Can Someone Explain The Concept Of Hid?
- Thread starter carter1551
- Start date
Dermen said:
I agree, the proper way to do it is to mount a HID projector from a factory car into your housing. The guy who bought by HID's had the hid kit before and said they glared too much and generally were no good.
Since going back to stock halogens and looking at the beam pattern against a wall and while driving compared to my old HID projectors I can see how the stock headlights will seriously blind other drivers if you have HID bulbs installed. There is a good sharp cutoff line with the stock reflector headlights, but there is lots of glare to the side and above the cutoff. A true HID projector has a sharp cutoff with no glare above the cutoff which makes it easy on other drivers, sure coming around a corner of over a hill will blind other drivers, but thats the same for an car, just more so with HID's.
I have seen several cars locally with HID kits and they are seriously bad, they stand out like a sore thumb.
RipperSnapper
Member
That was happening to me as well. I had a guy in front of me STOP on an on ramp thinking my highbeams were on. So I acually put my Highs on. He realized how much of an jerk he was and carried on.NJP5Guy said:
Turns out that its the fogs that make people think your too bright. Since I tinted my fogs I havent had anyone flash me yet.
For those that say the stock P5 headlights suck... I would say they're actually pretty great. I find that they're very bright at night, and have a pretty good spread, long range too. They make it quite easy to drive at night, even on wet roads.
As a comparison I have driven Honda CRV and Dodge Caravan, and with both of them, I honestly could not see any lines on the road when it was wet, and in the dry, they looked very dim.
Something to think about: the stock lights are yellow, aftermarket/HID are blue. Doesn't yellow light provide more contrast to your eyes and make it easier to see? (That's why ski goggles are tinted yellow/orange, and not blue.) I can't remember if it's a psychological effect or how the photoreceptors work biologically, but I'm pretty sure that yellow light is better in terms of vision. Some people are saying that HIDs suck at night; well this could be why. Even if HIDs are brighter, if all that light being reflected back to you isn't being perceived effectively, then it doesn't help.
As a comparison I have driven Honda CRV and Dodge Caravan, and with both of them, I honestly could not see any lines on the road when it was wet, and in the dry, they looked very dim.
Something to think about: the stock lights are yellow, aftermarket/HID are blue. Doesn't yellow light provide more contrast to your eyes and make it easier to see? (That's why ski goggles are tinted yellow/orange, and not blue.) I can't remember if it's a psychological effect or how the photoreceptors work biologically, but I'm pretty sure that yellow light is better in terms of vision. Some people are saying that HIDs suck at night; well this could be why. Even if HIDs are brighter, if all that light being reflected back to you isn't being perceived effectively, then it doesn't help.
^^the stock headlights are very good, coming from HID projectors to the stock halogens was not that much of a shock, with some better bulbs like the GE Nighthawks I can see fine at night. The downside of the stockers is side of the road lighting, I noticed that compared to the projectors.
I have also heard that yellow light is better in rain, I'm sure a Google search will find the answer as to why this is true. Also something to keep in mind for those of you that have 6000K + HID kits that blue light is actually fatiguing for your eyes.
I have also heard that yellow light is better in rain, I'm sure a Google search will find the answer as to why this is true. Also something to keep in mind for those of you that have 6000K + HID kits that blue light is actually fatiguing for your eyes.
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- 92 & 16 Meyatas
i won't say the stock lights sucked, but with hid my vision is so improved it's actually exceptional...imho!
So I'm curious then what we've established here. Essentially, if we want to do the HID upgrade, we should get the high beams instead of the low beams. Also, can some of you who have done this upgrade tell us of your story. Where did you buy? How much did you pay? What exactly did you buy? was it worth it? How is the performance of the bulb and have you had any problems yet?
On a sidenote, I have stock halogens in there right now and i notice that there seems to be a flicker every now and again. For example, if i stop at a light, sometimes i'll notice them dim a bit, then they will get brighter again. Or even as I drive, at times I can notice them dim then bright. They are very quick and sparatic bursts...i'm not losing light for seconds at a time or anything. But i just wanted to ask if anyone knew what this was about? Also, has anyone else had this problem? Thanks guys!
-wes
On a sidenote, I have stock halogens in there right now and i notice that there seems to be a flicker every now and again. For example, if i stop at a light, sometimes i'll notice them dim a bit, then they will get brighter again. Or even as I drive, at times I can notice them dim then bright. They are very quick and sparatic bursts...i'm not losing light for seconds at a time or anything. But i just wanted to ask if anyone knew what this was about? Also, has anyone else had this problem? Thanks guys!
-wes
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- MP5T / 944
^^ You gotta tell us what you drive so we can tell you what to do.. The protege 5 has 4 Beam lights.. The Protege and MSP do not..
1
16902
That flicker happens when your cooling fan kicks on an draws more current.
I have H7 Xtec 6000K HID. I love them. Got them at XenonExpert.com for $300. I believe the Apexcone kit on their site is now the same thing for $325.
I have H7 Xtec 6000K HID. I love them. Got them at XenonExpert.com for $300. I believe the Apexcone kit on their site is now the same thing for $325.
The whiter/bluer the light, the more it reflects crystalline items because the light refracts as it goes through. So,since rain is, in essence, clear/crystalline; snow is made of frozen water and fog is essentially water mist...they will reflect more whiter/bluer light than warmer colours. (more yellow)
Generally, this is the reason for which real foglights had yellow bulbs. Putting whiter/bluer bulbs in fog lights is bad.
Generally, this is the reason for which real foglights had yellow bulbs. Putting whiter/bluer bulbs in fog lights is bad.
[/QUOTE]On a sidenote, I have stock halogens in there right now and i notice that there seems to be a flicker every now and again. For example, if i stop at a light, sometimes i'll notice them dim a bit, then they will get brighter again. Or even as I drive, at times I can notice them dim then bright. They are very quick and sparatic bursts...i'm not losing light for seconds at a time or anything. But i just wanted to ask if anyone knew what this was about? Also, has anyone else had this problem? Thanks guys!
-wes[/QUOTE]
I've noticed the same thing and was wondering if I was just assuming this was happening, glad to hear it's a regular thing.
-wes[/QUOTE]
I've noticed the same thing and was wondering if I was just assuming this was happening, glad to hear it's a regular thing.
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- MP5T / 944
I have them only in my Low BeamR3DL3TR5 said:
with 6000k-8000k you should never use your Hi-Beams unless you are on an un-lit stretch of highway (The Kind Between Major Urban Cities)
I think I read somewhere that retrofitting HID bulbs in any halogen system is illegal in every state, since the arc in an HID bulb has different dimensions than the filament of the halogen bulb. This suggests that the beam pattern could be quite different with HIDs--maybe you guys running HIDs can comment on how the beam pattern changed?
I considered doing the HID conversion until I read about the scattering and beam changes. I also read a consumer reports article which listed the P5 as having the best low beams of any non-HID vehicle sold in the states. That article was posted somewhere in these pages...
I checked out http://danielsternlighting.com/home.html and decided to inquire with the lighting consultant about the best way to improve P5 lighting. DS suggested installing relays and heavy gauge wire to make sure the bulbs are getting all the current they need, Osram Silverstar Rallye+65 H7 bulbs for the lows, and something called HIR 9011 bulbs for the highs. That's Halogen Infra Red, where they coat the bulb with an IR-reflecting film which redirects IR back to the filament, making it hotter and brighter. DS backed it up with light output in lumens--a reliable metric for brightness--to the tune of a 50% increase in light output over stock. Sure, it's not as bright as a factory HID setup, but it seems like the most responsible way to improve nightime visability in the P5. Personally, I'm more interested in seeing better than getting the HID "look" at the expense of other drivers' visability and risk of pissing off cops, but to each his/her own. Check out (study) the site--it's all science/no bulls***.
I considered doing the HID conversion until I read about the scattering and beam changes. I also read a consumer reports article which listed the P5 as having the best low beams of any non-HID vehicle sold in the states. That article was posted somewhere in these pages...
I checked out http://danielsternlighting.com/home.html and decided to inquire with the lighting consultant about the best way to improve P5 lighting. DS suggested installing relays and heavy gauge wire to make sure the bulbs are getting all the current they need, Osram Silverstar Rallye+65 H7 bulbs for the lows, and something called HIR 9011 bulbs for the highs. That's Halogen Infra Red, where they coat the bulb with an IR-reflecting film which redirects IR back to the filament, making it hotter and brighter. DS backed it up with light output in lumens--a reliable metric for brightness--to the tune of a 50% increase in light output over stock. Sure, it's not as bright as a factory HID setup, but it seems like the most responsible way to improve nightime visability in the P5. Personally, I'm more interested in seeing better than getting the HID "look" at the expense of other drivers' visability and risk of pissing off cops, but to each his/her own. Check out (study) the site--it's all science/no bulls***.
bradicus18 said:
Thanks for all the help guys. I wanted to ask you, BRADICUS18, what's the visibility like on your setup? would you say it's better than stock or worse? When you installed them, is everything included with the set and is the wiring straight forward? Also, you have the 6000K setup, i bet that's pretty blue-purple, yah? Lastly, is there a pretty distinct line at that top of your HIDs? Do you have the purple line at the top outline of where your lights reflect? If I get this setup, i just want to make sure its a noticable and worthy investment. Thanks a lot for the help.
-wes
6000k is not really bluish purple, its more like a light blue. I think you'd need to go with a 8000k or higher if you want more of a purple look. But just warning you, like others have said, going higher then 6000k-7000k will mean less visibility and more for show. If you looking for a less expensive kit I advise talking to protephile, his sell for I believe $230. I cant compare them to other kits since this is my first one, but his was quick, inexpensive and easy install.
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- 2015 Mazda 3 iTouring sedan
Huascar82 said:
I spent $200 on mine shipped to my door and they are 10,000K and I love them! Way more light than the stock or any after market light that I have used. Just my opinion.
1
16902
I love the light output of my 6000k. The 4300 and 5000k kits will probably produce better results as far as light output but 6000k is a good compromise between "appearance" and performance. I notice dramatically increased performance over my stock halogen bulbs. Unfortunately I cannot comment on the defined line you see when your alignment hasn't been screwed up. I noticed it when I first got the car but I had since messed up my alignment and had to realign them. While I have gotten them pretty close to where they were, they are not perfect. Still, I feel that the performance of my HIDs are superior in every aspect and situation that I have encountered over my halogen bulbs...that includes rain. I have not had the opportunity to use them in snowy conditions but I will most likely drive my '90 Accord beater on those such days anyhow.
I used to get flashed by people when I originally installed my HIDs because I had one aimed too high. Now that I have realigned them, I no longer get flashed and my field of vision is excellent.
The installation is as easy as changing your regular bulbs (which is a PITA)....the only addition is really figuring out how to mount the ballasts. Currently I am unhappy with my mounting positions and will fix that when I install my turbo kit. If you aren't worried too much about underhood appearance, just find a place as far away from the exhaust manifold as possible and as dry as possible. The kit should come with two sided tape but it won't last forever so look at strapping the ballasts down somewhere or screwing them in somewhere. The wiring is really easy because it plugs right into your stock harness. Another cool aspect is that with the ballast, when you flip your high beams on, the low beams stay on for the extra side visibility.
As far as the line you are talking about in the reflector, I believe you could be referring to something you will normally only see through projector beam headlamps. Even the stock reflector type HIDs don't have this line that I think you are referring to. It is just a light blue tint to your light ouput but it is very white on the ground.
Hope this helps.
Edit: Here are some pics. My camera is a 6yr old 4MP camera so the images aren't great and well I'm no photographer either. These pics are not on even ground and not lined up with anything but hey I live in an apartment and this is my handy dandy carport. They kinda give you an idea of color though and the illumination pics are without and with flash.
I used to get flashed by people when I originally installed my HIDs because I had one aimed too high. Now that I have realigned them, I no longer get flashed and my field of vision is excellent.
The installation is as easy as changing your regular bulbs (which is a PITA)....the only addition is really figuring out how to mount the ballasts. Currently I am unhappy with my mounting positions and will fix that when I install my turbo kit. If you aren't worried too much about underhood appearance, just find a place as far away from the exhaust manifold as possible and as dry as possible. The kit should come with two sided tape but it won't last forever so look at strapping the ballasts down somewhere or screwing them in somewhere. The wiring is really easy because it plugs right into your stock harness. Another cool aspect is that with the ballast, when you flip your high beams on, the low beams stay on for the extra side visibility.
As far as the line you are talking about in the reflector, I believe you could be referring to something you will normally only see through projector beam headlamps. Even the stock reflector type HIDs don't have this line that I think you are referring to. It is just a light blue tint to your light ouput but it is very white on the ground.
Hope this helps.
Edit: Here are some pics. My camera is a 6yr old 4MP camera so the images aren't great and well I'm no photographer either. These pics are not on even ground and not lined up with anything but hey I live in an apartment and this is my handy dandy carport. They kinda give you an idea of color though and the illumination pics are without and with flash.
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