One of the most noticeable modifications that can be made to a car is upgraded lighting. There are so many options out there, you can easily wind up spending your money on a product that isn't worth the materials it was made with. It's unanimous in the automotive world that HID is by far the most noticeable upgrade out right now. The problem is the market it plagued with poor quality kits. I first made the plunge into HID back in December when I purchased a 10,000K kit from Intense HID. I fell in love with the kit, and you could easily say for the first time I could see the light. As time went on, more mods were purchased and I ended up upgrading my headlight housings so a new HID kit was in order. Since I had purchased my kit, there had been many vendors that had make their reputation known, and this seemed like a good opportunity to see what all the hype was about.


Xenon Depot was running a promotion for a new kit they were going to be offering. I had been fortunate, because it couldn't come at a better time. So after some talk with Steve, he put me down for a 5000K H1 kit. The anxiety built as they waited for the shipment to arrive. After a few weeks, XenonDepot got their supply in, and 2 days after I got a PM lettng me know, they were in my hands. So began the install...


This is what came in the package








I was happy to see the kit included Relays and Resistors. Some members report problems with other HID kits flickering, and the guys at XenonDepot included everything to prevent any problems on the customers end. The relays were a welcomed bonus because they ran power straight from the battery, but were triggered from the headlight switch in the cabin. So without any hesitation, the toolbox came out and the front fascia, headlight housings, and air filter all came out as well as the battery being disconnected. I'm assuming anyone who's using this to help them install has read XenonDepots installation guide so you know how the components connect. Everything is one way so its pretty self explanitory. Onto the install, I started off by fitting the bulbs into the projectors.








The bulbs were a bit tough to get installed, not because there was anything wrong with the bulbs themselves, but because the K2 Projectors have a fishy clamp to keep the bulb in place. The original bulbs have indents where the wire retainer makes contact, and the HID bulbs were flat plastic. A slight modification to this clip and the bulbs were secure. I wanted to retain the rubber seals that came with the projectors so I took the extra 5 minutes to feed the wires through the holes where the old Halogen wiring poked through.








I started on the passenger side by grounding the relay, and conencting both of the positive leads to the positive battery post in the front of the car (yes I know the battery is in the back but this is for lack of better words.






Next up I secured the relay to the best spot I could find. My goal in the install wasn't to make any holes in the car, I still have to install an HID kit in the fogs, and the ballasts for my halos, so I didn't see any need to go making things permanent until all the under-the-hood components were available for me to see what fits where. I also chose to have the fuses mounted easily accessible in case a fuse gets blown for some reason, it would easily be swapped out. The choice for mounting the ballast was pretty random, and is going to be moved to where the drivers side is mounted as you'll see ahead. Finally I wanted to keep the igniter close to the headlights, as there is only 7 or so inches of wire to work with.








With one side mounted, and zip ties cleaned up, the lights got plugged in and tested. It was important to test with the car running and with the car off to make sure no flickering, buzzing, or perhaps some new unheard of problem. With everything good to go (let the lights run for a few minutes while I got some lemonade to quench the thirst), it was time to move onto the drivers side.







The power line for the drivers side I ran parallel to the other lines running across the front of the car. It hid well, and had plenty of slack to spare. Next I attached the ground wire to a ground that is right below where the air filter would be. Underneath the ground, I mounted both relay and igniter which should stay well out of site with the air filter installed again. Finally I mounted the last ballast on the side of the plastic headlight mount. This spot worked perfectly, and was out of the way. I goofed up as you can see in the picture because I forgot to feed a zip tie through the other side of the ballast, but it was a quick fix. Once again plugged in the bulbs and tested everything. All was well.





After is all is said and done, the install took a little over an hour to get pictures taken, and explain to every passerby why my car was torn apart in the hotel parking lot. I'd have to say, I am thoroughly impressed with this kit. The components are definitely well built, no loose wires with the connections, and I don't see any reason this kit won't be able to take a beating from heat, cold, etc. There is plenty of slack on all the wiring to keep your options open for where to mount everything as well which was much appreciated. Most of all, the light output on the kit is nothing short of amazing. The light is pure white, and I have already received compliments from a dozen people at the car wash, and the lights have only been in the car for 48 hours. Thankfully either the bulbs or my projectors are preserving my cutoff I had prior to the HID kit, and I'm sure everyone on the road can appreciate that. XenonDepot lived up to their reputation with me. They maintained good contact to ensure I got what I needed and was satisfied. If I do end up upgrading my high beams to HID, I know where I'm going to be heading.