I know a lot of people don't like aftermarket HIDs. I totally agree that the correct way is to do a projector retrofit.
There are all sorts of things people put in their car in socal here, purple blue green HID in halogen reflector housing, red blue green CCFL angel eye etc.
The kit I got was Morimoto H11 elite,35W, 4300k, and I did not do the fog light, so please no harsh word here, just sharing experience and mods here. (lol2)
The OEM halogen in the CX-5 are very bright in my view, but I was originally thinking about getting the LED for the DRL/High Beam. Went in and checked with iJDMtoys, they admitted the LED will only light on dim with low power DRL, but will emit full power at high beam, saw the demonstration there and the color is very white to me. Problem with that is I almost never use high beam, LED doesn't improve light output and for visual only, if somehow wired to make the LED to work full power at DRL, the reflector housing will blind on coming traffic because you are on highbeam. Someone here said LED runs at low voltage will shorten the life of the LEDs. iJDMtoys also claim that all other models are like that such as Lexus IS, Acura TSX, Honda Civic which use DRL/high beam set up. For 55 bucks,I think doesn't worth the money. I rather just turn on the HID low beam all the time then.
I read and heard a lot about DDM turning, both good and bad. Due to my background from Subaru, I decided to get a set of morimoto to improve the intensity further more and give the light a bit more whitish, got 10% off, free shipping from LightWerkz. TRS is another major source, but lightwerkz did more retrofit work on subaru at the beginning, I know them a bit better.
The result looks very OEM from outside, light output was definitely improved. Color is a bit more white than the OEM halogen, still a bit yellowish with no tint of blue at all. Light intensity on the road is far better, I can see the signs more clear than before. Beam cutoff were the same, no way compare to OEM HID projectors. I checked the glare which is about the same as original, according to other forums, if glare is your problem, u can try to bend the metal pieces inside the housing to minimize the glare issue, or do a retrofit to get the best beam cutoff pattern and light output. Personally, glare is very minimal in our CX-5 projector and definitely not as big issue as those people driving with their high beam on without noticing themselves.(boom02)
Little notes on installation:
1. Took me more than 30 mins because the power hardness didn't fit perfectly inside the factory OEM bulb harness, I had to remove a small plastic housing to give more clearance.
2. Remove the headlight will give you way easier installation.
3. Although there are a lot of space under the hood, finding a spot to bolt the ballast instead of ziptied it took me more time than expected.
4. Remove the battery before doing any work, remove negative and then remove positive.
5. Test the system before tie down everything.
6. Get the 35W HID, a lot of people had problem with 55W system.
Picture:
There are all sorts of things people put in their car in socal here, purple blue green HID in halogen reflector housing, red blue green CCFL angel eye etc.
The kit I got was Morimoto H11 elite,35W, 4300k, and I did not do the fog light, so please no harsh word here, just sharing experience and mods here. (lol2)
The OEM halogen in the CX-5 are very bright in my view, but I was originally thinking about getting the LED for the DRL/High Beam. Went in and checked with iJDMtoys, they admitted the LED will only light on dim with low power DRL, but will emit full power at high beam, saw the demonstration there and the color is very white to me. Problem with that is I almost never use high beam, LED doesn't improve light output and for visual only, if somehow wired to make the LED to work full power at DRL, the reflector housing will blind on coming traffic because you are on highbeam. Someone here said LED runs at low voltage will shorten the life of the LEDs. iJDMtoys also claim that all other models are like that such as Lexus IS, Acura TSX, Honda Civic which use DRL/high beam set up. For 55 bucks,I think doesn't worth the money. I rather just turn on the HID low beam all the time then.
I read and heard a lot about DDM turning, both good and bad. Due to my background from Subaru, I decided to get a set of morimoto to improve the intensity further more and give the light a bit more whitish, got 10% off, free shipping from LightWerkz. TRS is another major source, but lightwerkz did more retrofit work on subaru at the beginning, I know them a bit better.
The result looks very OEM from outside, light output was definitely improved. Color is a bit more white than the OEM halogen, still a bit yellowish with no tint of blue at all. Light intensity on the road is far better, I can see the signs more clear than before. Beam cutoff were the same, no way compare to OEM HID projectors. I checked the glare which is about the same as original, according to other forums, if glare is your problem, u can try to bend the metal pieces inside the housing to minimize the glare issue, or do a retrofit to get the best beam cutoff pattern and light output. Personally, glare is very minimal in our CX-5 projector and definitely not as big issue as those people driving with their high beam on without noticing themselves.(boom02)
Little notes on installation:
1. Took me more than 30 mins because the power hardness didn't fit perfectly inside the factory OEM bulb harness, I had to remove a small plastic housing to give more clearance.
2. Remove the headlight will give you way easier installation.
3. Although there are a lot of space under the hood, finding a spot to bolt the ballast instead of ziptied it took me more time than expected.
4. Remove the battery before doing any work, remove negative and then remove positive.
5. Test the system before tie down everything.
6. Get the 35W HID, a lot of people had problem with 55W system.
Picture:
