Ralphie : 2013 Honda Accord EX

[Ralphie]

Well fuck it, I pulled the trigger.

35w 5000k kit and a pair of 1300 lumen h8 bulbs in yellow for the fogs.

I shall post aftermath shots once I get it all installed.

[owequitit]

Here's a dumb question-

on Hondaautomotiveparts It had my h11 low beams as being 55w 12v...

Id still order the 35w kit though right?

Some kits are better than others. I think I paid about $100 for mine from a local shop (friend of mine), so I know there was some extra markup on there.

That said, you will find them fine. I am jonesing to upgrade them in my parent's 2013 EX-L V6, but I just haven't yet. I think you will be happy.

The difference in wattage has to do with lumens. Halogens are less efficient at converting electricity into light since they have very high resistance (which is actually what produces the light). Since HID's are more energy efficient, they put out significantly more light (I think about 40% more) at 35W than a halogen does at 55W. The downside is that they draw more energy initially while they are turning the gas into Plasma, and then the total power draw drops off to a level below a halogen bulb.

This is the same phenomenon you get with Squiggle CFL bulbs as well as fluorescent lighting and those big orange Mercury Vapor lights in warehouses and stuff. It takes a tremendous amount of energy to get the plasma up to temperature, but they use relatively little to keep it going. That is why you shouldn't put squiggle bulbs in lights that will be on and off frequently. They aren't designed for it and will see excessive wear (short life) and they don't save you energy when they are used that way.

[Ralphie]

Ok cool. I figured it was ok since I ran 35w in my 6th gen without issues.

I went with ddm again as they have a lifetime warranty and last time they were pretty helpful when my ballast went out.

[Ralphie]

No updates yet----

still waiting for the damn HID kit to arrive.

[Ralphie]

Finally got around to installing the hid bulbs and ballasts.

Overall they look good. Haven't taken her out at night yet, but the beam pattern seems off. When I get a minute, I will attempt to reaim them.



DDM 5k 35w. When they go, I think I might try zentec ballasts and TRS morimoto bulbs.

Also picked up some extras-


Cabin air filter, engine air filter, cell phone dock, and pure white 168 wedge bulbs for the trunk and plate lights.

Not sure what Ill be doing next.

She is ready for her first oil change and tire rotate.

Ill post back!

[Ralphie]

Ok so I installed my yellow LED fog bulbs today. Hard to really see during daylight but they seem pretty bright.

Will have to post a night time pic.



Now I am just waiting for my LED wedge bulbs for the LED strip in the headlamps, and random places around the car such as trunk/license plate etc.

After that Im not sure what I want to do next, maybe the homelink module.

[Ralphie]

Just a shot I got today whilst it was raining.

Rainy Day by Ralph Ricciardi, on Flickr

Checked and just my luck, College Hills Honda doesn't have the homelink modules on their site anymore so its either full price from honda or a junkyard that happens to have the unit in my interior color.

Not sure now what will be next. I have two bulbs to pop in the headlamp for the led strip at the bottom. Basically just bright LEDs.

Also have a bunch of wedge leds coming to replace the trunk/plate/ etc

[Ralphie]

Found out that you can, indeed order the homelink module from College Hills, they just dont have it on their site anymore.

Also all my wedge LEDS came in, so ill be swapping all those out.

And it is once again fucking snowing so not doing shit today.

[Ralphie]

Thinking about swapping in the Accord Sport cluster to replace my EX one.

Here is the sport


and here is mine


I really like the red accents. It is probably a lot of work for such a small change but I always love the little things that make a difference and I have no funds to mod so looking for easy things to do to keep my sanity lol.

[AccordWarrior]

Looks great!

I do like the Accord Sport cluster more. How does that work with your odometer?

Right now I'm completely in your shoes. My wife and I got a new family car for our future family, and I'm debating how far to go with it as far as OEM accessories, reasonable add-ons, etc.

[Ralphie]

Looks great!

I do like the Accord Sport cluster more. How does that work with your odometer?

Right now I'm completely in your shoes. My wife and I got a new family car for our future family, and I'm debating how far to go with it as far as OEM accessories, reasonable add-ons, etc.

Thanks man.

That is what I was asking on the 9th gen forum and the only person to respond said that it is stored on the odo(he thinks) and the dealer can reprogram it.

I was under the impression that the cpu maintains all that shit these days and by plugging in a whole new cluster, the read out would just display what the computer output but maybe not?

Scott might have more info if he happpens to check in here.

Also ive never found clusters to be an easy swap. I dread them because none of that shit is installed with the expectation of being removed so it is always a nightmare and I stumble through it shitting myself waiting to break a fucking tab on something and then not being able to get it to sit flush etc.

So its one thing if I have to go through that process but if the only way to get it to work right is to have the dealer reprogram, they surely will hit you over the head for that and of course that adds to the cost so Ill have to do more research and find out.

Im expecting it to be the worst case scenario. My 93 Accord was a pain in the ass to do these things....to get the cluster out the entire dash trim had to come out.....not so on my 2002.

HOWEVER

you don't even want to know what I had to do to replace the h8 bulb on my drivers fog.....the WHOLE assembly has to come out. Yep.

Oh and the pass side...nope just pop open a tab under the car and you can access the bulb.

Srsly? dafuq Honda.


And yea it sucks. If I had received the promotions at work that I thought I was going to get, id be further along and have more disposable income but right now aint no extras lol.

[owequitit]

Thanks man.

That is what I was asking on the 9th gen forum and the only person to respond said that it is stored on the odo(he thinks) and the dealer can reprogram it.

I was under the impression that the cpu maintains all that shit these days and by plugging in a whole new cluster, the read out would just display what the computer output but maybe not?

Scott might have more info if he happpens to check in here.

Also ive never found clusters to be an easy swap. I dread them because none of that shit is installed with the expectation of being removed so it is always a nightmare and I stumble through it shitting myself waiting to break a fucking tab on something and then not being able to get it to sit flush etc.

So its one thing if I have to go through that process but if the only way to get it to work right is to have the dealer reprogram, they surely will hit you over the head for that and of course that adds to the cost so Ill have to do more research and find out.

Im expecting it to be the worst case scenario. My 93 Accord was a pain in the ass to do these things....to get the cluster out the entire dash trim had to come out.....not so on my 2002.

HOWEVER

you don't even want to know what I had to do to replace the h8 bulb on my drivers fog.....the WHOLE assembly has to come out. Yep.

Oh and the pass side...nope just pop open a tab under the car and you can access the bulb.

Srsly? dafuq Honda.


And yea it sucks. If I had received the promotions at work that I thought I was going to get, id be further along and have more disposable income but right now aint no extras lol.

The clusters are programmable. As long as you aren't trying to get away with reprogramming it for less mileage, you should be all legal.

That is what happens when they replace the cluster if it breaks. They have to reprogram it. You might be able to find an enthusiast HondaTech that would be willing to do the reprogramming for you as long as you can show them you aren't trying to roll the mileage back (and some probably wouldn't even care if you were doing that.

I don't know if there are any wiring differences or not, but if it is helps, the coupe also has a red cluster, while the sedans (minus the Sport) have white.

[Ralphie]

Scott to the rescue LOL.

Oh, well hot damn....I thought only the "sports" had the red. That is good to know!

Hmmm....so basically I just need to find someone who works for Honda that can reprogram it and hopefully throw them a few bucks.

Why wouldn't the computer just track that shit and display it on the odo so that A) you could easily swap clusters if one broke and b) it would be that MUCH harder to scam with....???

Ill have to be careful about it though, as the last thing I need on my CLEAN carfax is that little asshole fox talking shit about my mileage to everyone.

[AccordWarrior]

And yea it sucks. If I had received the promotions at work that I thought I was going to get, id be further along and have more disposable income but right now aint no extras lol.

Sigh, I hear ya. I wasn't planning on purchasing for another six months but the wife's tC started that cycle where little things were starting to break and it was a matter of time before something big let go. I got a great offer on trade (effectively retail) and jumped.

I completely get what you're talking about when it comes to taking apart interiors. There's always that one clip that just gives you so much trouble, but you're in over your head if you break it.

[Ralphie]

Sigh, I hear ya. I wasn't planning on purchasing for another six months but the wife's tC started that cycle where little things were starting to break and it was a matter of time before something big let go. I got a great offer on trade (effectively retail) and jumped.

I completely get what you're talking about when it comes to taking apart interiors. There's always that one clip that just gives you so much trouble, but you're in over your head if you break it.

What did you guys get if you don't mind me asking?

We weren't planning on getting the Accord but my sister in law needed a car so my in laws gave me what the Altima was worth and we set out to get a new Pilot for the wife and I was going to take the CRV but that Pilot is pricey lol.

So the Accor it was!