What's the difference???? and can you tell between the bulbs and the real thing???

 

Visibility, actual light output, color temperature. etc.

HID's emit a 4300K output at only 35w of power consumption vs. the standard halogen 3200k at 55w. This means that HID's are bigger and brighter, and have a much longer life span.

HID imitation bulbs claim power consumptions of 90w-120w, which is a major drain. The halogen uses the typical filament which burns out quickly at an increased wattage output. HID's on the other hand, use xenon discharged gas, which is ignited to create an arc of bright white light.

The majority of the time increased wattage in imitation bulbs requires you to buy an aftermarket light harness(35-60$) to supply sufficient power to the bulbs, believe it or not, lack of wattage supplied to high wattage bulbs can burn it out also. Sometimes HID kit's need aftermarket harnesses also, during the ignition of HID's it requires somewhere btw 65-80watts, but after the warming up phase it reduces down to 35w, thats why you see hid's a bright blue when they first come on and warm-up to a white.

6000K HID kits are ''in'' right now, Philips has just released their 6000K Ultinon bulb in japan, and it will soon debut in America. Pretty expensive, so I'm not so happy about it. =)

The thousands of 'Korean' made HID's by Vision, K2, Hana. on EBAY. Claim the variety of colors, such as purple, blue, etc. but the quality level is unsure. Some try to claim the similar distinction of BMW and Audi. The "purple-blue" bright arc. In reality, the korean kits produce an actual purple or blue color OVERALL, being able to eye the light from every angle. While BMW and Audi use the bosch 4300K kits in their mastered OEM projector housings, looking straight on in to this kit will result in the typical white light emitted by philips, while oncoming angles show a blue-purple intense hue. The typical consumer is unaware of that, and all they want or care about is the "BLUE-PURPLE" color. Don't get me wrong everyone has their own taste. But the it's virtually impossible to recieve the "Blue-Purple" unless you have their OE housings on your car.

I have the Philips H4 retrofit kit, glare seems to be somewhat of a problem in our TL's housings considering that it wasn't designed to take HID's. There is a shield placed under the bulb, in order to straighten out the beam pattern, and reduce the glare. I use the D2S bulb. Philips design of the D2R bulbs were specifically engineered for MBenz's reflective housings. We shouldn't do this considering that our reflectives aren't MB's, D2R's will result in less light output.

http://faq.auto.light.tripod.com

if you have any more questions this faq should be well informative.

 

that was a very informative post by ReQuest. but to answer your questions a little more simply. i've got Piaa Xtreme Whites. Piaa advertises the closest color to HID yet. and i have to say that they are right. just about every car i've pulled beside that has HID it's really close. i was beside a Lexus LS430 last night and there wasn't hardly any difference. the same goes with a GMC Envoy. they only thing you won't really have is the blue or purple hue. other than that they are pretty damn close. just compare: $600 or more for a conversion kit or $70 for a pair of bulbs that get you almost identical. now, don't get me wrong. i would love to have HID but it's not a reality for all of us. but if i get HID, i want it OEM. that's the only true HID.

 

Inf4life is right on with this comment. Every lighting expert I've discussed HID with tell me your not getting all the benefit of HID with a retro-fit. The reflectors in the lamp are not engineered for the additional light output and can cause blinding glare, hotspots, etc. OEM is the only way to assure you get the benefits and stay safe.

If your only after the styling aspect of HID just add bulbs, if you want true HID get a car where its OEM.

Some on this board have retro-fitted their cars and can speak to any issues with 1st gens specifically.

Good Luck

 

Thank you MY32TL

 

I have a philips HID conversion kit in my TL and the road is ALOT brighter than it was with 100 watt superwhite bulbs. It is a little blinding though. I used to get flashed all the time until I got HID fogs. For some reason now, people dont flash me anymore. Maybe because the fogs are so bright they make the headlights look normal and they know I dont have my highbeams on.

 

DAMN YOU GUYS REALLY KNOW YOUR STUFF!! THANKS....NOW I JUST HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT RE-WIRING MY FOGS ->>> I'LL DO IT THIS WEEKEND AND LET YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT HAPPENS. THANKS AGAIN.........

 

Good luck with the fog's. it shouldn't be that hard. hey Acurasnake, i didn't know you were in Woodbridge, Va. i drive right through Prince William when i go to my girls house in DC. my parents live in Charlottesville. maybe we can meet up around Thanksgiving time. i'll be home for like 4 days. let me know what you think.

 

Yeah! that'll be cool.........have our own little TL meet LOL! just tell me a date and i'll see if i can work around it

 

Oh and where's the best place to buy the HID bulbs?? Preferably the CHEAPEST!! hehehehe

 

probably sometime between Nov. 22 and the 26th. it depends on what brand of bulbs you want. i'll PM you with some help.

 

Actually ebay was a good source for me...that's where I got my Nokya HID "Imitation" bulbs for half the price, came brand new and work great.

 

Count me in for that meet in VA. I live about 45 mins from woodbridge. My brother works at some motorcycle shop there too.

 

Cool!! the more the better!