I HAVE A 1999 TL THAT RECENTLY HAD REPAIR WORK ON IT. THE SHOP CHANGED ONE BULB BECAUSE ONE WAS BUSTED. THE TWO BULBS DONT MATCH. WHEN I BOUGHT THE CAR, I GEUSS THE PREVIOUS OWNER HAD AFTERMARKET BULBS ON THERE. THE AFTERMARKET BULB IS A LOT BRIGHTER THAN THE STOCK. THE BULB IS MADE IN GERMANY BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT THE BULB SAYS ON IT. DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT BULB REPLACEMENTS ARE OUT THERE THAT ARE MADE IN GERMANY AND THAT ARE BRIGHTER THAN STOCK BULBS. IF SO WHERE CAN I PURCHASE ONE. THANKS..P

 

most HID's (all good ones) are made in Germany. Its possible he did a 6000k upgrade.

 

If it is 6000k it'll say on the base. You can get them from www.autolamps-online.com

Tatewaki

 

OSRAM is the German manufature. They make Sylvania bulbs. You should double check your bulbs to make sure you know what you've got. You definitely don't want to be rolling around w/a 4200k & a 6000k bulb. You really want to make sure you have the same color temp for both.

BTW:

 

Baggs that is funny LOL
Jens

 

The TL-S comes with 4200's or 6000's?

 

4200s. I don't think any vehicle comes with 6000s stock (they're technically not legal for street use).

 

and i think the main reason why it doesn't match is that over time the bulbs will change color. usually you need to replace them together

 

I thought stock is 4300K? What do the BMW's and Maximas and etc use?

 

you won't be able to tell difference bteween 4100, 4200, and 4300. they are very close and even the normal manufacturering deviation could cause that. plus if you use your bulb long enough they will increase in kelvin anyway.

EVERY manufacturer uses 4100k to 4300k bulbs, no exception. mb, audi, bimmer, acura, lexus, nissan, infiniti, toyota, etc....

 

Yep, I believe it is 4300K.

 

Than why are some better than others? Do the Bimmers or MB's cost more or a better company? Or is the Bulb made differently or what? They are much nicer and much brighter, sometimes bluer.. And they have a straight TYPE OF BEAM..

 

umm.... this has been discussed a lot of times. there are two kinds of hid, reflective and projective. acura and lexus use reflective, whereas bimmers and audi they use projective. it's two totally different kind of lighting system that's why the output light pattern are totally different.

there are goods and bads for both. reflective doesn't have that purple look from certain angle, but it lights up the road in the front better. projective looks more aggressive, but it doesn't light up as much area in the front as reflective. a good example would be when you are driving on a dark road, with the tl you see the road signs and street plates better than a bimmer.

all oem companies use pretty good brand of hid. i know bimmer always use hella and acura seems to have stuck with osram and now started to get philips too

 

also, projective and reflective are just as bright for that matter, it's just the light pattern that makes you THINK one is brighter. if you stare at a bimmer straight from the front, the light is still pure white, no blue at all

 

Wouldnt you think Projector is the best way to go? Because HID is for LOOKS and Projector looks the best.. SO why doesnt Acura and Lexus and others switch to Projector..

I heard Hyundai and KIA have HID's too now.. ITS PRETTY FUNNY!

 

HID is not just for looks. They put out at least twice the lumens and last a lot longer too. I can see things WAY down the road that I never would be able to with halogen bulbs. The pure whiteness of the light helps things stand out a lot too.

By the way - even Mercedes Benz uses a combination or projector and reflector housings in their cars. I guess it's a matter of personal preference, but I like the "crystal look" of the 02 and 03 headlights quite a bit.

 

excuse me?! hid wasn't deverloped for look at all man.... it's for lighting up the road.... it lights up the road a lot better than halogen.....

if something is designed ALL FOR LOOK, the headlight on a ROAD car would be the last thing for that purpose....

 

yup you are right, hid is NOT for look, it's there for a good purpose

and yes, that's why when i talked about projective i didn't quote mb at all

 

Damn noobs...

 

SHUT UP DUDE.. I knew all about BMW and MB having Projector and all this junk.. Just wanted more info.. and I know HID is more brighter and more safe, and helps u see more of the road.. But it is also for LOOKS.. YEs Safety and brightness first, and Looks second...

But I have one question, It blinds the hell outta people on the road, so How is it legal?? I know it is Legal, but why?? I know its good for the driver and all but it distracts other drivers....

 

HID technology was never developed for looks, as others on here have already mentioned. It's simply a whiter light that can be controlled more evenly over a beam pattern. The fact the same people like the way it looks (like yourself) is a side benefit, but that was never the intention.

It is legal because as long as they are adjusted correctly they are no more blinding than normal halogen headlights. In fact, when properly adjusted they are less blinding because the beam cutoff is so exact it is easier to control bleedover (light outside the intended beam pattern).

This same complaint surfaced in the 1970s (before some of you were born) when the first quartz-halogen sealed headlamps started appearing on domestic cars. Drivers complained about the glare and the different color (whiter) from the then-standard incandesent bulbs. Halogens were far superior for lighting and reliability, and once more of them appeared people got used to it. Now no one even thinks twice about it. In 10 years the same will be true of HIDs.

 

well said man, thanks for answering all the questions. and 2004tl, i will say it again, hid is NOT designed for look, that's BS. it does look good, but when it was first developed it's all for safety.

plus imho, i would rather be able to see the road clearer than people think that i am cool. i buy my car to drive on the road, if i want a show car it's a totally different story

 

"High-Intensity Discharge (HID) Headlamps:
Headlamps that have illumination three times that of conventional halogen headlamps while power consumption is reduced by roughly 30 percent. HID headlamps also reduce the amount of glare to an oncoming driver."

 

I think the big reputation problem with HID's comes from retrofit kits. Some people think they can simply buy the bulbs, ballast & ignitor and put them in a headlight housing that was designed for a halogen bulb. They don't realize that true HID headlights have that highly controlled cutoff pattern (as pianoman41 mentioned) and shield oncoming drivers from having to look at the bulb directly.

I just noticed - that's 500. I'm a freak!

 

All manufactures use 4100k. 4100 4200 and 4300 are all used interchangeably, but if you check up phillips or osram technical sheets, they all say 4100k.

 

see_fu he's one of the kings in hid information. he can't be challenged

 

Actually, talking about glares....our reflective type of HID get more haters on the road then the projective since we have a wider range of lighting area....recently I installed HID into my fog, I don't know about Henry's but I can see that my fog light is going wayyy off, and I think that might be a big problem for oncoming drivers....(although since its fog light, aimed to the ground, should minimize the effect). Henry, do you have problem with your 6000k fog? like....lighting up even the side of the road?

 

um.... that's weird, my 6000k fogs are doing very fine though. yes they are very bright and yes they light up part of the sides, but it's nothing major coz' they are pointing straight at the ground close to the front of the car. have you tried to adjust the aim of the fogs?

i have tried this, with my headlight and fogs on, i gradually walk away from my car while kneeing down. within the first 15 to 20 feet, the fogs kinda take over a big and appear just as bright as the headlight or maybe even more. but after that it's all headlight. you see the fogs but it's not pointing at you at all.

 

6000k fogs will light up to the sides, but it should be aimed low enuf that it won't blind anyone. my 6000ks didnt seem to piss that many ppl off...i think...

 

From what I can see....when i stopped at the lights, my fog will light up the sides of the cars that are in front of the cars that are on both sides of me, that's a bit too high huh? damn....i hate to have to take off the bumper and adjust again........

 

well technically as long as you are not aiming high enough to their side mirrors it's fine. also if you wanna adjust it, you can just take off the fog housing, no need to pull off the bumper