Low Beam HID Conversion Kit

[onerun]

Thinking of converting my 2014 Mazda 5 low beam to the HID bulbs. I have the sport version and it has no auto day time running light system.
The low beams are projector beams and I wonder if the HID will cause too much heat and will melt the lens, reflector or the housing.
I think more likely the 35W HIDs will be safe but I really want the 55W HIDs.
Anybody out there has 55W HID kit installed? Any melting problem?
Thanks a lot.

 

[Vasy]

This is what I did on my 2012, I don't think 2014 had much change.
55 is overkill, stick with AC 35 watts.

 

[Silentnoise713]

35 watt unless you want potentially burnt harness/wiring (or planning to upgrade your wiring).

 

[Vasy]

35 watt unless you want potentially burnt harness/wiring (or planning to upgrade your wiring).

Why would he need to update wiring for 55 HID? Stock halogen burn 55/60 watts so should be no issues with 55 HID, is it?
It will be too bright/hot and might melt/damage the housing, but that's a whole other can of worms

 

[onerun]

Thanks guys, will stick with HID 35W

 

[onerun]

The reason for changing the wiring harness because the stock wires are only rated 8 to 10Amps max. The peak amperage for the 55/60 halogen is about 8amp for one second and then stays at 5 to 6 amp. The 35W HID peak Amp is about 7 amp for 20 secounds then stays at 3.5 amp. 55W HID peak amp is 10 amp for 20 second and then back to 7amp. If you don't change out the wires, there might be a chance the wire is going to get very hot for 20 sceonds, melts the shielding, and creats shots and catch fire. This is the reason why people needs to change out the harness.

 

[tuanies]

Does anyone know if the halogen and factory hid projectors are the same or different?

 

[torquelover]

Does anyone know if the halogen and factory hid projectors are the same or different?

I just looked up the headlights at a Mazda parts seller and the price differs for the housings so it seems they are different.

 

[phunky.buddha]

Different. The way HID capsules and incandescent bulbs emit light is fundamentally different- the housings have to be different to produce the proper beam pattern from each source. Technically you shouldn't put HIDs into a halogen housing, but the problems aren't as bad when you're starting with projectors. Reflector housings will always throw glare all over the place and just piss people off.

 

[Davebert]

I think what everyone is saying is that you can use a relay harness that runs directly off the battery via a relay. The relay is triggered by the stock lo-beam light to turn on the HID. So you are bypassing the OEM lo-beam wiring section

 

[ummduh]

Thinking of converting my 2014 Mazda 5 low beam to the HID bulbs. I have the sport version and it has no auto day time running light system.
The low beams are projector beams and I wonder if the HID will cause too much heat and will melt the lens, reflector or the housing.
I think more likely the 35W HIDs will be safe but I really want the 55W HIDs.
Anybody out there has 55W HID kit installed? Any melting problem?
Thanks a lot.

HID bulbs actually run at a lower temperature than halogen.

I've done a bit of research on this, and it seems as if Mazda projectors (halogen) tend to take well to HID retrofits. I normally do a full retrofit of real HID projectors but I'll try running a conversion in this car first and see how it goes.

You will need a relay style wiring harness, though. It's never a good idea to run a HID system on the factory wiring.

Do some reading at www.hidplanet.com

 

[Vasy]

You will need a relay style wiring harness, though. It's never a good idea to run a HID system on the factory wiring.

Not sure why you need a relay harness, mine works fine on stock. Have been running for a year now with no issues. DTRL are setup on the high beam, so no need for any wiring mods.

 

[oldpunk78]

I want to get a hid conversion for my high beams just for the folks that have the conversion bulbs in their non projector low beams.

 

[oldpunk]

I want to get a hid conversion for my high beams just for the folks that have the conversion bulbs in their non projector low beams.

Wow. I just noticed I have 2 log ins. I must have been drinking.

 

[Davicho]

Not sure why you need a relay harness, mine works fine on stock. Have been running for a year now with no issues. DTRL are setup on the high beam, so no need for any wiring mods.

4 years and counting on my DDM HID kit in my CX-9 with OEM wiring and no issues so far.

 

[phunky.buddha]

I've done a bit of research on this, and it seems as if Mazda projectors (halogen) tend to take well to HID retrofits. I normally do a full retrofit of real HID projectors but I'll try running a conversion in this car first and see how it goes.

I might follow this path too... although it's against all my preaching over the years of "don't cheap out and shove HIDs into your halogen housings!"

 

[ummduh]

Not sure why you need a relay harness, mine works fine on stock. Have been running for a year now with no issues. DTRL are setup on the high beam, so no need for any wiring mods.

Do you understand the factory circuit? Do you realize how much extra you're asking that factory circuit to handle? Constant power draw is lower than halogen yes, but the cold start surge can be quite a bit more. It may work, it may may not. It's still putting a lot of stress on a system not meant to handle it.

I know a lot of people that don't run fuses in their amp power wires too, and "haven't had any problems". I've also watched a guy's truck burn to the ground for the same reason.

Relays do a specific job, and they do it well. This is one situation that you should be using a relay.

 

[ummduh]

I might follow this path too... although it's against all my preaching over the years of "don't cheap out and shove HIDs into your halogen housings!"

I hear ya. I'm the same way. I've seen shots of the m3 projectors with HID's on hidplanet and they seem alright. I'm sure the spread and hotspots aren't quite right in person but thats hard to judge from internet pics.

 

[chad99]

Do you understand the factory circuit? Do you realize how much extra you're asking that factory circuit to handle? Constant power draw is lower than halogen yes, but the cold start surge can be quite a bit more. It may work, it may may not. It's still putting a lot of stress on a system not meant to handle it.

I know a lot of people that don't run fuses in their amp power wires too, and "haven't had any problems". I've also watched a guy's truck burn to the ground for the same reason.

Relays do a specific job, and they do it well. This is one situation that you should be using a relay.

With the hids on factory wiring, at worse case it will just melt the wiring and damage the ballasts no car fires.
As for no fuse at battery for amps...those people deserve to have their car burn to the ground that's just retarded but very funny to watch

 

[MAZDASPEED MX5]

With HID kits, you don't always get what you pay for. I spent a lot of time, a fair amount of money and bought a bunch of different bulbs to experiment with on my MX5 (which will run the same H7 bulbs as the Mazda5). Ultimately I am back to running the 35w DDM slim ballasts with The Retrofit Source 4300k H7 metal base bulbs, modified to be rotated 180 degrees in the housing to remove the shadow caused by the ceramic isolator. I'm still a big advocate for the German Osram 65w H7 bulbs (basically a H9 high beam bulb on a H7 base). The light is brighter, more conventional and raises no eyebrows. I'm waiting for warmer weather to install them in my wife's Mazda5. For more information on my tinkering, here is a link to my MX5 thread which would have very similar results on a Mazda5:

http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=393678