Hid's On Standard Headlights Quick Question

[PM-R33]

You would have to modify the whole headlight and put bi-xenon projectors in, quite a costly and difficult process.

[Nemesis]

Well atm i'm using a Bellof - Spec Le Mans HID 4300K 'conversion' kit (yes its made in Japan :S) in my ECR33 and havent had any probs with ppl flashing me due to brightness...well maybe 1 or 2 Installation took 2 parts of sweet FA to do and i set the lights up by parkin it up at one end of the street and gettin a my brother to check the angles/glare from the other end Note: i did need to slightly angle them down and the light produced is awesome!... definitely happy with the results. Also havent had any problem thus far with the cops.

As for using a Bi kit...you will probably need to buy 2 kits if its for a 33 gtst...one for low-beam and one for high - tho not sure how effective the high beam one will be tho as i havent tried it yet - might just act like a pencil beam spottie ... and not sure if there is a all-in-1 bulb which incorporates both low and high beam to suit ECR33. Heat wont be problem for the cars original lenses either as the bulbs only put out somethin like 35W of heat.

Cheers

Dan

Edited June 19, 2010 by Nemesis

[PM-R33]

Bi-xenon means just that, a high and low in the one single projector that usually has a reflector shield in front of it that moves to change from low or high or the actual whole headlight projector moves up and down via a motor function. So as I said, very expensive to convert to for a proper Bi-xenon headlight.

Having a stock low beam changed to HID and the stock high beam changed to HID is just a dual HID setup.

[DarkRyda]

Thank you for clearing that up : ) now to find a decent HID kit!

[warps]

I love it when wankers with dodgy HID conversions blind me coming the other way. I just flick the Light Force 240's on for a couple of seconds and they soon get the picture. I've tried retrofitting HID's to the 170's I had on my rally car, and the light was plain crap, regardless of how I adjusted / focussed the beam. The halogens in the other pair of 170's outshone the HID's easily. I still have all 4 spotties sitting on the shelf so am happy to demonstrate to anyone who doesn't believe me.

The only thing I can think of is that I got the 6000K kits, and the 4300K is meant to put out much more light so will give that a go before refitting the halogens into the 170's.

Where I'm working at the moment (out west of Mackay) I have a 45km trip to / from work in the dark each way. A lot of the guys out here have fitted HID's to their 4X4's and you can tell when they come up behind you, or coming the other way (mostly they're properly aimed, and don't cause a problem). there's bugger all difference in their lights and the halogens on the front of my car - in fact I'd say that mine light up the road (usefully) much better than a lot of theirs. I can see comfortably 500-600m ahead which is plenty at 100km/h (by usefully I don't mean lighting up a reflective street sign at 1500m). That little white dot you get at 1000m just doesn't cut it for me, I'm afraid.

Remember, your car's standard lights are a compromise between looking good (most impotrant to the designer), minimal glare on low beam and finally decent high beam (long way behind the other criterea unfortunately), In most cases, the only way to get decent long range lighting is to fit spotties. good if you're going for the rally / 4WD look but not so great on a maccas cruiser.

If you HAVE to get a HID kit then at least try get one that puts the light source in the similar position to the original filament, so that the scatter of light will be somewhat minimised.

Having said all that, my current rally car has JDM HID lights fitted (see avatar). I haven't driven it in the gravel at night yet, so can't comment on their effectiveness. If they happen to be ZOMG eleventy++ bright, then I'll happily retract my previous statements. I'm feeling fairly confident though.

[PM-R33]

Retrofitting HID's to spotlights and getting a proper xenon spotlight such as the Lightforce XGT is where you will find the biggest difference in light output. However the XGT's aint cheap.

Also the main focus here is Skyline headlights being converted to HID's. Bit irrelevent talking about the difference between spotlights.

Edited June 20, 2010 by PM-R33

[warps]

Retrofitting HID's to spotlights and getting a proper xenon spotlight such as the Lightforce XGT is where you will find the biggest difference in light output. However the XGT's aint cheap.

Also the main focus here is Skyline headlights being converted to HID's. Bit irrelevent talking about the difference between spotlights.

No it's not. The R33 will have even more issues than a spot light that is esigned to throw light out equally (clear lens, parabolic reflector) so while they aren't directly compatible, the HID in stock headlight will cause even more trouble.

I have also tried the HID Light Forces and was equally unimpressed.

[Fat_Tony]

Car headlights are the most precise optics in lighting. Any light source that is a different size and shape immediatly makes the light/reflector relationship redundant.

The tolerances are very fine. 0.5mm out on your lamp size/shape and position and the light distribution would be screwed.

[warps]

Precisely

[DarkRyda]

I will be getting my HID's off NYTSKY (http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/Slim-Hid-Kit-Group-Buy-t291349.html) i will install / test them with a few mates to try and reduce glare as much as possible (angle them down etc...) the main focus of this thread was to answer two main questions, the first was how many of you are using HID's without proper headlights and that was sufficiently answered, the second was my query about Bi-Xenon HID's and that was also answered.

I understand that my headlights will not be perfect and they at times might become somewhat disruptive to other drivers but all i really want is a decent light output thus the decision to go for 6000k HID's because i have tried many halogen globes 5000k and below and to me they all seem to fail at what i'm trying to achieve.

Thanks to everyone who answered my questions : ) you where all extremely helpful and supportive!!

Edited June 20, 2010 by DarkRyda

[warps]

From the guys I know who have done some serious experimentation and testing in rally cars, the consensus is that 4300K gives much more useful light than 6000K. The higher temp rating gives a bluer light, but light output goes down.

Don't make the mistake of believing that bluer light is better light. Anything over 4300K and you will lose brightness.

Also, have you ensured that your reflectors, lenses and wiring in your standard system is up to scratch? These cars are getting old now, and there's a good cnance that the lights aren't even getting the full voltage due to deterioration in wiring, switch gear, earths etc. I have done many an upgrade on old Jap car electrics. Fitting relays and decent wiring to the stock lights makes a huge difference, as does putting good quality halogen globes (not necessarily massive wattage bulbs, either)

Edited June 21, 2010 by warps

[some_cs_student]

Don't make the mistake of believing that bluer light is better light. Anything over 4300K and you will lose brightness.

I bought what are claimed to be, 5000K halogen bulbs from dealextreme here. They are in the Ford and they appear bright white, which is what I wanted, they are a little brighter than the old bulbs, but not super bright, as I never wanted to blind other drivers anyway

They were about $35AUD, similar ones on ebay...

[Kinks]

From the guys I know who have done some serious experimentation and testing in rally cars, the consensus is that 4300K gives much more useful light than 6000K. The higher temp rating gives a bluer light, but light output goes down.

Don't make the mistake of believing that bluer light is better light. Anything over 4300K and you will lose brightness.

Also, have you ensured that your reflectors, lenses and wiring in your standard system is up to scratch? These cars are getting old now, and there's a good cnance that the lights aren't even getting the full voltage due to deterioration in wiring, switch gear, earths etc. I have done many an upgrade on old Jap car electrics. Fitting relays and decent wiring to the stock lights makes a huge difference, as does putting good quality halogen globes (not necessarily massive wattage bulbs, either)

I would love to see some pictures of the before and after cutoff against a wall. I have asked NYTSKY for this several times and he never delivers and I'm sure it's because the results are poor. If anyone can sell an HID kit for an R33 that gives a clean cutoff without sending glare to other road users I would have my wallet out in a heartbeat. But it's not going to happen, and I refuse to increase glare for other road users. It's just not safe if people who are driving towards you can't see properly!!

[PM-R33]

Well im yet to have any one loose control of their car while driving towards me and smash into a school and kill a small class room full of children, so mine musn't be too bad and they're from Dave...

Edited June 23, 2010 by PM-R33

[fib]

Don't say such things.. :S

[Kinks]

Well im yet to have any one loose control of their car while driving towards me and smash into a school and kill a small class room full of children, so mine musn't be too bad and they're from Dave...

sure, because not killing 30 people automatically means that your headlights are A-OK.

[PM-R33]

lol relax for f**ks sake, they are just headlights and yes they are A-OK. Maybe you should put a set in and try them out, if you don't like them, then sell them, not hard to do.

You adjust the headlight a bit down to make up for the extra brightness and point them a bit more to the left so they don't point as much into oncoming traffic on the drivers side. Pretty bloody simple.

I purchased five kits off of Dave for an SS, Monaro, Supra, Mazda 3 and my own and also purchased a kit elsewhere for my bike down the track. Adjusted all the kits to compensate a bit for the extra light out put and not one of those people have had any problems or complaints from other people/the law. Bringing shit like focal points into this discussion is a bit of a joke and your looking into it way to much, obviously it aint going to be perfect like a $3000 headlight of a BMW built in a factory for a specific bulb, no shit.

It's not just about the extra brightness. It's also about the much better clarity, lower power consumption, much longer life length of bulbs, easier on the eyes, same price as most top of the range halogen bulbs and they have a nicer modern colour compared to a gay yellow light. If you don't want/like them fine, so be it, other people love them and I know i'll never own a car in the future without HID's, preferably factory ones on a big dollar Euro car

Edited June 23, 2010 by PM-R33

[jiffo]

I can't wait until the revenue collectors start handing out defect notices for these things.

Absolutely sick of inconsiderate bastards backyard fitting HID kits so they can see better and yet bugger everyone else.

It doesn't matter if you adjust your standard assemblies down and left, they will still blind oncoming traffic.

If it's good enough to hand out fines for driving with fog lights on in clear weather, this defect should be an immediate "no drive" tilt-tray situation, not an infringement notice to be checked in the future.

Here's an interesting read.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bu...onversions.html

[PM-R33]

God that same website posted again, good to see you read the entire thread. We are all aware why they are illegal and you can allready get defected for them.

My lights are fine and I have never had any problems with them even when driving in front of, next to, or opposite police, nor do the other people's cars that I installed the kits into and adjusted. So at the end of the day i'm happy.

Edited June 24, 2010 by PM-R33

[dan_the_man]

God that same website posted again, good to see you read the entire thread. We are all aware why they are illegal and you can allready get defected for them.

My lights are fine and I have never had any problems with them even when driving in front of, next to, or opposite police, nor do the other people's cars that I installed the kits into and adjusted. So at the end of the day i'm happy.

and that's the main thing. f**k the rest of the world.