought it from and learned it retailed for $99.

Needless to say I was quite mad.

Tony
 






Are people not reading the entire thread? Many of us, myself included, have installed HID kits into our Sports and have had zero issues.

TheRetrofitSource.com

Spend a little extra on good ballasts. I think this is where most cheap kits suffer. There are plenty of side-by-side comparisons of good and bad ballasts and the difference is quite dramatic.

Tony
 






Are people not reading the entire thread? Many of us, myself included, have installed HID kits into our Sports and have had zero issues.

TheRetrofitSource.com

Spend a little extra on good ballasts. I think this is where most cheap kits suffer. There are plenty of side-by-side comparisons of good and bad ballasts and the difference is quite dramatic.

Tony

Hey Tony,

Since you have experience with HID kits on your Sport, can I ask a couple of questions?

- Did you have to/choose to use a relay harness?
- Does your HID kit work with the AUTO headlamps, or have you had issues?

Thanks,
Kevin
 






My bad. I should have said 'projector'. Good catch.:thumbsup:

Peter
 






Yeah, after I spoke with my service advisor I looked into this for myself and did learn that the reflector, or I think it's correctly called the "projector", is different.

I'm not willing to shell out $4k on an original HID system, but I'm also reluctant to get an aftermarket HID kit. So I'm in a bit of a dilemma. My family and I love going on road trips and in fact took our newly delivered Sport down to Florida from New York in December. HIDs would certainly be fantastic on the dark portions of I-95 through the Carolinas.

Kevin,
you should check this out..the white one is mine. costs about 1400 and is the best light you can get

http://www.lightwerkz.net/photo/shi...limited-oem-xenon-to-morimoto-fxr-conversion/
 












Hi Lewis,

You actually got your local dealership to fit a HID kid for you? As in an official, Ford certified dealership? Wow. I enquired about getting original HID's from the Limited fitted on my Sport, but I was told the job would cost around $4,000 because the headlight assemblies are different for halogen and HID. A new headlight assembly for the Explorer goes for $1,300 a piece. :eek:

I'm reluctant to buy an aftermarket kit just in case it causes more problems than what it's worth. Right now, I have the PIAA Xtreme White bulbs installed, which definitely make a difference over the stock bulbs.

Hi Kevin,

I had my HID lights installed at Galpin Auto Sports which is part of Galpin Ford. The same shop related to West Coast Customs that came out on TV's Pimp my Ride MTV show. My car sales rep recommended me to go there for customs, even received a $100 gift card after purchasing my Explorer at Galpin Ford to use at G.A.S. I was quite impressed with Galpin Auto Sports. I was given two choices, one being the $1,200/each entire HID headlamp assembly option, the second a Philips HID kit. I was told at the shop, the OEM headlamp housing that came equipped on my Explorer is a projector type housing and will work fine with an HID kit. They said Philips is the top of the line HID brand. From my brief experience with the Philips HID kit, being Bi-Xenon type and with the 4300K, which is equivalent to the OEM on a Limited, worked very nice. No flickering, worked great even on auto mode with excellent luminance and coverage which is what I was after. The projectors where we'll adjusted and I had no problem with on coming traffic flashing me when on low beam. Hi beams are very strong when used. I do alot of mountain driving and encounter frequent wildlife, I also live in a hilly area, so the HID's do help me on hill driving such as Mulholland drive due to the windi roads. Now that I'm temporary back using my old halogens, I can see the big difference. The halogens seem to easily be swallowed up, so to say, by the night, pot holes are not we'll seen. I'm looking forward to have my HID's installed again. If you consider HID's I would recommen the Philips, although I did have one fail. One thing I have noticed on many cars such as high end and common brands, I see those with burnt HID's passing by for some reason with only the passenger side always being the one burnt out. It could just be a coincidence. How long have you had the PIAA Xtreme installed for? What has been your experience with them?
 



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Hi Kevin,

I had my HID lights installed at Galpin Auto Sports which is part of Galpin Ford. The same shop related to West Coast Customs that came out on TV's Pimp my Ride MTV show. My car sales rep recommended me to go there for customs, even received a $100 gift card after purchasing my Explorer at Galpin Ford to use at G.A.S. I was quite impressed with Galpin Auto Sports. I was given two choices, one being the $1,200/each entire HID headlamp assembly option, the second a Philips HID kit. I was told at the shop, the OEM headlamp housing that came equipped on my Explorer is a projector type housing and will work fine with an HID kit. They said Philips is the top of the line HID brand. From my brief experience with the Philips HID kit, being Bi-Xenon type and with the 4300K, which is equivalent to the OEM on a Limited, worked very nice. No flickering, worked great even on auto mode with excellent luminance and coverage which is what I was after. The projectors where we'll adjusted and I had no problem with on coming traffic flashing me when on low beam. Hi beams are very strong when used. I do alot of mountain driving and encounter frequent wildlife, I also live in a hilly area, so the HID's do help me on hill driving such as Mulholland drive due to the windi roads. Now that I'm temporary back using my old halogens, I can see the big difference. The halogens seem to easily be swallowed up, so to say, by the night, pot holes are not we'll seen. I'm looking forward to have my HID's installed again. If you consider HID's I would recommen the Philips, although I did have one fail. One thing I have noticed on many cars such as high end and common brands, I see those with burnt HID's passing by for some reason with only the passenger side always being the one burnt out. It could just be a coincidence. How long have you had the PIAA Xtreme installed for? What has been your experience with them?

I'll definitely look into the Phillips HID kits.

As for the PIAA Xtreme White bulbs, although they're pricey at around $90, I think they're fantastic. In the daytime you won't see much of a color difference, but once the sun sets there is a huge differentiation. The stock bulbs are much yellower, whereas the PIAA Xtreme Whites emit the same kind of color as a piece of paper. They're still not at the HID white/blue color output, but they certainly are an upgrade from stock. And in addition, they are very strong. Standing outside of the vehicle looking at the projectors on low beam, you'd be under the impression that you have the high beams switched on.

They're perfect for the meantime while someone is looking into getting HIDs, or simply wants to get a stronger, nicer-looking headlamp without going the HID route. Although I'm pleased with the PIAA's for now, I'd like to find a HID solution in which I'll be fully confident in buying and installing.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, I've had them installed since early December. They still look nice and they're holding up strongly.
 






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