There's all kinds of interesting information regarding HID's out there. In my Daytona I'm currently using the Hella E-code conversion buckets with relayed bulbs. With new bulbs this combo thew as much light down on the road as a new BMW with HID's.
Having said this: I've used an HID conversion for my motorcycle (when I had it) with good success. I didn't change the housing, just put the kit in and re-aimed it. HUGE difference, even over a premium H4 bulb.
There are a few issues with HID conversions. #1 is people that don't re-aim them. We ALL know how much that sucks. If they are re-aimed they aren't nearly as bad and you get a good amount of the benefit of HID's. #2 is giving people the choice of all these d@mn colors!! WTF!? SERIOUSLY!? WHY does somebody need purple, pink, or green headlights!? I swear if I were a cop and I saw that crap, the person would be getting a fix-it ticket, and it would have to be towed to get it home. It's dangerous...period. Using the correct "heat" range of bulb is paramount in getting the most out of an HID conversion. Anything more than about 6K and you're p*ssing in the wind and p*ssing people off. I personally try to stay on the white/yellow side of the "heat" range. #3 is ill fitting bulbs. It is true that the housings made for HID's are "special". This is only because they put the focal point of the reflector where it needs to be to get the maximum efficiency out of the light being emitted. This is true for ANY housing and as long as the point of origin for the light source is where it needs to be for the reflector (or projector), then it doesn't matter what kind of bulb it is. Here's the catch: a lot of the aftermarket kits don't put the bulb in the right place and screw everything all up! This is where it pays to buy a quality kit (among other things). Kits that do high and low beams are also tricky. I found this out with my motorcycle. Aftermarket kits achieve high/low beams with a single HID bulb either by physically moving the bulb, or moving a shield around the bulb. On my bike, when the bulb was in "low-beam" it tended to rattle because it wasn't sucked into its housing (its position for hi-beam). This only caused a problem while idling and the whole bike shook anyway...no biggie. On a car, this would be annoying. The way the OEM's achieve hi/low beam HID lighting is with a "bi-xenon" housing. Basically its a regular projector housing with a "shield" that moves inside to allow the light to be focused for both selections from the same housing and bulb with the bulb never moving. The only other way to achieve high-beams (and this was the way it was done for many years, and still is) is to use a separate housing for a halogen bulb.
I've personally never had an issue with the cut-off of true projector beams or E-spec housings. They give off far more light on the road where I want it than DOT housings and the high beams are amazing. The ONLY time I've ever had an issue is on really dark roads where I'm trying to read street signs that have no reflective stuff on them. E-code lights are meant to work with their standard signs which are FAR more reflective than most of ours. Other than that....I love them!
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by spaceman
