HeresMyMind
12-31-2007, 10:14 AM
Alright, After noticing that everyone here asks the same HID questions I figured I'd do a write up / informational on HID and projectors and all that good stuff. I will discuss Bulbs, Ballasts, Cutoffs, Color Temp’s, and anything else I can think of that people may want/need to know about HID’s.
First off what is HID?
High Intensity Discharge.
-Aka: really bright arse’ lights.
How They Work:
HID lights work with a Arc of electricity to produce light instead of using a filament like halogen bulbs. 2 electrodes inside the bulb spark between each other burning salts in the bulbs ultimately creating light. In order to do this these bulbs need a “spark” or strong/fast ignite to get the arc started. This is achieved by an igniter (part of the ballast or part of the bulb holder, it depends on how new your HID kit is). The spark creates the arc, then a constant current is carried between the 2 electrodes. When bulbs are first ignited they turn on slightly dim with a whiter tone of light, and after about 30 seconds the bulb is fully “warmed up” and will emit a constant hue of light.
Bulbs:
Types: true HID bulbs (OE) bulbs start with D (then a number) then either S or R
Examples:
D1S, D2S, D4S
D1R, D2R, D4R
(OE brands – Phillips, Osram GE)
Any bulb for HID besides these are not OE and are reliably shaky. H3, h7, 9004 or any other bulb is NOT made for HID.
There are 2 different style of HID OE bulbs. 1 Made for projector housings, and 1 made for reflector housings. (D*S’s for projectors, D*R’s for reflectors) D*R bulbs have a special coating on the sides of the glass part of the bulb and a stripe around the center portion of the bulb. This helps reduce glare to oncoming traffic and making sure the light is spread to where you need it to be AKA on the road. D*S bulbs do not have this coating and do not need to reduce the glare because the projectors cut off shields prevent the glare.
The bulbs life spans usually end up being much much longer than halogen’s. They do not “blow” out. They simply dim until they are about as bright as a halogen bulb. Or they “color shift”.
PnP Kits- Plug n’ Play kits commonly found on ebay forum group buys and every other aftermarket webpage. These kits are very flaky and Illegal. No matter what is posted on their adds PnP kits are illegal, and NOT D.O.T. Stamped. These kits reliability vary. The reliability is only as good as the dealer. PnP kit bulbs/ballasts tend to fail much more often then OEM hid components. Each kit varies, I have had a 3000k fog kit last 3 years and 1 last 1 month. Despite the warranties promised by these companies (2 years life time ect…) please keep in mind that most companies that deal HID products in the US do not stay in business long. The DOT is trying to shut down HID dealing. Companies tend to change their names often making warranties harder to use. Venders in Forums tend to be the most reliable because they tend to stick around much longer and are easier to contact than Fl-Ebay dealers.
Color Shifting:
Ever drive by a older audi with projectors and realize how bright WHITE their lights are? Well this is achieved by choosing a higher temp bulb. In time Bulbs color shift. They tend to turn bluer ultimately looking more of a pure white rather than an off white. Older HID equipped cars will have the whiter looking lights due to this.
Color Temp’s of Bulbs:
OE Bulbs are generally created at 4300k or 4900k. This temperature is most accurate to the color of daylight, thus creating the most natural light on the road during night driving. The color looks like a off white but much whiter than halogen (tan) output. These bulbs color shift after a lot of usage 100+ hours is when they start to shift.
5000k- Phillips/GE make a few more Rare pure white bulb. 5000k is the pure white with a very minimal hue of blue. Great during clear weather driving but during poor weather conditions they tend to cause glare/reflect making it hard to see in fog/snow. And the whiter light tends to be “absorbed” into the wet roads.
6000k- Glacier Blue, very white with more of a impression of light blue. Again great in nice weather, bad in poor weather.
8000k- Blue, the color choice of “Ricers” around the globe, striving to get the blue effect of OE projectors. This blue light is not only illegal but it is very poor on your eyes. Eyes strain to see blue light on the road, and although it may be “cool” looking with your buddies 8000k is a ticket chance, and accident chance, Long trips with these bulbs and your eyes will be hurtin’. Not to mention in poor weather condition driving they are Useless.
10,000k- Deep Blue, Even bluer than 8000k, starting to turn violet. All of 8000k’s worries + some more
12,000k-30,000k- violet to pink to green. Poor performance, illegal and bad for your eyes. DO NOT USE THESE unless for show vehicle.
3,000k- Yellow, As of right now I only know of 1 OE company that makes 3000k yellow HID bulbs. Phillips 85122 YX bulbs. After owning a pair of these rare and expensive bulbs, you’ll always want them for poor weather conditions. Yellow light is the easiest on your eyes and creates the best output for depth perception. Although they are slightly dimmer than OE 4300k bulbs (due to a yellow filter) they are a great choice. Some states do not allow yellow as your main driving light, but here in CT they are. Please check local laws. They reflect less off fog and are great for depth perception in snow. Think about it, 4300k white on white snow or 3000k yellow on white snow. Use in fogs or secondary lighting.
Ballasts:
Ballasts are the electrical boxes used to power the bulbs. Since HID bulbs run at around half the wattage of a halogen bulb (approx. 35 watts compared to 55-65 halogens) they need a converter box to keep a constant lower voltage needed by HID bulbs. The newer ballasts have built in igniters (part used to spark on HID bulbs). They are built right into the bulb fastener. Older style ballasts have the main ballasts box. Then the lead wires to the bulb with another box between then bulb fastener and the ballast itself. Ballasts are NOT water Proof unlike most ebay adds. Most OE ballasts are water resistant but not water proof. Ebay adds claiming this or showing pictures simply seal the ballasts then take a picture, This is un safe for ballasts removing any ventilation from the ballasts will cause reliability issues and fire issues. PnP ballasts 9 times out of 10 fail much earlier than a OE ballasts. So keep warranties in mind.
Projectors:
There are 2 different projectors and 3 different cut off shields.
Halogen Projectors:
These projectors have a cutoff of light and use h7 h3 h1 bulbs. They tend to have a hotspot of light in the middle of the cutoff and do not spread the light very well. The width of the output is mediocre at best. The reflectors bowls are more circular and created for halogen/filament bulbs, placing a HID bulb in a halogen reflector will not improve performance by much, if at any.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/12/6ymgv8m-1.jpg
notice the hot spots. Halogen projector with h7 hid kit 6000k
Hid Projectors;
These projectors use D*S bulbs and have a much more even spread of light. They have a much wider beam pattern and of course are much brighter than halogen projectors. There are 2 different types of HID
projectors. Single Xenon and Bi-xenon.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/12/837eqtu-1.jpg
my tsx 4300k retrofit. nice wide beam even light spread.
What is Bixenon anyways? (common bixenon projectors: FX35, G35, Porche, hella E55, TL, RS6, E46)
Bixenon is a style of projector where a low and high beam are produced using 1 projector. The projector’s cutoff shield is positioned differently when the high beams are turned on, removing the cut off, of the low beam only. Bixenon IS NOT a bulb with 2 bulbs in 1 or 1 bulb that moves mechanically. 9004/9007 bixenon hid kits are NOT TRUE bixenon.
Single Xenon Projectors: (common single xenon projectors: TSX, MDX, Hella E55s, E46s, Valeo Ls430, ES300)
Single Xenon projectors are for low beam purposes only. Using a separate projector or reflector housing for the high beams output.
Cut Off’s / Steps
Projectors create a cut off of light. This allows projectors to put as much light on the road without jeopardizing the safety of on coming traffic. All the light output is below the cut off which is below oncoming traffics eyes, making for a safe trip. When you drive by a Hid equipped projector'd car ever notice how the you get a blue "flicker" but the light output is white? that is the color along the cutoff. the projector bends the light creating a blue line above the cutoff making it appear blue. the bulbs are NOT blue. This is what most ricers want so they buy 8000-10,000k hid kits.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/12/6kyq5o6-1.jpg
notice blue along cutoff.
There are 3 major types of cut offs. DOT, ECE and right/left hand drive cut offs.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/12/8fa09aa-1.jpg
Ever notice how when a car with Hid projectors have a “step” in their cut off. This step allows for light to be higher on the side of the road where road signs and pedestrians are and lower where oncoming traffic is. Making a safer drive for everyone
EcE patterns are more common in European cars, Mainly Audi’s and Volk’s, some Mini Coopers and a few others. The EcE cut off is “somewhat” dangerous but only when on the highways when you have traffic on your right side.
Dot is the safest of course.
Wire Harnesses:
For Hid Applications a separate wire harness is highly recommended, one that draws power from the battery itself and uses the stock wiring as a trigger through a relay to turn on. Many PnP kit dealers claim extra wires are just engine clutter and aren’t needed since hid uses half the wattage than halogen. WRONG. When HID ballasts are first turned on they require a higher AMP/Wattage to ignite the bulb. Having thicker wire with power drawn directly from the battery is a much cleaner smoother current for the HID components to work. Many times when people use PnP kits and hook them directly to stock wiring, they turn on their lights and they flicker. The bulbs are un able to ignite and ultimately kills the life span of the bulbs when they flicker. Think of a grounding mod for your car. A smoother cleaner ground connection allows for your cars electrical components to function smoother, Lights don’t dim when high wattage stereos are used, smoother idle, faster rev response. The same goes for hid wire harnesses, although its not technically needed, it is much safer and much more efficient. Stock harnesses especially on older cars tend to have thinner worn out wires for headlight. Not to mention all the power runs into your center console and who wants a fire in car? I certainly don’t.
I know I have poor grammar and typing skills I really hoped that this Info write up helped everyone out. If there are any more questions you have or any more information I can think of that is useful please ask so I can answer. It took me 2 hours to type this up sitting in my car at work on my laptop. So be kind.
-B
First off what is HID?
High Intensity Discharge.
-Aka: really bright arse’ lights.
How They Work:
HID lights work with a Arc of electricity to produce light instead of using a filament like halogen bulbs. 2 electrodes inside the bulb spark between each other burning salts in the bulbs ultimately creating light. In order to do this these bulbs need a “spark” or strong/fast ignite to get the arc started. This is achieved by an igniter (part of the ballast or part of the bulb holder, it depends on how new your HID kit is). The spark creates the arc, then a constant current is carried between the 2 electrodes. When bulbs are first ignited they turn on slightly dim with a whiter tone of light, and after about 30 seconds the bulb is fully “warmed up” and will emit a constant hue of light.
Bulbs:
Types: true HID bulbs (OE) bulbs start with D (then a number) then either S or R
Examples:
D1S, D2S, D4S
D1R, D2R, D4R
(OE brands – Phillips, Osram GE)
Any bulb for HID besides these are not OE and are reliably shaky. H3, h7, 9004 or any other bulb is NOT made for HID.
There are 2 different style of HID OE bulbs. 1 Made for projector housings, and 1 made for reflector housings. (D*S’s for projectors, D*R’s for reflectors) D*R bulbs have a special coating on the sides of the glass part of the bulb and a stripe around the center portion of the bulb. This helps reduce glare to oncoming traffic and making sure the light is spread to where you need it to be AKA on the road. D*S bulbs do not have this coating and do not need to reduce the glare because the projectors cut off shields prevent the glare.
The bulbs life spans usually end up being much much longer than halogen’s. They do not “blow” out. They simply dim until they are about as bright as a halogen bulb. Or they “color shift”.
PnP Kits- Plug n’ Play kits commonly found on ebay forum group buys and every other aftermarket webpage. These kits are very flaky and Illegal. No matter what is posted on their adds PnP kits are illegal, and NOT D.O.T. Stamped. These kits reliability vary. The reliability is only as good as the dealer. PnP kit bulbs/ballasts tend to fail much more often then OEM hid components. Each kit varies, I have had a 3000k fog kit last 3 years and 1 last 1 month. Despite the warranties promised by these companies (2 years life time ect…) please keep in mind that most companies that deal HID products in the US do not stay in business long. The DOT is trying to shut down HID dealing. Companies tend to change their names often making warranties harder to use. Venders in Forums tend to be the most reliable because they tend to stick around much longer and are easier to contact than Fl-Ebay dealers.
Color Shifting:
Ever drive by a older audi with projectors and realize how bright WHITE their lights are? Well this is achieved by choosing a higher temp bulb. In time Bulbs color shift. They tend to turn bluer ultimately looking more of a pure white rather than an off white. Older HID equipped cars will have the whiter looking lights due to this.
Color Temp’s of Bulbs:
OE Bulbs are generally created at 4300k or 4900k. This temperature is most accurate to the color of daylight, thus creating the most natural light on the road during night driving. The color looks like a off white but much whiter than halogen (tan) output. These bulbs color shift after a lot of usage 100+ hours is when they start to shift.
5000k- Phillips/GE make a few more Rare pure white bulb. 5000k is the pure white with a very minimal hue of blue. Great during clear weather driving but during poor weather conditions they tend to cause glare/reflect making it hard to see in fog/snow. And the whiter light tends to be “absorbed” into the wet roads.
6000k- Glacier Blue, very white with more of a impression of light blue. Again great in nice weather, bad in poor weather.
8000k- Blue, the color choice of “Ricers” around the globe, striving to get the blue effect of OE projectors. This blue light is not only illegal but it is very poor on your eyes. Eyes strain to see blue light on the road, and although it may be “cool” looking with your buddies 8000k is a ticket chance, and accident chance, Long trips with these bulbs and your eyes will be hurtin’. Not to mention in poor weather condition driving they are Useless.
10,000k- Deep Blue, Even bluer than 8000k, starting to turn violet. All of 8000k’s worries + some more
12,000k-30,000k- violet to pink to green. Poor performance, illegal and bad for your eyes. DO NOT USE THESE unless for show vehicle.
3,000k- Yellow, As of right now I only know of 1 OE company that makes 3000k yellow HID bulbs. Phillips 85122 YX bulbs. After owning a pair of these rare and expensive bulbs, you’ll always want them for poor weather conditions. Yellow light is the easiest on your eyes and creates the best output for depth perception. Although they are slightly dimmer than OE 4300k bulbs (due to a yellow filter) they are a great choice. Some states do not allow yellow as your main driving light, but here in CT they are. Please check local laws. They reflect less off fog and are great for depth perception in snow. Think about it, 4300k white on white snow or 3000k yellow on white snow. Use in fogs or secondary lighting.
Ballasts:
Ballasts are the electrical boxes used to power the bulbs. Since HID bulbs run at around half the wattage of a halogen bulb (approx. 35 watts compared to 55-65 halogens) they need a converter box to keep a constant lower voltage needed by HID bulbs. The newer ballasts have built in igniters (part used to spark on HID bulbs). They are built right into the bulb fastener. Older style ballasts have the main ballasts box. Then the lead wires to the bulb with another box between then bulb fastener and the ballast itself. Ballasts are NOT water Proof unlike most ebay adds. Most OE ballasts are water resistant but not water proof. Ebay adds claiming this or showing pictures simply seal the ballasts then take a picture, This is un safe for ballasts removing any ventilation from the ballasts will cause reliability issues and fire issues. PnP ballasts 9 times out of 10 fail much earlier than a OE ballasts. So keep warranties in mind.
Projectors:
There are 2 different projectors and 3 different cut off shields.
Halogen Projectors:
These projectors have a cutoff of light and use h7 h3 h1 bulbs. They tend to have a hotspot of light in the middle of the cutoff and do not spread the light very well. The width of the output is mediocre at best. The reflectors bowls are more circular and created for halogen/filament bulbs, placing a HID bulb in a halogen reflector will not improve performance by much, if at any.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/12/6ymgv8m-1.jpg
notice the hot spots. Halogen projector with h7 hid kit 6000k
Hid Projectors;
These projectors use D*S bulbs and have a much more even spread of light. They have a much wider beam pattern and of course are much brighter than halogen projectors. There are 2 different types of HID
projectors. Single Xenon and Bi-xenon.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/12/837eqtu-1.jpg
my tsx 4300k retrofit. nice wide beam even light spread.
What is Bixenon anyways? (common bixenon projectors: FX35, G35, Porche, hella E55, TL, RS6, E46)
Bixenon is a style of projector where a low and high beam are produced using 1 projector. The projector’s cutoff shield is positioned differently when the high beams are turned on, removing the cut off, of the low beam only. Bixenon IS NOT a bulb with 2 bulbs in 1 or 1 bulb that moves mechanically. 9004/9007 bixenon hid kits are NOT TRUE bixenon.
Single Xenon Projectors: (common single xenon projectors: TSX, MDX, Hella E55s, E46s, Valeo Ls430, ES300)
Single Xenon projectors are for low beam purposes only. Using a separate projector or reflector housing for the high beams output.
Cut Off’s / Steps
Projectors create a cut off of light. This allows projectors to put as much light on the road without jeopardizing the safety of on coming traffic. All the light output is below the cut off which is below oncoming traffics eyes, making for a safe trip. When you drive by a Hid equipped projector'd car ever notice how the you get a blue "flicker" but the light output is white? that is the color along the cutoff. the projector bends the light creating a blue line above the cutoff making it appear blue. the bulbs are NOT blue. This is what most ricers want so they buy 8000-10,000k hid kits.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/12/6kyq5o6-1.jpg
notice blue along cutoff.
There are 3 major types of cut offs. DOT, ECE and right/left hand drive cut offs.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/12/8fa09aa-1.jpg
Ever notice how when a car with Hid projectors have a “step” in their cut off. This step allows for light to be higher on the side of the road where road signs and pedestrians are and lower where oncoming traffic is. Making a safer drive for everyone
EcE patterns are more common in European cars, Mainly Audi’s and Volk’s, some Mini Coopers and a few others. The EcE cut off is “somewhat” dangerous but only when on the highways when you have traffic on your right side.
Dot is the safest of course.
Wire Harnesses:
For Hid Applications a separate wire harness is highly recommended, one that draws power from the battery itself and uses the stock wiring as a trigger through a relay to turn on. Many PnP kit dealers claim extra wires are just engine clutter and aren’t needed since hid uses half the wattage than halogen. WRONG. When HID ballasts are first turned on they require a higher AMP/Wattage to ignite the bulb. Having thicker wire with power drawn directly from the battery is a much cleaner smoother current for the HID components to work. Many times when people use PnP kits and hook them directly to stock wiring, they turn on their lights and they flicker. The bulbs are un able to ignite and ultimately kills the life span of the bulbs when they flicker. Think of a grounding mod for your car. A smoother cleaner ground connection allows for your cars electrical components to function smoother, Lights don’t dim when high wattage stereos are used, smoother idle, faster rev response. The same goes for hid wire harnesses, although its not technically needed, it is much safer and much more efficient. Stock harnesses especially on older cars tend to have thinner worn out wires for headlight. Not to mention all the power runs into your center console and who wants a fire in car? I certainly don’t.
I know I have poor grammar and typing skills I really hoped that this Info write up helped everyone out. If there are any more questions you have or any more information I can think of that is useful please ask so I can answer. It took me 2 hours to type this up sitting in my car at work on my laptop. So be kind.
-B