What have you done to your CX-5 today?

[sm1ke]

Thought about doing something similar. I replaced my halogens about a year ago and am already thinking they are less bright now (or my eyes are worse). When I asked about HID bulbs last year the consensus seemed to be that you need to retrofit the halogen housing with proper HID housing, not just the bulbs.

I think I am going to try different bulbs again. Maybe some Osram Nightbreakers. But then again, maybe not...lots of "short life" reviews.

Sigh.

"Need" may not be the right word. When upgrading to HID bulbs, you should also upgrade the housing (or retrofit projector housings into your existing housing). This is primarily because the HID lighting amplifies the "hot spots" in a halogen housing, resulting in a lot of light pollution and glare for oncoming vehicles. That's likely why ruthrj had to do a headlight adjustment. Retrofitting projector housings into halogen housings is generally far more expensive than simply installing a cheap HID kit from DDM, which is why its such an attractive option.

 

[ruthrj]

"Need" may not be the right word. When upgrading to HID bulbs, you should also upgrade the housing (or retrofit projector housings into your existing housing). This is primarily because the HID lighting amplifies the "hot spots" in a halogen housing, resulting in a lot of light pollution and glare for oncoming vehicles. That's likely why ruthrj had to do a headlight adjustment. Retrofitting projector housings into halogen housings is generally far more expensive than simply installing a cheap HID kit from DDM, which is why its such an attractive option.

exactly. Others were right about the stock CX-5 projectors: they work really well for HID kits. The light output is better the my ‘19 RAV4 LEDs, albeit the cutoff isn’t as clean. HIDs are a complete no go for reflector housings. I wouldn’t ever consider 55 watt HIDs. The 35 watt kit is plenty bright and anything brighter would be overkill.

I’m going to start a new job soon working second shift and better headlights were a must. The stock halogens are just too dim for me and commuting at night. Only knock I have on DDM is the shipping time. my order came straight from China lol

 

[sm1ke]

I’m going to start a new job soon working second shift and better headlights were a must. The stock halogens are just too dim for me and commuting at night. Only knock I have on DDM is the shipping time. my order came straight from China lol

Hell, their kits are so cheap that I would have no problem ordering 2 kits just to have some backup components/bulbs for emergencies, lol

 

[ColoradoDriver]

The stock halogens are just too dim for me and commuting at night.

Agreed. I find I often have a hard time seeing at night.

 

[PatrickGSR94]

That's odd, I find the stock halogen projectors on our 2014 to be pretty satisfactory. But my Integra has had an HID projector retrofit since 2004 so of course I want to go HID on the CX5 also. But I'll likely use the stock projectors since they work decently well with HID, unlike the Integra's stock 9006 projectors which were total crap with HID.

 

[PatrickGSR94]

Installed HID lights on my 2013 Sport. They look fantastic. I did the plain DDM Tuning 35W 4300K set on the low beams. No extra hardware required, just that kit and some Gorilla tape to adhere the ballasts. I wish I could remember which user recommended these. They were spot on. The color is a great white. Not yellow or blue.

The headlights needed a good deal of downward adjustment. I was able to get a clean line that ends about 100 ft down the road just doing a quick and dirty eyeball adjustment on flat road.

next time I drive at night I’ll have to test FM reception. Absolute best mod I’ve ever done for A car, especially considering the low $35 price tag.

100 feet in front of the car isn't nearly far enough. At 70 MPH you're moving 102 feet per second. You should aim your headlights properly, which is to park in front of a vertical wall at ~25 feet away, measure from the ground to the center of the projectors, then on the wall measure the same distance but subtract 2 inches. The lower side of the projector cutoff should meet that mark on the wall.

That keeps the cutoff below horizontal so as to not blind oncoming motorists, but also allows for maximum illumination distance down the road.

 

[ruthrj]

100 feet in front of the car isn't nearly far enough. At 70 MPH you're moving 102 feet per second. You should aim your headlights properly, which is to park in front of a vertical wall at ~25 feet away, measure from the ground to the center of the projectors, then on the wall measure the same distance but subtract 2 inches. The lower side of the projector cutoff should meet that mark on the wall.

That keeps the cutoff below horizontal so as to not blind oncoming motorists, but also allows for maximum illumination distance down the road.

sorry, I should have mentioned I was going to do just that (actually just finished before finding your post). The Mazda instructions are really good at providing diagrams to do what you describe. By quick and dirty I really did mean quick and dirty lol. The HIDs in the halogen projector without adjustment looked like high beams. I cranked them down quickly in case I had to drive at night in a hurry. It’s much more accurate now ; )

 

[ruthrj]

That's odd, I find the stock halogen projectors on our 2014 to be pretty satisfactory. But my Integra has had an HID projector retrofit since 2004 so of course I want to go HID on the CX5 also. But I'll likely use the stock projectors since they work decently well with HID, unlike the Integra's stock 9006 projectors which were total crap with HID.

you’ll be very happy with HID lights in the stock halogen projectors. It was the halogen bulbs that left something to be desired. Just shy away from 55 watt kits. I read the bulbs are too long for the stock halogen projectors, might melt the housing, could melt the electrical harness, etc.

 

[Chevyrelic]

Had PPF installed on the front bumper, top trim in front of hood, headlights and outside mirrors. I also had the front windows tinted with 30% ceramic film. Oh, and I bought and installed a cell phone holder that fits between the two a/c vents. It actually looks fairly decent and it works great.

 

[CX-5um]

Pretty cool.....what brand PPF you went with?

 

[Chevyrelic]

Pretty cool.....what brand PPF you went with?

The ppf was Llumar Platinum. Llumar IRX 30 on the front windows. Hopefully I’ll notice some benefit in the Florida sun...

 

[Chris_Top_Her]

Car came back from the shop with one new light and one 6 year old light, so I puckered up and bought a new light from the dealer :s.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

Oil change over the weekend. Went 5w30 again.

 

[yrwei52]

Oil change over the weekend. Went 5w30 again.

I may have missed these info you posted, but what was the oil consumption rate with previous 5W-30 comparing to 0W-20 on your engine? How many miles on the old oil? And what kind of 5W-30 you’re using?

 

[ColoradoDriver]

I may have missed these info you posted, but what was the oil consumption rate with previous 5W-30 comparing to 0W-20 on your engine? How many miles on the old oil? And what kind of 5W-30 you’re using?

This particular interval was 7880 miles (oil change performed at 88,983 miles, previous was 81,103 in May). I did add half a quart during that interval. On the 0w20, it would have needed a full quart. While not solved, it is reduced oil consumption. I'm wondering if I should use one of those higher mileage oils (75k+) next time. I didn't think about it here.

Drained was the Pennzoil Platinum 5w30. This time, the Castrol Edge 5w30 was $2 cheaper, so I went with that.

I have 2 samples I need to send in. My last 0w20 from May and then this 5w30 Pennzoil Platinum. Will be interested to see how they both turned out.

 

[Chris_Top_Her]

Purchased a vent gauge pod to relocate my gauges from the A-Pillar.

Block8head Custom vent pod

Block8head Custom vent pod. 10,833 likes · 9 talking about this. Custom vent pod holder for your gauge..

www.facebook.com

http://www.block8head.com/

(Pictured in mz3)

 

[Avoidin Deer]

I miss the old days when a reasonable compliment of gauges was standard.

I purchased an OBD2 reader and a 7" tablet to set on the infotainment screen (worked out a mounting system) so as to add more gauges to my car, but I'm still waiting for ScanTool to issue their 2019 Mazda-specific PIDs. My limitation then will be lack of basic sending units/monitored points (like oil pressure).

Regarding your gauges, I like that installation. I clicked on your link and see the guy's got a healthy backlog of orders. That's called a Good Problem.

 

[Raprider]

New tire (singular)...picked up a nail in the passenger rear of the nearly new Geolandars that the dealer had installed before I bought the 2016.5 GT last month...was too close to the sidewall for plugging...
Fortunately, I had bought a "protection package" that included tires. Package cost a grand...tire was worth about $200...
Last week, I had about a 6-inch curb rash on the same rim repaired under the package, so I'm about half way to even

It's just now occurring to me as I'm typing this that the nail was in the same tire/wheel that was just repaired the prior week...coincidental, I'm sure, but a head-scratcher all the same.

 

[Chris_Top_Her]

I'm getting xpel ppf on my new headlights tomorrow, I might get the bumper done since it got replaced.. but that's a couple hundred to do.

 

[Raprider]

Installed the low-profile rear headrests I bought from ghost_ix.
If you've been thinking of getting these...well...NO BRAINER!!!

for the headrests AND for ghost_ix!