Disappointing HIDs?

A couple weeks ago I installed an Xtec 35w HID kit. It was a fairly easy install and both headlights power up just fine. The kit was very high quality.

 

But the light output has been very disappointing thus far. I get the distinct impression that the lights are dimmer than stock.

 

I was expecting something along the lines of the "wow, that's bright, are you sure the high beams aren't on?" HID lighting from our Infiniti, and instead got "wow, are you sure those aren't just the fog lights?"

 

The lights seem bright when the car is parked 3 feet from a garage door, and I realize that HIDs tend to light up the foreground the most, but in actual driving, they're dim enough as to make driving with them a little scary. I can see the cutoff (although it is very dim) and it seems to be at the right place... but only the ground immediately in front of the car seems to be lit properly.

 

I had no problem with brightness or aiming when the stock bulbs were in... Is there something that could have gone wrong in the installation? I believe the bulbs only go in one way, and I haven't adjusted the 8mm aiming bolt at all. I'm going to have to go back to stock halogens if I can't figure out what's going on.

wondering o nthe color temp that you chose?

 

also, HID's do just that, they light up the foregroud a lot more, perciving your brain, into thinking that it is brighter,

 

the halogen projector, which handles HID blubs fine, could also be your problem, think about swapping, in the RX330 projectors, that may give you more light or the TSX or TL headlights are also very good when it comes to output..

 

other than that, hidplanet.com/forums, has a lot of good info

The bulbs are 5000k.

 

Like I said, I am familiar with HIDs and how they work (the OEM HIDs in our Infiniti, for instance). These just aren't right. Some of it may be the Legacy's projector design - but other people have expressed how wonderful and bright the HID kits are. My first impression was "what's wrong with these?". Mine barely light up street signs.

i have the same kit and i feel the same way initially. after a month of daily use, the light seemed to settle or burn in and seems a little brighter. i also reaimed the lights slightly higher and that helped fill the dark sections on driver side.

Wow, that really worries me. I was considering the exact same kit. Maybe I should spring for the 50w "race" version?

After spending countless hours seaching all over the net I dumped the idea of HIDs because they would not realy improve night time driving. There are tons of engineering issues regarding reflector design,bulb placement Etc. Hids may provide some "bling", but unless the whole headlight unit is replaced($$$$$$$) a separate set of driving lights is the only solution I have found so far.

I feel they are an improvement.

 

Stock left, mine with XTEC 5000K on right:

 

http://deexboy.com/albums/album28/IMG_5014.sized.jpg

 

http://deexboy.com/albums/album28/IMG_5022.sized.jpg

 

Of course compared to OEM HID Projectors they are not the same, but they are still pretty damn good!

 

You may also want to get 4500K since the 5000K doseem to get lost more then the yellower tint.

 

X

To make a real improvement, I'd think that along with bulbs the housings/projectors might need to be replaced as well?

^for the bext improvemnt, yes replacing the projectors, will make a difference

The bulbs are 5000k.

 

Like I said, I am familiar with HIDs and how they work (the OEM HIDs in our Infiniti, for instance). These just aren't right. Some of it may be the Legacy's projector design - but other people have expressed how wonderful and bright the HID kits are. My first impression was "what's wrong with these?". Mine barely light up street signs.

 

im alsp curious as yo what infinity your driving, give me a better comparison

I have no problems whatsoever with my Xtec 6000k kit. But then again I'm running the Race kit. I have been thinking about switching to the regular (35w) kit because it kind of looks like I'm driving around with my highbeams on all the time.

JohnM and All -

 

Anyone know if the Xtec "50W" kit is a *true* 50W kit, and not a overdriven 35W kit?

 

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phoenix96 - I'm in agreement with others here who cite that for your personal needs, you would probably benefit from a TRUE retrofit, including proper reflector and optics.

 

As-is, the combination of more foreground flooding as well as exacerbated artifacts (both dark and hot spots in the beam), plus a non-optimized throw/beam pattern, is probably causing you - who is used to a well-designed OEM system - to feel uncomfortable.

I have two set of the cheap HID's off ebay and it's like having a street light in front of my car at night. They are 35w 6000k. I have had no problem with them at all and love them.

 

There are some day and night pic's here http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31405

I was kinda disappointed at my 5k xtecs on the first few days after install...it wasn't as bright and there is a very visible cut-off line about 4-5 feet in front of the bumper..(the cut-off line is still there), but the lighting is either getting brighter or whiter..either way, I'm seeing better than when I installed in a week ago

but uh, arent the stock housings DESIGNED for HIDs already? I thought they were.. (heck the car has HID relays ready to plug in from the JDM OEM kit).

 

maybe try re-aiming the headlight, it's possible that you need to reaim them just a little bit?

Funny, the McCulloch 5K kit made a dramatic improvement in night-time visibility...distance and intensity. I've seen it side by side with a stock LGT and there's no comparison.

After spending countless hours seaching all over the net I dumped the idea of HIDs because they would not realy improve night time driving. There are tons of engineering issues regarding reflector design,bulb placement Etc. Hids may provide some "bling", but unless the whole headlight unit is replaced($$$$$$$) a separate set of driving lights is the only solution I have found so far.

 

And after all that research you still came to the wrong conclusion? Have you actually been in an LGT with HIDs to know for sure? I have and I can tell you that there is definitely an improvement in lighting at night. That is the whole reason I got them.

 

The picture above is a better example, but here is my LGT on the right and another LGT on the left with stock lights. Obviously the HIDs put down different light. It just so happens to be easier to see at night with them too. Go figure....

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/Compare1.jpg

Well after adjusting the aiming of the headlights a bit and doing a back-to-back driving comparison with the halogens in our Outback (and taking into account the difference in the height of the OB), I'm prepared to say that the HIDs are brighter. It isn't a very significant difference, however: The brightness is impossible to quantify, but I'd say the HIDs are less than 10% brighter than the stock halogens. As others have said, the very bright foreground lighting seems to affect long-distance vision. Maybe my eyes have been extra sensitive to it, but it gave me some discomfort the first few times I drove with the HIDs. A couple hours of night driving yesterday and I got used to the difference, however.

 

The real problem was my own expectations - I was thinking I'd get something that was close to the OEM HID output from the Infiniti rather than something that was only 'slightly better' than the OEM halogens in the Legacy.

 

I may try switching to 4500K bulbs. Maybe a projector retrofit would change things, but I don't intend to experiment with that. Either way, after seeing the output I have to say it was not worth the cost for me. A pair of bright halogen bulbs (Silverstars?) would probably be just as functional and less expensive.

If you aren't seeing an extremely dramatic difference in nightime visibility with your HIDs, SOMETHING IS WRONG with them or you. 10%??? Try 30%. I wonder if there's something up with your kit?

And after all that research you still came to the wrong conclusion? Have you actually been in an LGT with HIDs to know for sure? I have and I can tell you that there is definitely an improvement in lighting at night. That is the whole reason I got them.

 

The picture above is a better example, but here is my LGT on the right and another LGT on the left with stock lights. Obviously the HIDs put down different light. It just so happens to be easier to see at night with them too. Go figure....

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/Compare1.jpg

 

I do a lot of night driving and in Canada/Newfoundland (almost no cops) this can be at very high speeds. It is very easy to"outdrive" your lights so I look for significant improvement in how far I can see ahead. Heck, in my old RX3P, I installed aircraft landing lights in the high beams. Those little suckers could boil the paint off the car in front of you

 

This little trick can't be done with non sealed beam lights.

 

So your picture is backwards. How much farther can you see ahead?, not how much brighter do they look.

 

What I will probably do in trash the current Subie grill and install 2 of the best driving lights I can find that are small enought to not impact cooling.

 

Spring is here so I will fix the MEEP type horns at the same time. Both on their own circuits with their own relays.

 

Will post pics when completed

I installed the McCullough 5000K on my Leggy. They made a huge difference in night time driving. Maybe that particular kit is not a good combination on our cars.

I think many here know that robinlsb have had our differences - but truly, in her particular case, I think that her perceived complaints of plug-and-play HIDs is related to her use of headlamps, as well as her need for true distance night-vision.

 

The plug-and-play kits only exacerbate current-technology HIDs' problem of flooding the foreground - and this, of course, will decrease your distance night vision simply on a visual/biologic basis.

I really would like to see a good driving light install in the grill. Somebody do it

 

Ted

I know it's the cheap way out but I must say that I changed the headlights and foglights to SilverStar bulbs and the difference is remarkable. The Silverstar bulbs gave me the look I wanted and much brighter performance for a lot less money. Anyone looking into Silverstars, I'd say it's 100% worth it.

I really don;t think you can compare silverstars to HID's, but that is just me, someone that has used both in the past. I think the silverstars are a marginal upgrade to regular halogens. Point in case, omnce one of my silverstars burned out and I could not get anything else to replace it but a regular phillips halogen at that time. I popped it in and to my surprise they bit looked exactly the same, and the light output was no different. I think if you put a regular halogen in one side, and a HID on the other the difference will be a lot more. But then again you can argue all you want if it is worth the price of admission. For me it was and still is.

 

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