Upgrading halogen headlights

[MikeM.]

The light MUST be exceptionally well controlled because it's made by MAZDA, don't you think Mike??

No, Mazda doesn't make the headlights, they are sourced from other companies.

I am basing my opinion on driving lots of different vehicles on dark rainy nights which we get a lot of this far north and backed up against the North Cascades. The rural roads that I drive regularly are not lighted so good headlights are a huge benefit. And these give the clearest view in inclement weather of any headlights I've used.

 

[kdaug]

Like some here I am looking to upgrade the halogens in my GT non-Tech DRL/highbeams. Now, I have added LED surrounds to my fog lights and they are so much more white in colour compared to my DRL's that I decided to disable them(DRL's) by pulling the DRL fuse. The only issue now is that at night when I need my high beams they look much more yellow than my LED's. So a highbeam halogen bulb upgrade is what I need....something giving off a much whiter light, as well as producing a similar beam brightness and distance as my oem bulb. I tried Sylvania's most expensive, and supposedly brightest and whitest bulb, their ZXE's but could see no noticeable difference in them compared side by side with my oem (bottom end) Sylvania's. There may me other up-market halogens out there that are brighter and whiter buy I doubt that it is any of Sylvania's(i.e. their Ultra's). I have read mixed reports above about PIAA and Phillips but nothing definitive. If these are indeed my best 2 choices I'd appreciate more proof from current users of either of these brands as to which is best(brighter, whiter and as long lasting as oem).

 

[kdaug]

I haven't noticed that. I use the OEM HID's on lots of rainy nights on dark backroads and they penetrate the rain better than even the best halogen headlights I've ever used. The light is exceptionally well controlled.

Mike...seeing that you have the Touring?? model am I correct in assuming that you don't have the Tech option. My understanding is that the Tech option is only available in the GT(Grand Touring ) model. If you don't have the Tech option it sounds like you upgraded your low beams to HID. If so, what brand did you buy?

 

[PatrickGSR94]

I "chickened out on the P&P HID (Morimoto) upgrade too, because after doing some further research on the cons of mixing halogen and HID components, I decided it was kind of a half-assed way to better lighting. I decided on another way that some here call half-assed, but has worked well. I replaced all four OEM halogen bulbs with Sylvania Silverstone Ultra bulbs and noticed a definite improvement in both low and high beam performance for about half the cost of the HID setup. The proof for me is now when I come down our dark street late at night I really don't see much difference between the CX-5's lights and those of my wife's Z4 BMW with adaptive HIDs.

It's not half-assed if you get a high quality setup (like the TRS kit), and wire it up in a thoughtful and careful way, taking care to be neat and tidy with everything.

I would want HID bulbs for longevity if nothing else. I did an HID projector retrofit on my Integra back in early 2004, and the car is still using the same Philips 85122 D2S bulbs today! I did a lot of night driving back then, more so than now, and I've put nearly 200,000 miles on the car since I did that retrofit. I'm sure the light output is quite a bit decreased now, but still, it's hard to argue with nearly 13 years on the same bulbs. And the ballasts are 14 years old!

 

[tibimakai]

I have my cheap Chinese set, for three years and they are always on and no issues. Except, sometimes the passenger side is not turning on.

 

[kdaug]

I have now bitten the bullet after researching ad naseum what upgrade of halogens to use for my high and low beams. I finally settled on the Philips Crystal Vision Ultra's with a supposed output of 4000K. I did compare their output colour to my oem bulbs and they do look marginally whiter. I was concerned about their reported shorter life span as compared to the oem variety, but since I rarely use my high beams and my DRL's have been disabled with my LED bezel fog light addition I think I should get more then the 1+ years out of them that many others report. The auto parts dealer I bought them from said that I could return them to their store for a refund any time up to a year if I am unhappy with them or 1/both of them fail, AND, if one or both should fail between 1-2 years that Phillips would refund my money. I paid less for these 4 bulbs than I would for an HID low beam upgrade, so, at the moment I'm happy.

 

[calebian21]

I've got a DDM Tuning HID kit for my low beams and couldn't be happier. They're super bright and crisp. Like $70 for them and a lifetime warranty.

 

[kdaug]

I've got a DDM Tuning HID kit for my low beams and couldn't be happier. They're super bright and crisp. Like $70 for them and a lifetime warranty.

Should my upgraded halogens be a bust in the near future I'd consider the DDM Tuning HID's for my low beams. Exactly what model and specs did you select as I see there are several option boxes to select from, i.e. Wattage, Bulb type, Bulb color, mounting brackets, harness, error eliminator and adapter cable.

 

[calebian21]

Should my upgraded halogens be a bust in the near future I'd consider the DDM Tuning HID's for my low beams. Exactly what model and specs did you select as I see there are several option boxes to select from, i.e. Wattage, Bulb type, Bulb color, mounting brackets, harness, error eliminator and adapter cable.

http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/UltraHIDKit
That is the link to the kit I got. I got the Ultra HID kit. H11 bulb. 5500 kelvin (ever so slightly blue) (I can post a pic if you'd like). 55 watt. You do not need any error eliminators, harnesses or any other extras. It is direct plug-and-play. Just make sure that you have the polarity correct when you plug them in or else they won't turn on.

 

[calebian21]

Should my upgraded halogens be a bust in the near future I'd consider the DDM Tuning HID's for my low beams. Exactly what model and specs did you select as I see there are several option boxes to select from, i.e. Wattage, Bulb type, Bulb color, mounting brackets, harness, error eliminator and adapter cable.

<a href='https://postimg.org/image/j4m97dgg5/' target='_blank'><img src='https://s18.postimg.org/j4m97dgg5/20161017_061559.jpg' border='0' alt='postimage'/></a>
It's a blurry picture but you can tell the color is almost pure white, it is extremely bright and the cutoff is very sharp.