rurofan

Went to a performance shop last night, and saw some Cool HID lights from PIAA.

I replaced my High Beam to the PIAA HB3 ones already.
and was wondering if I can replace the HIDs too.
to even blueier and lighter HIDs. are those HID form PIAA real HIDs ?
coz the bulb are really small, just like our HIDs.
the part number is "H1" can anybody help me out ?

NOVAwhiteTypeS

the H in H1,H3 stands for hologen. so NO there not real HIDS.

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CL-S
White/Ebony/Navi/Spoiler/Visor/Full Bra/Mud Guards/Cargo Net/Acura Car Cover/Tint 20%,35%,5% on Sun Roof, Rockford 250a2 Amp w/JL10w6 / K&N Drop in Filter. Comptech Springs. Polarg m-6.
Comptech Headers, and AEM V-AFC. Hopefully AEM CAI and Supercharger after I get a JOB. hehe.

Type S

yah.when u see the hid light bulb..they are not only light bulb..they should be a box too and some wire too..and hid light kit is around 500~1000.........what u bought is only light bulb

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2001 Acura Red CL Type S.
1997 Honda Civic EX.
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Jayru

HID bulbs WILL NOT WORK ON STANDARD FIXTURES, PERIOD You need a balast to fire up the bulb. The CL/TL's and other overpriced luxure vehicles that come with HID lights are a standard. They had a ballast that fire up the Special HID bulb. The only way to become a TRUE hidder, is to buy a kit that inculdes the ballast.

If your buying a bulb and it claims to be a hid, It's not. It's a fake, and that would make you a faker. Xenons are made of a special Gas. But hids, Forget it. You'll need a ballast.


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astro

LOL



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Astroboy out...
2001 Acura Cl Type S: Comptech: Headers, filter, sways, springs, koni shocks, goodridge braided brake lines, full kicker system
1996 Porsche 911 Twin Turbo: H&R Springs and sways, Bilstein shocks

soopa

Yea, you have to understand that HID's do not mean Xenon.

We have Xenon HID headlights in our cars.

However, many different types of bulbs can qualify as HID (High. Intensity. Discharge) but the only way to get the nice bright white/bluish color is to have Xenon gas HID's.


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2001 Acura 3.2 CL Type-S
San Marino Red (Navigation)
PIAA 19173 Ion Yellow Fog Lights
Aftermarket Black Wood Trim Kit

silverESS

what's the diff between our setup on the CL's and the 'purply' HID's that are on the S2K and the audis?? they really look distinctive at night when one of them drive by -- and you KNOW that they're not fakkin'

where's that F=MA guy?? maybe i can stump him on this one...

1StGenCL

From what i have read over on the philips forum, most of the color differences are due to the different optics in the headlight assembly. Thats why some retro fit HIDs look yellowish in headlight assemblies made for halogen bulbs.

soopa

Well for one.

The S2k/BMW/Audi... all have "projector" type headlight assemblies... we have "reflector" type.

The projectors... "project" light out onto the road... they have a very precise beam pattern. The assembly itself has a dark... purplish hue to it... so I am sure it tints the white light from the Xenon behind it to a blue/purple color.

The CL has a "reflector" type housing... much like the TL, Lexus GS, most Mercedes... etc. The reflector type is cheaper... it also produces a whiter light. Apart from that... I dont know that it has any benefits over projectors... and vice versa.

Here is a very good picture of what a "projector" type housing looks like... it is from a Mazda Millenia, however... the Millenia doesnt have Xenon bulbs... but it is the same type of projector... much like the last gen Lexus ES



You can clearly see the difference between a projector and a reflector type like ours.


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2001 Acura 3.2 CL Type-S
San Marino Red (Navigation)
PIAA 19173 Ion Yellow Fog Lights
Aftermarket Black Wood Trim Kit

soopa

Here is also a good pic of the "projector" of a Audi S4:



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2001 Acura 3.2 CL Type-S
San Marino Red (Navigation)
PIAA 19173 Ion Yellow Fog Lights
Aftermarket Black Wood Trim Kit

soopa

And here is a pic of the "projector" on a BMW 5-series:

rurofan

Ah, so that's why. I kept on wondering.

The reason I opened up this topic is because I wanted to have a purplish HID instead of our blue/white HIDs.

Well, now I know. so the light bulb doesn't make much of a difference, it's the reflecting device.

Xephyr2K

Im pretty happy with the HID's that come in our cars. But Ive noticed one thing that id like to verify with other owners..... When i first turn my lights on they appear a nice ice crystal blue.. but after about 10 mins they turn just about white. Is there something wrong with mine or is it just a side effect of the bulbs heating up ???

rurofan

Mine's like that too, that's probably normal for the HIDs.

They needed time to heat up, that's why they're called HIDs, but I wish they could stay at that blue color though.

soopa

yes, that is completely normal.

HOWEVER, they arent so white.

They are just very blue when their cold.

If you see a TL/CL coming at you from the opposite side of the freeway at night... you will see just how blue our lights are.

Next to the S2k and the BMW X5... I think the TL is the most recognizable car at night... it has some of the brightest HIDs out there.

I havent seen many CL's coming at me... but I have seen them behind me... and let me tell ya... they make our Auto-Dim mirrors seem broken. heh.

Your eyes will always see the light as a different color then someone else... this is just how it works when you are staring intot he light from a close distance... or you are looking from behind the light.

Be happy we don't have the HID's from Infinitis... they look green from inside the car. Very weird.

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2001 Acura 3.2 CL Type-S
San Marino Red (Navigation)
PIAA 19173 Ion Yellow Fog Lights
Aftermarket Black Wood Trim Kit

Shawn S

I don’t know why you guys are always complaining about something.
These XENON lights are the best damn lights I have ever used on a vehicle.
I have no desire to “improve” or replace them.

Shawn S


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2001 CL Type S - NAV - San Marino RED / Parchment - Spoiler - 35% Tint - Roof Visor - PIAA Lamps
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soopa

Speaking from the "driver" point of view... I completely agree.

I've been behind the wheel of many Xenon equipped cars... from just bout every competing brand name...

And most of them dont come close to providing the visibility of Acuras.

Especially those of the TL... the TL has hands down the best damn HID's I have ever driven behind... I think ours are watered down a bit from the TL... maybe because their clear housings rather then that weird screen the TL had.

Either way... we still have the best HIDs out of any other brand.

The only brand I cant account for is Lexus. Which has nearly identical HID's to ours... so I doubt their much different.

And like I said above... even from a passer-by point of view... our lights look damn good speaking in terms of color that a rice boy would love.

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2001 Acura 3.2 CL Type-S
San Marino Red (Navigation)
PIAA 19173 Ion Yellow Fog Lights
Aftermarket Black Wood Trim Kit

volsfan0911

No - you don't want blue light. Terrible in rain/snow/fog. Tremendous amount of backscatter. The glare will blind you! In foul weather, you really want yellow (believe it or not). Ever wonder why fog lamps are offered in yellow or amber (or at least they were before the blue riced out 'xenon' craze).

Yes, they need time to warm up. Ever noticed football stadium lights when first turned on? Same deal with your headlights.

Projectors are more efficient in distribution. Think about a slide projector and this will make perfect sense. Why you can see an Audi/VW with HID's from literally miles away is that the 'edges' of the projector beam act like a prism and we pick up the blue/purple spectrum that gets cast off. Driving behind them is wonderful. Very sharp cutoff, absolutely white light. Some folks hate 'em, some love them (me included).

Reflector headlights are like a shop lamp in comparison. They 'mix' up all the wavelengths and spray them all over the place. We look at that 'mix' and say gee that's white. It's really a mishmash. But, as above, it works just fine. And it's cheaper to produce.

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I used to be disgusted, but now I try to be amused.....

Jayru

Very Correct.. Howver a HID is technically powered by a high powered ballast!!

If it ain't got a ballast, then it ain't a HID. End of story,

Sorry ricers, You ain't got Hids, so stop tryin to look cool.



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Jayru

The s2000 and Audi's use a lens/projector type of housing. Our cl-s use a reflector type of housing. The Integras are simular to the s2000 lamps.

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[This message has been edited by Jayru (edited 01-09-2001).]

Jayru

Hey soopa, what is that little thing that pops up and down? I always thought it was like washer fluid to clean the lense. I am stumped. I have always wanted to know what they do!!!



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Jayru

I know, right? I LOVE these lights. In face, the only thing that WOW's my friends about this car are the lights at night. I just LOVE walking towards my car at night with my girl and hitting the Disarm button only to see my lights in their Heating up/turning on process. Looks pretty cool when parelle parked on a major road at 3am



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rurofan

I don't know why your guys take this topic so seriously ?

I am just curious to know the differences of HID lights and stuff. And I was also wonder if there's any PIAA lights that I could replace to make my car look better.

I ain't complaining at all, and I ain't no ricer.

Plus, I've got real HIDs, so bite me.

Water Rabbit

Very true. In fact, as much as I like our Xenon HID's, I think that they're a liability in fog due to the increased backscatter and glare. Having some yellow fogs instead of the wimpy "road lamps" would be a big improvement.

DDT-TypeS

The HIDs on the CLS are great. They are incredibily useful during nite/weather driving because you can actually see the freakin' road!!

I don't think you'd want to change them into BLUE/GREEN/ORANGE/PURPLE or whatever color besides WHITE. LIGHTS are for one purpose only...to see the road better.

The higher the color temperature, the closer it comes to sunlight. Why do you think we can see things better in sunglight? Because it's WHITE LIGHT!!

soopa

You are correct... its just fires a high powered shot of washer fluid at the headlight to clean it off.

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2001 Acura 3.2 CL Type-S
San Marino Red (Navigation)
PIAA 19173 Ion Yellow Fog Lights
Aftermarket Black Wood Trim Kit

volsfan0911

On the Audi's? Yep. And a friend who has an A4 HATES it. Does a great job in cleaning off the headlight covers. Also does a great job of spraying washer fluid all over everything - your car, any car to the side of you, etc. Basically, you've got to go wash it after using them!

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I used to be disgusted, but now I try to be amused.....

soopa

Yea, its a feature I'll never desire... one of those features I would never use. In fact... I rarely use the washer fluid on my windshield...

Nevertheless... I think getting it all over your car shouldnt be too much of an issue if you have to use them at all. Odds are, if you have to use them... your car is dirty already

I also think the lil square patch on the bumper is ugly too.


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2001 Acura 3.2 CL Type-S
San Marino Red (Navigation)
PIAA 19173 Ion Yellow Fog Lights
Aftermarket Black Wood Trim Kit