xakura21

I'm getting some 6K bulbs because I've heard they are the best for visibility & they look cool. My question is do I need a kit or a ballast? Can't I just plug & play? Why do I need a kit?

gold2003tl (90)

6k is not best for visibility, you will loose usable light output. 4300k bulbs produce the most usable light. If you get OEM style bulbs they are just plug and play so long they are 35 watt.

If not then you will have to get all new ballasts and igniters. They are typically sold as kits with bulbs (D2r,D2s, ect..). You will need to mount the ballast and igniter outside the headlight housing. Then feed a wire inside through a hole to the lightbulb, seal with silicon. Splice the wiring harness. You must leave the old ballast in otherwise you will have a huge hole in your headlight housing. You cannot use the OEM ballast with any other lighting system.

Stephen00TL

^ I agree anything over 5000 and you start losing visible light output.

xakura21

That's not what I've heard & read. I might just leave them if I have to re-wire them.

gold2003tl (90)

When I switched to 5000k Hids there was a noticeable decrease in light output over the stock 4300k bulbs. It wasn't too bad, which is why 5000k Hids are a great compromise between output and color. It basically pure white.

Higher bulb temp (K) does not correlate to high light output.






And if I had to redo my lights, I would go back to 4300K for better light output. Or maybe a 55 Watt 5000k setup.

fsttyms1

Dont know who you have listened to or read but 4300 is the best. I hated the 6k vs stock, ESPECIALLY in the rain.

Skirmich

Just get Em and Try them Out... We could go all day Long on how this do and what not BUT at the End of the Day is the USER who will judge for himself..

I have tried All KV ratings All of them and I can Tell you at least on the 2G TL there is less than 2-3 Meters of Visible Light output loss from 4300 to 8000K... Its how the User relate this loss in his eye what makes the Difference Since Darker Colors blend in the Dark Roads.

At the Cost of Current HID Bulbs there is No Real Reason to Ask for Opinions here, just Try them All.. And Choose whatever you Think it works for you.

I Currently Have: 8000K Lows, 8000K Fogs, 5000K Highs and I never use Highs at All... Only on REALLY really Dark Roads (Highway, Back Roads) and when there is Little to None Incoming Traffic they Light Up soooo Far Away its Ridiculous but then Again those are the Highs with No Shields on Them.

fsttyms1

Thats not what i noticed with 6k. I tried 2 different brands and the results were the same. Visibility was reduced, and like i said Especially when raining.

Skirmich

Mega Mod I noticed no change at all from going with 4300 vs 6000K and there is more of a Leap to 8K which I Recorded the Loss in Actual Light Output on the Road of +/- 2 Meters.

In Fact I have this belief that 6K and 5K are in Fact the Same Bulb theres only a little more Chemicals into 6 to give its Blue Hue but Nothing so Extreme that you should See a Heck ton of Visibility Loss from that Specific Bulb..

3.2TLc

If the OEM headlamp parts are still all working well, there's no real advantage to going to a 6k or higher......unless ya really want the blue look appearance of them. They will not improve your lighting quality !

PS, what have ya read.....maybe there's some new info or products available that we are unaware of. So, please share with us !!!

TunaTheFish

Those are 6K??
Those look more blue then my 8K with the Oem kit I have...

Skirmich

I bet they took that Pic too fast at Fire-up! 6K starts like a 10K and Gradually become something like 5K with a Bluish Hint..

TunaTheFish

^^^
Thats what I thought to cause the 4300k looks a lot more whiter like the 5k

01tl4tl

ran 6k kaixens for 2 years and thought they were awesome
UNTIL
installed the new ballast setup from hidextra.com with 5k bulbs
as a test I left the 6 k on the left and 5k on the right
a true side by side by side comparison on the road

hands down 5000K is the better to see actual road and objects on the road you may wish to avoid
6k picked out lane lines road signs and truck reflectors a mile away
but lost a lot of road directly ahead of the car-illumination

most of us have moisture in the headlight syndrome by now, that calls for a new ballast kit which comes with bulbs.59$ for everything!
hidextra sells just the bulbs too for a great price,,if you want to test
new bulbs need 50 hours use to get fully burned in to color and brightness

fsttyms1

Remember not every bulb is the K that they are rated, especially with the cheap ebay/amazon ones

DanTL-S

^ Got that right. Besides I personally think that the blue hues are overplayed now anyhow. The white not only allows you to see more, but it looks more "classy" on our cars.

GSW510

True that. Blue lights give the car a cheap look.

jra8858

Whats up guys. I was wondering if you guys think an hid extra kit would solve the problem I have? My issue(which has only happened twice in the past year) is that my driverside lo beam doesnt come back on after turning off the hi beams. This happened once in 7/12 and happened again a couple weeks ago. Each time the headlights were fine and functioning properly again the next day. Could this be happening due to my current setup begining to fail, or is their something else that would cause this? Let me know what you guys think

Naija'sTL

[quote=Skirmich
In Fact I have this belief that 6K and 5K are in Fact the Same Bulb theres only a little more Chemicals into 6 to give its Blue Hue but Nothing so Extreme that you should See a Heck ton of Visibility Loss from that Specific Bulb..[/quote]

Agreed. I've done my own little side by side comparison with my 5000K and 6000K. I think the differences are slight and have been able to see just fine with both. But I'm not sure what causes the change to make the blue tint. Anyway, the 6000Ks light up road signs like nobody's business, as has been stated on the forums many times.