35 vs 55W HIDS?

I know this is a long shot but does anyone have first hand experience with the differences between 35W and 55W HIDs on the Legacy? I just had another bulb burn out and I am now thinking about giving these a go, while I think the 35 will likely give me enough light I have found that the HIR highs tend to make any low look low. So since these have really come down in price the 55W isn't much more and is supposed to give 45% more light. My only concern is if the bean pattern sucks so bad that you get flashed all the time or worse yet pulled over frequently.

I am teh suck...can a mod please move this to the exterior /aesthetic forum?

I have the 35w kit and its really bright - 4300 or 4500 K i cant remember. Add silverstar ultra high beams and its like daytime.

^ yea, i agree with above. 35w 4500K is bright enough for city use, i actually think its a little to bright when you drive long distances on the highway, but thats the only draw back.

Make sure you don't get a ridiculous color temperature when shopping. The blueish beams just don't 'reach' as far, it might deceive you into believing your lights are nice and bright up close but at a distance they're actually much worst.

 

If you get a decent temp then 35W should be more than enough. 55W would just piss off other drivers since your optics won't be meant for that, even 35 is going to skirt the limit and probably annoy people. Problem is that the Xenon is almost a point source of light were the Halogen is larger due to the area of the filament. The headlight lenses were designed obviously Halogen light source in mind.

 

As for the Silverstar Ultras, I work for Sylvania and wouldn't put those near my Subaru. They have an absolutely dismal life expectancy and are expensive all for the aesthetic appeal of different tint light.

I have the Apexcone 55w in 5000k and love it. My headlights are brighter than any other stock HIDs and if aimed properly you will never have an issue with other cars flashing you.

 

Either use stock cheapo bulbs, or the Nighthawks if you want to spend more money but I would go 55w HID or better yet the 330RX headlight conversion.

 

Stock headlights + Apexcone 55w kit + 5000k bulbs = AWESOME!!!

if you're familiar with clearing/blacking out your headlights, you can just fill in the little gap that causes the glare.

 

i went from a 35W 6000K kit to a 55W 5000K kit and i did the above mod. cut off is pretty clear

CzarDestructo, since you work for Sylvania....

 

 

What do you recommend for bulbs? Primarily H3's for Fogs and 9005 high beams. (I've got 4500k HID's for my low beams)

oem xenon systems (bmw, audi, benz, porsche, etc...) use 35 watt xenon systems with 4100k bulbs. really it is the bulb that is very important. thats where kits get funky since there is no standard especially with color temp. if you want to try to stay as close to the look of an oem setup above look stick with 5300-6000k.

 

cheap ballasts with good bulb > good ballasts and cheap bulb

 

but good ballasts and bulbs = years of trouble free operation. my philips d2s bulbs are 7 years old and still kicking. they are also used as drl on my lgt as well as my previous retro in my last car.

 

peace

I would highly recommend the HIR bulbs for your highs....with a simple snip you can mod them to fit and they are very bright. So bright that they make teh 65W bulbs I had as lows seem dim. For me I live out in the sticks and use my highs a lot to better spot deer and bear but when a car comes at me the switch to just lows leaves me wanting more light.

 

That is why I am now looking at the HID option. The main concern with the 55W is since the stock housings are not designed for them I will attract too much attention and I am afraid there will be a lot of distraction from them in the fog, rain and snow.

i had a 55 watt and now have a 35 watt kit, both at 4500k. 55watt were definitely brighter when directly comparing each other but when just using one or the other you can't really tell. also i believe the 55 and 35 watt kits use the same bulbs, so i'm would guess the 35watt kits are more reliable?!? also the 55watt was so bright sometimes, i would get tired of looking at the light on roadtrips at night.

 

when you do get a kit, make sure you block the hole in the shield. i ran with them unblocked for a while and regret it. not only is it safer, but looks so much cleaner and better. also don't try to bend the flap to cover the shield. it will not distort the shield but it will leave like a 1/4 gap between the flap and shield leaving some light through. this results in lots of distorted color and cutoff. i thought i distorted my shield, so i opened my headlights, unbent the flap, and covered the hole, and my cutoff is as clean as ever.

CzarDestructo, since you work for Sylvania....

 

 

What do you recommend for bulbs? Primarily H3's for Fogs and 9005 high beams. (I've got 4500k HID's for my low beams)

 

Can't really recommend anything as I work R&D primarily in fluorescents, all the automotive headlamps are actually made right in southern NH. Some automotive R&D is done here but most of it is done up north.

 

Only recommendation I can make is buy Sylvania of course! Seriously, pretty much every new car sold in the US carries Sylvania lamps because their quality standards are ridiculous. The failure rate has to be under 10 parts per million in order for auto giants to even consider buying them (they don't want customers bringing their new car in for repairs, especially over a headlight).

And just a FYI to all those upgrading to Xenon, optics is a little more complicated than a snipping or bending a piece of metal. The lenses are physically designed for a particular light source of previously determined area of radiance and the position of this radiance. If you change to a Xenon the source area is significantly different and optics won't work the same, the degree of change is totally dependant on the design the auto maker picked. So while you think you'd mod is seamless and you might have a decent cut off line you may still be pissing people off with stray light, you just don't realize it.

 

I just hope everyone realizes this when they do this mod, because most don't or just don't seem to care. I HATE when I get blinded by piss poor Xenon retrofits, it's dangerous to other drivers and plain selfish.

CzarDestructo, there are threads on the board about both Xenon bulbs and full-out projector retro.

 

There are pics on the board of the cutoff with Xenon's in the 05+ Legacy. It is very sharp. Since I put the bulbs in, I've got flashed by zero cars on the opposite side of the road.

 

Anyway, any idea why non of the Halogen bulbs list output in Luminens?

 

EDIT:I have 35w 4500k HIDs, 55w would probably get me flashed

So while you think you'd mod is seamless and you might have a decent cut off line you may still be pissing people off with stray light, you just don't realize it.

 

 

i understand what you are saying but the stock legacy projectors are ok decent. yes, the light output may not be as bright as oem xenon or retrofitted xenon projectors, but when the shield is modified correctly glare should be no worst then oem xenons. driving on the darkest of nights, i can not see anything above the cutoff. same when aimed against a wall.

CzarDestructo, there are threads on the board about both Xenon bulbs and full-out projector retro.

 

There are pics on the board of the cutoff with Xenon's in the 05+ Legacy. It is very sharp. Since I put the bulbs in, I've got flashed by zero cars on the opposite side of the road.

 

Anyway, any idea why non of the Halogen bulbs list output in Luminens?

 

EDIT:I have 35w 4500k HIDs, 55w would probably get me flashed

 

Probably because there is so little difference from bulb to bulb. Tungsten based lamps leave very little room for deviation or creativity. Buying any brand so long as the wattage is the same will more than likely give you exactly the same light (but not the Silver Stars of course).

So Silver Stars it is

 

Got it

I've got the 35w DDM kit from Xenon Expert with 4300k bulbs, and I don't use my high beams anymore. I upgraded from Sylvania Silverstars, which was a very nice step up from the stock bulbs.

There's absolutely no reason to have anything more than 35W unless you're racing. IMHO.

I just installed the 55w 4300k kit and so far love it and have had no problems with people flashing or troubles with the police.

I just got 55w 6000K from xenoxpert and i love them.

...and don't forget the walkthrough.

Alright, I tried to find it. Can someone point me to a picture of the "gap" to fill in to reduce glare? I'm pretty sure the guy who installed mine didn't know about that part, and neither did I until now. How do you get to it? Do you have to take the whole headlight out if it's a reflector?

 

I've got 55w 5000k HID's, and driving in snow the other night (yes, it was snowing already...) there was WAY too much glare off the snow falling. I'd hate to be in thick fog.

That is kind of what I was afraid of...even my wifes OEM HID's seem to really make driving in the snow more difficult. It is almost like each snowflake is so bright your eye is attracted to it like a bug to a bug zapper.

you'll need to bake your headlights and disassemble the projector unit. there's a walkthrough here somewhere, but it makes a good difference after you fill in the gap