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Lightforce XGT to HID conversion...

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 6:33 am
by bushy555
Its been a while but...
...Initial workings of a modified XGT to become a HID is looking good. Picks to come some time when I get around to it. Yeah, yeah, I'm teasing I know and I should have only posted this when I had pics.

Unfortunately biggest prob is the XGT's that I have are fully encased, ie, no screws to enable to put the HID ballast inside. The entire rear of the housing is one piece, with the front plastic lens just glued in place, with four screws to open up the small rear section to change bulbs.
Does anyone know if this may be an early or a late version of the XGT housing? Is there a different XGT housing whereby you can open it up, such as that as the 240HID?
So... at this stage ballasts still need to be external. Which is a shame.

If I make up a proper H1 HID bulb adapter, anyone here that may be interested?


Lightforce 240HID's and Hella Predators both use 35w HID bulbs.
42w HID kits are now available on ebay for $300.00. Sweet!

Lightforce Lance, Striker and Blitz adapters for HID bulbs are already available.

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 8:29 am
by -Mick-
just out of interest Bushy I've just purchased the 42w HID kit. I'll post up the results when its installed :)

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 9:43 am
by CRUSHU
MMM...I was under the impression that they were the same housings... bastards!!

I am keen to see this.

Also, what is the going rate for HID H4 kits with high and low beam?

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:55 pm
by GQ TROL
Bushy,
We would be keen on a pair of HID adpaters for the XGT's. Let me know how you get on.

Cheers
Mitch

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 5:20 pm
by bushy555
>just out of interest Bushy I've just purchased the 42w HID kit.
>I'll post up the results when its installed

Yeah - please do dude. I'll be very interested myself.


>MMM...I was under the impression that they were the same housings...
> bastards!!

well... so was I ! And now I am bloody confused coz LF web site kinda state that they are similiar to that of the 240HID. I need to go looking at more XGT's to compare...

> Also, what is the going rate for HID H4 kits with high and low beam?
Bright light auto parts (sells on ebay) $430 for a buy now price (35w).
I got my hi-hid/lo-hid 35w kit in september for around $320.00 off ebay from some other dood, who no longer sells stuff. They come and they go.

bitdistribution is $550 (35w). Looks like they dont have it in 50w.
Bloke in Wagga runs 50w hi/lo HID's in his SS B&S ute. Next time Im talking to him I'll ask him where he got his from - He's had them for probably well over 12 months now.

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 5:51 pm
by BowTieGQ
I can get spot HID's with ballast built into housing 35w for about $300ish. Why convert when you can bolt on?

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 8:58 pm
by CRUSHU
gee, just had a look, lots of kits for $220 and up! i am still looking for a hi lo H4 kit though.
looks like 6000k - 8000k are the brightest colours, and white. the bluer ones (10000 & 12000) are actually dimmer.

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 9:32 pm
by turps
CRUSHU wrote:gee, just had a look, lots of kits for $220 and up! i am still looking for a hi lo H4 kit though.
looks like 6000k - 8000k are the brightest colours, and white. the bluer ones (10000 & 12000) are actually dimmer.
From what I have seen by all there fancy charts etc. 4500k is the brightest.

I have 50w 6000k in a pair of Hella 4000's and they appear slightly blue. Next set will be 5000k at the most.

Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2006 9:28 pm
by Big Red Toy
i run 4500k hid's as normal headlights, sooooo much brighter than 6000k

So can we convert xgt's yet???

Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2006 12:54 pm
by Mudzuki
-Mick- wrote:just out of interest Bushy I've just purchased the 42w HID kit. I'll post up the results when its installed :)
Any word on the 42W kit yet??

Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2006 5:24 pm
by -Mick-
Mudzuki wrote:
-Mick- wrote:just out of interest Bushy I've just purchased the 42w HID kit. I'll post up the results when its installed :)
Any word on the 42W kit yet??
I'd only bought it 15 minutes before that post dude. Should get it this week :)

Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2006 4:54 pm
by -Mick-
42w HID kit is installed :cool:

Won't be able to get pics of the light till tonight and even then the pics of hids I've seen before don't really do them justice. Got some pics of the install though..... simple stuff :D

The box

Image

The back

Image

English for dummies - the box and instructions are full of pidgeon english lol:

Image

I mounted everything behind the bullbar cause its solid and easier than cramming it in the engine bay! 2 ballasts and 2 starters live there now. The kit was really good quality with solid connections and nicely built ballasts etc. The instructions were crap but once you figure out the flow its no worries. 12v into the ballast, ballast out into the starter, starter into the bulb...... had to modify a little but if I can do it any monkey can!!!!!!!!

I'm still using my old IPF loom for the 12v in supply so it still does the whole high beam only thing, nice and legal like...........

Image

Starter hidden away in there

Image

Connection into the light. Shortish cables so I holesawed a path into the bar!!!!!!! Old aluminium bar melts like butter with a quality saw!!!!!!

Image

Try to get some piccies of the light tonight

Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2006 4:57 pm
by bogged
-Mick- wrote: I mounted everything behind the bullbar
2 ballasts and 2 starters live there now.
are these things that should be kept dry since they get hot? Not sure just asking.

Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2006 4:59 pm
by -Mick-
bogged wrote:
-Mick- wrote: I mounted everything behind the bullbar
2 ballasts and 2 starters live there now.
are these things that should be kept dry since they get hot? Not sure just asking.
well they recommend in the instructions to mount them in the engine bay so guessing not :)

Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2006 8:06 pm
by CRUSHU
-Mick- wrote:
bogged wrote:
-Mick- wrote: I mounted everything behind the bullbar
2 ballasts and 2 starters live there now.
are these things that should be kept dry since they get hot? Not sure just asking.
well they recommend in the instructions to mount them in the engine bay so guessing not :)
The engine bay is a typically dryish area.....

Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2006 8:21 pm
by Big Red Toy
CRUSHU wrote:
-Mick- wrote:
bogged wrote:
-Mick- wrote: I mounted everything behind the bullbar
2 ballasts and 2 starters live there now.
are these things that should be kept dry since they get hot? Not sure just asking.
well they recommend in the instructions to mount them in the engine bay so guessing not :)
The engine bay is a typically dryish area.....
Depends who your driving with :lol: :lol: :lol:

Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2006 8:28 pm
by CRUSHU
When those instructions were written, I bet they assumed the engine bay was a dryish area, not subjust to road spray etc.

Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2006 9:20 pm
by -Mick-
CRUSHU wrote:When those instructions were written, I bet they assumed the engine bay was a dryish area, not subjust to road spray etc.
I don't get the fuss :? behind the bullbar is subject to the same spray as the engine bay no more :?

I just have to be wary if I want to wade some water that the things aren't hot. I have never in 5 years driven in water that deep anyway.................

Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2006 5:53 pm
by srowlandson
-Mick- wrote:
CRUSHU wrote:When those instructions were written, I bet they assumed the engine bay was a dryish area, not subjust to road spray etc.
I don't get the fuss :? behind the bullbar is subject to the same spray as the engine bay no more :?

I just have to be wary if I want to wade some water that the things aren't hot. I have never in 5 years driven in water that deep anyway.................
And probably the engine bay ofa 2wd car, not a 4wd goign throguh rivers / mudholes...


I would be mounting them somewhere really dry.

Steve

Posted: Mon May 01, 2006 6:02 pm
by bushy555
Hopefully my 42watters are in me mailbox when I get home tonight.
And if they are - they are going straight onto me XGT's.

As for moisture etc of the ballasts... I have so far bought 8 kits from various manufactures. They have so far all been solidly built - with one if not two o rings, (Rectangle rings?) underneath the rear plate.... and then the entire circuit board is hidden under a ton of epoxy.
The connectors all have a single rubber grommet ring thingy which have three connecting little ribs (each kinda like an o ring themselves) - these appear to be fairly standard across the entire HID ballast range of lights from varying manufactures.

Water proof? I reckon they are indeedly!

Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 12:37 am
by turps
What temp globes did you get?
I could only find them with 6000k. And was trying to find something around 4500k. As my 50w 6000k are abit blue. And I really want to buy another set as I have some LF240's just asking to be modded.

Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 7:35 am
by -Mick-
turps wrote:What temp globes did you get?
I could only find them with 6000k. And was trying to find something around 4500k. As my 50w 6000k are abit blue. And I really want to buy another set as I have some LF240's just asking to be modded.
yeah 6000k mate and I agree they are a bit bluish..... more for the ricers in that colour temp :lol: Actual light output isn't hurt though. You lose a couple of hundred lumens which is more than made up by the extra power :)

If you find a decent set in 4500 or 5000k let me know :lol:

Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 4:43 pm
by bushy555
.
.
.
......one XGT now finished with a 42 watt conversion done.

These 42watt jobbies are different again to anything else that I've seen.
Different connectors, and has a separate external ignitor to that of the ballast. First for me with this setup.

Pics will be taken tonight of the modded XGT against the standard halogen yet-to-be modded XGT.

Pics will be uploaded about this time tomorrow....

Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 5:17 pm
by -Mick-
bushy555 wrote:.
.
.
......one XGT now finished with a 42 watt conversion done.

These 42watt jobbies are different again to anything else that I've seen.
Different connectors, and has a separate external ignitor to that of the ballast. First for me with this setup.

Pics will be taken tonight of the modded XGT against the standard halogen yet-to-be modded XGT.

Pics will be uploaded about this time tomorrow....
fairly good quality compared to the others Bushy??? I thought they were good but you've seen lots more than me :)

Posted: Wed May 03, 2006 4:16 pm
by bushy555
> fairly good quality compared to the others Bushy???
> I thought they were good but you've seen lots more than me


Heh! Way better than anything I could even come up with. But then again, these manufactures are probably worth millions of dollars, and here I am with me works laptop, autocad 04 and a black cat. (No goats)

Yeah, decent quality. I guess I should have just said 'its a bit different than other kits'. Hard to pick at this particular kit when comparing to other kits. In fact I really havent had a problem with any of the kits that I've bought so far.

Will modify the second XGT tonight when I get home. And then take pics of both of these against the two 35w blitz's on me ute.


Pics as promised. Camera does not do any justice to the light output. As someone said yonks ago to my first lot of Blitz pics - should do it properly against some sorta grey cutout or something. I forget.

The 42 watter kit, even though they are 6000k, are fairly dead set white when compared to me Techone 35w 6000k. Check out picture 5.


Pic 1. Normal daylight setting on digi camera.
Pic 2. night light setting on digi camera - taken at bullbar level.
Pic 3. night light setting on digi camera - taken from roof level.
Pic 4. The setup...
Pic 5. Techone 6000k vs Suervision 6000k.

6000k's aint 6000's (said as in 'oils aint oils' ad)



Instructions on doing the XGT conversion will be available fairly soon.

Posted: Wed May 03, 2006 4:20 pm
by bushy555
...

Posted: Wed May 03, 2006 5:27 pm
by jeep97tj
Looks unreal. Thoses pics of the 42w looks like u are gona set fire to the bush.

So the xgts dont spin the cover to adj the pattern because they are 1 piece??

Posted: Wed May 03, 2006 7:25 pm
by bushy555
jeep97tj wrote:Looks unreal. Thoses pics of the 42w looks like u are gona set fire to the bush.

So the xgts dont spin the cover to adj the pattern because they are 1 piece??
Yep. Correct. XGT's have the same case as that of the real LF 240HID. However! The XGT's that I have dont open up the same as the 240HID's --- so the downfall is that the ballasts and/or ignitor will still need to be mounted externally. Which is a shame!

And since the lens of the XGT does not spin (like the Lance, Striker and Blitz), the exact positioning of the bulb is really necessary in order to get maximum light output from the lens.
Somehow (coincidence?) the offset measurments of the arc bulb / filament in a H3 bulb (be it a HID or halogen), when positioned on the end of the XGT chunky aluminium heatsink, are the same as the original JC 6.35 bulb. (funny looking bulb with just the two pins).
By adjusting the chunky heatsink by a mm or 2, should go from spot to a nice wide beam without any shadowing. Havent played with it enough to say this with 100% confidence yet, but am pretty dang sure.