[noodile]

First Off remove headlight (Part 1)

Video curtsey of BigE

If the video isn't enough, here's the explanation

ok so i've looked around the forum looking for complete details on how to install an HID kit. Haven't found anything for people like me who suck when it comes to electronics. So with help from my pops, i'd figure i'd give a complete write up with pics. All pics are in order.....

1. remove the 2 bolts on top of the housing. remove the housing. its a pain and you'll need to muscle it out, just becareful not to break anything. It took me about 10 mins just to pop out the one on the driver side. the passenger side was a little easier.

2. remove the harness. just push the tab down and it pops right out.

3. this is the dirt cover everyone is talking about. it just screws right off.

4. the old bulb!! not really plugged in, just twist it counterclockwise.

5. this is the bulb removed

this is the dismantal part. install will be part2

 

[noodile]

part2

this is the install part, pay attention, it gets tricky!!

6. this is the new HID bulb. as i found out the hard way, that plastic cup over it is just protective cover! lol

7. unscrew the cup, and slide the bottom part off. just snake it thru the rubber grommet and it comes off. notice the red rubber piece and plastic ring under that. remove the red rubber piece and take the plastic ring off. DO NOT TOUCH THE BULB!!!

8. the bulb with out the rubber grommit and the plastic ring.

9. put the red rubber ring back on. notice how it goes on. there should be a groove on the socket. it should fit right in there. its important that it goes in that groove or it wont fit right in the housing.

10. dust cover... i dont have the exact drill bit size handy, but i believe it was a little smaller than an inch. the black rubber grommit that wires go thru fit in here.if fits in the groove so its water tight.

11. this is the annoying part. install the light like you would any other light. just match up the slots, and give it a twist. if you're having trouble matching the slots, turn the housing around, and look thru the lense!!! now for the red and black wires. you should have 2 wires with metal connectors. these connect into the slots where the old light slide out of. on mine, the black one goes in the slot closest to the lense. i used needle nose pliers to get it in. the red wire goes in the slot closest to you.

12. thats pretty much it! slide the dust cover over the wires and screw it in. now find a spot in the engine compartment to mount the ballists. i found a screw hole right on part of the frame right under the housing that fit perfectly. plug the ballsits in, put back the headlight housings, plug em in, and screw the housing back in, and thats it! its not to hard, if you have no clue what youre doing i hope this helps! any questions feel free to ask!

Thats part 2 from (K)(I)(A)

 

[noodile]

Here's part 1 and 2 combined from Kenny

This is a Forte specific add-on to DDM's install guides found here... DDM HID Install PDFs
The stock bulb is an H11B, the HID kit is an H11. The fit to the housing is identical, the wire connections are different. The H11B is called a "snap-n-lite" bulb. When you twist the bulb into the housing, the connections "snap" into the wiring making the connection. The H11 HID kit has wires that plug into the factory "snap" connector...if that makes sense.
Here's the H11B bulb.

Here's the H11 HID bulb (with protective plastic housing around bulb).

Here's the HID bulb without protective housing.

Here's what I ordered.
DDMHPH11-5000K DDM HID Kit Slim Ballast (35W or 55W)
Options: Wattage : 55 Watt (+$10.00) Bulb Type : H11 Bulb Color : 5000K $59.95
370-HID-8133-5486523658-HID Kit Wiring Harness $15.00
Subtotal Amount : $74.95
Discount : $0.00
Shipping (UPS - Ground) : $14.44
Tax Amount : $0.00
Total Amount : $89.39
If you use the install instructions posted in the DDM link above, the only differences are as follows...
Remove the headlight using 10mm wrench or socket to remove the two bolts on top of the light. Gently pull the light out of its guide slots...be careful to not scratch your paint while pulling the light out. It's a tight fit!
You have to drill a 1" hole in the center of the dust cover to allow the wires to pass through.
Hole saw

Hole drilled in dust cover

Remove the screw securing the factory wiring connector connector inside light housing.

Slip blue and black wire connections into the factory connector, blue wire went on the bottom and the black wire went on the top. This will make sense after have the light apart. (not shown, but I used heat shrink tubing to secure the wire in the connector)

[hr]
Mount the bulb in the housing, pass wires through dust cover and secure dust cover.

Connect wires to ballasts

Install the wiring harness per instructions...if you go this route. Test everything before putting it all back together. Don't forget to plug factory connector back in on the back of the light housing and to turn your key to the run postion...otherwise your lights will not get power.
Finished install with wiring harness hidden.

Overall look

I had to lower the passenger side adjustment to get the beam patterns level. Overall, easy install. Hiding the wiring took the longest, but that's because I'm anal about stuff like that. The lights come on with no flickering and are fully warm (full brightness) in just a few seconds.

 

[noodile]

Here are install videos from ME


Low Beams::::

High Beams::::

Things to consider:


I reccomend a harness for Fogs. (sometimes one wouldn't light up, until i hooked them up with a harness)
I recommend a harness for Highbeams or low beams if they are 55W. if you have 35W, then you're good, if 55W, you might get some issues.

EDIT:
The 3 wires that i said hook up to your ballasts are below in the picture. Picture was borrowed from gryph0n:

the 2 small connections connect to one wire (that splits in 2 connectors), and the 3 connector (the big one), connects straight into the actual ballast.


NOTE: the connectors may differ depending on where you get your kits from. These are from DDM.

 

[noodile]

Which colors should i choose?


well

3000k is yellow
4300K is OEM white
5000k is pure white
6000K has a tint of blue
8000K is bluer
10000K is bluer than 8000K

The highest visibility is at 4300K-5000K, any higher than that, you start losing visibility. The bluer you go, the less you see.

The Bluer you go, the more attention you get from people and cops.

 

[noodile]

What wattage should i get 35W or 55W?


Stock bulb = 900-1200 Lumes
35W at 4300K = 3500 Lumens
55W at 4300K = 5500 Lumens

Higher Wattage= more heat.

For Fog lights, only go with 35W, any higher, and you risk melting the housing.
For low Beams 35W is enough, some people use 55W. It's a personal preference.


***** Note: 55W washes out about 2000K in color.
******** Note: figures of lumens are a rough estimate that i found along time ago.

 

[noodile]

Should i get a wiring Harness or no?


You should get wiring harness for Fog Lights, and any 55W application.

sometimes if you hook up your foglights without the harness, one side might not fire.

sometimes if you don't use a wiring harness, your USB drive will restart or stop playing on its own

if any of these happen, get the harness.

 

[noodile]

Is it legal?


It's illegal in most countries and All states to have HID's. The type of headlight we have is called a reflector headlight, its illegal to add aftermarket HID into them. Do it on your own risk. and remember, if you run any 4000K-5000K bulb, there's minimum risk of getting pulled over as it is harder to tell whether they're HIDs or not. but they are still illegal.

 

[noodile]

Should i get HID high Beams?


my answer is NO. I have them and they are usually worthless. Low beams are strong enough. When you have high-beam hid's, it's harder to flash someone. and its very bad for the ballasts. if you have 55W Hids, then they usually take about 3 minutes to reach full brightness, when you're driving at 60MPH, that's 3 miles without high-beams when you need them.

 

[noodile]

Where do i buy them?

Most Member buy kits from

DDMtuning.com
Diodedynamics.com

if you wanna go cheaper, then look on ebay. but the above site are more reputable, and they have great customer service.

 

[noodile]

What size bulbs do i need?

H1 = High- Beams
H11= Low- Beams
880 or 881= Fog lights

 

[noodile]

How to install fogs?

easy way:

1. Put the car on ramps
2. get under it
3. undo 3 clips infront of each tire
4. reach your hand in and undo the bulb, and pull down the bulb socket

Harder way:

1. Take off bumper
2. Take off bulb
3. connect new bulb
4. plug everything back in and re-aatch everything.

Note: HID's in fogs sometimes cause glare, have a friend drive in-front of you to double check.

 

[noodile]

Where and how do i mount the Ballast?

after you remove the Headlight, you'll see the Bumper beam. mount the ballast to it using
Zip-ties, or 3M double sided Tape, or a mounting bracket. Just make sure it's secure.

 

[noodile]

These are 5000K from DDM Tuning, both the FOGS and LOWS are 5000K

for some reason my FOGS look like borderline 6000K, i blamed it on the smaller 881 bulb. i don't know if they really are but i've seen a couple of 6000K and they're not as blue.



here's a picture from "KiaForteATX". its the 10,000K in comparison to stock

 

[noodile]

Are the kits from DDM and DD plug and play?


yes, your kit should be plug and play if you ordered it from DDM or DD. However, some users have had an issue with DDM, but it was corrected after contacting customer service and having the connectors replaced.


And you might get an H11 connector with plastic around it, if you do, you can either ask the seller to replace it with one with spades, or , just remove the plastic cover and add insualtion to the exposed wires below the spades

 

[noodile]

Does it affect my warranty?

If for some reason you fry your electrics, KIA has to prove 100% without doubt it was caused by the HID kit. otherwise they have to fix it under warranty. To avoid this possible issue you should buy the wiring harness.

If you have a harness and something goes bad, the only things that might get screwed up are
1. The BAllasts
2. The bulbs
3. The Battery

I've went to the dealership more than once with my HIDs and they had no problem with it, however if they work on the car and they need to disconnect the power, then sometimes they don't always connect all your wiring harnesses, so just make sure the harness are connected when you pick up your car. (connected to the batter by rings)

 

[noodile]

Are the Kits Waterproof?


Yes the ballasts are water proof, but that doesn't mean you can throw them in a pool and expect them to work flawlessly. In heavy rain, and driving through some water that was up to my door sills i had no problem

Sometimes your headlight might fog up if it's not completely sealed. to solve this problem, I bought Silicon (silicon clauk from walmart or home-depot for $3), and i made sure to cover the opening where the wires might go through, haven't had any problems since. The only problem i had before was when i drove through a puddle at 60 MPH, and everything was wet, but the car survived and there were no problems. The cause of the problem was drilling a 1.5 inch hole instead of a 1-inch hole in the dust cap.

 

[noodile]

Do i need to adjust the headlight angle after installing HIDs?

Well this is a case by case basis. The best response is to park your car 10 yds (roughly, it doesn't have to be perfect, if you want it perfect, then look up "aiming headlights" on google) away from a wall before installing HIDs, mark with some tape where your cut-off line is, after installing, adjust your headlight if they are below or above the aforementioned cut-off line.

Mine didn't need adjusting
Some users had to Lowered them
others had to highered them
***(i know highered isn't a word, but i mean adjust them to a higher level)

IF you need to adjust them, you should find a small philips head screw on the back of the assembly, spin in clock-wise and counter clock wise to adjust. for more info visit Kiatechinfo.com

 

[noodile]

Dear Mods/Admins,


can we get it Sticky-ed? Thanks in advance.


Sincerely,

Noodile

 

[D1FR3NT]

ya iv been noticing that post everywhere