Have a few questions with HID Lights / Fog Lights / DRL

[Strick]

Here is a picture of the HOEN Xenonmatch. Please forgive me that its dirty but its rained for a week.

 

[brfatal]

This is not totally true. I am quite sure that BMW's and Merk's spent a few years putting in 5000K bulbs. Which, IMHO, are best.

Every single HID equipped car on the market comes with 35w 4100-4300k bulbs. Most aftermarket kits come with 55w bulbs/ballasts, these are not legal. (technically NO kit is legal, as many of them even sold in D1S, D1R, D2S, D2R...etc fitment don't line up properly in the housings)

I know that 4300k has the most light output in lumens...but I wonder if the amount of usable lumens is optimal.

I cant see a damn thing with these headlights compared to my last car with my 5000k lexus projectors in it...I need to change the damn bulbs lol

+/-4300k puts out the most 'useable' light. The whiter the light, the less usable it is. White light has more blue hue than the yellow that OEM setups put out. The color yellow allows the human eye to see contrast better than light on the bluer end of the spectrum simply for the reason previous quoted, which is also the same physics that causes Rayleigh scattering. You can go too far yellow. 3000k will cause eye fatigue.

theretrofitsource.com

Sell high end phillips and morimoto 5000k HID's. Not some cheap Chinese kits. Made in germany.

Morimotos are cheap Chinese, they just have a big name (TRS) pushing them.

Philips, Hella, and Osram are the more common higher tier brands.

 

[SmoovC]

Nm guys. I am just going to say that 4300K is a sunshine kind of white/yellow and 5000k is actually white. If you get a high end 5000k bulb, there is no blue in it at all. Proof:

4300k is on top:

This is 5000k in the same projector:

That is a high end 5000K. This is it being aimed...IN THE SNOW:

I am taking a stand that 5000k is considerably more usable than 4300k. In the snow it is better, for long drives it is better. Just all around better. My eyes dont fatigue like if it were actually blue....

I would be curious to see a comparison of usable light output on a rain-soaked asphalt road. That is where higher kelvin bulbs seem to suffer, as the light is soaked up, resulting in less usable output.

 

[scottdk]

Pretty good thread on the Candlepower forum for more info:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...in-fact-on-the-internet-most-are-Counterfeits


More helpful info:

http://philipshidkits.wordpress.com/2011/04/04/truth-about-philips-hid-kits/

The reason Philips does not list after-market HID Kits is because in North America HID kits are illegal. HID lights are only legal if they are installed at the factory of an automotive manufacturer IE: BMW, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz etc.

Now Philips only makes their HID kits in certain bulbs: H1, H3, H4 H/L (Bi-Xenon), H7, H11, 9005, 9006, they also only produce 2 colors: 4200K and 6000K, if you ever see a company list a Philips HID Kit in a different bulb or different color, they are fake. Philips only produces two HID Ballasts as well and can be found in this link:

http://www.lighting.philips.com.au/v2/automotive/productrange.jsp?id=1012984#0 click on Product Applications to few the 2 ballast options

 

[OneFunGenesis]

I would be curious to see a comparison of usable light output on a rain-soaked asphalt road. That is where higher kelvin bulbs seem to suffer, as the light is soaked up, resulting in less usable output.

I have not found a single HID headlight bulb that is good on rain soaked roads. None. Not even 4300k.

 

[SmoovC]

I have not found a single HID headlight bulb that is good on rain soaked roads. None. Not even 4300k.

I agree that performance is diminished on wet roads; the point I was expressing was that the higher kelvin rating, the less usable light on the road.

Going from 4300k to 5000k may not be much of a difference, but 8000, 10,000 or 12,000k are pretty much useless in those conditions.

 

[lilxskull]

Those look great. I just purchased a set. Thanks a lot guys.

 

[OneFunGenesis]

I agree that performance is diminished on wet roads; the point I was expressing was that the higher kelvin rating, the less usable light on the road.

Going from 4300k to 5000k may not be much of a difference, but 8000, 10,000 or 12,000k are pretty much useless in those conditions.

8, 10, or 12k is just ridiculous. Those are terrible in any headlight.

 

[SmoovC]

8, 10, or 12k is just ridiculous. Those are terrible in any headlight.

Totally. Who would roll with purple or pink headlights?!

 

[QuantumRift]

I used Lumenics 5150K bulbs for the foglights and high beams that match the HID bulb color.

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[brfatal]

I used Lumenics 5150K bulbs for the foglights and high beams that match the HID bulb color.

And your car is a mobile road hazard. You are that guy that everyone wants to run off the road.

 

[Aquineas]

And your car is a mobile road hazard. You are that guy that everyone wants to run off the road.

Are you thinking that the Luminics 5150K are HIDs? They're not; they're merely ultra-white Halogens.

 

[brfatal]

Are you thinking that the Luminics 5150K are HIDs? They're not; they're merely ultra-white Halogens.

In that case, I retract what I said.