In for Service

Stealth87 said:

Took the Escape in for service this morning, routine oil change and inspection, all free of charge since I have the maintenance plan.

Asked if they could adjust my headlights, since I put in new HID lights. Tried to charge me 129 bucks to do so. I said get outta here and give me a call when it is ready.

Thinking maybe the HID lights may have been a premature decision. They look nice, but the light output seems to be all over the place. I read somewhere on here that the headlight housing is not meant for HID lights, which makes sense.

Might try to sell the HID lights and just upgrade to a brighter bulb like Sylvania Silverstars??

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Someone else just asked this question on the forum yesterday. I'll tell you what I told him, as politely as possible : people are not going to like you on the roadway. Everyone wants the HID bulbs because they look cool, but our housings are not properly designed for these bulbs. Like you said, they just shine all over the place, blinding every other driver on the road.

My opinion: sell those bulbs ASAP to someone with a proper projector setup, and then get some Silverstars or PIAA bulbs if you want an "upgrade".

Sorry if I come off as a jerk - that's not my intention. I just wish that everyone without proper HID projectors would stop putting these lights on their cars.

Airmapper said:

My Silverstar Ultras are great, very bright and nice white color. They won't last forever, good for about a year, maybe more, but to me it's worth it as I drive in the dark both in the morning and evening to work and back in the months with shorter days.

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I had silverstar ultra in one of my cars, but the bulb life was a lot shorter (only a few months at a time). I ended up buying some Philips Nightvision bulbs instead (great visibility, whiter light), and I've had them now for almost 2 years.

SUVord said:

The PIAA's I have give me good light and last long also.
As for the HID's slavrenz summed it up nicely, softly, gently, politely and without any ounce of dielectric compound!!!

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Lol, I just assumed dielectric compound was a given :lol:

Tang said:

kmoose said:

Of course, this is why British cars have headlamp adjusters so when you drive on the continent (our side of the road) you don't blind oncoming motorists with the extra light on the left side (their kerb, our oncoming traffic)

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Durp. I'm pretty sure I have headlamp adjusters in my car. If you wanted to raise or lower the beam, I'm sure you could.

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+1. Almpst every car has headlight adjusters - it's just a matter of taking the time to aim them