COBRA H.I.D. Conversion

[sdfletch]

Do a search on HID and you will find "maybe - hell no" ragarding the legality of the beams. Flashing by oncomming traffic is an indication of the problem. Be careful.

[Great Asp]

Originally Posted by sdfletch

Flashing by oncomming traffic is an indication of the problem. Be careful.

Agreed.

I get flashed driving my F250 with stock lamps (non-HID) I think because they are high (elevation above the road surface).

I have not been flashed in my Cobra with Gary's set-up, but I will check with my buddies tonight and see what they think.

Done right, HIDs seem to have less glare to me, in general. I do have mine pointed more down in front that could be, just to prevent blinding other motorists.

E

PS: I'm glad to find out "we people" have a new Pope! ....jk

[Mister]

I have been flashed once so far........ once in maybe 500 after dark miles on a variety of roads and conditions.

My daily driver has OEM HID's and I infrequently get flashed....less often now then when HID's were less common.

I think some, maybe most, of the flashes result from my headlights bouncing as a result of the road surface. I expect that the same will/did occur with the Cobra.

Mike

[Gary Morris]

Gentlemen,
I'm no expert, All I can say is I can see a lot better at night and being flashed has not been a problem. I think the shield greatly reduces glare and doesn't look any different than any other H.I.D. I have encountered on the road in my opinion.
I have 3 sets left before the next batch arrives so if you want a set quickly let me know at gary@candsperformance.com as I can ship them out today.

Thanks guys for all your support. Only 9 months till Austin!!!!!

Gary

[RallySnake]

I ran HID bulbs in three different types of headlights. The Hella lights were the best because they have a round screen in front of the bulb that reduces the glare. I always adjust them so that the are at curb level about 150' in front of the car. The bulb pattern was very uneven though and was hard to aim. I run rallys with lots of car guys who would tell me that the low beam on my car was brighter than high beams on other cars and very distracting when you are oncoming. I met a car coming around a gentle right hand curve once who just stopped with his arm over his eyes. That's when I decided to fix it.

One of the most compact HID projector units come from a Nissan Morano. I got a set for about $60 on eBay (without ballasts). My ballasts came from a Mercedes and I got them from a wrecked car very cheap (I don't remember how much). I wanted a headlight with a clear lens so the beam would not be dispersed and found a pair on the Internet for $25. I cut a 2 3/4" hole in the back of the headlight and used JB Weld to hold the projector inside. I also had to make the buckets a little deeper. That gave me a chance to practise my welding.

The light quality is so much better! You get a broad solid beam with a sharp cutoff that you can line up exactly where you want it. I angled the one on the right to be higher at the edge of the road and signs just glow. The real payoff is that oncoming cars are not flashing me and checkpoint workers are not blinded when we pull up. The secondary benefit is that the high beam is built right in with a little shutter that opens up the whole road.

If you are going to go HID, why not get the full benefit? Mine costs less than $200, but took a fair amount of work. The good news is, I'm not running people off the road anymore.

[Gary Morris]

There you go guys....Build your own and be politically correct in Kalifornia. Sorry guys I could not resist. Didn't know we had the H.I.D. Police watching over us. Rally...I know you are very adamant about this H.I.D. thing as I have read all your old posts on the subject. Just how many people did you run off the road before you decided to build your own? Not all of us are that creative and I really believe that none of us are purposely pointing these things straight up into people's faces. I've come across everything from Lexus to BMW and Mercedes that seem much brighter. Have I offended you in another life or something. If I have offended anyone on this topic I apologise as this was not my intent. I have some very cool H.I.D.s for Cobras and if you like them that's great and if not I guess you can build your own as I'm sure Rally Snake will show you how. that's all I'm going to say on the subject cause all that will happen is this will turn ugly and the people that know me know that's not my style. If you want a set let me know....if not that's cool to0!

Gary

[cdnus]

I installed Sylvania Silverstar sealed beams (H6024st) years ago. I found them very good plus reasonably priced & easily obtainable from most auto parts suppliers.
If you require more light than they provide you are driving entirely TOO FAST!!! for night time driving.
Or your eyesight is too poor for night driving.

Craig

[RallySnake]

Gary,

I am sorry the story of my experience offended you. I was hoping I could inspire you to create a better product. It sould be easy to undercut those other guys.

Paul

[jdean]

I've had a couple of cars with factory HID.....and been flashed once or twice a year. BUT I did not take them back to the dealer and complain that they were illegal or dangerous.

Gary, glad I bought them from you and I really don't know what you could do to make them better, even if it were proven they needed making better, which remains to be seen.

Based on the info from this thread they are looking like a better deal all the time.

Thanks!

John

[Gary Morris]

Paul,
No harm done and I as well hope I did not offend you as well. You did a lot of research to come up with what worked best for you and California is a lot more restictive than other parts of the country. I wish we had the capabilty to engineer a true beam but tried to put what was available and make it work. From what I have seen the shields in the headlights do cut down on the glare and make them user friendly. The ones on my GT500 are not shielded but are aimed down and so far no flashing to me has happened and I'm glad I put them in. Our Cobra Club is very strong here and everyone seems to love them as I only have 3 sets left until the next batch comes.

[Gary Morris]

Now 2 sets left....then it will be a few weeks to replinish but I can hold the price and put you on a list when the next batch arrives. Just let me know gary@candsperformance.com

Thanks guys,
Gary

[Gregg(What's his name)?]

Gary,

DO you guys take the AMX Card?

[Gary Morris]

It's not our favorite....but for you absolutely! Just give me a call.

Gary
972-578-3550

[Gregg(What's his name)?]

Gary,

I give you a call during the week.

Thanks

[Gary Morris]

Sounds Good Greg...uh Mr. President sir...I'll set a set back for you. that means I have
(1) set left before the next batch so ya'll let me know.

Gary

[351W]

As some of you know, I recently purchased one of the HID light kits from C and S Performance. The kit is pretty much like they say, ‘Plug and Play’, but as Mr. Murphy of Murphy’s Law fame says, ‘If it can go wrong, it will go wrong.’

Well, it did. The first indication I had that something was wrong was when the headlights would ‘click’ and not come on when the headlight switch was turned to its ‘on’ position. After a few phone calls and emails to C and S, Gary told me Mike would come by where my car is stored, and trouble shoot the problems. Unfortunately, I was not going to be in town when he was going to come by, so I took my car by their shop.

When I got there, Mike asked me to bring the car inside the shop, and then he asked me how it was wired. We went over a few things, got out the old volt-ohm meter, and one issue was found. One of the wires going to the first headlight had come loose from its connection, and after another unit was installed, the lights worked perfectly. I asked Mike how much I owed him, and he said ‘No charge’.

Here is the point of all this. When was the last time you bought something from anyone, had a problem with it, and the seller offered to come to you to fix the issue? When was the last time you went to a shop and was told no appointment was needed, no service charge, or charge of any kind? Like you, I have done business with all sorts of people, most of whom I will not do business with again. But these folks are different. What they have is customer service, and that is all to uncommon these days.

[Gary Morris]

I have 2 sets ready to ship before I have to place another order and wait for delivery. Just let me know.

Gary

[CCX 33239]

Seems to me the "blue lights" are more appropriate for the "tuner" crowd that the Cobra guys. Plus, I hate the damn things when they are coming at me....I'd like to see also!!!

[Gary Morris]

So I guess you don't need a set. Sorry you feel that way but it's all in how you aim them. As far as color the 6000K have just a very slight blue tint to them. If you really want a more blue "tuner" style I have the 8000K in my GT500 tuner.....yee haa!!!!!

Gary

[Stoney FFR]

Originally Posted by CCX 33239

Seems to me the "blue lights" are more appropriate for the "tuner" crowd that the Cobra guys. Plus, I hate the damn things when they are coming at me....I'd like to see also!!!

I saw a set of Gary's HID set up at a late night car show this past weekend on a Lone Star and they looked GREAT! I didn't really notice any blue tint to them. I think they looked great and were a bright WHITE. Gary, I may be contacting you soon for a set of my own for my FFR Cobra that I just got on the road a couple of weeks ago.

I was told that you are up near Keith Craft in Plano, right?

Joe - -