HID bulbs
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 271
Likes: 19
From: New York
HID bulbs
my 2006 has original HID bulbs. how do I know if they aren't as bright as when new ? is there some way to measure their brightness or color, or just buy a new set and hope the 5400 or 5000 seem brighter ?
and if i remember correctly, Upping the Kelvin scale, like your example of 5000-5400 Kelvin WILL not produce MORE lumens.
its actually the opposite, More kelvins = less Lumens
stock bulbs are 4300 Kelvin
its actually the opposite, More kelvins = less Lumens
stock bulbs are 4300 Kelvin
mrgold35
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 7,002
Likes: 1,658
From: ABQ, NM
I still have my original HIDs in my 06 TSX.
My 06 TSX with OEM bulbs are so much brighter than my RDX and MDX OEM HIDs. I already changed out my RDX/MDX to OSRAM just to match the OEM TSX light output. When I updated my RDX/MDX, I went with OSRAM Xenarc D2S 66240CBI Cool blue in the 5000 kelvin range. The stock 4300 Kelvin leans more towards the yellow range (think soft white light bulbs or early morning summer sun) while the 5000-5500 kelvin was more in the pure white range with a touch of blue (like cool white light bulbs or high noon summer sun). Going 5000-5500 kelvin would be the highest I would go for HIDs because you will just wasting your money for HIDs that will produce less visible light for the road at night. I like how the road (and MDX/RDX) looks at 5000 Kelvin compared to the more yellow OEM 4300 kelvin in my MDX/RDX.
Do you have any UV damage on my front headlights?
I had a clear bra installed on my 06 TSX when purchased new and did the front headlights also. After 4 1/2 years, 3M the clear bra on the headlights started showing some minor UV hazing and 3M replaced for free (with a new 3M clear bra formula). The HIDs covers were still crystal clear under the old 3M clear bra material and had no signs of any UV damage. I didn't realize how that tiny bit of UV hazing was dimming and diffusing my OEM HIDs light so much. It was like new HIDs again with the fresh clear bra material. The new 3M clear bra is still crystal clear on my TSX after +6 years.
If you have ANY UV damage, that might be diffusing your HIDs a bit to make it look like they are dimming.
My 06 TSX with OEM bulbs are so much brighter than my RDX and MDX OEM HIDs. I already changed out my RDX/MDX to OSRAM just to match the OEM TSX light output. When I updated my RDX/MDX, I went with OSRAM Xenarc D2S 66240CBI Cool blue in the 5000 kelvin range. The stock 4300 Kelvin leans more towards the yellow range (think soft white light bulbs or early morning summer sun) while the 5000-5500 kelvin was more in the pure white range with a touch of blue (like cool white light bulbs or high noon summer sun). Going 5000-5500 kelvin would be the highest I would go for HIDs because you will just wasting your money for HIDs that will produce less visible light for the road at night. I like how the road (and MDX/RDX) looks at 5000 Kelvin compared to the more yellow OEM 4300 kelvin in my MDX/RDX.
Do you have any UV damage on my front headlights?
I had a clear bra installed on my 06 TSX when purchased new and did the front headlights also. After 4 1/2 years, 3M the clear bra on the headlights started showing some minor UV hazing and 3M replaced for free (with a new 3M clear bra formula). The HIDs covers were still crystal clear under the old 3M clear bra material and had no signs of any UV damage. I didn't realize how that tiny bit of UV hazing was dimming and diffusing my OEM HIDs light so much. It was like new HIDs again with the fresh clear bra material. The new 3M clear bra is still crystal clear on my TSX after +6 years.
If you have ANY UV damage, that might be diffusing your HIDs a bit to make it look like they are dimming.
Last edited by mrgold35; Dec 2, 2016 at 09:32 AM.