side-by-side comparo of GT HID's vs' Sport HID's

[emessthree]

I did some searching and found a post asking about the headlight/projector differences between the sport model and the GT model, but noone had a definitive answer as to whether or not the assembly is the same in the sport model as it is in the GT model. My search didn't answer my question or get me the info I am looking.

I am ordering a 5000K conversion kit, but i want to see what the differences are in the headlight assembly/housing/projector.

If anyone has a picture of their GT HID's against a wall or something for me to compare to a Sport model showing their HID's post em up! So, I am looking for GT HID light cutoff/clarity vs Sport HID light clarity.

Seems like noone on this forum is 100% sure about the differences between the sport and GT headlights.

 

[mazpro]

The assembly is different between the 2, The GT have the Ballast integrated with the headlight.

I don't have any pictures, but i can take some of my GT if u tell me what you want to see.

 

[Rotus]

The assembly is different between the 2, The GT have the Ballast integrated with the headlight.

I don't have any pictures, but i can take some of my GT if u tell me what you want to see.

GT also has adjustable cutoff.

 

[emessthree]

The assembly is different between the 2, The GT have the Ballast integrated with the headlight.

I don't have any pictures, but i can take some of my GT if u tell me what you want to see.

I just want to see the difference in light output/pattern of the sport vs the GT model.

A picture of the GT HID's shining up against a wall that shows the light cutoff would be what Im looking for.

(thumb)

 

[icspots]

No pictures, but the optics are different. The HID projector has a deeper bowl (longer lamp) and the shield is separate from the bowl. I believe the lens is the same between the halogen and HID projectors. With the different shape to the projector and the spacing of the shield the HID cutoff is way sharper, and more consistently distributes light throughout the beam to make it wider and have fewer hot spots.

As for the housing there aren't any differences (that I know of) except for the leveling motor. Really the big difference is in the projector itself.

So will a H7 HID kit be better than halogens by way of light production? Yes. Will it be better than a HID projector? No.

 

[icspots]

Okay I found some pics from Operator at mazda 3 forums.

stock halogen with HID conversion

OEM HID with clear EVO lens and washer mod

 

[Rotus8]

Okay I found some pics from Operator at mazda 3 forums.

stock halogen with HID conversion

OEM HID with clear EVO lens and washer mod

That HID conversion looks like trouble. The hump in the middle looks to be higher than the lights which is sure to piss off a alot of people coming the other direction. You can also see quite a bit of spill above the cut off line. This is the reason HID conversions are illegal.

 

[mr_mazda329]

That HID conversion looks like trouble. The hump in the middle looks to be higher than the lights which is sure to piss off a alot of people coming the other direction. You can also see quite a bit of spill above the cut off line. This is the reason HID conversions are illegal.

LOL. I don't want to burst your bubble, but the spill above is from the light reflecting off the driveway. I get the same thing in mine even with oem halogens.

 

[rapter]

HIDS are illegal? maybe where your from, does anyone know if there illegal in Canada/Alberta? cause i have had them on my protege for over a year now and i havent had a problem yet driving behind cops too?
i guess i kinda answered my own question lol.

 

[mr_mazda329]

HIDS are illegal? maybe where your from, does anyone know if there illegal in Canada/Alberta? cause i have had them on my protege for over a year now and i havent had a problem yet driving behind cops too?
i guess i kinda answered my own question lol.

I, too have had illegal HID's, on my miata for almost a year. I never get flashed or pulled over for a fix-it ticket. The miata doesn't have to worry about passing any state inspections tho thank god.

 

[nhluhr]

GT also has adjustable cutoff.

What do you mean by this?

 

[Hank3]

Maybe he means the leveler settings from 0-3 so you can adjust the beam when you have passengers/load in the back.

 

[nhluhr]

Maybe he means the leveler settings from 0-3 so you can adjust the beam when you have passengers/load in the back.

i was hoping he knew something i didn't... if he's talking about the leveler, that thing doesn't adjust the cutoff. it adjusts the entire aim. :unamused:

 

[Hank3]

Haha - yeah I wish there were a magic button to adjust the cutoff.

 

[icspots]

That HID conversion looks like trouble. The hump in the middle looks to be higher than the lights which is sure to piss off a alot of people coming the other direction. You can also see quite a bit of spill above the cut off line. This is the reason HID conversions are illegal.

The conversion picture is a perfect example of the difference in light distribution when using HIDs in a halogen housing. Note the blurry cutoff, the excess light spilling above the cutoff, much less broad beam, and the uneven lighting below the cutoff (i.e. hotspots in the center and dimmer to the sides).

LOL. I don't want to burst your bubble, but the spill above is from the light reflecting off the driveway. I get the same thing in mine even with oem halogens.

Some of the spill is reflection off of the driveway, however the bulk of it is just light spillage (is that actually a word?) Note that you don't see it with the HID projector, and the ground is wet in those pictures..... btw the glare you see in the "wet" picture is light reflecting off the water. Just to further illustrate here's another picture from operator in the same driveway after his HID projector retrofit. Now try telling me it's the driveway.

HIDS are illegal? maybe where you're from, does anyone know if they're illegal in Canada/Alberta? cause i have had them on my protege for over a year now and i havent had a problem yet driving behind cops too?
i guess i kinda answered my own question lol.

All aftermarket HIDs are illegal in the US (not sure about Canada). That's why all the HID kits will say something like "off road use only". And just because you have something that's technically illegal on your car and haven't been ticketed for it doesn't make it less illegal. For the most part HID kits aren't a problem unless people install them in reflector housings, they're horribly misaimed, or they use a super high color temp.

What do you mean by this?

I think he's referring to the shield in the projector. In the halogen projector the shield is attached to the bowl, however in the HID projector the shield is separate. Because of that you can insert washers between the shield and the projector to allow some light leakage from the sides. The results of this? increased color along the cutoff, and the characteristic light flicker when seeing the lights from an angle. This bluish flicker is what most people with higher kelvin HIDs are trying to imitate. The thing is that all OEM HIDs are ~4300k temp. which is white, and the blue flicker is just the light leaking. Most newer OEM HIDs use a frosted lens which decreases the flicker so as to distract other drivers less.

 

[nhluhr]

I think he's referring to the shield in the projector. In the halogen projector the shield is attached to the bowl, however in the HID projector the shield is separate. Because of that you can insert washers between the shield and the projector to allow some light leakage from the sides. The results of this? increased color along the cutoff, and the characteristic light flicker when seeing the lights from an angle. This bluish flicker is what most people with higher kelvin HIDs are trying to imitate. The thing is that all OEM HIDs are ~4300k temp. which is white, and the blue flicker is just the light leaking. Most newer OEM HIDs use a frosted lens which decreases the flicker so as to distract other drivers less.

yeah man i hear you... i'm a disciple of Daniel Stern Lighting myself. It's amazing how many people do lighting poorly.

More info on this washer mod? I am assuming it would make for a hotter foreground, when the hotspot/cutoff is reaimed, right?

 

[emessthree]

yeah man i hear you... i'm a disciple of Daniel Stern Lighting myself. It's amazing how many people do lighting poorly.

More info on this washer mod? I am assuming it would make for a hotter foreground, when the hotspot/cutoff is reaimed, right?

thanks for the info everyone.

I have a 5000K 35 Kit on the way which will be installed next wednesday.

We'll see how it looks, 5000K 35 Watts bulbs are about 2300 lumens so the light will be 2x of the stock halogen bulb. It looks an HID drop in with the sport lights will look good, but not as good as the GT HID's.

I'll post pics of my 5000K 35 watt setup when its installed if anyone is interested.

 

[mr_mazda329]

Post pics when you have them

 

[icspots]

yeah man i hear you... i'm a disciple of Daniel Stern Lighting myself. It's amazing how many people do lighting poorly.

More info on this washer mod? I am assuming it would make for a hotter foreground, when the hotspot/cutoff is reaimed, right?

Basically you remove the projector bowl from the front of the projector (where the lens is housed) and put a few washers between them when you put it back together. This allows a bit of light to leak out around the edges of the lens, gives the colored effect on the cutoff, and the flicker from the sides.

Here's the HID projector disassembled with the washers in place

And here's the projector reassembled with the washers

You can use varying numbers of washers to produce differing color effects. Here's some examples from respiro on mazda 3 forums.

 

[nhluhr]

so you're just moving the lens out of the focal point of the bowl... causing that nice fringing... neat mod.

What I'm actually looking for though is a way to change the aim of the high beams relative to the low beams. I feel the highs are too high with the lowbeams correctly aimed, evidenced by the dim gap between the two beams instead of a smooth transition.