GL Class (X164) 2007-2012: GL320CDI, GL420CDI, GL450, GL550

HID's Installed

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Old Jun 11, 2009 | 10:50 AM
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HID's Installed

So after trying the PIAA bulbs and a set of Hoen Fogs, I decided to step it up and just get some 6000k HID's for my GL 450 P1. The install was easy and the only drilling that was required was the black plastic weather seal cap on the rear of the head light assembly for the wire from the HID bulb to the ballast box. The total install took about 20 minutes and we just zip tied the ballast boxes to something secure with the large zip ties so no drilling etc...here are some finished pics. We were surprised as to how good the cut off and aim was stock and we did not tinker with the adjustment at all . Which made this install even better and anyone thinking of making the switch...I say its soooo worth it and for night time driving its not even a comparison vs. halogen. Also a special thanks to my friend John Tran for basically doing the install while I watched and for selling me the HID kit ($120 bucks).
Attached Thumbnails HID's Installed-img00557.jpg   HID's Installed-img00555.jpg   HID's Installed-img00558.jpg   HID's Installed-img00556.jpg  

Last edited by evoviiiyou; Jun 11, 2009 at 11:18 AM.
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Old Jun 12, 2009 | 01:41 PM
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they look great. Any flickering problems or error msgs? Details on the kit?
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Old Jun 12, 2009 | 02:02 PM
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Thanks. Its been a few days now and much night and rain driving with no issues what so ever. No flickering as I used the stock MB clip of of the OE halogen for bulb mounting, electrically the system seems to have great current so no error codes or flickering. The kit I got seems to be of very high quality and let me look up the details and I will post shortly. Now I am tempted to do a HID conversion on my fogs as well.
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Old Jun 12, 2009 | 02:12 PM
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Here is the site where we got the HIDs:

www.xenithxenons.com
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Old Jun 14, 2009 | 05:19 PM
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still no issues and man do these things light the street up! I will never own a car with out HIDs again.
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Old Nov 18, 2009 | 03:11 PM
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Well, I spoke to George at Xenith and I should receive the 3rd generation 6000k kit next week! can't wait. My PIAAs just went out (well driver's side did).
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Old Nov 22, 2009 | 12:45 AM
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Originally Posted by evoviiiyou
So after trying the PIAA bulbs and a set of Hoen Fogs, I decided to step it up and just get some 6000k HID's for my GL 450 P1. The install was easy and the only drilling that was required was the black plastic weather seal cap on the rear of the head light assembly for the wire from the HID bulb to the ballast box. The total install took about 20 minutes and we just zip tied the ballast boxes to something secure with the large zip ties so no drilling etc...here are some finished pics. We were surprised as to how good the cut off and aim was stock and we did not tinker with the adjustment at all . Which made this install even better and anyone thinking of making the switch...I say its soooo worth it and for night time driving its not even a comparison vs. halogen. Also a special thanks to my friend John Tran for basically doing the install while I watched and for selling me the HID kit ($120 bucks).
Sorry newbie question: what's the difference between this $120 bucks HID kit and the one come within the P2?
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Old Nov 23, 2009 | 02:42 AM
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Originally Posted by evoviiiyou
So after trying the PIAA bulbs and a set of Hoen Fogs, I decided to step it up and just get some 6000k HID's for my GL 450 P1. The install was easy and the only drilling that was required was the black plastic weather seal cap on the rear of the head light assembly for the wire from the HID bulb to the ballast box. The total install took about 20 minutes and we just zip tied the ballast boxes to something secure with the large zip ties so no drilling etc...here are some finished pics. We were surprised as to how good the cut off and aim was stock and we did not tinker with the adjustment at all . Which made this install even better and anyone thinking of making the switch...I say its soooo worth it and for night time driving its not even a comparison vs. halogen. Also a special thanks to my friend John Tran for basically doing the install while I watched and for selling me the HID kit ($120 bucks).
Is it legal on road? I thought the convertion kits are illegal...
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Old Nov 23, 2009 | 08:17 AM
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Originally Posted by rayleiwu
Is it legal on road? I thought the convertion kits are illegal...
conversion kits are illegal. So are many non-HID upgrade bulbs too technically. The full OEM conversion has been done here but all-in costs $1000+ I think.
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Old Nov 23, 2009 | 02:00 PM
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Conversions are not illegal. I've been pulled over many times and not once has a cop said hey those foglights have illegal hide and I'm writing u up. And I live in nazzifornia of all places.
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Old Nov 23, 2009 | 05:18 PM
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Originally Posted by jandmtv
Conversions are not illegal. I've been pulled over many times and not once has a cop said hey those foglights have illegal hide and I'm writing u up. And I live in nazzifornia of all places.
that's because he didn't know you installed a conversion kit. Aftermarket HID kits are illegal, but if you go 6000k or lower, not likely to get pulled over for it. The extreme blue or purple colors tend to draw more attention from the police.
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Old Nov 23, 2009 | 05:44 PM
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Originally Posted by ddcha
that's because he didn't know you installed a conversion kit. Aftermarket HID kits are illegal, but if you go 6000k or lower, not likely to get pulled over for it. The extreme blue or purple colors tend to draw more attention from the police.

Mine are 8000k, all of my previous cars have been 8000k, and I have been pulled over plenty but not one ticket. Hmmm they must have all been blind or something.

Up to 8000k, they are legal, anything over is not. Now what is not legal is bulbs that are blue in color before being lit, those are very much illegal.
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Old Nov 24, 2009 | 10:50 AM
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Originally Posted by jandmtv
Mine are 8000k, all of my previous cars have been 8000k, and I have been pulled over plenty but not one ticket. Hmmm they must have all been blind or something.

Up to 8000k, they are legal, anything over is not. Now what is not legal is bulbs that are blue in color before being lit, those are very much illegal.
only word that comes to mind is.....














retard.
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Old Nov 24, 2009 | 11:51 AM
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How mature of you. Moron!
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Old Nov 25, 2009 | 11:05 PM
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Originally Posted by ddcha
conversion kits are illegal. So are many non-HID upgrade bulbs too technically. The full OEM conversion has been done here but all-in costs $1000+ I think.
so is j-walking. is a cop really going to ticket you for it? as long as the HID's are not put in reflector housings which will blind oncoming drivers, whats the big deal.
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Old Nov 26, 2009 | 02:04 AM
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Originally Posted by c240PORTUGA
so is j-walking. is a cop really going to ticket you for it? as long as the HID's are not put in reflector housings which will blind oncoming drivers, whats the big deal.

He is talking out of his @ss, I have 50W HID's on my Hummer, both headlight and foglight. Been pulled over 4 times, and not once did I get a ticket for them. When a cop pulls you over, your HID's are the last thing on his mind.
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Old Nov 27, 2009 | 10:15 AM
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Originally Posted by jandmtv
He is talking out of his @ss, I have 50W HID's on my Hummer, both headlight and foglight. Been pulled over 4 times, and not once did I get a ticket for them. When a cop pulls you over, your HID's are the last thing on his mind.
yep, he's focused on your douchetard driving skills.
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Old Nov 27, 2009 | 10:17 AM
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Originally Posted by c240PORTUGA
so is j-walking. is a cop really going to ticket you for it? as long as the HID's are not put in reflector housings which will blind oncoming drivers, whats the big deal.
I never said it was a big deal. I'm planning on installing them too. Someone asked the question whether it was legal or not. I gave them the answer.

For example, in my state, it is illegal to tint the driver and passenger side windows (you can tint the rears as much as you want). But many people do it anyway. Some get away with it, some don't. Just because you get away with it doesn't mean it's legal.
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Old Dec 27, 2009 | 02:34 AM
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They are HOT!!!!! I mean the ballasts are very hot after 20 minutes driving. I installed the same kit and temporarily threw the ballasts in the head light housing just for testing purpose...

evoviiiyou - have you ever opened up the headlight housing caps to check the temperature of the ballasts? I'm a little bit worried about the heat it produced in such a sealled envrionment.. Let me know what you have discovered.
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Old Dec 27, 2009 | 11:56 PM
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Originally Posted by rayleiwu
They are HOT!!!!! I mean the ballasts are very hot after 20 minutes driving. I installed the same kit and temporarily threw the ballasts in the head light housing just for testing purpose...

evoviiiyou - have you ever opened up the headlight housing caps to check the temperature of the ballasts? I'm a little bit worried about the heat it produced in such a sealled envrionment.. Let me know what you have discovered.
I really have not checked. Really my experience is uneventful thus far with only a little mishap of the drivers side bulb coming dis-locked from the secure mounted position. I simply retwisted the bulb to the secure position and closed the back cover the head light and forgot about it. I guess next time I run them for a while I can check and see if the heat is excessive, but its cold here in Ohio right now so im not sure how accurate my observation would be. With that said I have the ballasts mounted out side of the head light housings anyway. They are zip tied about a foot behind the headlight housings. Hope this helps.
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Old Dec 28, 2009 | 01:46 AM
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Originally Posted by evoviiiyou
I really have not checked. Really my experience is uneventful thus far with only a little mishap of the drivers side bulb coming dis-locked from the secure mounted position. I simply retwisted the bulb to the secure position and closed the back cover the head light and forgot about it. I guess next time I run them for a while I can check and see if the heat is excessive, but its cold here in Ohio right now so im not sure how accurate my observation would be. With that said I have the ballasts mounted out side of the head light housings anyway. They are zip tied about a foot behind the headlight housings. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the reply evoviiiyou, I thought you mounted the ballasts inside the head light housings... it's another person. Anyway, I have ended up installing them outside of the head lights, just for peace of mind. (and the stock ones have them installed outside underneath the housing as well. see attached pic, not sure why two of them? one for high-beam as well?)
Attached Thumbnails HID's Installed-gl_headlights.jpg  
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Old Dec 28, 2009 | 01:59 PM
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How did you remove the headlights?
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Old Dec 28, 2009 | 02:01 PM
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Originally Posted by axchung
How did you remove the headlights?
I sense a desire to black out the chrome inside?
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Old Dec 28, 2009 | 02:49 PM
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Originally Posted by ddcha
I sense a desire to black out the chrome inside?
Is it that obvious? I've been thinking about that for a while but couldn't figure out (too lazy) how to remove the headlights. I got desperate and did the Laminix light tint but is not the effect that i was after.

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Old Dec 28, 2009 | 03:19 PM
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Originally Posted by axchung
How did you remove the headlights?
I didn't remove the headlights during the HID installation. However I did remove them when I was installing the front skid plate, it was easy and straightforward,

...
2) remove headlight assembly bolt (2 per side) and bolt that ties the headlight assembly to the grill (one is near the blue windshield washer cap).
...
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