Want to replace halogen assemblies with xenon

[funcen2]

Turing 50, getting much more difficult driving at night. Especially on rainy foggy ones. My last car had the xenons and I loved them. I don't have the ultimate package, just the other two, so I just have halogen. After doing enough research on higher output halogens, hid and xenon conversion kits, I am leaning towards replacing the entire headlight assemblies with the xenons that come with the ultimate package. I see them on E Bay and other areas. Around 350 to 450 average price. If I remember correctly, the dealership told me I'd also need a new wiring harness??? Anyone that has done this, feedback would be great. I just want the best possible vision I can get without affecting my safety or the safety of others, something I wouldn't have thought about 20 or more years ago!
Thank you!

 

[AustinTX]

I found the Xenon lights to be disappointing for two reasons:

1. Aimed way too low from the factory - cut off very close to the car - I had that adjusted by my Hyundai dealer, they didn't charge me for it.
2. Lack of Adaptive Front-Lighting System. Mt Chrysler 300 and my Audi A6 (in 2005!!!) had that feature, and I couldn't even imagine anyone would sell Xenons without AFS anymore. Available on the VW Golf compact, but not on a Genesis luxury car.

Someone here posted how they added the Korean Market LED headlights http://genesisowners.com/hyundai-genesis-forum/showthread.php?19608-We-Brought-the-Korean-version-of-Full-LED-HID-lights to their car, that might be an option for you as well.

Please be aware that HID (Xenon) and full-LED headlights will not necessarily provide better performance in real world driving. The IIHS recently tested several headlight technologies http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/desktopnews/first-ever-iihs-headlight-ratings-show-most-need-improvement and found that good Halogens will outperform poor Xenons and LEDs - Hyundai and Kia got the lowest ratings for the vehicles tested (no Genesis was included in the test), with both Halogens and Xenons.

My advice: Before you spend money, ask to test drive a Xenon equipped vehicle on your daily drive at night (if you are near Austin, TX, I'm happy to let you try my Ultimate spec car). You won't find any full-LED equipped cars in North America, so that will be harder to try out ...

If you decide to upgrade, make sure the installer will guarantee that the Xenons will work to factory specification (i.e. right harnesses, etc.) and that they will adjust the headlights to where they illuminate not just 30 feet in front of the car, like the factory Xenons do (yeah, maybe more than 30 feet, but not by much).

I hope you find a good solution,

AustinTX

 

[srobak]

1. Aimed way too low from the factory - cut off very close to the car - I had that adjusted by my Hyundai dealer, they didn't charge me for it.

This has been the case for almost every projector-based headlight on a Hyundai for at least the last 5 years - be it halogen projector or xenon. On the G2/80 it is a 2 minute fix with an 8in #2 philips screwdriver that involves no dismantling.

2. Lack of Adaptive Front-Lighting System.

This is partly true. It levels at vehicle startup depending on vehicle load/chassis angle - but then doesn't adjust again until the car is put in park and the chassis angle changes. This annoys me too - but it is what it is, and probably attributes to part of the lesser cost of the vehicle vs. the competition. Those are not cheap systems.

Someone here posted how they added the Korean Market LED headlights [...] that might be an option for you as well.

Way overkill for this problem - and a bloody expensive option at that.

Please be aware that HID (Xenon) and full-LED headlights will not necessarily provide better performance in real world driving. The IIHS recently tested several headlight technologies and found that good Halogens will outperform poor Xenons and LEDs - Hyundai and Kia got the lowest ratings for the vehicles tested (no Genesis was included in the test), with both Halogens and Xenons.

Likely attributed to the bad alignment from the factory. My G2 has stock 5000k HID and once adjusted for proper alignment - they are fantastic - despite shooting through a frosted projector lens. They key is to use good quality parts if you are going to upgrade your headlights.

The good news for funcen2 is that he does not need to replace the headlights or conduct a full retrofit. The Retrofit Source is hands-down the best rated shop to get quality components and kits from - and has been for years. I have done a half-dozen upgrades, partial and full retrofits - including 4 complete projector units fully retrofitted into my Honda Goldwing motorcycle and bulb upgrades in my halogen projector-equipped 2011 Azera which made a massive difference & improvement - just like what the OP is seeking. You can read about that job here: http://www.hyundai-forums.com/tg-2006-2011-azera/300298-hid-your-2011-azera.html. This was a 35w kit and worked great with a major improvement in brightness. A bulb/ballast/wire kit is all you need to do what you are wanting to. You do not need to replace the headlights or do a full-on retrofit. The halogen-bulbed G2 already comes with projectors... so you can use them.

It took about 3 hours overall but was easy enough with a simple set of tools and some patience. If you don't have the patience however - a car stereo or mod shop could do this for a couple hundred plus parts. I have been using TRS exclusively for all my HID mods since about 2007 and they have been awesome. I've only ever had 1 failed part which they replaced no problem. They have great kits and well designed wire harnesses and adapters, quality bulbs and optics and trouble-free ballasts from Morimoto. I have zero complaints with them. They are helpful over the phone and by email and are always happy to help solve a problem or engineer a new solution. If you want to see the job I did on the Goldwing you can check it here ( http://gl1800riders.com/forums/4-ge...upgrades-mods-mostly-electrical-lighting.html ) - but that is way above and beyond for what the OP is looking to do... though it does show what a full-on retro can yield

I am happy to help & answer any questions on doing the bulb & ballast install if you want. Just hit me up here.

 

[funcen2]

Thanks for the response. To be clear, the current assemblies are the same for halogen or Xenon? I just do not want to blind others. I was just driving last night and was commenting to my wife about all these conversion kits and how
damn bright they are for oncoming cars. On my own road, dead end country road, I literally had to stop because the oncoming car was so blinding, i couldnt see. I always have nice choice words for these (mostly) kids that do them with no regard for others Thanks, Brian

- - - Updated - - -

Great advice, thanks, Brian

 

[srobak]

That is largely because people are putting bulb kits in reflector housings. You are putting it in a projector housing with a cutoff shield - and you can adjust the height for the cutoff. Check out the first link in my previous post - you can see the cutoff I had in the Azera and how well it worked after the HID upgrade.

Reflector housings are set for a specific focal point of the light source - which is not in the same location on an HID bulb as it is on an incandescent (halogen). Moving that focal point (HID) changes the reflection angle and therefore scatters light everywhere. No such issue with a projector.