HIDs and Rims?

[ModernTek]

Hey acidmodders!

I thought I would ask y'all what you guys know/ think about HIDs and Rims. I have a 2010 Ford Fusion aka my baby...best car I have ever ...wait she's the only one I've lol. Anyways I want to install 55w 5000k HIDs in both the headlights and foglights. I would also like to put her on a nice pair of rims if possible 20"x10" w/5" lip all black.

What do you guys know/think. I live like 30 mins from chicago and the cars brillant silver.

Thanks for looking!

[crazy-modder]

Sounds cool, but I would do 18s or 19s all black. I think it will fit the car better. Your car is actually programmed to know the factory size of the rims and tires. When you go to a huge rim size, that can mess with your wheel speed sensors and can also cause problems with your abs. So don't go to huge.

[ModernTek]

I didn't even know that....woops.
Check out MRTs 2010 ford fusion on 20s

http://www.roadandtrack.com/auto-shows/sema/2010-ford-fusion-mrt-t4/gallery

I love that look!!! 

[crazy-modder]

It looks really nice, but when people have money to make show cars they also have money to get their car reprogrammed to be compatible with different upgrades such as turbos etc. I mean, it would work to put 20s on it but you also have to think about reliability.

[FreeK]

It also depends on where you live. Because I have a friend that put 20's on his Volvo, but has to change them back and forth with snow/different weather conditions. I say go for the 20's, but also take into effect that its going to be harder to keep them looking nice

[jrfhoutx]

One of the biggest concerns is the overall circumference of the new rim and tire combination that you put on. discount tire has a nice calculator on their site that will do the math for you. just input your stock wheel and tire sizes and it will tell you the closest combination in different sizes so that your speedometer readings, odometer readings and traction control system are affected as little as possible.

another concern especially with rims as large as 20s is the width of the rim. if your car is built with a 16 and has an option for a 17 or 18, they are most likely 7-9 inches wide. the wheel well of your car is sized with this in mind to prevent the tires from rubbing on the inside of the wheel well when moving and when turning. adding an extra 1-3 inches of width can cause serious rubbing of the tires in the well and cause severe damage to the tires and the well. if your car isn't set up to accommodate a wheel/tire combo that size you can have serious issues.

You run into similar problems with many cars that are 'dropped.' if the car doesn't have a fully adjustable suspension (which most do not) you will run into rubbing, bottoming, and severe tire wear issues among other things, such as misalignment and pulling issues...

I wouldn't recommend going as big as a 20x10 unless you plan on forking out the cash for adjustable suspension components and a 4-wheel alignment.

As for the HIDs, I wouldn't have them installed by anyone other than a qualified technician. they pump out serious voltage and amperage and can seriously injure you and cause serious electrical problems in your vehicle if not properly installed. they also will have greater power requirements than your car may be rated to handle.

[crazy-modder]

Jrf is absolutely right. Take all that into consideration. HIds are extremely dangerous and should only be installed by somebody that knows what they are doing. Hids do not have a filament. They have 2 electrodes and on startup, it may take almost 15k volts to jump the gap and then about 75-80v after startup. So what jrf is saying, is that your vehicle cannot run hids without a transformer called a ballast. It should already be included in your kit. If you install it yourself, be VERRRRYYYY careful.

[ModernTek]

Thanks guys.

I know a lot about electricity and I know HIDs are extremely dangerous. A lot of my friends don't seem to understand that and install them incorrectly. They usually place the ballast in a unsafe area or somewhere that they can get wet.

As for the rims I was planning on upgrading the suspension and dropping the car a couple inches

[budgray19]

yea ive hear they like to wear fast and arnt the most comfortable rideing

[jrfhoutx]

yeah, especially when you drop the car too. i mean the shocks, springs and tires are what cushion the ride. stiffer springs mean less movement and a harsher ride, stiffer springs usually mean stiffer shocks and a more harsh ride. add super low profile tires to those huge rims and you're talking really harsh ride (the more air in the tire the more cushioning). Also if you live in an area with crappy roads (lots of pot-holes, cracks, and mismatched concrete) with so little air and rubber between your rims and the road it's so much easier to hit a pot-hole or a crack on the street and bend your rims... depending on the material they're made from they may not be repairable (and if it's an exotic alloy or chromed, repairs are outrageously expensive) meaning you'll have to get a new one... 

I mean they can look cool, but can be way more hassle than they're worth...

[budgray19]

and here in dallas the roads are nothing but patches of mismatch concrete. and the part of town i work at is just absolutely terrible.
and can get rough in my 03 ford tarsus which has a nice ride imo

[jrfhoutx]

It's the same here in Houston, the roads are terrible... I've replaced or sent out to repair so many 20"+ rims it's ridiculous... hell it can be a rough ride sometimes in my accord coupe (lowered 1" on TEIN adjustable coilovers) and i've bent control arms and blown tires in my accord sedan from hitting potholes when not paying enough attention and it rides on 195/65/16 tires, that's a pretty cushy tire, I can't imagine what it's like on lo-pro 20s...

[budgray19]

... hell. my mom hates driving where i work in her 09 caddie. the things got stock caddie 20's. look frackin good but the tires get eaten alive by the road. and their not cheap tires