Whats everyone opinion on this? Would I be better off with a autopal or alike housing with upgraded bulbs and harness vs doing hids? Is there really that much of a difference? Is it worth the extra work? Thanks

 

I just did the Autopal H4 upgrade with harness and it makes a 100% difference over stock lighting. I put in 90/100 watt bulbs and I don't think I'll ever need to use the highbeams. All in all, this setup cost me about $100 and 2 hours of my time. From what I've read about HIDs, you are looking at ~$300 to get a decent setup that's premade, or hours of fab work to make your own projector so you don't blind other drivers. I know a guy with HIDs, so I'm hoping to compare our lights soon, but I would recommend the H4s because it is cheaper with outstanding results.

 

HIDS make Halogen look like candles and use less power (which saves on wiring upgrades) but you do need the right housings or you'll blind people. Properly made projector housings (ie, the focussing is done by the lens infront of the bulb instead of the reflector behind it) are required, but it's hard to find anything with good reviews.

 

I've had cars with halogen lights. They looked pretty bright. Then I got my RX8 that came with HID's. They are a thing of beauty.
For the Jeep, I will likely be only upgrading to the halogen bulbs. I won't travel as far or spend as much time in there as I do in the Mazda.

 

it really depends on what you want, also how much time and money you want to spend.

upgraded bulbs and harness will do for most people but if your looking for more then HID's are the way to go. BUT they have to be done right. im about 30 hours in to mine and there still not done.. but it is soooooo worth it. im trying to get mine done.

 

I did the autopal and harness upgrade on mine, very impressed but hids are nice also, I'd say if your willing to spend the extra $ then go hid. But if your on a budget go autopal and harness, it really is a BIG improvement. Here's some vids of mine.

 

Thanks everyone. What housings are the best to use for hids?

 

I have HIDs and i love them! i have 4ks with the h4 housing and all(i think thats what its called) and its awesome.

 

Yes exactly they have to be done right, you cant just throw hid's in a non hid housing. I have Hella h4 e-codes,and arness upgrade with hella 100/130 bulbs they are bright, and the bulbs are only like $8 on amazon.

 

Keep an eye on flEbay, I picked up a pair of Cibie E-code w?Osram bulbs for $110 to my door.
I upgraded my 5-mains, link in sig, which made a noticeable difference in the brightness of my sealed beams. Been runnin the lights with a stock harness since 09 and the 5-mains since 07.

Osram 55w/60w/ sealed beam you tell me which is which



Not worth the money to do HID right IMO vs. how much it will improve over what I got

Do it right and do it once!!!

 

I also have the hella ecodes with the harness and SS ultra and these are great for highway and dark area driving. I dont think I would ever want HIDs and if I need brighter I'll do 80/100 bulbs

 

if your going to do it right go HID and do them retrofitted projectors
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f58/he...roject-116069/

 

Although those projectors are great, HiDS were around properly before projectors and alot of cars run HIDs without em. It all depends on the cutoff off the housings. Alot o the Ecode housings have a sharp cutoff like the hella ecodes

 

I'm looking at the norcal mr2 kit and was wondering on what to get. 4300k or 6000k? Is the 4300k way brighter or is it just a matter of what color I want between them to? What do you think?

 

I had HIDs with Hella e-codes for a while. I took them out because I felt sorry for oncoming drivers. I now have the upgraded harness and a set of Autopals off Ebay.

I can see just as well with the Autopals and Harness as I could with the HIDs.