Bumper Removal, Headlight Removal, and HID Kit Installation

[SamirD]

So thanks to this beautiful visual tutorial, I finally tackled changing the driver's side low beam. And while I was there, I changed both low beams to PIAAs and installed PIAA ion foglight bulbs. The foglights are actually easily accessible from underneath if you remove the plastic panel closest to the front of the car. I went ahead and did this because at first I didn't remove all of the screw-washer ones (because I didn't read and just looked at the pictures ) so it was easier to see what it was catching on.

Next trouble point was the clips, which luckily I figured out without reading what was posted previously about them being two piece. I've seen these before so I used a 14mm wrench to keep the base down and slowly wedged a screwdriver underneath and the head popped up very easily. I didn't break any clips at all.

I removed the driver's side headlight harness plug by simply squeezing with all my might. I got it off, but the sheet amount of force I was applying had blood shooting out from under my fingernail after I was done. Ouch.

Final toughy was the disconnecting the foglight harness from the light assembly. It simply would NOT slide out of its holder. After several attempts, I simply took a screwdriver to the back of the holder and carefully pushed back on the two tabs holding it in until it came out--still attached to the harness connector. Even after looking at that holder, I still couldn't figure out how it was going to slide out of there.

I did cheat a bit as I left the passenger side assembly in after I couldn't remove the plastic cover over the light even after popping out all 4 fasteners. This is a side I can access the low beam, so I went ahead and just did it the old school way.

I'm pretty happy with the results. I'll be driving in a bit, so I'll have some more feedback in a while.

BIG thanks to KuroNekko for this stellar writeup. I'm sure the number of people that have been helped by it is a lot, myself included.

[Ronzuki]

Yep, def stellar. The first time I did it, I studied Kuro's pics before undertaking the task. This is one of the most complete how-to's along with his piece on removing the adjustment plugs... everything you need to know about Kizashi headlights.

[KuroNekko]

Glad to hear it's useful and appreciated. I always liked tutorials on forums so I wanted to contribute to them. They also bring in a lot of site traffic which is necessary for keeping a small forum like this alive.

[SamirD]

Glad to hear it's useful and appreciated. I always liked tutorials on forums so I wanted to contribute to them. They also bring in a lot of site traffic which is necessary for keeping a small forum like this alive.

It would be interesting to see the referral metrics on the headlight and tpms tutorials. Just judging from how active these two older threads have stayed definitely gives some clue as to how many people have been helped.

[KuroNekko]

Note:
There is a minor error in the harness description in the tutorial. The harness doesn't connect to the LH HID bulb but actually to the car's H7 connector in the LH headlight. This is how the kit is turned on and off via the car's headlight wiring. I'll edit the error at a later time.

I made the correction. I didn't alter the photo or the label in it, but noted the error and the correction in the photo description within the tutorial in red text. However, this is a labeling error on my part and won't actually cause you to install the kit incorrectly or ruin anything. You'd actually notice my labeling error pretty quickly if you were installing this kit or very familiar with HID kits. In fact, it's the experts at TRS that noticed it when I shared this tutorial with them.

Again, the bulbs are powered via the HID ballasts. The mislabeled harness actually connects to the headlight's H7 connector and is how the bulbs are controlled (on/off). In kits without an HD harness, both headlights will have to be connected to power the bulbs. The HD harness does away with that need by getting the power directly from the car battery.

[SamirD]

I'll be referring to KuroNekko's writeup again...as well as my own notes on how to take the bumper off as both low beams are out again.

[delusional29]

Hi all, any advantage/disadvantage to installing the 50w ballast? They say it's brighter but shorter bulb life. Thoughts?

Was eyeing this kit here:

Edit: Ended up going with the 5500k kit to avoid it looking too "blue" since I'm not planning on upgrading my fog lights just yet.

Thanks!

[LPSISRL]

I found the 35W to be plenty bright in an HID. Personally, I get REALLY annoyed at folks who blast out nuclear explosion equivalent headlight beams. It's not necessary for illumination and I find being blinded at night dangerous. Especially the dorks who put them in standard reflector assemblies for which they are not designed.
I paid about $100 less for mine and they came with a rubber seal for the hole that needs to be drilled in the dust cap.

[KuroNekko]

Hi all, any advantage/disadvantage to installing the 50w ballast? They say it's brighter but shorter bulb life. Thoughts?

It's a compromise. You get brighter output but a shorter bulb life and shorter warranty. This is because all HID bulbs are designed to run on 35W ballasts. Hence, the higher wattage is essentially overdriving them which causes the reduction in service life.

I personally think that sacrifice may be worth it if you need maximum output for very dark roads in rural areas with no street lights and there's a risk of hitting wildlife. Otherwise, the 35W ballasts are the more sensible option for any HID system. My Morimoto 35W kit is nearly 4 years old and still running on the original bulbs and ballasts.

[delusional29]

My Morimoto 35W kit is nearly 4 years old and still running on the original bulbs and ballasts.

That's what I want to hear! My goal is to change my lights less frequently.

Thanks all!