Kensun 55W HID Xenon Conversion Kit
If you want to upgrade your headlights to something brighter or perhaps a different color, you should consider using the best HID kit or best HID conversion kit. HID stands for High Intensity Discharge and involves arcing electricity between two electrodes surrounded by metal salts and a gas, most likely Xenon. Most HID lights are also called Xenon headlights, but really any type of gas can be used including Mercury vapors. Halogen headlights are the current industry standard, but HID headlights/Xenon lights are starting to make an appearance. This is because they make more light with less energy, last nearly 10 times longer, and are simply brighter and have a higher luminous efficacy.
HID lights are not the only type of headlights in the world of aftermarket auto accessories. LED lights and LED kits are also a popular alternative to the traditional halogen headlights. HID and LED lights are both brighter than halogen and consume less energy. LED bulbs use less energy than HID and have a faster warm up time. Regardless of whether you want to HID or LED, you can’t just replace the halogen bulb with a HID or LED bulb by unscrewing it. This is because HID headlights do no run on low voltage DC current like halogen bulbs. They require a ballast or power pack that has an igniter that controls the current in the bulb. By using the best HID kit or best HID conversion kit, you are able to fully convert your Tungsten-Halogen system into a HID or LED system.
Best HID Kit Reviews
- Kensun 55W HID Xenon Conversion Kit (Top Pick)
- Innovited 35W HID Xenon Conversion Kit
- OPT7 Bolt AC 55w HID Xenon Conversion Kit
Kensun 55W HID Xenon Conversion Kit
If you want the best hid kit, you can’t go wrong with Kensun. It is one of the most popular brands for HID lights for a reason: reliability, durability, and great quality. The Kensun HID conversion kit installs easily out of the box in under 30 minutes. It doesn’t require any fancy tools or a professional installation either, making it almost plug and play.
You can upgrade all of your stock halogen low beams, high beams, fog lights, and off road lights with this hid kit. The Kensun kit is offered in 12 different colors and in a bunch of different sizes. Please don’t mistake the color with brightness: it is simply the hue of the light and has nothing to do with intensity. Also, check with your local state guidelines to see what color of aftermarket lights are allowed on your vehicle. Normally, colors like white, yellow, and amber are safe and as long as they don’t blind other drivers. With the Kensun HID kit, you can achieve more light output with less power consumption.
This is because these HID lights only require 3 amps to operate when it is fully on, which is much much less than the power draw of halogens.  It takes about 5-10 seconds for the HID Xenon light to get to continuous draw mode, which can be a bit annoying at first. The good thing is these lights last ten times longer than your stock halogens because there’s no filament. Kensun offers their HID kit in 35 watt or 55 watt. You can just get the 35 watt kit if you think it is cheaper and it delivers all the brightness you need. If you step up to 55 watts, you end up drawing a lot more power and they tend to burn out much faster. However the different in brightness is noticeable, so if you go offroading a lot, the 55 watt kit is the right one for you.
Innovited AC 35W HID Xenon Conversion Kit
The Innovited HID Xenon Conversion Kit is a great alternative to the popular Kensun HID kit. This particular model is the 35 watt kit, which is what most people will be using. 55 watts is really for offroaders who want extremely bright lights. For most people who drive on normal roads, 35 watts is plenty of power. This is the best HID kit or best HID conversion kit if you want to try something different from Kensun. To us, these two HID kits are really about the same.
They both offer 12 different colors, all sorts of different fits, and are both quality products at a reasonable price. Â The Innovited HID kit offers slightly different colors than the Kensun, which is the only significant difference we noticed. They both offer similar easy installations and even the same warranty terms. The Innovited HID Kit comes with two 35W HID bulbs and two 25W AC Ballast.
We really like the ballasts in that they are a universal fit to pretty much any vehicle. This is because the Innovited ballast are very slim and fit into any space. They are also waterproof, dustproof and shockproof. Overall, the Innovited HID kit comes with very durable ballasts and obviously quality HID headlights. Before choosing the best HID conversion kit for your vehicle, be sure to check your state laws regarding what color of light is legal.
OPT7 Bolt AC 55w HID Xenon Conversion Kit
If you want a high wattage HID headlight, the OPT7 Bolt AC 55W HID KIT is the best HID kit for you. This HID conversion kit has 55W HID bulbs, which means it is much brighter than traditional 35W HID headlights. As a point of reference, the stock halogen bulbs on your car has a brightness of 800 lumens, standard 25W HID bulbs emit around 2,800 lumens, and the 55W OPT7 bolt delivers around 3,900 lumens. What do all these numbers mean?
It means an almost a 5 fold increase in light intensity from stock halogens. Compared to standard 35W HID headlights, these 55W HID bulbs by OPT7 deliver 60% more power; in terms of practical measurements, we would say you see twice as far and twice as much at nighttime.
This HID conversion kit also includes some nice add-ons, like a relay and capacitor pack. Â The relay pack bypasses your stock wiring and goes straight to your battery, which improves HID performance by enhancing bulb life, increasing stability and brightness. The capacitor pack installs an inline capacitor that prevents bulb flickering and other such malfunctions. We really like the ballasts on the OPT7 Bolt, which is made airtight. It comes with G7 sealant, which makes it watertight and prevents moisture or harsh temperature changes from tampering with its efficacy.
The installation is plug n play, and simply requires you to replace the OEM halogen bulb, plug the bulb to the ballast and then the ballast to the OEM plug. The HID lights are made to be the exact same size as your stock halogens on all parts of the car. All in all, this is the best HID conversion kit if you want a powerful light that is even brighter than a traditional 35W HID bulb. The 55W is a bit an overkill from the 35W HID lights, but if you really want maximum brightness at night, this is the HID kit for you. We recommend you take these out offroading or only as high beams, because they are extremely bright and may annoy other drivers.
More Info on HID Kits
Because of the way HID/Xenon bulbs are set up, the power up process is not instantaneous like in halogen headlights. It requires about 5-10 seconds to fully power on and comes in three phases: first the ignition, then the initial phase where the temperature of the bulb rises rapidly, and finally continuous operation when the arc of light has achieved a stable stage. Converting your halogen headlights to HID headlights by using the best HID kit does have some drawbacks. For one, you may have to abide by some international regulations such as installing lens cleaning systems and automatic beam leveling control to reduce road glare for others. In the USA, this is a rule that is not heavy enforced yet. Also the cost of repairing and installing new HID headlights is much higher than Halogen headlights.
By using the best HID kit, you can customize your vehicle to the style you want. Halogen lighting requires a large reflective housing while HID lights can be housing is much smaller and much more versatile. HIDs and LEDs are becoming more common in both new customized vehicles and restored retro-modern autos. Not only do they look cool, they provide better visibility at night over halogen lights. You can even get HID lights in different colors! However, the trade-off is HID headlights are expensive and don’t perform as well in fog because blue light is scattered more by water droplets. Also, this beam sharply cuts off rather than fade so it may some time to get used to. Read our reviews below to learn more about some of our top recommendations if you want the best HID conversion kit.
