FTO AUSTRALIA

I'm just after a decent kit...

Curious if anyone has a recommended brand, or price range.. What I should avoid, etc.

Also how will they hold out in the stock headlights? Would a projector be needed?

the stock headlights are projector headlights;
make sure they use digital ballasts and the units are water proof;
I'd recommend wiring in relays;
Spend the time to double check your wiring, and do the wiring properly (i.e. make sure the crimps are tight, use solder, use heat shrink);
plan the job. Mock up where everything should go first; leave extra wiring, you can always trim it back, but it's a bitch to add 2cm of wiring later.

I've used a couple of random sets bought off ($50ish each set, off memory) they were both alright. 1st set flickered after a while, although it might have been my rushed wiring than the kit's fault. I spent a bit of extra time wiring up the 2nd set, also wired in a couple of relays; worked perfectly.

I just put a set into my fto , brought them for $67 6000k for my low beams,

Thanks Bo, awesome info there

Scorpionwally8 wrote:I just put a set into my fto , brought them for $67 6000k for my low beams,

Where'd you get them from? Happy with the quality?

Yea I'm happy I got them off eBay ,was from a Queensland company

I got mine from The Retrofit Source, they're expensive but great quality, and have had no issues at all with them.

Are the relays required?

Moused wrote:Are the relays required?

technically no; but a good idea. They are fairly cheap and easy enough to install, to be worth the effort IMO.
saves the switch from possibly burning out; and lessens the chance of damage due to under powering the ballasts from dodgy and/or old wiring.

BorepYano wrote:

Moused wrote:Are the relays required?

technically no; but a good idea. They are fairly cheap and easy enough to install, to be worth the effort IMO.
saves the switch from possibly burning out; and lessens the chance of damage due to under powering the ballasts from dodgy and/or old wiring.

Where would one look at getting the relays?
What would they need to be rated? Very hazy about relays.

Just a standard 30A or 40A horn relay from Jaycar or any auto parts store.

Vectose wrote:Just a standard 30A or 40A horn relay from Jaycar or any auto parts store.

40A? over kill much? lol. I guess there's no harm, since they are all about the same price anyway.

If you can't find those, anything over 6A or 9A will work.

i.e.
35W kit @ 12v = 3A; they do draw up to double on start up, therefore 6A+. or;
55W kit @ 12v = 4.5A; they do draw up to double on start up, therefore 9A+.

:lol: Most of the automotive relays sold in auto parts stores are 30/40a.

I wouldn't worry about it in the beginning, only if there is an issue... Waste of money and time otherwise

silverGPX wrote:I wouldn't worry about it in the beginning, only if there is an issue... Waste of money and time otherwise

I'd waste the $12 on 2 relays to not have to worry about potentially having to re-do all the wiring and maybe replacing the HID's. (although I have to admit, that has a lot to do with realising just how dodgy my original wiring job was)

Eh, few bucks more to throw the strain on the relay makes sense..

Hoping to have it wired up sometime soon. I hope these cheap ass ebay ones are decent! lol

Mine work fine and I didn't bother with relays

Welp, I installed a cheap ass ebay kit today... I also grabbed a relay 'kit' off ebay too.
All plug and play, enough wiring to get where it needed to, lights are working - waiting for it to get dark so I can actually see how decent they are.

$60 in total. The ballasts are apparently waterproof... I'm not so sold, so hopefully I've placed them in nice dry areas.

Hopefully they hold out for a long time to come - thanks for all the advice

Next on the list methinks I'll fix up the peeling headlights.

good work, where did you end up tucking the ballasts?

oh.. guess it's too late to suggest a LED conversion instead?

BorepYano wrote:oh.. guess it's too late to suggest a LED conversion instead?

Yes, yes it is lol

As for the ballasts, I'll grab some pics later.

I have some experience with a few eBay HID kits on my FTO. Finally I found this good ones and am using for a couple of years. In fact, Philips may be the best but I couldn't afford a $1000 HID kit.

Check this link out;
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/281437367367

I have HB4 for my low beam with 6000k, 35w. Happy with it so far. They gave me a 2 or 4 year warranty, can't remember. (Invoice is at home).

Here is the most important thing to me when I made the decision to buy this HID kit.
Quick Start: 0.05 Sec start, 1 Sec get 80% bright. (the normal kit in the market need take about 8 Sec )

Previous kits I had took a minute to come to the full brightness.

Some comments from the seller;
"it is the same factory which make the ballast for PHILIPS. and we can send this kit with CN-light too, which is the best quality made in China too."

Good luck