Has Anyone Noticed How Cheap HIDs are Getting?
11-19-2008, 02:29 AM
#21
First of all, I dont have hid's yet. second of all, I have projectors off an 07 wrx waiting to be retrofitted into the headlights, for when that time comes. So unless you want to get shot id save the nutkicking for some ricer jackass and how about we go out for drinks, hell Ill buy you a beer: maybe itl calm you down enough to show me your dope ride
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11-19-2008, 03:59 PM
#22
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A couple of my friends had that exact same problem, they went through bulbs crazy fast, to the tune of every month. I find that strange considering I had them in my Eclipse for a year with no problems, and another friend of mine has had them in his WRX for a few years with no problems. Strange.
1) The mounting is not very solid, increased vibration from a light car with stiff suspension hitting bumps shakes the elements up
2) They don't "breath" well, and the whole set up gets hot.
My NB ones haven't been bad, only, the left one was dim, and it turned out the contacts were loose. Also, it was pointed way low, unmounting and remounting seems to have helped a ton! Now that they both line up perfect, I can't wait to throw better bulbs in it. Going to leave them just a bit low, so when the trunk is full I don't blind folks.
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11-19-2008, 04:40 PM
#23
you are an angry little guy arent ya? lol
First of all, I dont have hid's yet. second of all, I have projectors off an 07 wrx waiting to be retrofitted into the headlights, for when that time comes. So unless you want to get shot id save the nutkicking for some ricer jackass and how about we go out for drinks, hell Ill buy you a beer: maybe itl calm you down enough to show me your dope ride
First of all, I dont have hid's yet. second of all, I have projectors off an 07 wrx waiting to be retrofitted into the headlights, for when that time comes. So unless you want to get shot id save the nutkicking for some ricer jackass and how about we go out for drinks, hell Ill buy you a beer: maybe itl calm you down enough to show me your dope ride
But a beer does sound nice right about now. Oh, mark your calender for next years FM Open House.. i'll be there and it's not *that* far from Ca (i'll be driving from Atlanta)I am serious about selling you a set of 99-00 headlight for cheap so you can experiment on one set... if you feel the need that is.
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11-20-2008, 03:46 AM
#25
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this just reminded me of how much i hate the stock lights ... 
i think ill go for the hella ecode lights with 100w/80w bulbs next time i get $80 i dont need. Then if i want more may consider one of them ebay kits. Anyone know if its possible to buy just the housing without bulbs for a significant discount?
i think ill go for the hella ecode lights with 100w/80w bulbs next time i get $80 i dont need. Then if i want more may consider one of them ebay kits. Anyone know if its possible to buy just the housing without bulbs for a significant discount?
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11-20-2008, 12:28 PM
#26
this just reminded me of how much i hate the stock lights ... i think ill go for the hella ecode lights with 100w/80w bulbs next time i get $80 i dont need. Then if i want more may consider one of them ebay kits. Anyone know if its possible to buy just the housing without bulbs for a significant discount?
i think ill go for the hella ecode lights with 100w/80w bulbs next time i get $80 i dont need. Then if i want more may consider one of them ebay kits. Anyone know if its possible to buy just the housing without bulbs for a significant discount?
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11-20-2008, 06:55 PM
#27
I have been looking at a set of HID for my car, anyone know why some kits come with a fuse and relay harness vs a direct plug and play setup. I searched for hid wiring diagrams in google and it seems the kits with the relay and fuse harness feed power direct from the battery in addition to connecting to the stock wiring system. The argument for doing this is that on start up the HID's draw a higher current than a halogen bulb and so this puts less stress on the stock wiring.
You guys buy this? I'm just trying to decide if I should be looking for a kit with a relay harness or just one of the plug and play kits.
Here's an example of what I'm talking about.
http://www.torontocivics.com/articles/lights/dia2.jpg
You guys buy this? I'm just trying to decide if I should be looking for a kit with a relay harness or just one of the plug and play kits.
Here's an example of what I'm talking about.
http://www.torontocivics.com/articles/lights/dia2.jpg
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11-21-2008, 02:01 PM
#30
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I think what I've seen is the 'single beam' kits are PnP - since they are on or off. The mechanically switched ones want to stay on the whole time (i.e. power from the batter) but use the factory harness for the signal of which position to be in.
Probably it wouldn't really like being switched on and off rapidly (as in flashing your brights) if the power to it were being stopped for a fraction of a second often?
That's kinda a guess, but I do know that the single beam kits don't come with relays and the duals do, at least from a couple of suppliers I talked to.
Probably it wouldn't really like being switched on and off rapidly (as in flashing your brights) if the power to it were being stopped for a fraction of a second often?
That's kinda a guess, but I do know that the single beam kits don't come with relays and the duals do, at least from a couple of suppliers I talked to.
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11-23-2008, 12:33 PM
#32
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Sure, if you trade me your headlights, I'll get you my '00 ones with HID's in them!
Otherwise, wait a bit and see how these come out, I have to see if I like this guy before doing something like this.
Otherwise, wait a bit and see how these come out, I have to see if I like this guy before doing something like this.
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11-25-2008, 11:53 PM
#33
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HIDs from Chinabay Review
First off, I want to say, these headlights are the bomb. Kinda like adding a low boost turbo, it's not.. ridiculous, life changing, but it's much much better in a nearly subconscious way. You know you COULD go back, but you know you'd be unhappy and that truthfully you're spoiled from here on out.
Points:
1) The install, went pretty well. There's not a lot to it. The blinders were the wrong style, but it came with another set which I used (two screws, though they are ultra small torx like you'd use on a cell phone). Running the wires was no big deal. The ballasts fit handily (thanks TeamPlur for the suggestion) *under* the headlights, and don't seem to need any additional securing. Run the power from the alternator, and the signal from one of the headlight plugs. Everything is all plug and play from there on out, no crimping or nothing, everything is keyed so it's (almost) impossible to screw it up. It was slightly hard to get the springs over the bulbs, easily added 5-10 seconds PER SIDE to the install.
2) The cut off is fine. It's not ultra hairline sharp like I was expecting, but it's not ugly. I didn't get any a single person flashing me, driving funny to avoid lights, etc. I checked on several walls, alleyways, etc, and everything looked fine. Standing a few feet in in front of the car in the garage, I only got a bit of glare right from one little spot, not the whole housing, and I'm certain normal halogens would have been easily as bad. It's flat left to right, with just a bit of much dimmer stuff high and well right of your lane, which is splotchy and not strong at all, it was hard to notice it except when specifically looking for it. I only even see it on the road. this is all without any adjusting of any kind. The bulbs are pointed a little too far down, but the extra range provided by the added intensity offsets the direction change, and you end up seeing a bit further with the low beams than you would with too-high low halogen beams.
3) The light pattern is NOT homogeneous. There is certainly some darker spots in the pattern. I thought for a moment this would bother me - but actually, it doesn't. Not at all. On the road, these narrow bands of 'only very bright' in the sea of super-bright don't detract from anything. The horizontal cut off was just fine - I was worried it would be too low, but I like having the extra margin of not-blinding people safety.
4) The color is wonderful! I wanted 5000k bulbs, but they were out so I ended up with 4500k. The color is really interesting. It's as close to sunlight as I could imagine? I guess this makes a certain sense, the peak might be red shifted, but they it will better follow the red part of the spectrum and not overdo the blue. Two examples:
I pulled up to a car, caught the reflection in it's bumper (the bumper was low). I could see the sunlight reflecting in the headlight cavity, then off the bumper, brightly. But then when I turned off the lights, the "reflection" went away.
The other is my having forgotten my lights on at work for a few hours. Thankfully, at only 50W, the lights didn't drain down the battery.
5) The high/low switching typically has a small delay you're not generally aware of - as the new element heats up. Since these bulbs use a shade and a moving bulb, there IS no delay. Nothing turns on, or warms up, the light merely shifts (quickly! Fraction of a second, under 200 ms?) from the high to the low position, or vise versa. Its one of those things you wouldn't know was broken till you saw it fixed. Additionally, although it's minor, there's no additional current draw when you switch to the high beams, even at idle, the engine won't "catch".
6) The brights are... GLORIOUS. They are amazing. I can't stress this enough. And with the 0 time penalty for switching back and forth, I found myself using the switch constantly on the curvy ride home from work. The low beams are entirely adequate to keep you from feeling like you need to slow down because it is dark, while the high beams light up points of interest so far down the road, you're ALWAYS looking at the next turn, regardless of where it is. The light is high, seems to be chest level, all the way down the street. The first time I had the brights on I knew I could never go back - and that I had no regrets, and would never buy another halogen again.
Overall impressions:
I'm totally in love with these lights. There's positively no reason not to do this, unless you just plain don't have the money. I don't know how they work on dirty lenses, since I polished them days before, and have been running high end halogens since. I'm sure a factory, projector system would be better (although I don't think I would want the sort which turns on one bulb in favor of another, but rather the moving arc is the way to go.
I might want to run them a bit longer (and I'll be out of town for a week so no driving)... But I can say that I feel I can recommend these, considering the cost and the performance. I will post some photos next week of the beam pattern, range, and cut off. I *might* run one halogen to compare them, but, I might not.
If there is interest in a group buy, and I don't find something unexpected and wrong with these, I'll try to arrange something. Expect them to be in the ballpark of $100 +/-20. Slim balasts are available, but based on how one is performing on my bike I might not recommend it, there's flicking after I first turn them on. I should also be able to compare the 6000k to the 4500k.
Points:
1) The install, went pretty well. There's not a lot to it. The blinders were the wrong style, but it came with another set which I used (two screws, though they are ultra small torx like you'd use on a cell phone). Running the wires was no big deal. The ballasts fit handily (thanks TeamPlur for the suggestion) *under* the headlights, and don't seem to need any additional securing. Run the power from the alternator, and the signal from one of the headlight plugs. Everything is all plug and play from there on out, no crimping or nothing, everything is keyed so it's (almost) impossible to screw it up. It was slightly hard to get the springs over the bulbs, easily added 5-10 seconds PER SIDE to the install.
2) The cut off is fine. It's not ultra hairline sharp like I was expecting, but it's not ugly. I didn't get any a single person flashing me, driving funny to avoid lights, etc. I checked on several walls, alleyways, etc, and everything looked fine. Standing a few feet in in front of the car in the garage, I only got a bit of glare right from one little spot, not the whole housing, and I'm certain normal halogens would have been easily as bad. It's flat left to right, with just a bit of much dimmer stuff high and well right of your lane, which is splotchy and not strong at all, it was hard to notice it except when specifically looking for it. I only even see it on the road. this is all without any adjusting of any kind. The bulbs are pointed a little too far down, but the extra range provided by the added intensity offsets the direction change, and you end up seeing a bit further with the low beams than you would with too-high low halogen beams.
3) The light pattern is NOT homogeneous. There is certainly some darker spots in the pattern. I thought for a moment this would bother me - but actually, it doesn't. Not at all. On the road, these narrow bands of 'only very bright' in the sea of super-bright don't detract from anything. The horizontal cut off was just fine - I was worried it would be too low, but I like having the extra margin of not-blinding people safety.
4) The color is wonderful! I wanted 5000k bulbs, but they were out so I ended up with 4500k. The color is really interesting. It's as close to sunlight as I could imagine? I guess this makes a certain sense, the peak might be red shifted, but they it will better follow the red part of the spectrum and not overdo the blue. Two examples:
I pulled up to a car, caught the reflection in it's bumper (the bumper was low). I could see the sunlight reflecting in the headlight cavity, then off the bumper, brightly. But then when I turned off the lights, the "reflection" went away.
The other is my having forgotten my lights on at work for a few hours. Thankfully, at only 50W, the lights didn't drain down the battery.
5) The high/low switching typically has a small delay you're not generally aware of - as the new element heats up. Since these bulbs use a shade and a moving bulb, there IS no delay. Nothing turns on, or warms up, the light merely shifts (quickly! Fraction of a second, under 200 ms?) from the high to the low position, or vise versa. Its one of those things you wouldn't know was broken till you saw it fixed. Additionally, although it's minor, there's no additional current draw when you switch to the high beams, even at idle, the engine won't "catch".
6) The brights are... GLORIOUS. They are amazing. I can't stress this enough. And with the 0 time penalty for switching back and forth, I found myself using the switch constantly on the curvy ride home from work. The low beams are entirely adequate to keep you from feeling like you need to slow down because it is dark, while the high beams light up points of interest so far down the road, you're ALWAYS looking at the next turn, regardless of where it is. The light is high, seems to be chest level, all the way down the street. The first time I had the brights on I knew I could never go back - and that I had no regrets, and would never buy another halogen again.
Overall impressions:
I'm totally in love with these lights. There's positively no reason not to do this, unless you just plain don't have the money. I don't know how they work on dirty lenses, since I polished them days before, and have been running high end halogens since. I'm sure a factory, projector system would be better (although I don't think I would want the sort which turns on one bulb in favor of another, but rather the moving arc is the way to go.
I might want to run them a bit longer (and I'll be out of town for a week so no driving)... But I can say that I feel I can recommend these, considering the cost and the performance. I will post some photos next week of the beam pattern, range, and cut off. I *might* run one halogen to compare them, but, I might not.
If there is interest in a group buy, and I don't find something unexpected and wrong with these, I'll try to arrange something. Expect them to be in the ballpark of $100 +/-20. Slim balasts are available, but based on how one is performing on my bike I might not recommend it, there's flicking after I first turn them on. I should also be able to compare the 6000k to the 4500k.
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