[JasonWW]

Originally Posted by Matt_C

Everyone that has done this has had to make their own "cover" to fill in the area left over from the stock rectangular hole right?

Yes, there is no kit for installing projectors into the Firebirds. Also keep in mind that when the lights are on it will be night so you really won't see much of the gap around the rectangular mounting location. Making a surround to finish them off isn't really necessary unless you want to turn them on in the day or just to please yourself. I'm the picky type that would fab up something just to give it a finished look. It's up to you though.

Originally Posted by Matt_C

I figure if I mess with this, I'm just going to go all out and get real HID, rather than the halogens. Aside from the extra money, is this a bad decision? Or just an expensive one?

HID is a whole other animal. It will require specal wiring circuits just to support the increased load during the 1-2 minute ignition phase, but after that they only consume about 35watts. I would recommend you go to http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/ and read all the FAQ and beginners stuff to understand them better. You used to be able to read stuff without registering, but I guess they changed it. There's tons of info there.

Originally Posted by Matt_C

Is it true that the Bi-Xenon is really just a single projector that can do both low and high beams? I would consider this pointless considering the T/A already has 4 separate lights. What I don't understand is why they are the same price. If you can buy a Bi-Xenon that does both hi and low beams, why not buy 4 of them instead of 2 lows and 2 highs? The only disadvantage to this that I can see is the extra connectors you have to buy with the Bi-Xenon setup. Would this be a problem for fear that the little motorized shroud that moves out of the way for hi-beams would break and you'd be stuck with brights?

It's true that most bi-xenon use a movable shroud to acheive both high and low. Usually the bi-xenons cost more, but it depends on the model and if they are new or used.
I'm not sure what you mean by buying 4 bi-xenons. First you have to keep in mind that a seperate high beam HID is not recommended because it takes a while to come up to temperature. No factory vehicles use a seperate HID high. If you want an HID high beam (I do) then you will have to use a movable shield to change the cutoff height. If you want to use HID low beam projectors and matching high beam projectors, then you will have to use a halogen bulb in the high beam. Besides, do you want to spend $600 on just ballasts and bulbs? That's too rich for my blood. There's no reason why you can't get 4 of the low beam Hella 90mm and just use the inner two aimed higher or else remove the shield from it. Just use a halogen bulb in them. On the low beam you can use the HID.

You also have to keep in mind that the Hella's use a H9 bulb, so you either have to find a rebased HID bulb to fit it or else mod the Hella to accept the D2S bulb.

Originally Posted by Matt_C

Here's what I'm considering right now... please point out any errors in my thinking.

For the main lights I would need either:
(2) HL68139 low beams
(2) HL68140 high beams
(4) HL87203 wiring harnesses
(4) HL97300 mounting plates
-OR-
(4) HL68141 Bi-Xenon high/low beams
(4) HL68141SC "shutter control" connectors
(4) HL87293 wiring harnesses
(4) HL87229 "power" connectors
(4) HL97300 mounting plates

For the fog lamp replacement I would need:
HL68142 90mm fog lamp including boot...
HL78175 12V 55W bulb
??? no wiring harnesses or mounting plates necessary?

I'm not vary familair with the part numbers, let me get back to you on that or you can just describe the parts.

Originally Posted by Matt_C

More questions:
What exactly is a ballast? I see it is included in the super-high prices of these projectors.
Would there be any extra wiring that I would have to do for these lights?

The ballast is basically a transformer. It's going to boost the nominal 9 or 10 volts up to 20,000+ for the bulbs to light off and then the voltage goes down some. I'm a little foggy on the exact numbers, but I'm sure they are listed in the FAQ on that site I mentioned.
Yes, you will need extra wires and relays for the lights.
Also, there are quality ballasts out there and there are junk ones that should be avoided. Some have the ignitor module built into the ballast and some are external. Again, read up on the FAQ page. I'll post some more links later on.

For now, I would focus on getting good projectors into the car with some modded Silverstars. They are an awesome upgrade. Then when you are ready and have the money, get good ballasts and bulbs. They should just swap right in (depending on the projector you choose). You only lose the $40 or whatever on the bulbs. Plus if an HID goes out on you, you can pop the halogen back in temporarily. Seriously, the Silverstars in a good projector look great. Bright white and it still has the color at the cutoff to give it that blue twinkle as your car approaches. Any color bands at the cutoff depend on both the bulb and projector plus tweeking the sheild.