I have an 04' vw golf for a cheap "rack up miles going to and from work" car. The headlights suck on it. The lenses are clean, but the lights just aren't very bring. I've seen some HID conversion kits on amazon for $50-$75. Anyone tried one of these HID kits?  Any good?

The kits usually work well but are not legal. You need to upgrade the headlight assemblies to projectors to keep the HID kit from blinding everyone on the road since the old reflector style housings tend to scatter the light. They have to be aimed a bit differently too.  Its all doable though.

Try a set of Sylvannia Ultravisions or Silverstars. They are very bright.

I run DDM HIDs in my car...I had aftermarket projectors to keep from blinding people, But the adjusters broke and one was aimed at the ground and couldnt be fixxed..I am running the regular refractors right now and have them aimed conservatively low...It's not bad , obviously more then stock but not blinding like some of the other assholes out there..Like 50 percent of drivers who have 1 headlight aimed right and 1 aimed at your face or the guys who drive with their high beams on all the time Oh yeah, they are non-DOT legal, and if you get the really blue ones you may be bringing attention upon yourself.

IMO, Dont waste your time with silver stars. They cost as much as an HID kit, last about 3 months, and light output is VERY marginally better than stock. I ran through 2 sets in my car, and 1 in my motorcycle. I noticed no difference, except for color, increased price, and decreased lifetime.. To be fair in my motorcycle the high beam was SLIGHTLY better.

If you get the proper projectors, HID's are the greatest thing ever.

Check out the Morimoto Mini H1's at TRS.  They sell kits as well that come with all the wiring, HID's, and projectors.

If you just want to put them in your factory reflector housings, yeah, they'll make more light, but it won't be *good* light.

I would not recommend DDM - they have lots of quality related issues.  If you're serious about the lighting, spend the money on a quality HID kit.

My upgrade:

I would advise against the universal HID kits.

As stated above, upgrade to a true projector type housing at the same time, or not at all. When you use the universal kits on your standard housing, yes, total light output increases, but its wasted all over the place. Factory HIDs work so well because they focus all that light exactly where you need it. You may think the universal kit helps, but you will be putting others at risk, inviting a ticket, etc.

I found this with a quick ebay search. Item # 130802890099

If you really want to upgrade, I would at least go this route. And stick with 4300k. Going higher just looks "cool" to teenagers, you wont see any better, IMO.

Here is what a HID kit looked like in stock reflectors on my Excursion before I upgraded to projectors. Also the pattern on the ground in stock reflectors is all patchy.




This is Silverstars in factory headlights.  Lasted 2 years. Very bright with a clean cutoff

www.HIDplanet.com for all your answers
www.theretrofitsource.com for all your parts.

Just bought a pair of the silver star bulbs for the car. Thought I would try that before I spend $300 on the HID kit with projectors.

You will probably burn those bulbs out quickly. They never last that long.

Not disagreeing that the light output sucks out of halogen reflectors, but your passenger HID capsule wasn't seated properly in that pic.

i want to know what you guys are doing that you get such short life out of the silverstars. i have had them in my truck since 06 and only replaced them once. had them in the wifes jeep even longer and only had to replace them because we were in an accident.

Wish I knew!  Only got about 3 months out of my set on my old Accord.

I think that some people get finger prints on the bulbs....that will burn them out fast.

HIR bulbs