2004 to 2020 Mazda 3 Forum and Mazdaspeed 3 Forums banner

The Official 3rd Gen HID Picture Thread

155K views 280 replies 119 participants last post by  Domino81 
#1 ·
Feel free to post pictures of your aftermarket lights: HIDs, halogen, retrofitted projectors, etc.

Don't forget to state the brand, specifications, cost, and overall review.

I'll go first!
 
#2 · (Edited)
MORIMOTO ELITE HID SYSTEM

Specifications: 5000K / 35Watt

Cost: $150 - 20% memorial sale discount = $120 per pair

Review: A lot brighter than stock (about 2x as bright). I can kind of tell when my fog lights are on now (before I couldn't even tell if they were on or not). Looks a lot cleaner than yellow OEM color. Lights flicker VERY slightly (you can only tell when you are about 15-20 feet away from a solid white wall). Plug and play. No relay/harness required (although a harness would probably stop the slight flickering). The bulb with the black scratch in it doesn't light up as bright as the others since the cutoff on a wall is only about 85% as bright as the others (I'm considering buying a backup set of bulbs and returning the one with the black scratch in it). Overall I'm happy. Took me 2.5 hours to install by myself by turning the wheel to one side and going through the side fenders. I also changed out the turn signals to 5000K LEDs ^^

Note: Please do not flame me for putting HIDs in halogen projects and reflector fog lights. My friend and I took both of our cars and drove past each other multiple times and the brightness does not bother me at all. I do not need to squint at all!

One bulb came with a black etching that I couldn't scratch off :(


LEFT = OEM
RIGHT = 5000K


LEFT = 5000K
RIGHT = OEM


BOTH = 5000K


Daytime shot of 5000K
 
#10 ·
Specifications: 5000K / 35Watt

Cost: $150 - 20% memorial sale discount = $120 per pair
So you spent $120 after the discount and didn't even get a relay harness? You got ripped my friend. TRS sells their Elite kits for the same price($150 regular price) and you would have gotten everything you need, quality bulbs, quality ballasts, and the best relay harness on the market.

Just to clarify something for you guys, a relay harness isn't required for them to actually "work", but it is ALWAYS recommended. It provides stable voltage to the ballasts as well as safeguards the stock harness and headlight switch from the 24,000v arc at startup.
 
#8 ·
You are correct. Low beams and fog lights are H11.

The DRL for i models are 9005/H3B. However, you should know that LED DRLs require a resistor for it to work. I got my resistors from iJDMTOY.com. And I got my 9005 LED DRL from VLEDS.com. I still need to go to the hardware store to pickup screws and bolts in order to mount the resistor properly. I'll post pics of my 5000K LED DRL and probably a how-to when I install them sometime this month.
 
#4 ·
First off, WTF? I placed my order over labor day and i even asked before if they were running any specials and they said no. Also, i'll have to take a look at my kit tonight and see if either of my bulbs are messed up. I haven't installed mine yet. There is a thread on here that i guy posted in about his install and where to hid the wiring harness. You seriously don't see any of the pieces from the top of the motor
 
#5 ·
Sweet thread! I'm planning on doing some retrofitting sometime this summer.

I do have a question for those with some headlight knowledge. I have a iGT, but looking at the headlamps, it looks like halogen bulbs that are connected to projectors. Is this correct? In theory all I'd have to do is remove the halogen bulbs, retrofit ballasts and put in new bulbs? Or do I need to add projectors as well?
 
#6 ·
I also have the iGT and I installed the Morimoto Elite HID retrofit kit. I went with the H11 XB35 bulbs and the 3 five DSP ballasts. Great improvement! You DO NOT have to do any mods to the exsisting headlights. The iGT has very good projectors and will accept the HID bulbs. I also didn't have to re-aim the lights. They have a good destinct cut off.
 
#9 ·
Canadian GS

I just installed a set of Volts 4300k. A little too warm for my taste thought. I should've went with 5000k's.

Anyone else have a canadian GS model and installed some HID's?. I have some light spilling above the cut off line which I'm assuming are squirrel spotters of some sort? Sadly, it looks like I'll have to retrofit some proper projectors. :no:
 

Attachments

#12 ·
I just installed a set of Volts 4300k. A little too warm for my taste thought. I should've went with 5000k's.

Anyone else have a canadian GS model and installed some HID's?. I have some light spilling above the cut off line which I'm assuming are squirrel spotters of some sort? Sadly, it looks like I'll have to retrofit some proper projectors. :no:
You are correct, the light bleed off is from the squirrel finders. This is usually the only source of glare from halogen projectors because the finders are bigger than they are in xenon projectors so it allows a bit too much light above the cutoff.
 
#16 ·
So I know next to nothing about HID lights other than what I've read in the past week. I thought I was going to get new headlights themselves, then realized all I needed was a retrofit.

So for those who either have retrofitted a car or are considering it, did you prefer then H1 or the D2S if you when through The Retrofit Source? I've been trying to find a good pros/cons light (mainly it's personal preference), but I'd love to know what you think if you've put them on your Mazda yet.
 
#22 ·
In order to fit a new shroud, you'd have to cut out the existing shroud which is built into the hood that covers the guts of the assembly. DRL is a matter of the vehicle being wired and powered for it already. No matter what you do to the headlights, it'll still be there unless you either deactivate it through the BCM or pulling the relay or fuse associated with it.
 
#24 ·
That looks about right. When I had my DDMs last year, I purposely ordered the 4500K bulbs because I knew they would ended up being a higher Kelvin rating. Mine looked closer to 6000K as well.
 
#25 ·
I had DDM 5000k on my '06 Tiburon GT in the fogs and they were pure white.

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
 
#27 ·
I have changed my stock fog light bulbs to PIAA plasma ion yellow ones (H11) Cost was $100 CA

[/URL][/IMG]
How is light output vs stock? Is it more useable vs just for looks? Did you have to modify anything in the fog light housing for them to fit?

From the pictures it looks significantly brighter, but that could be the effect of the camera at night. Some users have reported the bulbs bumping into a reflector in the housing, even when sticking to H11 bulbs.

Either way it looks great!
 
#33 ·
Not many things use Candella as the light measurement anymore. OEM xenons are 3200 lumens(plus or minus 100 lumens). Most aftermarket HIDs will produce 3000 lumens or under. If you find a conversion chart, you could use that.
 
#34 ·
Are the projectors the same in the s models and the i models? I have an iTouring hatch and I put in 55W 5000k HIDs. The beam is very wide and scattered, and doesn't seem much better than the stock halogen. It is a little cooler and brighter... but minimal.
 
#50 ·
Hey guys, first poster here. So far I'm loving my 2014 Mazda3 - so much so that I couldn't resist buying a part or two for it.

I have the OEM halogens (non the xenons) and decided to install a TRS Morimoto 3Five kit with XB35 5K bulbs. I can't say I am very impressed with the kit.

From far away (30-40 feet) the projectors/light appear to be slightly different colours. I just spent the last bit troubleshooting and it's not an issue with how the bulbs are seated. Not sure if this makes any sense, but if I stand far away from the car and position myself at the 'centre' of the headlights/the middle of the grille, and crouch down, the projectors each clearly go through a different progression of colours. Near the pavement it even seems like one projector still has a halogen bulb in it, judging by cool.

Do I need to align my headlights? Any ideas why this might be? I'll try and snap pics tomorrow night.
 
#58 · (Edited)
No you dont need to align your headlights ! They're perfeclty aligned from the factory.
What you see is a "color cutoff" on the top of your projectors light beam.

When you see a BMW or other car with OEM Hids down the road coming your way you often see their headlights flicker with purple/orange/blue/yellow color, mostly when they hit bumps, that is a color flicker from the HID cutoff.
When they get closer to you you see they're in reality white or yellowish lights.



Some people work their headlights for multiple hours to get a nice colorful flciker like this.
Dont touch it !

With Morimotos XB35 your output should look like this:



See the blue/purple on top of the light output ? That color intensifies with distance. That's the color your seeing on buildings, stop signs, etc
 
#51 ·
Well i have the same kit installed and didn't have any issues. If you think the bulbs are different colors then contact TRS as there may have been a mix up on their end. I didn't have to align mine and never have on any car i've put hids into. I'll wait to see the pictures to get a better idea of what you are describing
 
This post has been deleted
#53 ·
Why on earth would you want to change from HIDs to halogens? HIDs put out more light and use less power and oem hids setups normally have better light output then just putting an aftermarket hid setup into halogen projectors.
 
#66 ·
I was surprised that the OEM bulb was Osrams 66440 in my 2014 mz3 GT.
I thought it came with Toshiba Harrisons like everyone was saying.
When I installed the CBI and reinstalled the fender well, I checked the bulb i just took out, i thought WTF? Did i just put the Originals back in?
But i looked carefully and one is 66440 and other is 66440cbi phewww,,i didn't take out all the tabs again.


I'll do output pics later
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top