quick ? about HIDS

was looking into getting hids...was wondering which sets r good..if they are only low beam or both low and high..and if they have a kit for foglights

dont the 05 have them?? or is that just a projector with standard bulbs

no its just projector with regular bulb

i got mine from here http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/volt-hid-japanese-slim-kit-99689.html

HID's in the low beam would be the only upgrade you'll need.. it'll look nicer it's brighter...wont necessarily help with vision.

 

dont waste your money on changing the hi beams and foglights to HID's.

Dont do high beams, they wont be good for quick changes on and off. I did Lows and Fogs, Apexcone 6K 55W and am very pleased with their output.

I did 5k hids (lows) and I love em... Got em from this vendor:

http://legacygt.com/forums/member.php?u=30904

Like the others said, don't do the high-beams. With our separate-bulb setup, the burn-in time is not compatible with typical high-beam usage scenarios.

 

Upgrade your high-beam bulbs to HIR, and you'll be more than good to go. They'll make for a wonderful pairing with the HIDs.

 

As for what HID kit to choose?

 

They're virtually a dime a dozen here - just by searching in the two Vendor sections of the "Classifieds" Forums here, you'll be able to find the most popular ones pretty darned easily. Currently, though, for a plug-and-play kit, I would definitely pay no more than $100 for anything - and actually, I'd be hesitant to spend much more than $50, given current market pricing.

ok good to no about the high beam..what exactly are hir for highbeam?

^ Ah, my bad - I didn't know you didn't know.

 

HIR = (H)alogen (I)nfra ®ed. In true layman's terms (not because you are - but because I am ), it essentially takes that wasted heat that's generated from your halogen incandescent bulb, and directs it back at the filament, to allow it to burn brighter.

 

Plug in "HIR" (or "HIR*) to the search engine here, restricting the search to the "Exterior/Aesthetics" sub-Forum, and you'll find a heck of a lot of good information about the hows and the whys.

 

Even with a 55W plug-and-play H7 HID in your low-beams, the HIR high-beam will still significantly out-reach the low-beam, and will serve as a very good compliment as it has no burn-in issues, which is useful not only for "flash-to-pass," but also in terms of getting the light out there, "right now," which is what most need-based switching of high-beams tend to be.

 

Also, if your eyes take better to yellower light, this HIR/HID compliment will also work well.

HID's in the low beam would be the only upgrade you'll need.. it'll look nicer it's brighter...wont necessarily help with vision.

 

dont waste your money on changing the hi beams and foglights to HID's.

 

It will definitely help with vision. However, what you're saying is true in certain cases. If the output is too great and it is too bright right in front of your car, you will lose your natural night vision abilities in the periphery.

 

But I believe that the stock projectors would be fine for 35watt HID kits.

 

I'm using this:

http://www.kbcarstuff.com/Xtreme_HID_4300k_Philips_Xenon_HID_Conversion_Kits_p/xt-4kp.htm

well..i only mean for something like wet roads at night

i upgraded to HID's (6000k)hoping that it would allow me to see the lines better..but it's honestly worse than stock lighting because it is a whiter spectrum of light and you're trying to see white lines

 

then i installed 3000k (yellow) fog HID's but the low beams drown them right out - because of the colour spectrum. i should have elaborated on this above. i am sure if they weren't yellow then the effect would be better but..the assumption is if it's whiter lights..than it's still no good for what i need it for

^ The color part of this equation is actually very individual/unique-person oriented.

 

Some people "see better" with light that's "whiter," others, with light that's "yellower."

 

Much of this perception, though, is subjective - but just because it's subjective doesn't make it any less valid, or any less important!

i was just trying to submit my experience. thats all.

 

but i do hear a lot that the yellow spectrum is better for rain and fog conditions

i was just trying to submit my experience. thats all.

 

^ No problem - I was just trying to put in an explanation as to why, that's all.

 

I'm also one of those people who "see better" with yellow/amber/"firelight"-colored light.

 

I've recently switched to a plug-and-play (yes, I'm doing this in steps, because I've now got the time - and spare parts, I've got a spare set of headlamps - to dick around and play with it, and so I'm doing things "stepwise," to see, for myself, what the payoffs [and trade-offs] are) H7 HID, mainly so that I could "recover" the absolute light-on-road that I've lost to my use of LaserVEIL G4 on the overlens. A 4500K color temperature.

 

Although I know that I'm seeing "more" with the HID setup (although insufficient side-spill is pushing me towards a full-optics retrofit, before the coming fall's dark-season; but of-note is that even though in my old TSi, where I retrofitted a set of E-Code HIDs that's still, to this day, my preference in terms of cut-off and throw, I also never truly felt as comfortable in that car, at night, as I did, comparatively, with a good halogen setup), I don't see as comfortably, as my eyes/brain prefers yellower light.

 

but i do hear a lot that the yellow spectrum is better for rain and fog conditions

^ That's actually a false perception.

 

Yes, to many drivers, it's more "comfortable" - and will also make certain aspects of vision easier (i.e. depth perception, lane tracking, curb delineation, etc.), but it does not actually "penetrate" the weather conditions any better than "white" light.

 

Subjectively, many drivers report an increase in visual comfort, which leads to greater driving confidence.

 

But what one has to remember is that the perception is actually false - that it does not translate into better actual driving performance as a function of lighting performance: so, importantly, one should still slow and exercise more care as would be suggested by the less-ideal weather conditions.

 

I use a set of 85W standard halogen-incandescents in my re-aimed factory fogs. They're "selective yellow." For me, that color bias, despite giving up absolute lighting output, helps with lane and curb delineation when NE-Ohio gets its nasty winter weather (i.e. helps me to track lane markings through slush, and highlights curbing due to the increased contrast).

 

But in having read those papers that outahere was so kind to have pointed me to in the past, I also have come to understand that just because I *think* I can see better with this colored light, it doesn't necessarily mean that I actually can - so I am fond of uttering this mantra when I drive: "you still can't see, slow down!"