Chad05TL

Even if xb35 is running at 55w?

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

the 55 is a gimmick.
Nothing is brighter/whiter than the CBI. And I'm a convert...I used to think it was kool-aid but I truly see the difference after trying all the cheaper options.

thoiboi

Why run 55w and have your bulbs burn out quicker? There's a line between luminosity and lifespan. You'd also need 55w ballasts too. If you really need that much light, do a quad retrofit or get a damn lightbar

csmeance

1 55W bulb will be brighter than the 2 35 watt bulbs, physics man...

I've seen some folks on HIDplanet running 55w bulbs but a few have burned the inner bowls on the projectors from the extra heat from the bulbs. Also it tends to wash out the color of the HID bulb.

Chad05TL

Easy. Do the math. According to trs' website, the bulbs running at 55w have 75% life span of bulbs running at 35w. Like 1500 vs 2000 hours. Xb35's are $50 a pair. And cbi's are $150 a pair from the cheapest seller. So if the xb35s burn out early you can buy another pair and last longer than the cbi pair for still 50 bux less than the cbi's.

In my case, I already have some xb35s and new ballasts are $110. So basically i can get the new ballast for 40 dollars less than the cbi and i can be brighter and more whiter than cbi because according to trs' website, there is a color shift with the 55w ballast and the lumins are almost double. And if my bulbs burn out 25% sooner, then i have $40 left over to apply to a new pair of 50 dollar xb35s running at 55w .

And the color shift is less blue and more white. Just search it out on youtube. Plenty of exames of people showing 35w vs 55w. And i like it white.. Not blue.

So in either case, whether a guy already has a pair of xb35s or not, you can come out ahead by running xb35s at 55w IF they are truely brighter and whiter.

Chad05TL

From what i gather, heat is not a problem on the TL because the headlights are large and they are not a sealed headlight. It breathes. But still if the xb35s get massively hot than i suppose no vented headlight is safe. But i email trs about heat already. They said i would be ok.

Chad05TL

Long story short, the xb35s running at 55w may last only 75% as long but they are 33% the price of cbi. So you can swap out a few pairs and still come out ahead If you are truely worried about it. (assuming they are brighter and whiter). I have another email i to trs right now asking that very question.. If xb35 @ 55w is brighter than cbi @ 35w.

thoiboi

Math is a little off there Chad..


110 ballasts + 50 for XB 35 bulbs = 160 for new 55w bulbs with 55w ballasts
Since you're drawing 55w instead of 35w, it's recommended you probably get a relay harness so that's another 25 bucks.. $185

150 for CBI's running at stock 35W, same internal headlight harness, same ballasts.

I'm all for maximum brightness but let's be practical here. 55w is necessary for the general public. To each their own though

Chad05TL

People like you are what give azine a bad name. Argumentative and petty.

Brightness is the issue so if we do it, then do it good. Plus some newer cars appear to be running the 55w style because they are so bright. But that is just a guess.

And I dont think the TL needs another relay. But feel free to email trs and ask and post back.

I stand by my general math. You get the point jack.

polobunny

If you want to risk frying the cables because "you don't think the TL needs new ones" by pushing 55w in them instead of the stock 35w, nobody is going to stop you. If it works for you, good, if it doesn't... oh well?

thoiboi was correcting the maths since you need ballasts + bulbs at the very least. The way you put it made it sound like upgrading to 55w ballasts and buying xb35 would be cheaper than CBI. Minus the practicality for most people.

You're absolutely right, if you do it, do it good. The irony is pretty strong within this one.

thoiboi

If it's argumentative and petty to lay out everything a user needs to actually start running 55w bulbs (aka facts) then yeah, I am then.

If you want to do comparisons, you've got to find a fair way to do so. By comparing $50 55w bulbs to $150 35w, you're giving future readers a biased (and wrong) answer. Someone coming in here reading this might thing, "OH YEAH, I can just go get some 55W bulbs instead of CBI's, save $100 bucks and be brighter!".

Then they'll come back and say "wait.. it's not brighter, why?" Because someone didn't mention that in order for the bulbs to be running at 55w, the ballasts must also output 55w. Also with new aftermarket ballasts, you'll need to splice into the OEM headlight harness as it won't just be Plug and Play.

Any time you're doing something out of the ordinary when it comes to electricals, it's nice to have safeguards in place so that you protect your original equipment (in this case, the OEM headlight wiring).


And like I said at the end "to each their own", we just have to give people enough information for them to make their own decisions/opinions. But if willing omit all the facts, you're providing a disservice to them and to our community; and I think THAT is a far greater crime than being 'argumentative and petty'.

turtlecivic

iTrader: (2)

I've tried the 55w and it burnt one of my ignitors also melted the hid bulbs along with it. I got CBI and I'm loving it.

Chad05TL

Its always the same ppl that love to argue.. Pb is 1 of them. But i dont need bulbs .. I already have them.. Either way it dont matter.

The difference between 55w and 35w withg a 12v source is 4.5A vs. 3A. The wires should not have a problem with the difference. But if you really want a real world current draw then take a real world reading . the ballast is what draws the current. Trs says the 55w ballast sell is low power consumption. Not sure how it does it but they claim the oem ballast is power hungry.

Do u have anything else for me? Haha

Chad05TL

csmeance

Lets tone it down guys

A relay kit is a much safer method of hooking up the ballasts however many folks have run 60watt bulbs for the fog's and they haven't had an issue as far as I know.

Chad05TL

The wisest thing to do is take an amp reading at the ballest with oem installed.. Then take a current reading with the new ballast, which is supposed to be low consumption. Anyway, safety is not and issue even if the current draw is just 1/2 amp more or the same or even less.

Chad05TL

There is also another major principle that you are forgetting about. The system is FUSED! The fuse and the wire is rated to handle the load, and likely more... The fuse always snaps before the wire does. But if the amperage approaches "too high", the fuse will pop. It's a safety feature that all Engineers put in their circuit designs. So, worst case scenario, the fuse pops. Your not going to cause a fire or breech any operating conditions. A relay might be good for people that do not already have HID headlights. But the TL is equipped. The TL headlights are already on a relay. The headlights are fused at 15amps. I strongly doubt you will surpass that. Plus It is common for engineers to design any fused system to go 25% higher than the normal load. Maybe even up to 33%. A system is never engineering with a fuse higher than what the wire will carry. Anyways! 15 amps baby!! haha That's insanely high. Besides that, you would have to assume TRS is lying when they said it will work and all I need is a connector converter.




Ohms law = Power = I * E


55w = I * 12v
I =4.5 amps (rough estimate) need real world reading




.

csmeance

It would technically be 14.4V with the car running. Also I'm not sure if each headlight has it's own fuse but it'd make sense.

Factory: 35W= I * 14.4V -> I= 2.43A
Upgrade: 55W= I * 14.4V -> I=3.82A

If they are on the same fuse, then it'd be:
Factory: 75W= I * 14.4V -> I= 4.86A
Upgrade: 110W= I * 14.4V -> I=7.64A

However, the ballasts when igniting push a very high voltage to ignite the bulbs since they have a very high resistance to be ignited. It's in the neighborhood of 10KV

With that said, someone has already done the research:
35W/ 55W Ballasts Roundup [Archive] - HiDplanet : The Official Automotive Lighting Forum

TL;DR-> 35W pull about 8 Amps on startup, 55 pull about 10A on startup. IF they are on the same fuse, it'd be 16A and 20A which doesn't make sense as it's a 15A fuse.

Chad05TL

Ok i will read that this evening .. Im off this afternoon going to the lake 2 run. But hold up a sec. And the ballasts are 50w not 55w. But if u say it is 14.4v then ok.. we can use that number for calculation. Let me review the schematics tonight

Chad05TL

You are correct that the current from each bulbs adds together for a total current draw from the single 15a fuse. And i also agree that the current draw from the ballast is likely h8gher while the voltage drop builds over the igniter and bulb. But according to industry standards a power rating is always stated at max load and max draw. Telecom equipment, which is my expertise, manufacturers always give max power requirements when the device is working the hardest. Like every slot utilized with the most consumptive cards and the environment is at a high temp so all fans are blowing at max speed.. That condition is max load. I think the ballasts are the same way. They should not draw more than 50 watts max, even during the startup period. Then it may idle back down from 50w a little bit after the voltage drop over the bulb has reached the peak volts. Voltage and current are a reciprocal. So as the volts increase over the bulb, the current probably reduces somewhat. But i think it does all that under the 50w rating . subject to testing. So basically it sounds like we still have plenty room for the 50w ballasts. The other thing i would lime to verify is the voltage source at the ballast. 14.4 sounds high but it may be possible.

Chad05TL

by the way, regarding your 10kv comment.. That's all fine and dandy but you have to do some hand-waving on that sort of data because the ballast is designed to induce voltage from the car's lower level. Transformers also use inductance to "step up" voltage from the car input level. And according to wiki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_ballast) ballasts are designed to be "friendly" on current draw. But you know, I already know that because these inductors are designed to achieve a certain goal based on the supply voltage and current. It's similar to GM's HEI system they created way back in the 80's. HEI stands for "High Energy Ignition". Basically they also take the same volts from a 12v battery and alternator system and step it up. So, that technology is not new. So I don't worry about trying to re-engineer or troubleshoot a system like that because all you can do is replace a module if something goes bad. Anyway, back to the headlights, to me its not that impressive when you say Kilovolts. This is why you don't want to tamper with the connection from the bulb to the igniter to the ballast. Its really high voltage and you cannot measure it with a meter. So, all we are concerned with is the ballast input voltage. And TRS says it is compatible with the TL.. Important: I mentioned that the voltage and current are reciprocals of each other, which would imply that they are "inversely proportional" while the resistance stays constant. But the link above also says that some ballasts can fluctuate the resistance too! To keep from impacting the current source too much. So how they do that, I have NO IDEA! haha So basically, someone might have created a quality ballast that doesn't require as much current as the OEM style.


Read this:
D2S: Morimoto XB55
Fast, Friendly and Efficient: Power hungry ballasts never work well with tricky CanBus systems, but the new XB55 ballast consume < 5A on ignition without compromising their reasonably quick warm up speed. That's much less than Denso, Mitsubishi, FastBright, and the old Morimoto too, which makes their ability to reach full intensity a more efficient process
REF: Morimoto XB55 OEM HID D2S Ballasts xenon D2S D2R AMP Denso Matsushita Bosch Hella Ballast 3Five 5Five


Morimoto XB55 has got it figured out with only 5amps of current.
Morimoto XB55 is only a 50w ballast


So check this out. 5a x 2 = 10 amps. The fuse is 15a. Thus, we have a 33% - 50% buffer (however you want to calculate it). That is a SAFE design. So forget the added wiring harness. And we already have a relayed system. And we have a big headlight and it is vented, (not sealed). Great for heat dissipation.

.

Chad05TL

I just had a memory from 1992. I remember in class at oSu, we had a choice of placing a Voltage source on a design, or we could place a current source on the design. A voltage source, naturally, the voltage remains constant and the current fluctuates based on the resistance. But a Current source will supply a current that is constant. Note the stats above say the Morimoto has less than 5amps of current... as if it is oblivious to the resistance. So we can forget about resistance since the issue is Current.. So, I think they have some circuitry in there that regulates the current to a specific amount, by means of voltage and resistance fluctuations. It mentions all that in the wiki link. So we don't have to calculate resistance in anything if they say "the current is below 5amps each".. That's all we care about.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Well, it's just that you asked a question. So people answered and maybe didn't give you the answer you were looking for?

You glazed over the guy that posted that he melted shit and then put in the CBI and is happy.

I had cheap ddm for years...when they went pink, I tried to get another set and they were wayyyy too blue (hadn't shifted yet and I'd already matched all my low/fog/fog to them). Tried the mori's...naw...tried the phillips 85122+ super bright but a little too yellow...tried another...too yellow...mori's looked greenish when looking at the lens (that was polished but doesn't have the best uv coat on it anymore so it had a yellow hue...yellow + blue made green for me...)

I'm a dumbass now that I recall...I bought the CBI...couldn't stomach the price tag on them and sold them to a friend at friend pricing...then tried to go the cheap route figuring it could be just as good...ended up REbuying the CBI at full price a month later. Once you try them, you'll only want them. I don't get messing with your oem ballast since they are inherently designed to seal the bottom of the light (unless I missed where yours are shot) just to bump to 55 watts.

I can also attest to the 55 watts because I ran a decent quality OPT7 55watt 5K kit in my wife's SRX with the DRL voltage capacitors and although hers look great...when we drive side by side my lighting definitely looks more intense and more defined.

Does that mean you'll have the same experience? No. But in my opinion, you can't keep bangin 3's hopin to brag about them adding up to a 10.

If you already spent the money, don't ask us or try to justify to us...try them out and report back!

Chad05TL

I have no idea what u are talking about or bangin 3s.. U could be drunk or high.. Who knows but who burned up their headlights? Yes i did not see that post a link.. TL owner? No im not trying to sell you anything. Maybe u should reread some of the other comments and concerns...

vietxquangstah

iTrader: (7)

Chad has too much time to over think things and constantly searching for answers that nobody can give him.

Clearly this guy isn't banging nothing

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

So I'm high or drunk because you're too dense to get a quip?
Dude, buy and install some 55 watt bulbs since TRS told you it's okay and you already bought them and you want to do that because it's better and it won't melt and it's awesome.

but stop wasting OUR fucking time with your insults and asking questions you're not interested in hearing the answers to.

For someone that was in college in 1992 (if I read THAT right)...you sure are immature.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Here, since Chad is so fucking busy posting up his multiplication tables to see that someone has point blank answered his question.

Now I really actually want you to do the 55 watt kit for my own selfish reasons.

anx1300c

iTrader: (2)

Lol, there really is no formidable retort for this.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Then mission accomplished then!

hahahaha...I'm pretty sure he'll dismiss me with some claim that I'm a lunatic or on that purple drank or something.

I just get fired up with a small handful of people on this site that are either know it alls that don't know it all...or ask for help or opinions and then have the audacity to get condescending with their delusions of grandeur. You're so smart, stop asking and start DOING and sharing with others instead of taking taking taking.

Chad05TL

Im glad to see your posts. It nicely illustrates the true nature of so many on www.acurazine.com and confirms my comments from above.

CBP08TL

iTrader: (2)

Thank you again Mau for sharing this site.

Powerbulb.com is not having a 25% of sale!!!

the code is FOS25.

I purchased when they were 20% off

04WDPSeDaN

iTrader: (1)

Alright Chad. These guys are always helpful. They answered your questions. Take it for what it's worth. I'll be a bit abrasive, if you don't like the way acurazine has "become", then, simply log out or take it to PM's. Trust me Chad, if you think that this is bad for Acurazine, wait till you see the most current generation of 3rd gen TL owners... It would make you wish you weren't alive anymore. You can always upgrade from the 3rd gen TL and buy yourself an RLX..

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Dude, I'd like to think that at over 6 years and all the DIY and PM's answered and solutions I've come up with trial and error and never keeping them to myself. I'm really insulted when some fkng condescending emotional baby says something like that.

I see why Matt and other long term helpful people on this site stop bothering. People like Chad make me have a GO FK YOURSELF reaction to a lot of Newbies when they ask a question. Which isn't fair since some of them are not tools.

Chad05TL

I did post all that for your information. Are blind ? Did u not see all the specs? Of the the 50w ballast? People massage me all the time about how to fix the airbag light and other things.. Tpms.. Etc

Chad05TL

Thank you sharing. But its best to just stick with facts and not let your feelings get the best of you.. Its for your own health..

Chad05TL

I feel sorry for anyone who buys your leftovers. Its bad enough just to modify Acura's setup.. Let alone acura plus peoples screw ups. No wonder resale is so low

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Thanks for your concern!
You're cute. You sure you like Acuras or girls?

Chad05TL

And you are a chapter leader? Haha amazing such maturity!

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Do you have short term memory loss?

Did you post this and then forget you could look the information up yourself?

Did you post this and not get the answer you wanted so finally decided to put your big boy pants up and find the answer yourself?

Here's your answer. Leave stock ballasts alone, stop being a cheap fk with your little calculations on how man extra big macs you'll be able to buy if you just put in the cheaper/lesser bulbs...and buy the CBI. As a matter of fact, why don't you point blank ask TRS whether or not they think the CBI are better and brighter as they do the most testing on lumen output of anyone out there and they can probably tell you. For YOUR information since you're deaf, and probably high and drunk...I bought my CBI from them.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

That doesn't make me a moderator...just means I can commit to getting people together to enjoy local car meets. If you are interested in that role, I'd be glad to give you pointers via PM.
College in 1992 before the widespread use of computers and the world wide web and aim must have been brutal. Really made you grumpy.