The following is from TRS facebook page. seems interesting that morimoto had more lux than Phillips and CBI, at a 5500k.

Important notes:
- Photos taken with iPhone 5S, hence the Philips XV looks especially blue for some reason
- All bulbs are brand new right out of the box and into th...e Mini D2S 3.0 projector unless otherwise noted. These are powered by a Denso D2S ballast.
- This is an unbiased, true-as-it-gets test. We tried for maximum output of each bulb at 25 feet which was the centre of the hot spot of the beam.
- Do not use this as a guideline for your output. This is only a sample test and is not for concrete facts and figures. We simply got a new lux meter and wanted to test it out.

New Philips 85122 - 788lux
New Philips 85122XV - 790lux
New Osram 66240CBI - 788lux
Used Osram 66240CBI - 763lux
New Morimoto XB35 4500K - 815lux
New Morimoto XB35 5500K - 805lux
New Morimoto XB35 6000K - 772lux

 

and Now that TRS_andrew is apart of our forums! we can bug him til our hearts content!

 

Definitely nice seeing TRS partnering with Azine. I've told Matt to do this years ago! Lol

 

I cant speak of all the bulbs, but I know CBI's arent at their full potential straight out of the box. They need to be broken in. Regardless, a good comparison test. I wonder how the results will vary with tests of farther distances

 

One of the bulbs tested was a used cbi. The hotspots do seem to differ slightly though.

 

XB35's are amazing at their price point! I've installed two into two of my friends cars (with Morimoto Mini H1 retrofits) and they rock (albeit closer to 4300K rather than 5000K of CBI's). They're definitely a worth contender for the budget conscious.

 

Can't wait to hear all the CBI/SVS fanbois whining.

"test can't be legit"

"but the hotspots though"

"new isn't the same"

"etc etc etc"

 

i just ordered the 5000K XB35 's. (though they're apparently on backorder at TRS so I'm waiting for word from them...) Nice to know!

 

i'll believe a scientific test when I see one. It has nothing to do with me favoring any bulbs over another, but this is how all tests must be proven.

 

I have the XB35s D2Ss in 6000k....meh, not as impressed as I thought I'd be. It casts some weird shadows on highbeam. I never had these on my old Kaixens or even my EBay blue light specials. TRS doesn't have much to say about it. My Kaixens were much better, not much of a comparison, they are a level up on Morimotos.

Perhaps I should have followed the pack and went with Osram CBIs from the get go. Thing is I like that SLIGHT blue tinge of 6000ks.

 

ok, I need help. I am going to buy the Morimoto XB HID low beams for my 2003 Acura TL-S. It say 35W or 55W. Would that be the difference between the 4500K or 5500K? I don't want to have to do anything except take out the old bulb, put in the new one. I'm afraid either my ballast or igniter has failed because tried to replace the bulb once and it still didn't work. Returned it and got my money back. Now I might as well replace both ballasts first. If that doesn't fix it, then try the igniter.

I guess my question is, will the headlight performance be any different if I leave in one old ballast and install one new one? or should I do both. I'm not a mechanic, but after a quote of $2600 for just the parts from Acura, I am willing to become a mechanic !!

Any help you can give me would be appreciated !

 

Have you checked the black market on here? You can usually score some used oem ballasts that'll be plug and play and allow troubleshooting.
If you go aftermarket, you will have to figure out wiring it in and mounting it etc...

plus, you got a new bulb and it didn't fix the problem? Normally you swap sides to see if it follows the bulb or the ballast.

You can always ghetto drive with high beams on to keep it legal looking for a bit

 

Hey,

Don't go with OEM ballasts because the '03 ballasts are total . Go with this set here and fully replace all the crappy HID components of that 2nd gen TL.

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/ma...epair-kit.html

This comes with two ballasts, two bulbs, two igniters, and two pigtails so that it's plug and play from your OEM wires to the new ballast.

35W versus 55W talks about the ballast power output, stick to 35W for longevity's sake.

4500K and 5500K talks about the bulb's "color temperature" the higher the number, the bluer the light (less usable though. I'd recommend sticking with 4500K. Also BE SURE TO PICK THE D2R bulb as the 03 TL uses reflectors versus projectors in the headlights.

Pick the MItsubishi pigtail as i believe the ballast on the 2nd gen is MItsubishi and not Matsushita.




Should look like that before you add to cart.


Good luck

 

Loser.

 

 

Wrong forum dude.