HID upgrade

[robcy]

Has anyone replaced their headlights with HID's? I have an 09 SE, and was thinking about changing the low beams to 8500K HID lights. Any experience?

[bbf2530]

Has anyone replaced their headlights with HID's? I have an 09 SE, and was thinking about changing the low beams to 8500K HID lights. Any experience?

 

Hi robcy. :D Well, it is a loaded question/questions.

 

First, all aftermarket HID kits are illegal for on-road use in the US and Canada in the low beam. The only HID's that are legal (in the low-beam position) for on-road use are factory installed HID's (equipped by the automaker from the factory).

 

In addition, people who have installed them have had mixed results. Some have installed them and say they have no problems. Many others have flickering lights, "Bulb Out Warnings" in the Dashboard Information Center and various other problems.

 

Next, if you decide to install them anyway, and want the best light for actually seeing at night (as opposed to people who think blue lights "look cool"), then 4500k-5000k is the best choice. Anything higher than that and you are getting less usable light for night driving. 8,500k would be ridiculously blue, give you less visible/usable light than the factory halogens, and do nothing but blind oncoming drivers with glare. :rant:

 

So the choice becomes one of what the law is (if you don't mind breaking the law then get them), and what you want the lights for. Do you want them to see better at night (get 4500k-5000k) or to put on a show and blind oncoming drivers (get over 5000k).

 

As an FYI - You can use HID's legally in the foglight position.

 

Whatever you decide to do, good luck. :beerchug:

[robcy]

I got your response a little late. I went ahead, and installed the 8500k this morning. First I will say that I HATE THEM, I really, really HATE THEM. I have seen other cars with them (not original), and they look great, the light output is way better than stock. This is using the 8500k. Mine make the area directly infront of the car way to bright, things like the painted lane seperators glow. This has the effect of not allowing your eyes to adjust to the lack of sunlight, and you can not see anything beyond the glow. That is what I get for being impulsive. :-(

[robcy]

Okay, a friend of mine that has a fusion came by to look at the HID's. We pointed the lights at a wall, and mine are basically pointing at the ground. I adjusted them to a little below stock, and now they work alot better. I still hate them but now its only a lower case hate. The blue hue will take some getting used to.

[Oman]

8500s are darn near purple. There is a reason the OEMs go with 4500s.

 

Jon

 

 

Okay, a friend of mine that has a fusion came by to look at the HID's. We pointed the lights at a wall, and mine are basically pointing at the ground. I adjusted them to a little below stock, and now they work alot better. I still hate them but now its only a lower case hate. The blue hue will take some getting used to.

[Oman]

8500s are darn near purple. There is a reason the OEMs go with 4500s.

 

Jon

 

 

Okay, a friend of mine that has a fusion came by to look at the HID's. We pointed the lights at a wall, and mine are basically pointing at the ground. I adjusted them to a little below stock, and now they work alot better. I still hate them but now its only a lower case hate. The blue hue will take some getting used to.

[Vultite]

well to clarify, HID upgrades are NOT illegal if done correctly. They must past highway rules though to be legal. In the 06-09 fusions, the headlights are not setup to take the HID beam and properly project it on the road so the beam is scattered and blinding oncoming drivers . The 2010 models have projector lenses which are more suitable for upgrades. In fact, if you check a little bit online, there are already people who have successfully upgraded to HID's in 2010 models without blinding other drivers. You can swap out your headlamps for aftermarket ones with projector lenses, but the cost and end result normally aren't worth the hassle. But yea, I wish ford would stop playing catch up on small things like this and start leading the pack.

[FFHdriver]

well to clarify, HID upgrades are NOT illegal if done correctly. They must past highway rules though to be legal. In the 06-09 fusions, the headlights are not setup to take the HID beam and properly project it on the road so the beam is scattered and blinding oncoming drivers . The 2010 models have projector lenses which are more suitable for upgrades. In fact, if you check a little bit online, there are already people who have successfully upgraded to HID's in 2010 models without blinding other drivers. You can swap out your headlamps for aftermarket ones with projector lenses, but the cost and end result normally aren't worth the hassle. But yea, I wish ford would stop playing catch up on small things like this and start leading the pack.

After looking at the lights location on my car, a bulb replacement from the engine compartment looks impossible. Do you get to them from the bottom or does the front grill/bumper have to come off? TIA

[robcy]

After looking at the lights location on my car, a bulb replacement from the engine compartment looks impossible. Do you get to them from the bottom or does the front grill/bumper have to come off? TIA

 

The drivers side can be easily reached by removing the plastic intake. For the passenger side they had to go thru the wheel well by seperating the lining from the bumper shell.

[Turbostang46]

After looking at the lights location on my car, a bulb replacement from the engine compartment looks impossible. Do you get to them from the bottom or does the front grill/bumper have to come off? TIA

 

When I did the HID's on my car the drivers side are very easy and so so arent the fog lights. The passenger side is a PITA, what I did was disconnected the coolant overfill tank I left the line on the bottom of the tank connected so I wouldnt get coolant everywhere. I then just moved that out of the way and that created just enough space to get to the lights.

[akirby]

well to clarify, HID upgrades are NOT illegal if done correctly. They must past highway rules though to be legal. In the 06-09 fusions, the headlights are not setup to take the HID beam and properly project it on the road so the beam is scattered and blinding oncoming drivers . The 2010 models have projector lenses which are more suitable for upgrades. In fact, if you check a little bit online, there are already people who have successfully upgraded to HID's in 2010 models without blinding other drivers. You can swap out your headlamps for aftermarket ones with projector lenses, but the cost and end result normally aren't worth the hassle. But yea, I wish ford would stop playing catch up on small things like this and start leading the pack.

 

Well, to clarify your clarification - no HID retrofit kit is DOT legal. Period. Can they be done safely given the right projector housings with a clear beam cutoff to avoid blinding oncoming cars? Sure. But that still doesn't make them legal. And factory HIDs are usually self-leveling - to prevent blinding. I'm pretty sure the retrofit kits don't have that feature.