I for one, am not a proponent of retrofitting HID's into the Type R for cost vs. improvement of lighting reasons. Surfing the web regarding this topic revealed an interesting FAQ that some of you may be interested in reading. Of particular interest was this statement:

There are many unsafe, illegal and noncompliant products on the market, mainly consisting of an HID ballast and bulb for "retrofitting" into a halogen headlamp. Halogen headlamps and HID headlamps require very different optics to produce a safe and effective -- not to mention legal -- beam pattern. It is not some great feat of upgrade engineering to put an HID capsule where a halogen bulb belongs, it is just plain foolishness. Some types of halogen headlamp bulbs (9004, 9007, H3) use a transverse (side-to-side) and/or offset (not directly in line with the central axis of the headlamp reflector) filament, the position and orientation of which
is physically impossible to match with a "retrofit" HID capsule. Even those halogen headlamps that use axial-filament (9005, 9006, H1, H7) bulbs are not safely or legitimately "convertible", regardless of what kinds of "clever" products the junk vendors come up with.

The most dangerous part of the attempt to "retrofit" Xenon headlamps is that sometimes you get a deceptive and illusory "improvement" in the performance of the headlamp. The performance of the headlamp is perceived to be "better" because of the much higher level of foreground lighting (on the road immediately in front of the car). However, examining isoscans of the beam patterns produced by this kind of "conversion" reveals *less* distance light, and often an alarming relative minimum where there's meant to be a relative maximum in light intensity. When you *think* you can see better than you can, you're *not* safe.

It's tricky to judge headlamp beam performance without a lot of knowledge, a lot of training and a lot of special equipment, because subjective perceptions are very misleading. Having a lot of strong light in the foreground, that is on the road close to the car and out to the sides, is very comforting and reliably produces a strong *impression* of "good headlights". The problem is that not only is foreground lighting of decidedly secondary importance when travelling much above 30 mph, but having a very strong pool of light close to the car causes your pupils to close down, *worsening* your distance vision...all the while giving you this false sense of security. This is to say nothing of the massive amounts of glare to other road users and backdazzle to you, the driver, that results from these "retrofits".

HID headlamps also require careful weatherproofing and electrical shielding because of the high voltages involved. These unsafe "retrofits" make it physically possible to insert an HID bulb where a halogen bulb belongs, but this practice is illegal and dangerous, regardless of claims by these marketers that their systems are "beam pattern corrected" or the fraudulent use of established brand names to try to trick you into thinking the product is legitimate. In order to work correctly and safely, HID headlamps must be designed from the start as HID headlamps.

The only safe and legitimate HID retrofit is one that replaces the *entire* headlamp -- that is lens, reflector, bulb...the WHOLE shemozzle
-- with optics designed for HID usage. It IS possible to get clever with available products, such as Hella's modular projectors available in HID or halogen, and fabricate your own brackets and bezels. But just putting an HID bulb where a halogen one belongs is bad news all around.

see http://lighting.mbz.org/faq/

or http://lighting.mbz.org/about/

What do you guys think?? Unless your car has auto-levelling (usually connected to the rear suspension) for the HIDs I think you will **** off a lot of people with them.

 

I for one can see A LOT FARTHER with the HIDs than without. And as far as blinding
people, i get blinded by factory HIDs and all the freaking idiots that drive around at
night with their high beams on, so I dont really care.

 

I have to agree with Steve on this one.. I am constantly blinded by those Audi's and Bimmer's with OEM HIDs... So really I don't care. I should be getting my Philips Ultinon 6000k HID kit soon.. Only reason why I got it was because I was soo sick of driving with my hyperwhites, I need to see further.. I will let you know what I think when I get them installed, but I would strongly suggest if you have the funds to purchase a set.

 

I have to admit that I can visually see a difference since I did the HID retrofit. I'm not sure about the whole blinding oncoming traffic and such since the cut off for out projectors seem fairly sharp and I haven't been flashed yet in complaint of my HID low beams.

I know it isn't a power/handling upgrade but it does help during night driving. Heck, a steering wheel swap isn't a big upgrade but it's one that I'm considering since it'll help me enjoy driving my car (I really hate the Integra steering wheel).


[Modified by thk, 12:38 PM 3/11/2002]

 

Ever see an X5 coming at you on the other side of the road.......
I don't think HID in our car can do the same effect/damage as the (factory oem)HID on same car these day.

 

that's nice.

i see better with my HIDs.

cops can blow me if they think they're illegal.

 

I guess if I actually drove my Type R at night more - I might consider a set - but they're too many crazy people out driving at night around here - so I relegate myself to driving the "tank". Besides I'm too afraid of leaving my car anywhere longer than 10 minutes - especially at night.

 

http://www.xeondepot.com <---- 4 all your HID needs.

 

i couldnt of said it better myself

 

 

yeah in our X5 I always get highbeamed, cut off, etc... People are fu@king crazy! One thing that I do love is when they try to highbeam me thinking that my highbeams are on, etc... I just turn on my highbeams!!!! AHAHHAHAHA BMW's have the brightest stock highbeams in the world! And all that person can do is look away because no matter how bright their lights are they will never shoot up to my level!

But yeah HID's rock! Everytime I drive my R at night I just sit back and watch the road light up with my lights! Also as for them blinding people, its kinda hard since I have mine shooting down. Most all HID systems with projectors, will focus about 97% of the light in a beam to the ground. However cars like the Benz, IS300, etc... which have HID's on non-projectors can sometimes hit you in the eye, however they have the D2R bulb which actually kills some light.
Anyway get HID's if you want that extra bit of safety at night. However don't waste your money if your just getting them for the looks, color, status, etc... thats just plain stupid.

 

BPR, the HID from a Phillips/Hella kit when used in our Integra projector housings is no problem. I have had mine for about 6 months an dthey are one of the best upgrades I have made for safety's sake.... right next to my ITR sized brakes.
Also, I believe the article you quoted is referencing cars without projector lights.
Now, I agree that HID in a reflector light is mostly a dangerous problem, and it's growing worse daily with so many kids jumping on the bandwagon without knowing or caring of the uselessness of an incorrectly applied HID kit. I personally have met almost a dozen of people that have HID kits installed in reflector lights... and the kits are USELESS, because the lights do NOT shine on the road at all. Still I am am amazed that they can even drive at night. All of these people have reported being pulled over by cops too, and that is what pisses me off even more, because they think the cops are "picking on them" when it really is a dangerous problem that these drivers have created by using HID kits in reflector light housings. fools.

 

BPR,

HID....enough said.....Nothing I have driven in terms of lighting performance can match it for the DC2-Rs....

Even the shitty 94-97 housings benefit from them despite some scatter.... JDM front clips with the HID housings......DAMN that cutoff is sharp....!!

but you are right.... drive the tank.... save the R!

 

I hate them. Then again, I am an OEM ****.

Every last lens and bulb on my car is stock, and shall remain so for as long as I should own it.

 

Then get the JDM frontend with OEM hids

Nothing beats the vision HIDs puyt out on the road. Makes all the other cars I drive seem to have lighting problems.

 

I had an HID kit in my car and I'm gonna say that it did make a big improvement. Even the glare off all the signs was incredible. My car is already low, I could care less about blinding poeple. HID kits all the way

 

Anyone know what kind of amperage draw these things create when on? (that was another concern of mine).

Stock Type R alternator = utter poo

 

I thought HIDs drew less than stock.

 

I think it's safe to say that HIDs only draw more current on startup but after that, it would be about the same if not less than what the stock bulbs suck....

I'm quite sure it won't affect any other of the Rs electrical systems....

 

HID's draw much less current then stock 35amps compared to 55amps and as a result also produce much less heat. And the integra lens housings do have a tendency to stress cracking and hazing and heat doesn't help. The HID does spike in current but only at ignition.

 

HID definately improve night time safety.

I'm a proponent in active safely, if you saw the car coming maybe for a fraction of a second you might have not hit something.

It saved me and a Bimmer one day. As I was passing by the mall at night a shopping cart, yeah a shoping cart was half in the left lane, I saw the cart, so did the Bimmer behind me (also with HID) we both swerved and missed the cart. I'm sure a guy without HIDs wouldn't be able to see the cart and would slam into the shopping cart!

I've changed my rear tails to LEDs. This helps for those dumb ***** who rely on brake lights to finally brake. Every millisecond counts.

 

HID JDM front end lights the wrong side of the road. The left.

 

Maybe someone here can answer this question since it seems many of you have these kits. I have a 94 civic w/ the projector headlights that take H3 bulbs. Do I just need an H3 kit? I have heard some of the HID bulbs are longer than halogens and may not fit?.

Thanks.

 

I love OEM stuff too. I was a skeptic on HID retrokit... until I got one. It's a complete change. There's no going back to Halogen lights. I took some .mpg files last night coming back from FL at night. I'll try to post how HID's light up the reflectors... nothing like it.

 

Hahaha, that is so true... you should get a load on my new HID highbeams...ROFL. They should feel lucky to get high beamed by HID lighting