hi im new to this site, i jus bought my first car. a 2000 honda accord 4 door v6 for $3200. the headlights are very dim, i wanted to change them to HiD's since every 1 got em. do i simply jus replace the headlight and do i have do any type of wiring....





Modified by topshotta08 at 3:58 PM 11/6/2008

 

Those are Projectors in the picture. You would need to buy a HID Kit. There are plug and play kits out there all over ebay.

 

ok so jus to understand. What i can do is, buy new headlights like the ones above cause i simply dont like the stock headlights, and just but an HID kit for them..


Modified by topshotta08 at 12:28 AM 11/6/2008

 

That's correct.
Just be careful and do your research before you purchase.
Some aftermarket Projector sets don't meet SAE standards and others are not rated for HID's (Too Hot)
It can (and has) been done. Just take your time and do the job once

P

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by P_Adams &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That's correct.
Just be careful and do your research before you purchase.
Some aftermarket Projector sets don't meet SAE standards and others are not rated for HID's (Too Hot)
It can (and has) been done. Just take your time and do the job once

P</TD></TR></TABLE>

Correct me if I'm wrong, I've been reading on HID's... they actually run cooler than halogen due to the lower wattage of the HID bulbs. And has been proven true, as I have HID on the RSX. The only downeffect of those headlights are... they do not aim properly and lightoutput may be scattered.

I got some Depos, at least they have certification.

 

No, they actually do run hotter - at a lower watt rating.
The watt rating has to do with the electrical load (or consumption) that the system requires. Remember that the car powers a step-up transformer that supplies the bulbs at a higher voltage.
The actual light output is measured in lumens, the color in Kelvin (K as a function of heat). Quck rule of thumb, Higher the heat (K) the whiter (and brighter) the bulb.
As an example: Silverstar bulbs. Same 55w low beam bulb, but it burns brighter because of a shorter element (burns hotter) and a few extra gasses in the mix; ofter sacrificing longevity with the earlier examples.

P

 

Sorry, P, you're wrong about K temps. The higher the K, the bluer/purpler the light, and the LOWER the lumen output. The standard for headlight color is 4300k, a whitish yellow light. Yellow fogs run at about 3500k. I'm running a plug-n-play HID kit (bought from retrosolutions--an advertiser here) at 5000k, and they produce a very clear, white light.
Also note that the human eye is much less sensitive to light in the blue end of the spectrum; as a rule, the higher the k color, the less usable light you get!

 

ok so i can get the halo headlights and buy a HID kit fot it (plug N play)..
i see a kit for $175 can i get one cheaper and wat would be the best light bulb to go with
4,300K or 6K

 

Just because they are projectors does not mean they are HID compatible. Congrats on the car, nice ride. Dont ruin it with shitty lights that blind everyone. Headlights are just like every mod for your car, pay to play. Do research, measure twice cut once and be happy. There are FAR BETTER options out there that will NOT dissappoint you if done right. ON EDIT- HIDS do not run hotter than halogen, hold a halogen projector in your hand, then hold a HID pojector in your hands and tell me which is hotter. HINT HINT HINT halogen BURNS.

 

ok just to ask do u know any projector headlight that are compatible wit HID's if you know..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by topshotta08 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ok just to ask do u know any projector headlight that are compatible wit HID's if you know..</TD></TR></TABLE>

They don't really explicitly state this, I'm guessing it's a trial and error kind of thing.

 

oh so if something goes bad it jus wasnt ment to be then huh....haha

 

For the HID kit check out XenithXenons.com. They are also a sponser here. They have a $30 off sale right now. I just bought a kit for my R1 for $110.

 

All headlights are designed to be used with a certain type of bulb. The bulb position is what all the optics are designed around. If you change the bulb to a different type, the new bulb will most likely have a different position. This is especially true with HID bulbs (burners) as they do not have a filament but rather emit light through an arc tube once heated up.

So if you use a HID burner in a headlamp housing meant for a halogen bulb you'll get WORSE lighting than what you had before not to mention GLARE for other drivers.

The same holds true for projector headlamps. Some are made for halogen, others are made for HID lighting. While they won't produce glare as there is a metal shield that produces a cutoff, the light distribution under the cutoff will be affected. Instead of a nice even distribution, you get hot spots and other problems when you shove a HID burner into a projector meant for a halogen bulb.

If your headlamps are as dim as you say, check the amount of voltage drop that is occuring between the source such as the alternator or battery and at the headlamp bulb while under load. Even a few tenths of a volt can impact lighting as output is expoential rather than linear. If there is a voltage drop problem, wire up a set of relays and heavy gauge wiring like this general guide shows.

Another thing that you can do is swap out the 9005/9006 bulbs that the Accord uses with HIR bulbs. These bulbs are halogen but use a coating to reflect infrared radiation back to the filament to allow it to burn hotter while allowing visual light to pass through. The filament position does not change between the 9005/9006 to 9012/9011 so the headlamp beam pattern is not affected. However in order for them to fit, you have to trim one of the mounting tabs on the bulb. Here is the lumen output compared between the two:

9006 - 55 watts - 1000 lumens
9005 - 65 watts - 1700 lumens

9012 - 55 watts - 1870 lumens
9011 - 65 watts - 2350 lumens

For reference, a D2R HID burner outputs 2800 lumens.

The best bang for the buck is to go with HIR bulbs and if money allows, upgrade your wiring rather than an HID "kit" that produces a worse beam pattern and glares other drivers. If you really want HID lighting, you will have to perform a retrofit. This is where the optics of a HID headlamp are mounted within your headlamp using a dremel and some creativity. That is the only proper way to get HID lighting. Everything else is just a cludge.