Mazda Forum - Mazda Enthusiast Forums

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- Mazda3 (https://www.mazdaforum.com/forum/mazda3-26/)

- - headlight swap (https://www.mazdaforum.com/forum/mazda3-26/headlight-swap-26004/)

am i the only one thats not a big fan of the stock 09 mazda 3 lights. I find it very hard to see sometimes. if i want to switch to some HIDs how would i go about this? Would i be able to just replace the bulbs? or would i have to replace the whole unit, housing ect.
Thanks.

Just about all the owners hate the way the stock halogens work, very minimal distance and a scary to drive at night. I had adjusted my headlights to point more up but not too high as to blind people (there not bright to do it anyway) and yet it still didnt help, the distance is laughable.

Many people have converted to an HID lighting system and its not that hard to do, the most recommended place it DDMtuning.com, great price and life time warranty. In case your wondering the low beams are H7.

Converting to the factory HID headlights is very costly and involved. I have only ever read of two others that completed it and it involved practically tearing the car in half to do it correctly. Factory wiring harnesses are involved as well.

Coversion kits are the way most of us go. They are comparatively easy (+/-3hrs) and relatively inexpensive (+/-$100.) Its worht it to spend a little more and get a respected name brand kit. Avoid the $25 eBay (Chinese) specials or you will be doing them again in about a year when the cheap ballasts burn up.

If it's good output you want, stay with Kelvan color ranges of between 4300-5000k. More than that (> 6000k) and you start to lose useable light output and that can cause eyestrain, especially if you drive longer distances than say 10-15 miles in the dark.

Personally I didn't find the factory halogens to be that bad... better than most I'd say. Perhaps your light are not adjusted properly? Did you buy the car new? Is it still under warranty?

i agree with the scary night drives. and thanks for the site. and yes virgin i bought the car new. ive had problems in the past with the headlights such as seeing haha. ive had a very hard time seeing at night drives. Also i have projected them a little higher but not to high to blind people.(dont know if thats even possible with these) it seemed to help a little but still kinda hard to see.
thanks for the replies!