NewLife
03-29-2009, 09:31 AM
I know there are a lot of people out there considering upgrading to HID and I figured I’d share some of my familiarity with the subject.
HID – High Intensity Discharge is lighting technology that utilizes an electrical charge to ignite xenon gas in a sealed bulb. HIDs do not have a filament – they produce light by igniting an electrical discharge between two electrodes. The xenon gas is ignited to produce an arc of light, when high voltage is applied.
Things to remember:
*Kelvin - the basic unit of thermodynamic temperature.
*Lumen - A measure of the luminous flux or quantity of light emitted by a source. So in essence it is used to measure light output and brilliance, of a source.
The benefits
You can never achieve the HID look unless it is HID in my opinion; you can get something close but it is not the same. There are numerous kits available that can be fitted to almost any car. HIDs can be three times as bright as the conventional/standard halogen using less power (e.g. HID uses 35watts vs. halogen 110watts). They also increase road visibility by 60–70%. Since there is no filament to burn out, HIDs will continue to emit full light its whole life and typically lastover 2000 hours.
HID is measured in Kelvin - So the higher the better?
Within reason, Kelvin indicates their hue. Lower temperatures around 3000k will create yellow color (perfect for fog lights) :thumbsup:. 4100 – 4300K will produce light closest to daylight. Higher color temperatures like 5000K – 6000K will produce blue/purple color. Anything over 6000K will generate bluer light and as you escalate up the scale they will ultimately generate purple color.
Which begs the question, which is the most effective/useful?
4100K – 6000K in my judgment – I prefer 4100 – 4300 because it produces light closest to daylight and provides the most lumens within the spectrum.
However, it is a focus of what you want, aesthetics or performance?
If you want blend of both light output and colour, 8000K is perfect. Although, you will not get as much light output with the intensely colored HID’s as you would with 4100K – 6000K
How hard are HID kits to install?
They can be installed by anyone mechanically inclined. Depending on the application most installs take an hour or so.
What about my high beams?
All automotive manufactures equipped with HID lighting use a dual bulb arrangement for High and Low beam. A conventional halogen bulb is used for the High beam while a xenon HID is used for the Low beam. Most kits are intended to replace the Low beam components while still keeping the High beam halogen bulb.
Then there are vehicles that use a single halogen bulb for both the High and Low beam for example, a H4. Kits for these vehicles lose the functionality of the High beam traditionally.
A supplementary option to this is to use a low beam kit and install a xenon light system into the auxiliary lights of your vehicle i.e. fogs. By taking this course you can retain the full High beam functionality and increase visibility of the road. Changing your fogs to something non yellow in my opinion defeats the purpose of them. However, I do love the look of bright white/blue fogs.
Are Xenon HID light systems street legal?
Every country, state, and province possess rules and regulations of the usage of automotive illumination. H.I.D. equipped vehicles from the factory are DOT/E approved. HID lighting systems installed on vehicles outside the factory, depending on the kit can be both legal and illegal.
These are some things to consider when searching for a system right for you. If anyone has anything they would like to add and or tweak, feel free to do so.
Cheers,
:spillbeer:
HID – High Intensity Discharge is lighting technology that utilizes an electrical charge to ignite xenon gas in a sealed bulb. HIDs do not have a filament – they produce light by igniting an electrical discharge between two electrodes. The xenon gas is ignited to produce an arc of light, when high voltage is applied.
Things to remember:
*Kelvin - the basic unit of thermodynamic temperature.
*Lumen - A measure of the luminous flux or quantity of light emitted by a source. So in essence it is used to measure light output and brilliance, of a source.
The benefits
You can never achieve the HID look unless it is HID in my opinion; you can get something close but it is not the same. There are numerous kits available that can be fitted to almost any car. HIDs can be three times as bright as the conventional/standard halogen using less power (e.g. HID uses 35watts vs. halogen 110watts). They also increase road visibility by 60–70%. Since there is no filament to burn out, HIDs will continue to emit full light its whole life and typically lastover 2000 hours.
HID is measured in Kelvin - So the higher the better?
Within reason, Kelvin indicates their hue. Lower temperatures around 3000k will create yellow color (perfect for fog lights) :thumbsup:. 4100 – 4300K will produce light closest to daylight. Higher color temperatures like 5000K – 6000K will produce blue/purple color. Anything over 6000K will generate bluer light and as you escalate up the scale they will ultimately generate purple color.
Which begs the question, which is the most effective/useful?
4100K – 6000K in my judgment – I prefer 4100 – 4300 because it produces light closest to daylight and provides the most lumens within the spectrum.
However, it is a focus of what you want, aesthetics or performance?
If you want blend of both light output and colour, 8000K is perfect. Although, you will not get as much light output with the intensely colored HID’s as you would with 4100K – 6000K
How hard are HID kits to install?
They can be installed by anyone mechanically inclined. Depending on the application most installs take an hour or so.
What about my high beams?
All automotive manufactures equipped with HID lighting use a dual bulb arrangement for High and Low beam. A conventional halogen bulb is used for the High beam while a xenon HID is used for the Low beam. Most kits are intended to replace the Low beam components while still keeping the High beam halogen bulb.
Then there are vehicles that use a single halogen bulb for both the High and Low beam for example, a H4. Kits for these vehicles lose the functionality of the High beam traditionally.
A supplementary option to this is to use a low beam kit and install a xenon light system into the auxiliary lights of your vehicle i.e. fogs. By taking this course you can retain the full High beam functionality and increase visibility of the road. Changing your fogs to something non yellow in my opinion defeats the purpose of them. However, I do love the look of bright white/blue fogs.
Are Xenon HID light systems street legal?
Every country, state, and province possess rules and regulations of the usage of automotive illumination. H.I.D. equipped vehicles from the factory are DOT/E approved. HID lighting systems installed on vehicles outside the factory, depending on the kit can be both legal and illegal.
These are some things to consider when searching for a system right for you. If anyone has anything they would like to add and or tweak, feel free to do so.
Cheers,
:spillbeer: