Honda Car Forum

I just bought a 2008 honda civic Si and I was wanting to upgrade the headlights. I love the way the "blue" headlights look on the Lexus' BMW's Mercedes etc. I don't know what I need to do to upgrade to that look though. I see bulbs at stores like autozone bud I don't know if its just a tinted glass bulb or if they are actually xenon gas or what. I've seen "blue Lights" on cars but its not actually the bright Xenon lights cuz they actually look blue even up close, which true Xenon won't do. So is my only option an upgrade to a totally new headlight assembly? Also is there a difference betweed HID and Xenon?Thanks

HID just look bright but they do not perform well

Those lights you see in Autozone are simply halogen headlights with blue tint applied. While they'll give a look that's similar to HIDs, they do not offer any increased visibility.Also, Xenon lights (Or HIDs, the two terms are interchangable) can very well look blue up close. Xenon bulbs come in a wide variety of colors ranging from bright yellow to pure white, down to ice blue and even purple. What you're talking about is that OEM Xenon headlights like on those BMWs and Lexuses aren't really blue up close because manufacturers only use 4300K (Pure White) bulbs, and it's the headlight projector assemblies that produce the blue tinge at the edge of the beam that people think of when they see HIDs. Just keep in mind that pure white is not the only color available, so aftermarket HIDs can be all blue and still be HIDs.There may be a projector headlight assembly available for your Honda Civic which would make HIDs a more tangible project for you. The other option would be to use a conversion kit, which replaces your standard halogen bulbs with Xenon High Intensity Discharge bulbs that will fit your housings. This does not work well in most applications (especially reflector housings like your car and most others have) because the light produced by HID bulbs behaves very differently from the light produced by halogen bulbs, and can be reflected in places other than the road (Like into the eyes of people in oncoming traffic, potentially causing accidents.) To correct this, you can aim your now super bright and badly-reflected headlights more towards the ground, but it's difficult to find a happy medium between not blinding other drivers and having a safe amount of visibility.Your best bet would be to wait for a projector assembly for your car so you can do an HID conversion the right way, and I would imagine one will be forthcoming, as the Honda Civic is the top choice for import tuners everywhere.Keep in mind that it is illegal to convert your cars headlights to High Intensity Discharge bulbs when it came from the factory with halogen bulbs, so I can't recommend that you do so. However, I do agree that, when done right, HIDs can improve your nighttime visibility and give your car a very classy look.Best of luck with your new vehicle!

Buy an HID upgrade kit from mobileHID - best I've found on the net and a set of projector headlights from slickcar. I recommend TYC projectors. Whoever tells you HID sucks is an idiot, they put out 3 times as much light as stock bulbs and burn cooler and use less power, but they do require a ballast. just be sure to aim the projector headlights correctly so as not to blind oncoming drivers. you won't regret it. will cost around 600.

oh one other thing, putting HID into the stock reflector housing doesn't necessarily cause glare as EMB suggests. not saying that it never will. you have to buy the right re-based hid bulb so that the light is emitted at roughly the same spot on the hid bulb as the halogen bulb. mobilehid website covers this and their ballasts are waterproof. i would just buy tyc projectors and put hid in that but make sure the little metal wire on the outside of the hid bulb is on the underneath side of the bulb when you put it in the assembly or you will get glare. may have to dremel the hole a little larger for it to fit.