[sqchram]

After a bit of reading on HIDplanet.com/forums and learning about HID systems I know that a retrofit using an HID projector is the best way to go, but I wasn't ready to plunge into such a large and expensive project yet.

35W HID's give about 3X more lumen output than regular halogen automotive bulbs. 55W HID's are about 40% brighter than 35W systems.

I got the Retro-Solutions 55W kit at the 5000K color temperature which is as close to neutral white as you can find. Email Todd and he can price you a single bulb kit. Although the ballast isn't a slim version it only uses 7.5A of power on startup which means I can use the stock wiring and don't need to put in a relay harness. It has a hot-restrike feature so the bulbs don't take as much wear if you turn them off then back on quickly. In general blows away the cheap crap DDM and slim kits you find on ebay.

Now the biggest concern with a HID kit in a halogen reflector is godawful glare that can blind oncoming drivers and make things unsafe for you. After doing as much research as I could I decided to play guinea pig and test a kit for my low-beam reflector to see how the fill and cutoff were.

Here is the kit, and a comparison of the halogen and HID bulbs: