HID kit vs. Bulbs & color temp HELP

[Freyspath]

For Christmas im looking to spoil the Pathy with some new lights. I dont mind the Halogens but I came from an S4 that had Xenon lighting stock. So I wanted to do that again on this car. Im probably going to go with 4300k or 6000k (I dont want a lot of Blue, im looking for the white OEM cars have)

Also I am seeing there are these $25 bulbs you just plug in, and they make the car look like they have xenon. AND then there are these $150 kits that you install a ballast and use real xenon filled gas. What the difference, and what would be better for me?

I noticed a lot of the $150 xenon kits said "single beam" does that mean I wont be able to have a high beam? If thats true, what does someone then use for high beams?

Thanks!

[fastpathy35]

yeah you will lose your high beans like that. A lot of people who go that route either doesn't use their high beams often or don't care about functionality. Just looks. If you want to go cheap there are kits that move the beam in your headlight housings to aim the beam higher.

[body80]

I've been doing the HID thing for awhile now. I've tried all the kits and NO you don't have to lose your high bulbs. First off 6000K is the only way I go. It's white with a very small hint of blue so that's my suggestion on temp.

Well the first HID kit I installed in the Pathfinder was the xenon lowbeam with the halogen high beam combo. It was ok. Low beam was very good with great visibility. You do have to adjust them down alittle bit to keep from blinding on coming traffic (you still get flashed every now and then). High beam were pretty worthless. The Halogen is crap compared to the xenon and I ended up never really using it. The low beam seemed brighter.

Seriously Friday afternoon after I got out of work I switched to a different setup so I'm able to give a review of both kinds. I installed a bi-xenon setup. This type uses a single bulb that sits behind a shield. When you switch to high beams it mechanically moves the bulb back and brings it out from behind the shield.

This setup is awesome. If you read around everyone will say not to install HID's in anything other then a projector headlamp. Well I was working on an Acura TL recently and noticed that it had OEM HID's but no projectors. How it keeps from blinding people is to have a shield covering the lower part of the bulb. This prevents the light from bouncing off the bottom reflecter of the headlamp housing and reflecting up into the on coming traffic's eyes.

OK back to my point... The Bi-xenon setup uses this same method of shielding. The bulb sits behind a shield that covers the lower half of the bulb and provides a great cutoff. The light output is great. Then you switch to high beams and the bulb is moved out from behind the shield and fills in everything in front of you. The back roads to my parents house were lit up more then I've ever seen them before.

So if you're going to do it. I go with a true bi-xenon HID kit. It's got a great lowbeam pattern and out standing high beams.

And that's just my 2-cents.

[Natedogg1701]

i agree with body80, i have a bixenon kit as well and they work great, the light output i get is way better than anyone i know that has a single beam kit, the light i get has a better cut off point too, but i have my lights angled high so i get flashed all the time. lol and i have 8000k bulbs, i like the little more blue, but not as much as a 10000k or 12000k set, too blue for me.

[Empty V]

This setup is awesome. If you read around everyone will say not to install HID's in anything other then a projector headlamp.

Sorry but this is incorrect. If you've been working with HID's for a while then you should know that projector lenses are relatively new compared to how long HID's have been around. Light is dependent on one of 2 factors that determine beam pattern, reflector+globe cover or lens. Look at 01+ QX4's, no projectors on the HID's, just the proper reflectors and globe covers. That should explain your perplexity with the TL.

Sorry I can't help with the dual intensity kits as I have ZERO experience with them. I'm not a fan of converting to HID's without retrofitting the reflector. If you do convert make sure you point your lights waaaaay down and use a vehicle with stock HID's to help with the positioning.

Billy

[Natedogg1701]

actually emptyv now that you said that it made me curious, from what ive read and found out, the first hid to be installed factory on a vehicle was on the mid 1990's bmw 7 series, and they didnt have projectors, and come to think of it acura tl from 2 body styles ago, the 5.5 generation maxima, and i think early 2000 infinities have hids from the factory yet no projectors, id like to know how they angle the light and get it to shine pretty dam well without blinding other drivers, ill have to look at one of those vehicles some time. and oh ya i gotta question for you empty, i know no one makes a set of projector headlights for the pathys, but do you know of a sit or a manufacturer that will custom retrofit projectors? i only ask because you've proven you know alot about this topic and didnt know if you knew if and companies would do something like that.

and if you mean the bixenon kits when you say dual intensity, then ive installed several of them and they work fine, actually every vehicle ive installed them on projects the light quite well actually. liek when ive put in singloe beam kits in vehicles, then drive them up to a wall to level them, the light patern is very scattered and not very focused, but with the bixenon kits, that cradle the bulb sits in seems to do a pretty good job of shining the light well, the lights have a good cut off point and focus it quite well. body80 said it in his comment, the cradle shields the light and keeps it from hitting the lower reflector of the headlamp housing, and i think thats what keeps the light from these bixenon kits from shining very high and blinding others.

[fueler]

i spent about $140 for a bi-xenon kit so i have both high beams and low beams im about to do a 12 hour night drive in Baja so we'll see how it works down there

[fueler]

by the way, i also wanted a 6k but i think i got 8k

[fastpathy35]

for those of you who have the bixenon kit, do you have the 35w or the 50w kit? ive just now started to see a few of the 50w kits and i dont know how reliable they are or if theyre just so bright that youre guaranteed to get pulled over. also, i dont know how much the hid kit changes it but my headligh housings have a dome over the bulb very similar to that on the bixenon kits. and my headlight pattern is low and straight. i can drive into a tunnel and theyre very precise on where they shine. my explorer just shines light out and high beams are brighter. the pathfinders light actually changes its position on low and high and its aimed not scattered. i would say that the factory hid vehicles without projectors are very similar to that.

[Empty V]

Unfortunately I don't know anyone that retrofits. I'm sure with lots of patience, a plan, and a few housings from the junkyard you could create your own custom housings with either projector lenses or the proper reflectors.

Billy
Modified by Empty V at 8:40 AM 11/25/2009

[Empty V]

The reason why you don't see a ton of 55w conversion kits is because it's a massive liability. The stock wiring isn't heavy enough to handle the amount of heat a 55w kit outputs and there is a good potential for an electrical fire.

Billy

[fueler]

^^ actually, the stock bulbs in our QX4's are 55w already, but that doesnt even matter because most HID kits draw their power straight from the battery, the only thing the stock wiring is used for is the 12v signal to activate the relay to tell the HID kit to turn on / off...

if you are using the stock wiring to provide power to an HID kit, then its a fire risk whether or not its 35 or 55w

[Empty V]

^^ actually, the stock bulbs in our QX4's are 55w already, but that doesnt even matter because most HID kits draw their power straight from the battery, the only thing the stock wiring is used for is to activate the relay to tell the HID kit to turn on / off...

if you are using the stock wiring to provide power to an HID kit, then its a fire risk whether or not its 35 or 55w

I should have been more clear, I was referring to the wiring of vehicles that do not have stock HID kits.

The power doesn't run direct to the battery right? Doesn't it go through a harness/terminal block first? IMO that's where is the risk is.

Billy
Modified by Empty V at 8:39 AM 11/25/2009

[fueler]

i was also referring to vehicles without factory HID

most automotive headlight bulbs are 55w

but yeah the HID kit harness draws power from the battery, and through a fused relay which is a part of the harness.

[Natedogg1701]

in these bixenon kits there is a single 16 or 14 gauge wire (not sure which) that goed from your battery to a switching relay, wire is fused w/ a 15 amp fuse in my kit. and off that relay box are 3 harnesses and the power wire that goes to the battery, a short one and a long one, each with 3 connectors, one for both headlamps, and one that plugs into the factory harness for a halogen bulb. the short and long harnesses have the plug that powers tha ballast, a seperate, individual ground for each ballast, and a low voltage switching plug that plugs into the bixenon bulb, it powers a small magnet that sucks the bulb in and out so you get high and low beam. and the plug that goes into the factory headlamp harness (only one factory headlamp plug is used, the one by the battery, the other factory harness is just left unused) only powers the relay which switches between high and low beam, not a latge current draw at all. so weather these kits are 35 watt or 55 watt they should be fine, the factory 18 gauge wiring for a halogen lamp is again, only used to switch a small relay, so these kits should be safe provided all the wiring is corect and run in the proper places.

[fastpathy35]

well i have the 3500k hid in my fog lights and i just ordered some of the 6000k bixenons for my headlights, and ill prob order some 4300k for my offroad lights. i should be able to light up the world with all of that. now if only i can get my fog lights to work with the running lights