Can someone smarter than I please explain the Kelvin rating on HID bulbs? Higher=Brighter, I assume?
What was OEM on 2G TL? What do I want?

I want White w/ a tinge of Blue, and whilst perusing amazon, found several sets of D2R's for $49/pair whereas I paid $75 or so for 1 at my local Parts Plus. What gives?

What's Junk, what's good, what should I avoid like the plague?

Any questions I've failed to ask, please feel free to ask them for me and then answer as well, I would greatly appreciate it!

 

Just get a set of 6000K bulbs. Don't go higher than that.

Higher than 4300K actually means less light output.

I think 6000K is a good light output with a nice hint of blue. 8000K is just straight up blue, and makes your car look stupid.

 

6000k is what you need as Karanx7 mentioned. There are different wattages for the bulbs as well. I'd go 35w vs 55w as well.

To answer your question. Kelvin is the color temp, so 3000k is yellow (driver fogs usually), 4300k bright white, 6000k blueish hue, 8000k blue (not recommended) but common for some to run them, 10k and above gets into violet but the light output for viewing at night is nowhere safe in my opinion.

If you are getting new ballast and bulbs, I recommend ddmtuming.com. i've been running their 4500k 35w kit on my RSX for almost 3 years with no issues.

 

the OEM units (Ballasts/Ignitors) seem to be working just fine, but I changed my pass. bulb about a year after I changed the driver side(I know that's wrong, but I'm still gonna hear about it I'm sure) but the bulbs were $75+ each and at the time that was none too feasible, and now I have one white and one blue/white, and its mildly aggravating to me.

any idea about the amazon offered units? good? bad?

 

I bought a pair of D2R bulbs for $25 on eBay. One of them started failing after 3 years. Worth it over the $75 for a single bulb.

 

ok cool, I'm going for some 6000k from amazon then. Just curious, what are the advantages to going to an aftermarket setup? I love the look of projector HIDs but the conversion for my 99 TL-P in the DIY thread looks sketchy for me to do, and was wondering if any kits existed for changing it all over, or simply what are the benefits to an aftermarket ballast and etc?

Thanks again, everyone

 

We already have a HID setup, there's no advantage of getting an aftermarket kit.

You can upgrade to a projector HID setup, but that's a completely different thing.

 

Why people don't try them before shouting what everyone says on the internet??? 8K isn't blue for the 1000x time...
12K is blue....

Comparison:

Spot the 12K bulb??


8K is just fine to use... Been riding it for more than 7 years with no issues and nope until you used them you will realize it isn't blue.

Its called Polar White for a reason... 8K = POLAR WHITE...
No need to go higher than 8K cuz 10K becomes blue, 12K = hyper blue upper than 12K? Silliness..

 

Different sites and manufacturers call them different names... Just Google "hid kelvin chart" and you will see what I mean. From there, pick the temp that suit you.

 

^
If any seller calls 8K blue then they don't know a zip about HIDs and you must not buy from them.

My own TL used:
3200K YELLOW in the FOGS < JDM Style
4300K AMBER OEM + AFTERMARKET < OEM Style
5000K ULTRA WHITE < Best for Illumination but booring
6000K WHITE WITH HINT OF BLUE IN THE HEADLIGHT < Dope
8000K WHITE WITH HINT OF BLUE IN THE HEADLIGHT + FLOOR < Best Dope
10000K BLUISH WITH A HINT OF WHITE < Somewhat useless
12000K ULTRA BLUE < Useless

Between 5K 6K and 8K is the best of both worlds.
5K For being the BEST for Lm Output
6K For being a mid way between Lm Output and Visuals
8K For being the BEST for Visuals without sacrificing that much Lm Output.

If you have bad sight don't mess with 8K.. Anything above 5K is losing Brightness, Even 6K.

 

Well it comes down to a subjective view between 6K and 8K. Obviously 6K will have more light output, while 8K will have a stronger tone of blue. After looking at the pics again, I was wrong saying it is straight up blue. But I still think it's too blue for our older cars to pull off.

I think 8K looks cool for a projector setup, but I think it looks out of place on the older reflector setup.

 

I wouldn't go above 5k. There is a noticeable difference between 4300 and 6k in useable light output, especially in the rain. 8k is too close to the blue spectrum and your usable light is far worse than even 6k. Put the 2 side by side on the road and 6k will look white, 8k will look BLUE. Blue is NOT cool nor does it help you see. Another thing you should really consider is the Lumens the bulb has. The more lumens the brighter it will be and the bulbs with the highest lumens is the 4100-4300. Oh and 2300 lumens vs 3400 lumens is very big

Here are some good reads

http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/cont...b-Crash-Course

http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/show...bout-HID-bulbs

 

skirmich needs his eyes checked.

 

Some of us prefer "Booring" over "Best Dope" when comparing our headlamp's brightness.

 

I prefer function or should i say the ability to see

 

Im with Kris,,I was a 6000 fan until I went 5000,,can see WAYYYYYY better stuff on the road,,but did slightly lose 6ks ability to light up road markings and road signs

IMO the best thing to do is expect stock part failure at some point
so get a kit from our sponsor www.hidextra.com for $59!! and there are coupons too!
comes with 2 new quality bulbs, 2 waterproof very small ballast with ignitor and connector wires
all you need is a $2 pack of connectors
and maybe a few plastic clips for the cars lower nose panel- they get broken during learning process to remove

when you see the old boat anchor parts and remove dead weight, thats a good thing

 

stock is 35 watt, stay with that- and 5000k bulbs= to see objects and avoid

I used to have the high dollar kaixen bulbs in 6000,,now 2 years on hidextra 5000 setup and loving it

anything over 6000k MAY result in frequent conversations with your local Law Enforcement

 

I appreciate everyones input on this, I'm just a simple musclecar guy trying to learn and apply knowledge to my TL and possibly to my Barracuda when the time comes. Its not as simple as the "ancient" stuff and I'm not interested in screwing things up through trial & error