HID Conversion Kit

You've seen the intense radiance from the headlights of an S2000 or a BMW, usually as it barrels down the other side of the road or in your rearviews. The brilliant, blue-white hue of the xenon beams catches your eye. It wasn't long ago that high-intensity discharge (H.I.D.) headlights were reserved for cars with hefty price tags. If your car isn't H.I.D.-equipped, don't stress. You'll just have to work a little harder to enjoy them.

To bridge the H.I.D. gap between car enthusiast classes, we found a solution using parts by HIDPlanet.com. Its H.I.D. kit includes a set of bulbs, ballasts, ballast boxes, pigtail plugs and the company's new Lite-Glow projectors. These parts are replacement parts for cars with OEM xenons. The projectors went in a set of headlights from Pro Car Parts, an Internet parts provider.

The lights will be installed in project EG8, Editor Bob's ex-fifth-gen Civic. (A big thanks to the guys at L-Con Engineering for letting us use their shop.) Finally, check your local/state vehicle codes before retrofitting xenon projectors into your headlights. Single xenon projectors like ours don't have separate high and low beams. If high beams are necessary, opt for bi-xenon projectors.

First, we separate the headlight's glass lens from its housing and use a flathead screwdriver to remove the retaining clips holding the two pieces together.	We remove all of the minor parts attached to the housings. On the EG headlights that Pro Car Parts sent us, we only need to remove the corner light brackets.	The best tool for detaching the glass lenses is a heat gun. The one we use has dual heat settings-750 degrees F and 1100 degrees F. We use the low setting for this project. The silicone sealant between the housings and the lenses will come out easier when it's hot. Make sure to keep the heat gun moving to avoid melting the housing in any one area.
Use a screwdriver or a knife to scoop out excess glue. Patience is key here. The lens should pull away easily. If need be, focus heat on the areas difficult to separate. Careful, though; using excessive force can bend or break the housing, or even worse, crack the glass lens.	The adjusting screws hold the reflector in the housing. Loosen the three Phillips screws and remove the reflector from the housing.	We remove the stock bulb retaining clip from the reflector housing to make room for the projector, then also remove the screws holding the inner reflector to the reflector housing.