HID help

[98 Trans-am]

Hey guys. OK so i want to put HIDs in my low beams and fogs. I have a 98 trans am. Know of any good deals? And also i need a process and list of things needed. I know i need some kind of housing for the lights to go in on my low beams but can someone help me out on what it is and anything else i need?

[cammed goat]

There are members here running HIDs. They will chime in here soon enough.

[peterlawl84]

Have you decided on the type of housings? Projector vs converting a stock halogen housing. Projectors are more expensive but are made for HID and will have a nice cutoff. Converting a halogen housing will be cheaper, but will scatter the light.

For my lows, I got the projector kit from BLS and went with 55w 6k.
For the fogs, DDM 880 type bulb 35w 5k. Ppl have had issues with the housings melting when using the 55w in the fogs. I have only had the fogs in for a few months, but so far no issues with the housings.
The higher the wattage, the more white-washed the output will be, hence going with the 6k for the lows and 5k for fogs...it matches pretty well in person, some of the pics might look alittle bluer bc I had just turned the lights on and didn't get to warm up completely.

Both kits are complete plug and play, so no splicing or anything.







Here is a pic of the projector housings:

[cammed goat]

Damn...that's bright.

[peterlawl84]

haha, yea...its awesome...I actually see at night! Definitely worth it in my opinion...hell when I had just the fogs (with stock low beams) the HID fogs outshined my low beams.

[98 Trans-am]

Explain to me about projectors. Im new to the whole HID community lol

[peterlawl84]

HIDs are designed to work with Projector housings (seen in the last pic of my previous post). The projectors focus the light output, hence the clear cut-off seen in the picture. This keeps you from blinding on-coming traffic as well as focusing the light on the road ahead rather than letting it scatter upwards.
Projectors are more expensive, hence why many choose just to use a converted halogen housing. While this can be done and others might take offense to my opinion, it reminds me of ricers doing things half-ass when HIDs first came out and them blinding all the on-coming traffic bc they wanted to have the white/blue lights.
For now, my fogs are the stock housings and thats why I keep them aimed low. If I compare just the fogs on vs. just the low-beams, I can definately tell how scattered and random the light output is.

[98 Trans-am]

So i just need to buy an HID kit and projector housings for my low beams?

[peterlawl84]

So far, BLS is the only one I know that offers a projector kit for the trans am. You can buy the projectors from Hella, but then would have to make your own mounting plates. He sells the kits over on ls1tech and does a group buy every 1-2 months, I believe today is the last day for the current group purchase. I can PM you the info if you are interested.

[98 Trans-am]

Yeah that would be good. Thanks

[peterlawl84]

pm sent

[98 Trans-am]

How does it look with your fogs being 5k and your lows being 6k?

[peterlawl84]

I chose the different temps because the watts are different. The higher the wattage, the more white-out you get. So the 55w 6k lows are almost a perfect match with the 35w 5k fogs.
You can go with 55w fogs, but ppl have had issues with housings melting. So far I have not had any issues with my housings melting. If it does occur, the LT1 fogs are glass (not plastic like the LS1) and are suppose to be a direct replacement, or I believe some have used projector housings (but I am not sure the company).
BLS offers different temps, up to 10k, which is pretty blue/purple. The industry standard for OEM HIDs are 5k I believe.
You can google HID temp and look at charts comparing the different color output.

[98 Trans-am]

Thanks man. Youve been very helpful.

[4thGenTA]

send a pm this way too! I want to try that out...

[SH1ZN1T]

what is BLS? can't find a link to it. I googled BLS and nothing... I got Bureau of Labor Statistics, Basic Life support, and Black label society lol...

[peterlawl84]

send a pm this way too! I want to try that out...

PM sent

what is BLS? can't find a link to it. I googled BLS and nothing... I got Bureau of Labor Statistics, Basic Life support, and Black label society lol...

BLS is Blackbird Lighting Solutions, his sn on tech is BLSolutions

[RyanJM]

I have to admit I like the output from those I have the cheaper version tht look like a factory glass sealed beam but are made for a H7 bulb. Mine are bright but those are nicer. Maybe when I finsh my cam and stall I may get a set of nthos though I want all 4 so they match. That's the only good part is mine look stock till you turn them on but with the fog HID's there bright enough for the few times I go out at night. If it was a DD still I would have ordered a set of those right now.

[peterlawl84]

I have to admit I like the output from those I have the cheaper version tht look like a factory glass sealed beam but are made for a H7 bulb. Mine are bright but those are nicer. Maybe when I finsh my cam and stall I may get a set of nthos though I want all 4 so they match. That's the only good part is mine look stock till you turn them on but with the fog HID's there bright enough for the few times I go out at night. If it was a DD still I would have ordered a set of those right now.

I have to agree with you on all 4 matching. I was really leaning towards the premium package that included all 4 (lows and highs), but I have spent alot of money on the car this yr. So I figure $300 bucks purely for looks (as I never use the highs anyways) could wait, esp. since the lights are only up at night, when its hard to see if the highs and lows match.

Have you had any issues with your fog light housings and the HIDs?

[RyanJM]

I have no problems with my low beam or fog hids. I have since switched the front and sidemarkers to matching white LED's.