HID's in the lower lights

[bojans]

I have tried to upgrade my lighting with out going HID (don't want to retrofit projectors and certainly don't want to blind oncoming drivers) but haven't reached the results I had hoped for. So far I have replaced the main lights with Silverstar's and changed the lower lights (fog?) from the stock 35w bulbs to 65w 9005 high beam Silverstar. The difference is noticeable but on really dark roads it is not sufficient. I am considering adding HID's to the lower lights to add more over all light. My question is has anyone done this and how does the light get thrown (out front, off to the sides)? My hope is by doing this I will be able to independently control the lower lamps as not to blind oncoming traffic but still get good lighting. I would also plan on making the lower lights work in conjunction with the high beams.

With my current set up having only the lower lights on provides better illumination than having just the mains on.

 

[NYMount21]

http://www.suvlights.com/index.php?cPath=24_73

i installed a new harness to the tune of about $60 bucks in my Mountaineer from SUVlgihts.com. The light output is def. much better, still no where near HID's, but improved nonetheless. If u install this and use ur stock bulbs, they actually light the road the most ironically. I'm using silverstars though now and the whole setup has worked pretty well for me

Just a suggestion - this if for headlights btw

Ur foglight question - its def. do-able. WhiteLimited has a nice set-up going if u find some pics of his truck

 

[jupiterak]

Just curious, did your foglamp hold up to the higher wattage bulbs? I'm thinking about doing the same but worried about the plastic housing.

 

[shortstack]

as long as your hid lights are aimed right, it wont really blind on coming traffic

 

[NYMount21]

yea, but every once in a great awhile the bulbs would blow - pain in the ass. Eventually it melted the light plug that goes directly into the back of the bulb, guy at the Lincoln Merc. dealer said it was because of the aftermarket bulbs. Nothing serious, wire was $20, and it took forever for that to even happen. Otherwise everything else is safe

 

[shortstack]

^^^ i think the were BS'ing you cause hid's use 20 watts less on each bulb so i dont think they would have burned the wires.

note: i have heard the new H13 plug wires were burning up on stock cars/trucks

 

[NYMount21]

I DON'T HAVE HID's. I never said i had HID's. I said i put a new wiring harness in for my headlights and then just new bulbs all over. So the bulbs most likely did do that, my guy is very trustworthy

 

[shortstack]

oh... i thought you were talking about a different car

 

[RJ]

as long as your hid lights are aimed right, it wont really blind on coming traffic

That's the problem though - you can't properly aim an HID capsule without projectors.

Nearly all reflector designs are optimized for a point source light, in other words a filament no more than 1/2" in length. The long HID arc causes much of the light to be out of focus, and therefore scatter hopelessly.

 

[bojans]

Probably a stupid question but as I understand it the issue with switching a halogen to HID is the location and length of the light source. What if you painted the HID bulb to mimic the light area of a halogen? Would that cause proper focus?

 

[RJ]

Probably a stupid question but as I understand it the issue with switching a halogen to HID is the location and length of the light source. What if you painted the HID bulb to mimic the light area of a halogen? Would that cause proper focus?

Well, if you covered up the bulb so that only a small fraction of the light gets through, then sure, you may obtain proper focus.

But why? Now you have a light that's probably dimmer than a standard halogen, but with all the trouble and expense of HID.

The best bet is to use high efficiency halogens in the +30 and +50 range. GE Nighhawks and Phillips VisionPlus are really good. Do NOT use Silverstars or other "blue bulb", they're significantly dimmer.