Coolbulbs.com HID Kit Review - Explorer Sport

[foxwoods321]

I know there have been quite a few threads about HID kits and wanted to give my input. I have a 2013 Explorer Sport and one thing that was missing was HID headlights so I explored the different options and chose coolbuls.com as my HID kit after a few threads about them and how they have no flickering issues with the auto headlight feature. I ordered the 6000K kit.

I am happy to report that the kit is A+ and appears that it is a very quality kit. This is a canbus unit and plugs and gets power from the headlight plug and not the battery directly and the ballets are slim which makes them mounting very easy. There is absolutely zero flickering issues with the headlights in the auto position when the vehicle starts. The color is what I wanted as it is more white than blue and looks very stock. Andrew from coolbulbs.co m is very helpful and so far the service has been great with no issues and was even shipped same day.

Below are the pictures of the kit, my install location ballets location and final product.

 

[Motoarzan]

Was everything plug & play with no mods or anything? I haver a 2014 Sport coming in about 4 wks and I've been considering a HID.
"Ridiculous" that ford doesn't include HIDS on the Sport/$50k vehicle.

 

[foxwoods321]

Was everything plug & play with no mods or anything? I haver a 2014 Sport coming in about 4 wks and I've been considering a HID.
"Ridiculous" that ford doesn't include HIDS on the Sport/$50k vehicle.

Yea everything was plug and play. The hardest part is mounting the ballest. I ended up putting some loom over the wires that go from the headlight bulbs to make them look more factory and easier to tuck away.

 

[ieee_raider]

Huh... with my coolbulbs kit, I had to plug harness in backwards to get it to work. (clips don't clip together, now on opposite sides)
Same thing for driver and passenger.

 

[CobraJohn]

Did you also do the fog lamps?

How much per set?

 

[foxwoods321]

Huh... with my coolbulbs kit, I had to plug harness in backwards to get it to work. (clips don't clip together, now on opposite sides)
Same thing for driver and passenger.

My buddy had a problem with the reverse plug and what he did was move the metal plug around in the plug as opposed to flip the plug as it has locking tabs. This youtube video explains it a lot better and shows what I mean

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txQx_kgGjJY

 

[foxwoods321]

Did you also do the fog lamps?

How much per set?

I didn't the fog lights kit as I don't use fogs that much and planning on going yellow for the fogs

 

[TMack2300]

i just ordered both

i ordered the HID conversions kits for both headlights and fogs...
i will let you know how it goes when its installed.
6k
www.coolbulbs.com

 

[automobiliben]

Any comparison to how much brighter they are than stock? I have an Audi with HID and the headlights on the Explorer are definitely lacking in comparison. I feel that I am constantly having to use the brights just to feel safe driving in the dark since I live in the country with who knows what possibly jumping out in front of me...

 

[Motoarzan]

Any comparison to how much brighter they are than stock? I have an Audi with HID and the headlights on the Explorer are definitely lacking in comparison. I feel that I am constantly having to use the brights just to feel safe driving in the dark since I live in the country with who knows what possibly jumping out in front of me...

HID's are approx 300% brighter than halogen and they last longer, most likely never have to change a bulb for the life of the car. Furthermore at 5K-6K color temperature (which is the color temperature of daylight) our eyes are most receptive meaning less lumens at lets say 5k as opposed to 3k is required to achieve the same perceived brightness.

I switched those "garbage" oem halogen bulbs for a coolbulbs HID kit in my 2014 Sport and it's incredible. You won't regret the upgrade. In fact, it's the first upgrade everyone should do regardless of who's kit you go with.

 

[bdog76]

GOt my coolbulb HID's installed as well.. super easy setup! First pic is stock. then headlights only. then last two are all HID headlights and fogs.

https://carousel.dropbox.com/photos/cc/bsRdg1tej4IIh8I

 

[pup5581]

so you don't even have to plug to battery then? Seems pretty good..ordered a set as well..stocks are horrible..6K ordered for me...i would really love to do it the RIGHT way and get a new headlight assembly..but will try it in stock halogen set up to see what it's like

 

[mdkstate]

so you don't even have to plug to battery then? Seems pretty good..ordered a set as well..stocks are horrible..6K ordered for me...i would really love to do it the RIGHT way and get a new headlight assembly..but will try it in stock halogen set up to see what it's like

Doing the exact same thing to my 2015 Sport. Ordered the set-up from Andrew @ CoolBulbs on Thursday last week (4/16). 6000K Headlights and Fogs. Based on my research on this forum, the Headlights are not too bad of an install (drivers side is a bit tricky to access). The fogs are a bit more difficult to get to and requires some removal of trim (minimal). I am looking forward to installing once they arrive.

Based on my conversation w/ Andrew, the Relay from the Battery is only required in about 10% of installs. Basically, if they flicker or fail to start properly its an electrical supply issue. Solved by using the relay harness to supply additional direct power when needed. Odd but I suppose every car is somewhat different. Will post back when I get them in and running.

FYI- Andrew was great to work with and told me to call him directly if I run into any issues w/ my install.

 

[bdog76]

I didn't have to remove the trim. I got one tire up on the sidewalk and that gave me enough clearance to get to both fogs for the install.

 

[mdkstate]

I didn't have to remove the trim. I got one tire up on the sidewalk and that gave me enough clearance to get to both fogs for the install.

Awesome. Thanks for the advice. Out of curiosity, where did you end up mounting the ballast for the fogs? There does not seem to be a consensus on here regarding that. I reached my hand back there and suitable spaces seemed few.

 

[bdog76]

Ya, it's pretty tight down there, but doable. I couldn't even really explain where I mounted it tbh.. lol I want to say I just mounted it to a part of the frame. I had some alcohol wipes, so I just wiped it down and was able to get it to stick on both sides. The wiring kinda prohibits you from mounting it too far from the fog lamp housing.

 

[bdog76]

*sitting on top of the frame, I should say

 

[pup5581]

Doing the exact same thing to my 2015 Sport. Ordered the set-up from Andrew @ CoolBulbs on Thursday last week (4/16). 6000K Headlights and Fogs. Based on my research on this forum, the Headlights are not too bad of an install (drivers side is a bit tricky to access). The fogs are a bit more difficult to get to and requires some removal of trim (minimal). I am looking forward to installing once they arrive.

Based on my conversation w/ Andrew, the Relay from the Battery is only required in about 10% of installs. Basically, if they flicker or fail to start properly its an electrical supply issue. Solved by using the relay harness to supply additional direct power when needed. Odd but I suppose every car is somewhat different. Will post back when I get them in and running.

FYI- Andrew was great to work with and told me to call him directly if I run into any issues w/ my install.

He called me today to confirmed my order as said the same thing..so far customer service seems fantastic

 

[mdkstate]

Installed the 6000K HID Headlights yesterday evening. Totally plug and play and super easy. Passenger side harness from the car to the Collbulbs Ballast had to be flipped around (as it did not fire up at all). That was the only hiccup. Works perfectly now. Installed in my garage. I used painters tape to mark off the Halogen light line. The HID light line hit it exactly. Put me down as a happy customer. Going to keep the stock bulbs stored in the truck for a while...just to make sure.

I held off on installing the fog lights. If they are just as bright as the headlights I am concerned they will blind everyone in front of me (as they are not focused in a projector housing) and then the true FOG/Nasty weather functionality may suffer.

I think I am going to leave the stock FOG light for a bit and explore other options. Perhaps LED.

I believe the HID H11 bulbs I got for the fogs will fit my 2013 Honda Accord's low beams. If that is the case, I shall be using them in that application.

 

[bdog76]

Ya... the fogs seem brighter than the headlights, because they aren't focused... and I live in san francisco so I'm also worried about the functionality in the fog.... but they look great. They don't shine any higher than the headlights so I don't think they're blinding anyone... and nobody has been flashing their high beams at me yet... so I'm relatively happy.