I see all this talk about retrofit and then the cars i see on the street say its easy its just plug and play is that the same as the retrofits or is it a different one ? whats the prices and who sells a good kit i like the 12k look for my black R

 

CustomLightz =

And 12,000K is a bit... Colorful, for my tastes. I'd go with 6,000K or so.

 

what he said...

 

4300 ftw

 

i'll post more when i get to work....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Stripped Honda &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">4300 ftw </TD></TR></TABLE>

I agree. That's pretty close (if I remember correctly) to OEM Acura HID's and will give you the best driving visibilty.

As far as a plug and play kit goes, it will never be as good as a proper retrofit... but that has been covered here a million times.

 

here Jon, I saved you some work

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1517367

customlightz FTW!!!!


Modified by attentionwhore at 7:17 AM 2/27/2007

 

i used to have the aftermarket 10,000k hid kit and i loved it for a few wks or so because it was brighter than the stock bulbs but after i got the real JDM HID headlights which i believe is around 4300k, man, i was seeing a whole new world...never go beyond 6,000k IMO...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Stripped Honda &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">4300 ftw </TD></TR></TABLE>

 

post this question here: https://honda-tech.com/zeroforum/28

 

I'm at 6000k

I think thats perfect if you still want it to look clean and have optimal viability, anything higher than 6000k is just too much color

EDIT: I also have an ebay HID kit that I bought for $189. it seems to work very well from my garage, lol. A friend of mine has a customlightz.com retrofitted R so this summer I'll compare my cheapo kit to his and we'll see how it stacks up. (hopefully I can show you all pictures so we can compare the two)

 

The difference between plug and play aftermarket kits and a real OEM HID retrofit is night and day. What i cannot seem to get through to everyone is that the projector makes all of the difference.

Sure...an aftermarket kit is providing you with all the working parts you need to PRODUCE the output of HIDs. However, the stock usdm projectors found in all integra headlights were made for a halogen based bulb, NOT A HID BULB.

An OEM HID projector found in cars equipped with HIDs, such as the TSX, S2K, TL etc... are by far superior to those found in a stock integra headlight. Ask yourselves this question. Wouldn't a company like customlightz be using the projectors found in a stock integra headlight if they produced excellent results. They sure are a hell of a lot cheaper and easier to come by.

Once warmer weather rolls around, i will create a new post with both my GSR and ITR showing the difference. Please don't get me wrong...there is certainly some functionality of using an aftermarket kit in your stock headlamps, but all you are doing is (or so i hope with the use of 4300K bulbs) is creating whiter more optimal light on the road in front of you. The difference is obtained when a proper projector is retrofitted into your housing.

One last note to all.... 4300K is what should be ultimately used. IMO...anything above that is for bling status only. If creating a blue tint is really what you are concerned about, then just go pick up yourself a set of cool blue headlights.

 

I disagree with your post Jon D. ( I don't feel that the difference between a retrofit and a plug and play kit is exactly "night and day")

I think we can all agree that the best possible thing you can do for your headlights is ship them off to http://www.customlightz.com to get them uber-fitted. However, it is EXTREMELY expensive.

Yes, 4300k is the best optimal light but it all really comes down to personal preference, I've sat in my friend Marks integra (winner of the customlightz.com free retrofit giveaway at expo 6) And he has 6000k bulbs in his retrofit, it looks amazing, light output is great. I've also sat in a teg that has a plug and play kit with 4300k bulbs, it too looks amazing, the light from the 4300k bulbs is whiter, that much is obvious, but I wouldn't say the 6000k bulbs impare your vision from the drivers seat any. it just depends on if you want a clear, OEM looking white light, or a cleaner looking blue light.

I don't know about anyone else, but I saw absolutely no problems with visibility in the 4300k ebay kit (kit costs $200) and I really can't justify the expense of spending $800+ for a customlightz job. (Even if I really really want to becasue they're the best of the best).

Maybe my opinion will be different once I actually drive the car, but I can see the cutoff on the side of my neighbors house, it looks (for the most part) crisp, the headlights look good aesthetically from the outside, and visibility from the drivers seat is greatly improved over OEM halogen bulbs. Not a bad way to spend $189 if you ask me.

Just my $.02

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LunchboxZT &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
but I wouldn't say the 6000k bulbs impare your vision from the drivers seat any. it just depends on if you want a clear, OEM looking white light, or a cleaner looking blue light.

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

I never stated that 6000K bulbs impare your vision. It is quite apparent that you are concerned about how your headlights "look" and not "perform", that too is also a personal choice as you have stated.

As for this comment, "it just depends on if you want a clear, OEM looking white light, or a cleaner looking blue light." , it wasn't too well thought out. I am not sure what "clear oem white light" is, could you elaborate on that please? As for blue light being cleaner, i guess you mean blingier...perhaps you could elaborate on that as well?

You know you are right... $800 is a lot of money to pay for a HID retrofit. I however would much rather pay $800 to keep a deer off the hood of my car than $189 to have others say "y0 dood...that is some clean blue light".

It is quite apparent that the use of my headlights are and the use of your headlights are two very different things.

In the end... it is all a matter of personal choice, so by all means please do not take offense to my comments and do what your little heart desires.

 

im going 8000k only because im blind at night and 8000k makes it easy as hell to drive man my moms suv is the shiznit

 

I'm not taking offense to your comments at all Jon. What I ment by "Cleaner OEM look" Is that I believe that the TSX uses a 4300k bulb, so by using that, your getting that OEM look.

BMW uses extremely high Kelvin rated temperatures. ranging between 5000k-8000k in their OEM bulbs, it really just depends on what you want.

Yes, I care about how my headlights look, and yes I feel that the 6000k bulbs look *cooler* than the 4300k bulbs.

I certainly don't believe that the 6000k bulbs are going to perform any less than the 4300k bulbs from the drivers seat (I'm not arguing with the fact that the 4300k bulbs technically have a higher light output than the 6000k). And I also doubt that it has any impact on whether a deer is going to crash into my hood or not Maybe you should invest in some hella super tones if your worried about deer

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LunchboxZT &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> And I also doubt that it has any impact on whether a deer is going to crash into my hood or not Maybe you should invest in some hella super tones if your worried about deer </TD></TR></TABLE>

The idea behind the "deer comment" has nothing to do with the Kelvin Rating of the bulb you chose. My attempts were to help you understand that with the help of an OEM HID projector, you can see much further than what you can with an aftermarket kit installed in your stock housing. Again... THE PROJECTOR MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LunchboxZT &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I don't know about anyone else, but I saw absolutely no problems with visibility in the 4300k ebay kit (kit costs $200) and I really can't justify the expense of spending $800+ for a customlightz job. (Even if I really really want to becasue they're the best of the best).

Maybe my opinion will be different once I actually drive the car, but I can see the cutoff on the side of my neighbors house, it looks (for the most part) crisp, the headlights look good aesthetically from the outside, and visibility from the drivers seat is greatly improved over OEM halogen bulbs. Not a bad way to spend $189 if you ask me.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Putting HID kit in a halogen housing is actually not a very good idea (projector or not). If you look at the cars that have HID as an option, you can easily tell that the projectors for the HID and halogen are quite different even on the same car model. There's a reason for it; otherwise, the manufacturer could have used the exact same projectors/housing for both HID and halogen to cut down cost.

A good friend of mine put a set of "HID kit" in his Celica (latest gen). We were able to do a quick comparison with my wife's IS350 that came with HID from the factory. The aftermarket kit has glare, the left beam shoots way to the left, blurry cutoff and the visibility is short. He has to adjust the headlights higher, which in turn blinding the on-coming traffic, but he had no choice. It gives the false feeling that it's brighter, but it's actually the glare that lights up your peripheral vision to make you *feel* that it is brighter.

You can't really compare Custom Lightz $800 price with the $200 eBay kit, because Custom Lightz's price includes a brand new set of TSX projectors and ballasts, which alone cost about $500. I believe Custom Lightz allows you to send them your HID kit and harness, and they can still retrofit them for you. The labor cost would be approximately $300, which includes retrofitting the projectors, aligning them, installing the shroud, wet-sanding and buffing the lenses to make them look brand new, and paint the housing with the color you want. It's still more expensive, but at least it's done right. Otherwise it would be like dropping cams into the head without tuning. (I'm not speaking for Custom Lightz officially, so all prices and services need to be confirmed with them).

IMHO, it's not just the appearance that matters, it's a safety issue too (for you and the ones who share the

road with you). I'm not trying to flame anyone who is happy with their HID kit, just some of my opinions

that I think worth sharing.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Wai &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">


IMHO, it's not just the appearance that matters, it's a safety issue too (for you and the ones who share the

road with you). I'm not trying to flame anyone who is happy with their HID kit, just some of my opinions

that I think worth sharing. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks Wai.... Safety &gt; Looks

 

Ok, Ok, I see what you two are saying. especially with the glare aspect, I hadn't taken that into consideration. When I line my headlights up against a wall I don't appear to see any glare.. but, again the car hasn't left the garage so it's unreliable

I'll have to do a side by side comparison between my cheapo ebay kit and Mark's free uber-fitted customlightz kit. (since we both have 6000k bulbs, it should be a pretty good test)


&lt;--- who agrees with Safety &gt; Looks, but also feels that doing things just for looks is completely acceptable ^_^

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LunchboxZT &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">&lt;--- who agrees with Safety &gt; Looks, but also feels that doing things just for looks is completely acceptable ^_^ </TD></TR></TABLE>

Hey there's nothing wrong with that.

 

Customlightz hooked up the spoon car didn't they Wai? Looks awesome!!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LunchboxZT &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Customlightz hooked up the spoon car didn't they Wai? Looks awesome!!
</TD></TR></TABLE>


Oh yes we did.

I hope it can make it to EXPO, which by the way we want to sponsor again. Last time we gave away one complete retrofit; perhaps we can out do that one this year.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GO-FIGHT-KILL &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">CustomLightz =

And 12,000K is a bit... Colorful, for my tastes. I'd go with 6,000K or so.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Here are two video's from our site comparing 4300K vs 14000K.

http://www.customlightz.com/gallery/14000k_a.avi
http://www.customlightz.com/gallery/14000k_b.avi

The second clip proves a good point. More color/kelvin....less light/lumen.

You will need divx to see the videos.

 

that second video definetly shows the difference in light output!! for the money people spend on those hid conversions id much rather spend the extra money on the jdm front end and have oem hid goodness