Hi guys,

Just wondering, do any of you run 6000k HID's and if so - what's the brightness like compared to stock?

How's it in the rain and do you have any bulb brands you recommend?

the further you move on the kelvin scale the less lumens are available.

4300 Kelvin is stock and provides the most amount of lumens.
However; some people dont like the yellow tinge so they move up to a 5000 kelvin bulb.
IMO, and many many many many others think this is a great compromise for the color and amount of lumens available.

6000 Kelvin is a little on the blue side.
and while Lumens are down, I believe you'll still be able to see.

Just dont go any higher than 6000k.
I helped a friend put in 8000k and we went for a test drive...the super blue light fatigued my eyes quickly.
I had to strain to see objects in the road.

i ran 6K's in my civic .. i remember when it was raining for 2 weeks straight.. it was fine.. i also had fogs with 3k's (yellow) which helped.. but no problemsssss.... btw i live in LA.

as for the brand.. i bought my kit xenondepot (kbcarstuff.com) as for the bulb brand.. dont know probably some chinese crap but had no problems .. never changed anything 3+ years going.. my sister is driving my civic now and she hasnt complained

I buy all my HID needs from
theretrofitsource.com

Pricey; but well worth the piece of mind that they are quality

sorry for the thread jack.. justn.. how old is your set? i was planning on buying a kit for my wife's insight today and i'm kind of interested with the morimotos.. the price is about the same as xenondepot...

my morimotos 5000k are fairly brand new.

I bought them for my mom's 2012 Kia Sportage that came with projectors.

maybe 3-5 months on them.
they're great!
I've had no problems

f it.. i'll try it out as well.. you figure we're paying $150 for a set it should be good?!?!?! ahaha.. we shall seeeeeee

^I paid $150 for the WHOLE kit.
Because my KIA didnt come with HIDs stock, I had to re-wire.

but if you're adding it to the TSX, the bulbs itself are Sufficient. no need to buy the whole kit at 150.

$45.00 dollars for a pair of D2S Morimotos
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/pro...oducts_id=1250

I have 5000k Morimotos. I like them.

Are the 5000k HID's the same brightness as the stock ones - I know Osram Cool Blue Intense are rated at 5000k as well but actually have a higher lumen output then the stock 4250k bulbs.

Also, would there be much difference between the 4250k and the 5000k? I've heard that HID's get whiter and brighter as they age and by CU2 is nearing 5 years old now so I'm not sure if I'll see much difference...

^your information is wrong.

i spelled it out for you in the 2nd post.


Kelvin and Lumens are two different things.
as you go up the Kelvin Scale; you lose Lumens.
lumens = brightness.
Kelvins= color

HID's are still bulbs.
if anything they decrease in performance just like regular bulbs.
the more they are on; the more the color will shift and I'm assuming the brightness will decrease as well.


and No. there is Not much difference between 4300k and 5000k; hence why its A GREAT COMPROMISE! (i said this in the 2nd post)

I was sadly dissapointed by the Morimoto 5000K light output and went instead for the Osram 5000K --- they are MUCH BRIGHTER!!!!!

I have 3 Morimoto 5000K blubs I'll sell you for $30 shipped (less than a month's use on 2 and 1 is unused).

6000k wouldnt be bad; I just wouldnt go any higher in color than 6000 kelvin

right, there isnt a set standard.
so, one manufacture can produce a higher lumen bulb than the other at the same kelvin degree.

the OSRAMS were probably more expensive.

BTW, the TSX comes stock with OSRAMS 4300k

oh no.. the kit for my wife's honda insight.. my tsx comes with hids already.

is the morimoto kit plug n play?

bagwell.. where did you buy your osram kit and/or bulbs?

just bulbs are required http://www.theretrofitsource.com/

On my kia i had to cut out the plastic dust covers for the bulbs to fit.

but other than that; it was pretty much: wire it up and plug in bulbs.

The kit comes with a relay.

I have the morimoto 5000k bulbs that came with a retrofit kit from theretrofitsource for my truck. I have to agree with bagwell, they're not as bright as I'd hoped.

also, mine looked TOO blue, not white...like 6000K.

Mine don't look blue, they're just not as bright as I'd have liked. I'm thinking about trying DDM bulbs, or the XB35 bulbs. But I think I might try the DDM ones since they're cheaper and usually pretty good. I ordered 6000K DDM kit for my dads car and they're brighter than the morimoto 5000K.

i run 6k all around and its alright i guess? im probably used to it so it doesnt bother me.

I heard that the Morimoto's weren't very good on HID forums but everyone raves on about the Lumen output and colour of the Osram CBI's...where'd you get them from? They're quite expensive but apparently worth the price.

Osram CBI's are available through theretrofitsource.

i would not recommend ddm. they're cheap but you get what you pay for. there was some research done on ddm and it turns out they only really stock 3 or 4 bulbs. a 3000k, a 4500k/5000k, 6000k/8000k, and an 10000k/12000k.

^thats why I really really like theretrofitsource.com

if anyone is going to get cheap HID's.. might as well just go on ebay or amazon and look for the cheapest set.. because all the cheap stuff comes from the same place - china, india, vietnam, etc... all just labeled with whatever "brand" they want to call it.

it's going to do its job .. but as for how long is the question..
it'll still be brighter than halogen bulbs (maybe)...

you want quality.. then invest in a well known brand.. (phillips, sylvania, etc..)

BTW if you can afford it CBIs are worth a look. I don't know any other bulb that has a higher color temp (5000K) and produce the same amount of lumens (if not more) as a 4300K bulb. That's a win-win.

Justin how is the light output when using HIDs in halogen-based projectors? I've read it's a waste to use HIDs in halogen-projectors, but I've never seen it in person, so you can probably help me with the answer.

also.. when comparing one brand to another.. disclose if its 35w or 55w or whatever.. if you dont know.. you shouldnt really say one is better than the other.. apples vs oranges?


just my opinion.. all it comes down to is your budget and your budget only..

i had hid's in my civic.. it was great, lit up the road well, and etc... but i'm sure it was pretty damn bright for the car in front of me since it wasnt a defined beam

Finally someone showing an ounce of concern for those of us that have to suffer with the douche-bags that insist on having the brightest lights on the street (including modified fog lamps that are supposed to be used in..... you guessed it, fog!).

I hated that my moms new kia COULD not light up the road in front of her.
it came with halogen projectors.

I now can SEE the light!
its awesome!
it doesnt blind on-coming cars, like I thought it would and it matches the LED strip inside the headlight.

I WOULD NEVER put HID's into halogen bowl reflectors. like the gentleman that did it with his civic in this thread.


I enjoy the safety aspects of my HID mod to my mom's kia. She can now see in the dark.

of course, it doesnt compare to Acura's but I did improve the lighting.

Is an aftermarket HID setup legal in the states? That gets you defected over here..as the cut off for halogen projectors are aimed to be focused in the middle and don't have a straight cut off like the HID lens but I don't find them 'too' bad, the halogen HID setups suck.

yeah i thought being lowered would help the cause but my wife was driving my civic and i was in front of her.. damn.. i felt bad for people in front.. but fuck it.. i live in la.. everyone on the road are idiots anyways.. hahaha

i just knew better not to put HIDs in my truck! lol.. because i'm sure with my lift i would be blinding everyone! hahaha

Fyi, I just installed xenon supply hids in my wife's 13 prius. It came with stock halogen projectors. So all I needed were the bulbs and ballast. It was literally plug and play. It's the best looking hids I've seen, better than our stock tsx, IMO. Because it had stock projector housings, the light does not blind other drivers.

For those of you that upgraded from our stock 4300 osrams, was it worth it? Which ones do you guys recommend?

I did the same thing to my '10 Prius - wonderful projectors.

anyway, I upgraded my TSX's 4300K stock bulbs to 5000K OSRAM CBI -- they are pricey tho. http://www.theretrofitsource.com/pro...ducts_id=10591 They're a little whiter, zero blue...were they worth it?? I don't know.

I also tried the Morimoto 5000K and was very disappointed (lower output and too blue)

Totally missed your post. I'm 20 days late.

I've never witnessed CBIs in person, but I've seen enough threads on them, pictures, etc to say that I feel like they're worth it. 5000K bulb that puts out the same lumens (if not more) as stock is pretty awesome IMO. You go up in the color temp, your lumens go down. This is the only 5000K bulb (OEM not aftermarket) that has a higher color temp than OE bulbs (4300K) yet matches them in lumens. I've read good things about the SVS's as well. More of an OE color temp, but higher lumens.