Not too bright HID's?

[feared100]

other than not having projectors...is there any reason my DDM tuning HID's are not as bright as i thought they would be? Or am I just overreacting

 

[FIND]

Because the light is being scattered in the foreground which makes it harder to see the beam.

though, just to be certain, did you allow them to warm up?

 

[feared100]

Yupp. I then em on and waut for them. They start out purple. but then get to the blueish white they are. Yet I know people with the same lights in other trucks. But theirs are brighter.

 

[FIND]

it's probably just the way your reflectors are scattering the beam. This is why HIDs don't belong in a housing made for halogen bulbs. The reflector optics are all wrong.

 

[pbnj22]

I am in the same dilemma I bought hid lights and made sure i got nice ones with ballasts and what not but totally spaced out the housings so now im working on getting new projector housings.. what year make etc is your truck?

 

[feared100]

thanks for the info Find. I just don't have money for the projectors. I wish i did. And I've got a 1997 XLT 4x4 with 170,000+ miles.

 

[pbnj22]

cheapest i found was 180 bucks for both which isnt terrible. and it looks like a decent pair.. i posted it in a different forum on here somewhere. I am just waiting for conformation that the hid bulbs will fit inside the housing without rubbing. but there pretty common around the 220- 260 dollar mark...

 

[feared100]

im thinking about some auxilary lights though. My HID's are as good as theyre going to get. lol

 

[Anime]

HIDs don't belong in a housing made for halogen bulbs. The reflector optics are all wrong.

"Not too bright", indeed.


Take out the HID junk, put in the correct halogen bulbs.

Use Silverstar/zXe if you must have "HID" looking lights.

The life you save may be your own.

 

[feared100]

honestly just going for the brightness. I could care less about what it looks like.

 

[88racing]

other than not having projectors...is there any reason my DDM tuning HID's are not as bright as i thought they would be? Or am I just overreacting

What bulb color did you get???

Optimal bulb color is 4300-5000 anything above 6000 is just a waste.

And as others have stated that projectors are the optimal way to go....

 

[feared100]

10000k 55w. So technically it is still fairly white

 

[FIND]

10,000K shouldn't be anything near white. That's positively blue.

 

[pbnj22]

lmao at 10000k and trying to get bright lol... get 4300k and get projector lens and you will be very impressed.

 

[feared100]

i got the 10,000k because my friend has em and they are really bright..

 

[theluke19]

Why laugh at the guy? While there is plenty of information out there on the internet, he came here to ask us for help.

Clearly he doesn't know- so instead of poking fun, how about educate him!

This should put things into perspective (READ The information, don't just skim it)

ALSO, keep in mind this is from a Honda Civic forum, so when they say 'exotic' most people around here think its nasty lol

http://www.9thgencivic.com/forum/attachments/lighting-h-i-d-s-neon/10977d1346181534-hid-faq-read-before-you-ask-hidchart%5B1%5D.jpg

I'm probably going to go with 6000K, and retrofit some projector lenses. There are plenty of writeups to walk me through it. While 4300K might be the most useable light, I'd still like a whiteness to them.

 

[Anime]

honestly just going for the brightness. I could care less about what it looks like.

If you want brightness, put in some decent halogen bulbs like Sylvania XtraVision or Philips Hi-Visibility, and use a relay harness. This will provide proper voltage to the bulbs and make them much brighter than with the old stock wiring.

If you don't care about bulb life, you can also get GE Nighthawk Platinum or Philips Xtreme bulbs, they are even brighter, but don't last very long.


HID bulbs in a headlamp designed for a halogen bulb will not be 'bright', no matter how intense the HID arc is. This is because the REFLECTOR is what reflects the light out onto the road and makes the 'brightness' you see in front of the car. HID bulbs will be 'bright' in terms of glare and how dazzling they are when you look at your car from the front, but that has nothing to do with functional, useable light on the road.

It is also dangerous (and illegal) to use HID bulbs in halogen housings because of this. You will BLIND drivers of oncoming cars, and could cause a collision, possibly with your own vehicle.

Why laugh at the guy? While there is plenty of information out there on the internet, he came here to ask us for help.

Clearly he doesn't know- so instead of poking fun, how about educate him!

The message "Don't use HID bulbs in halogen headlamps" is out there, both on the internet and in the law.

He's been given the message that it won't work and is against the law.

He's also been told that projectors are the way to go if you want a functional, useable 'bright' HID setup.

 

[feared100]

Thank you for the extended information. And being nice lol. But I do want to do the retrofit. I just cannot because of money. (Gotta love collage). And I had just bought the hids and I dnt want to waste em. I guess I could sell em but still.

 

[88racing]

The other thing to look at that a lot of people miss is......

The head light lens.....ya know that clear piece does get pitted and yellow over time and that can impede light output.....

Might want to look at a headlight restoration kit or aftermarket replacement housings too....