Who Has Personally Installed HIDs in their 2010 Mustang?
09-08-2009, 09:30 AM
#61
1st Gear Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: this one. the one with the 2 letters.
Posts: 131
Update
I masked the labels on the ballasts with electrical tape -- it now looks a bit more stock. I also moved the passenger ballast to the cavity just behind the bulbs. There is still plenty of room to service both the fog and main bulbs. On the driver side, I couldn't see what Bgmikejr was referring to - the air filter has a graduated step that would inhibit a solid mount for the ballast (ie the ballast is too big). Perhaps his ballasts were smaller so they mounted up nicer to the air filter. Anyhow, I mounted them to the shock tower area as shown.
Retro is huge on the quality of their ballasts and claim they don't have the failure rate and provide more consistency than the competitors. Not sure if that's marketing speak to explain why the ballasts are bigger. I will say the ballasts 'feel' substantial (both in weight and materials). Call me old fashioned - I used to lift a stereo receiver as a sort of test of the substance of the device - but in reading the comparison matrix on the retro site and experiencing the product first hand, I can say it's not a stretch that these are the finest aftermarket 'plug and play' HIDs you can buy.
I used heavy duty mounting tape to secure them (3M/Scotch model# 411/DC), which worked perfectly. If you grip a ballast and shake it, the whole car moves. Yet I can use a putty knife to remove/service if needed. I have a high level of confidence in the adhesive and feel much better about this vs. drilling holes in the body.
I drove the car again last night with the intent of getting someone to hit me with their brights, etc. No such luck - so far, so good. The pic below best represents how they look up against a wall:
I need to aim the lights; the passenger is a bit below the driver side. Not sure if it was already this way as the HID replacement is just a bulb going into the stock location. I had the best luck with the picture taking by turning the flash off and opening the shutter for a longer period of time. I set the camera on the windshield with the top open so as not to shake while shooting.
Hope this helps....
I masked the labels on the ballasts with electrical tape -- it now looks a bit more stock. I also moved the passenger ballast to the cavity just behind the bulbs. There is still plenty of room to service both the fog and main bulbs. On the driver side, I couldn't see what Bgmikejr was referring to - the air filter has a graduated step that would inhibit a solid mount for the ballast (ie the ballast is too big). Perhaps his ballasts were smaller so they mounted up nicer to the air filter. Anyhow, I mounted them to the shock tower area as shown.
Retro is huge on the quality of their ballasts and claim they don't have the failure rate and provide more consistency than the competitors. Not sure if that's marketing speak to explain why the ballasts are bigger. I will say the ballasts 'feel' substantial (both in weight and materials). Call me old fashioned - I used to lift a stereo receiver as a sort of test of the substance of the device - but in reading the comparison matrix on the retro site and experiencing the product first hand, I can say it's not a stretch that these are the finest aftermarket 'plug and play' HIDs you can buy.
I used heavy duty mounting tape to secure them (3M/Scotch model# 411/DC), which worked perfectly. If you grip a ballast and shake it, the whole car moves. Yet I can use a putty knife to remove/service if needed. I have a high level of confidence in the adhesive and feel much better about this vs. drilling holes in the body.
I drove the car again last night with the intent of getting someone to hit me with their brights, etc. No such luck - so far, so good. The pic below best represents how they look up against a wall:
I need to aim the lights; the passenger is a bit below the driver side. Not sure if it was already this way as the HID replacement is just a bulb going into the stock location. I had the best luck with the picture taking by turning the flash off and opening the shutter for a longer period of time. I set the camera on the windshield with the top open so as not to shake while shooting.
Hope this helps....
Last edited by NickelDime; 09-08-2009 at 01:02 PM.
09-08-2009, 10:11 AM
#62
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 1,162
That looks nice. There's just a tinge of scattered light above the cut off point but nothing major.
Is this the kit you bought? 35w/5k H13? $186 + $50 for coating.
Is this the kit you bought? 35w/5k H13? $186 + $50 for coating.
Last edited by Adam; 09-08-2009 at 10:19 AM.
09-08-2009, 11:46 AM
#63
1st Gear Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: this one. the one with the 2 letters.
Posts: 131
That looks nice. There's just a tinge of scattered light above the cut off point but nothing major.
Is this the kit you bought? 35w/5k H13? $186 + $50 for coating.
Is this the kit you bought? 35w/5k H13? $186 + $50 for coating.
I almost want to remove the driver side bulb and re-insert the stock halogen, then take another shot ...
09-08-2009, 12:32 PM
#64
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 1,162
09-08-2009, 03:39 PM
#65
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Alberta, Canada
Posts: 16
I got mine from www.stangmods.com. They had both the HID and fog light kit!!! Easy to install and unbelievable.
Last edited by Supafly; 09-08-2009 at 03:50 PM. Reason: add pics
09-08-2009, 08:50 PM
#66
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: VA
Posts: 28
NickelDime:
Looks good the install of the HIDS that is, the car as well
, The ballasts I have look like this http://www.americanmuscle.com/enlarg...d-ballast.html they look a lot smaller than the ones you have and also they are not that heavy at all, I have promised to post pics of my install but its rained here the past 4 days so once it stops I will post pics as promised, also the reason I am advising everyone to move the ballasts off of the body of the car is so the heat doesn't burn them up on those hot days and also cause I had that issue as stated in my last post and had to get a replacement ballast under warranty and then relocated to a better place. Also make sure when installing everything you plug it all up first then turn the car on to make sure it all works then mount everything with it all plugged up so that way you can hide as much of the wiring and excess stuff so it will look stock. Good call on the 3M tape as that will work as well, my car is black so I used black zip ties and made it look stock that way, you could have used white ones but I saw the pics you posted and looks just as good with the tape I just hope the tape holds when its real hot outside. I am very cautious when installing mods on my car and try to think of every possible issue that could cause issues when installing something so FYI is to take your time to install stuff and make sure you think about all the possible issues that could or might come up when locating something like the ballast for example. Just thoughts that I thought of when installing mine that's all. Not trying to make everyone sound stupid or anything just helping out from one mustang owner to the next
Looks good the install of the HIDS that is, the car as well
, The ballasts I have look like this http://www.americanmuscle.com/enlarg...d-ballast.html they look a lot smaller than the ones you have and also they are not that heavy at all, I have promised to post pics of my install but its rained here the past 4 days so once it stops I will post pics as promised, also the reason I am advising everyone to move the ballasts off of the body of the car is so the heat doesn't burn them up on those hot days and also cause I had that issue as stated in my last post and had to get a replacement ballast under warranty and then relocated to a better place. Also make sure when installing everything you plug it all up first then turn the car on to make sure it all works then mount everything with it all plugged up so that way you can hide as much of the wiring and excess stuff so it will look stock. Good call on the 3M tape as that will work as well, my car is black so I used black zip ties and made it look stock that way, you could have used white ones but I saw the pics you posted and looks just as good with the tape I just hope the tape holds when its real hot outside. I am very cautious when installing mods on my car and try to think of every possible issue that could cause issues when installing something so FYI is to take your time to install stuff and make sure you think about all the possible issues that could or might come up when locating something like the ballast for example. Just thoughts that I thought of when installing mine that's all. Not trying to make everyone sound stupid or anything just helping out from one mustang owner to the next
09-08-2009, 10:16 PM
#68
1st Gear Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: this one. the one with the 2 letters.
Posts: 131
thanks bgmikejr - yours is the first post I've heard of with heat issues. not sure if it's a difference in the brands or what. I'm curious as to what is different between the american muscle and retro ballasts myself. Retro says there are no issues with mounting directly to the frame, and I have combed these forums for any negative experience - other than the glare (cured by coating the bulbs, as is done with the stock halogens) I haven't seen anything that matches your experience.
