I have the tech package therefore the HID lights. I am just wondering why when I look at the Q5, Cadi SRX, BMW X3 the HID lights appear more blue.

When I first start the car, the light appear to have more of a bluish tint and after a couple of minutes it's not as blue..

anybody follow me here??? or am I crazy?

 

^^ You are correct and my TL and RDX do the same....starts off bluish then turns more "white" after a while. I did see an MDX the other in my subdivision and there are no street lights so the MDX was illuminating the entire area and it had a nice look to them. Different color, almost had a purple tinge to them....

 

Acura's have one of the best HID systems, and yours do seem to have a bluish tinge to others while maintaining a clear visual white color for the driver

 

same here on 02 CLS blue when first on and white within a few seconds...

 

have you seen BMW or Audi's lights? They seem bluish from any angle...that's what I was referring to

 

BMW, Audi and most Japanese use 4300k HID bulbs. Mercedes recently started with 5000k bulbs but the "blue tint" is an illusion.

 

what K is Acura?

 

Acura uses 4300K too....don't quote me on this but the color will "shift" a bit after several hours of use, say 300h of use or so.

 

they are blue when they first start as the arc has to warm up to get to the correct color -temp. the more color (blue) = less light

 

The HID light color will eventually change (as someone reference above) and will get somewhat dull after many YEARS of use. I just traded in my 05 TL Navi (bought new in 05) and only needed to replace the HID bulbs once in 9 years - I don't think that's too bad. And you'll definitely know when they are going out: they will become dull with a bluish/greenish tint; then at some point shortly thereafter it will just blow. Not sure if the RDX takes the same type of HID bulb that my 05 TL had, but if so the bulb retails for $99.99 (at PepBoys) plus dealer installation (because of course, Honda's design requires you to take off the entire side panel to replace - thus, a dealership visit at least for this chick!).

 

Most modern cars today, require some sort of bumper removal to reach the head lights.

 

If you like the blue output, you can always replace the bulbs with something that has a higher temp (K).

 

but why would you want to lose lumens( brightness) ?


the higher up on the Kelvin scale, the less usable light you will have, straining your eyes at night and making it hard for you to see in the rain.

 

I wouldn't, but some people like the blue-ish look. To each their own.

BTW, someone mentioned the MDX lights; those are super bright LED's but I don't really love the color. I had a RLX for a loaner a few months ago and the jewel eyes lit up the road like no other, but the color was something I had to try to get used to.

 

the good news you don't have to remove much to change the light bulbs on a 2014 rdx I did the drl- hi's with no removal the hid's you might have to remove the battery. it depends on how small your hands are.

 

What did you replace the DRLs with?

 

my 02 CLS has 12+ year old bulbs they are still plenty bright but think about it this way

halogens (good ones) run about $20 to $30 a pair and you will have to replace them every 2 to 3 years on average so in the end you pay about the same....

 

Absolutely agree about the halogens. Probably the reason that my TL's HID bulbs went out is likely because I had them on all of the time (on Auto)? LOL.

 

^ I run my lights on all the time but I rarely do short trips. I will most likely replace my bulbs this year along with my driver's side headlight...

 

My TSX's are almost completely green but momentarily blue upon start up, thanks to condensation. >

Icky.

 

ya, I have noticed lot of acura's get that plastic pretty smoky...condensation maybe an isolated issue...take it to your dealership to make sure it's sealed properly

 

You could try swapping your bulbs for Osram CBI (clear blue intense) 5000k bulbs available from theretrofitsource.com for a more white blue hue output

But the actual blue color you see from other cars is probably associated with the HID cutoff

 

check you seals at the ballast and headlamp