When it comes to seeing far away (especially at night) i'm almost blind (glasses only "help". All i want is something brighter so i can SEE further AT NIGHT.
I don't want to blind oncoming traffic/children chasing their kickball, but WOULD just like a more functional, bright white. I also don't feel the needs to copy the beamer look, so

With this being said:

- Why not just get better bulbs and save $100+ that i would spend on a "kit"???
- What is included in said "kit"?
- What is a cheap, yet reliable brand?
- Which K rating is best?
- Or, do i straight up get what i pay for? (i'm afraid of this one, but am willing to man up and face the facts)

You guys are the best

 

HIDs are the best way to go. Inside a projector housing the light is focused so that you won't blind oncoming traffic while still allowing for great visibility of the road ahead.

I would go with 4K, 6K or 8K HIDs because anything higher will start to become difficult to see


Modified by RICO_ at 2:33 PM 2/20/2008

 

i think oem is great, but for you i'd say

- i'd try getting the sylvania bulbs for a cheap fix.
- the aftermarket non-HID bulbs do not improve vision or give you better light output
- HID kits will give you better visibility for a relatively cheap price, light output might not go as far as oem bulbs, but they will light up the road better in the region that they shine. you will blind other people if you care about that.
- retrofit is the best way to go, but look to spend $$$. for the best visibility get 4300k. 6k is good, i would not go 8k+ however.

 

I had a HID kit from xenondepot.com that worked well. Some HID info:

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Why go with HID?

* More light output, up to 3 times when compared to standard halogen bulbs!
* Wider road coverage, HID beam covers up to 70% more of the road in front of you!
* Long bulb life, HID bulbs last 5-10 years under normal usage!
* More efficient, more light while using 24% less power.
* Luxury look, you know you're guilty of this one, nothing beats that nice HID look on the road.


What is the HID Color Temperature?

Color Temperature is a measurement in Degrees Kelvin that indicates the hue of a light source, in this case the HID bulb. People not familiar with lighting may believe that the higher the Kelvin the brighter the light will be, this is false. OEM car manufacturers equip their cars with 4100k to 4300k HID bulbs which produce the most daylight-like light output. Lower temperature like 3000k will produce deep gold-yellow color, suitable for fog lights. Higher color temperatures will output light with a hint of blue/purple like the 5000k - 6000k bulbs, higher rated bulbs will be bluer and eventually purple in color as you go up the scale.

Color temperature is what usually catches your eye when you spot an HID equipped car on the road. The Kelvin bulbs will appear "brighter"
to oncoming traffic, but in reality they output less visible light onto the road.

What is HID Lumen?

Lumen is a unit of measuring the light output, brightness, of a source. Traditional low-beam halogen headlight produces 1000 – 1200 lumens, while HID outfitted headlight outputs around 3200 lumens.

4100k - 4300k is the ideal HID color temperature to produce the maximum amount of light, lumens, hence the reason while all OEM manufacturers equip their vehicles with these types of bulbs.

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

 

thanks a ton folks. keep 'em coming if you got em (opinions/suggestions/etc)

******* (awesome f-in name):

do you have a preferred seller or shop in your area? My sales territory comprises of Norfolk, Suffolk, Hampton , Va Beach areas. I try to get in town at least once every month. I'd love to shop around that area for better prices than up here in MD, that is if i can find any (my guy is asking for $375 after install.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jaepalm &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">my guy is asking for $375 after install. </TD></TR></TABLE>


holy sh*t..$375 to install a plug-n-play?!...stay away from that.

if you can follow the easy instructions and know how to take you front bumper off, you can do your own install and it will be very clean.

if you dont know how to do it...i bet anyone in the MD area will do it for you for a 12 pack if not for free.

 

Here is a reply i made on my mazda forum regarding HID use in headlamps meant for halogen capsules...

When an OE manufacturer comes up with a headlamp design, every single aspect of that lamp is designed around one thing- the bulb and specifically, the filament placement. The spot where the bulb goes into the housing, how deep it sits, the angles and design of the reflector…everything is meant to get the most out of the light bulb and provide the best light for that light angle (low beam, high mean, etc.)

When you take an HID bulb and put it in a halogen housing, you change the very foundation for the design of the housing. The filament is no longer where it should be, in fact, there isn’t a traditional filament any longer at all. The light source is coming from the wrong place now. The biggest detrimental effect from that is that now light will be going in places it shouldn’t- mainly into people’s eyes. The light will now be scattered everywhere, there will be no real cutoff for each light angle, and you defeat the purpose of having aimed head lights. This also is true for projector beams, but from what I’ve seen, it’s not nearly as bad as open reflector designs. Still bad though ; )

I have to note that of course many OE lamp designs are flawed, or compromised in some way due to vehicle design constraints (aesthetics) and also the DOT bulbs provided in many cars are made for extremely long life but suffer in the performance department. The most ideal solution is to retrofit a true HID projector setup from another car’s OE setup. In the Honda world, people use TSX projectors and HID, Lexus RX series, etc. The problem here is that it is an exact science because you need to not only cut the light properly to install the new projector, but also make sure it stays in place and that where it’s position will yield proper lighting. When done properly, it can mimic OE HID lighting. But it’s expensive and very skill intensive. The second best solution is to simply upgrade the bulbs in your stock housings. This is cost effective and can yield fantastic results for most applications. Your Mazda is one of those applications. Every single bulb on the front of that car can be upgraded in a manner where you will get marked improvements in performance. The best bulbs currently on the market that I have experience with are the Hella off road wattage HP “blue” bulbs (gotta be careful about application with these due to high current draw), their regular DOT wattage HP bulbs (leaves a blue reflection in the housing when off though), the Osram H7 Hyper, and the Toshiba HIR bulbs (I use the HIR in my fogs and just did a write up on them on the forum). I’ve heard good things about the Osram Nightbreaker as well, but I have no experience with them. Sylvania Silverstars are comparable to the DOT wattage Hella HP bulbs, but the Hella’s have longer bulb life.

i get all my lighting needs fulfilled at http://www.rallylights.com. they are really knowledgeable and have a great product selection.

hope that info helps.

 

^ very good info

 

HID plug and play in a halogen housing? No thanks. They only way I'd do that is if I painted the lower half of the reflector flat black.

Retro fit at http://www.customlightz.com/ for the win!

 

friend of mine has a xenon depot 6000k HID kit on his Si. the cutoff like is just great!

i say you get that

 

I have a 4800k set in my si and love it.... I got it of ebay.

 

**** i got 8000k kit the xeon kit and the cut off its fine. they increased light made it easier to see and a lil further out. also drove past a fellow H-T member and he said that they wernt blinding. color is nice as well. paid 200 got it next day and that included installation.

 

custom lightz retro fit ftw!

 

grabbed this from the 01-05 civic guys
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1791918

 

i think some people are not getting it. no matter what, a halogen housing and reflector will not reflect HID capsule light properly. it won't. it might LOOK like it is, but it's not. the cutoff is not the same (not even close), the scattering is present and just not the best way to do things, at all.

before you reply and say this and that...think of it like this- you can run a turbo retrofitted honda engine with a FMU...but how good is the tune? is it REALLY the right way to do things??? how will it run vs. getting it tuned with bigger injectors, on a dyno and/or wideband with a programmable engine management?

if you want to do things the right way, and enjoy HID for what they are meant to be, man up and pay the money to have them retrofitted properly or get the appropriate OEM HID housing if available.

i am one who does things properly, efficiently and effectively, and many people on here aren't/don't/don't, so i know i'll be banging my head against the wall here, but take it for what it's worth.

 

HID - projectors = glare

 

i will expand on that and mention that you CAN have HID w/o a DE (edit: projector) lamp, but the reflector has to be designed for that light source in mind. a free form reflector that is computer designed to collect and focus that light from the HID capsule position, with appropriate shields (bandaids) or true FF design, whatever, just as long as it was MEAN'T for an HID capsule. the fact is that a projector is without a doubt the most efficient means of collecting light. it will collect over 50%, vs. a 5% less collection for FF open reflectors....but either if designed well can have a nice cutoff w/o visible scattering (glare).

 

if you realy want to make a bid difference is seeing further and better while not harming other drivers then you ned to fork out the dough and get the retro projectors. if i had the money i would have done that. i had it done to my TC and it was alot better then just having HID's.

 

go for the hids like 6000K or so i have 8000K and i love them a little bright but not too bad

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by touge_101 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">go for the hids like 6000K or so i have 8000K and i love them a little bright but not too bad </TD></TR></TABLE>

Are you kiiding me ? 6000k bulbs put out only 2400 lumens while the 4300k puts out 3200 lumens.
Anything above 4300k will loose brightness and look more blue/purple/pink.
Thats why all OEM hid will come with 4300k only

 

HIDS FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

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

with a name like that, how am i not surprised you posted what you did...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by builthatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i will expand on that and mention that you CAN have HID w/o a DE (edit: projector) lamp, but the reflector has to be designed for that light source in mind. a free form reflector that is computer designed to collect and focus that light from the HID capsule position, with appropriate shields (bandaids) or true FF design, whatever, just as long as it was MEAN'T for an HID capsule. the fact is that a projector is without a doubt the most efficient means of collecting light. it will collect over 50%, vs. a 5% less collection for FF open reflectors....but either if designed well can have a nice cutoff w/o visible scattering (glare).</TD></TR></TABLE>

Example: Infiniti reflector HID housing. Note the 'cutoff' point of the xenon light in the housing, preventing glare. Halogen reflectors are NOT designed to do this, and don't do it as efficiently or effectively.

 

retro is the best for lighting.
if you dont have the moolah go with pnp.

 

i got 10 k hid's on my car but i pointed them lower than normal so it faces the road you see better and it dosent blind no one and offcours you have a great vision of the road ..