Disappointing HIDs?

[RockyMtnGT]

I can see this turning into a never ending debate. But for what it's worth, I love my Xtec 4500k 35W kit! The stock headlights on the LGT are some of the best factory headlights I have seen, but with the HID's installed I can "see" where my $300 went.

 

If you were to take a ride with me down a truly pitch BLACK Colorado canyon road at night, you would "see" exactly what I'm talking about.

 

They do "flood" the front of the car with light, and off to the sides too. But this is exactly what a good set of fog lights would do. I have Nokya 2500k bulbs installed in my fogs, and I hardly if ever use them unless it is truly crappy weather. Deer and potholes etc are easily seen (and hopefully avoided) with the Xtec's, which is obviously a good thing...

 

They also throw light easily as far as the stockies did. It's just a matter of getting used to them. It also helps if you try not to stare at the ground right in front of the car. It is so brightly lit with HID's, that you will be tempted to and at first have a hard time NOT staring (and being amazed) by all the light in front of the car.

 

On top of all, this they look sweet!!! I'd buy them again in heartbeat...

 

Before...

 

http://img506.imageshack.us/img506/6514/dscf00070kn.th.jpg http://img506.imageshack.us/img506/7968/dscf00051ck.th.jpg

 

 

After...

 

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/1135/hid61jr.png

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/9793/hid32bn.png

[TSiWRX]

^ I am also fond of the Sylvania SilverStars - but only for their color-temperature changes.

 

They truly seem only marginally - if at all - "brighter" than comparable generic halogens of the same wattage, but their true benefit, I feel, is that their shift in color temperature can help those among us to "perceive" the output light better in the specific and unique cases where these very people do "see better" at those wavelengths...unfortunately, this latter caveat is one that's unique to each individual.

 

For their rather hefty price-tag, it's definitely not a recommendation that I can make across-the-board.

 

 

-----

 

IThey do "flood" the front of the car with light, and off to the sides too. But this is exactly what a good set of fog lights would do.

 

This is a valid statement, however, such a lighting pattern isn't necessarily what would be idea for such long stretches of completely dark roadways - especially traveled at-speeds.

 

The problem with flooding the foreground is simply that, biologically, you'll cause your eyes to see less at-distance. While good fogs produce a hefty amount of foreground flooding, this is to be paired with reduced-speed driving that is reflected by more hazardous roadway conditions (i.e rain, fog, etc.), where visibility overall - and especially at-distance - is greatly reduced.

 

In order to maximize "penetrating distance," what you'd want to do is to dim the foreground as much as possible - and instead, pair your high-beams with a set of properly designed *_and_* properly aimed DRIVING LAMPS, which will truly "spear out" into the dark distance.

 

You truly have optimized being able to avoid potholes. But avoiding that deer in the distance? Not really.

 

-----

 

Ted I've been thinking about the "inside the grill" driving lamp idea cited by robinlsb for quite some time now. I just really haven't had the time nor energy to follow-up on this, including researching a good set of proper - albeit small diameter - driving lamps for such placement.

 

I'm convinced that I'd get more than enough frontal airflow...it's rather the aesthetics...as well as the physical mount and finding a good set of lamps...that's holding me back.

[robinlsb]

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

 

HID's do that. They will get a little better over time.

[Legasee]

HID's do that. They will get a little better over time.

 

Such good news, thanks!

[Kaptan]

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.

 

Unfortunately the average lifespan of Silverstar bulbs are less than a year.

[SWP-LegacyGT]

FYI for anyone joining this thread late, give your HID's 1 month and they will be more bright than the day 1 install.

 

Also, to the OP, HID light is "different" than the halogen light that is displayed. It's all about having your eyes adjust.

[WizzD]

Unfortunately the average lifespan of Silverstar bulbs are less than a year.

 

Had them on my 03WRX for 3 years with no problems in headlights or fogs.

[TSiWRX]

^ +1

 

It's too unpredictable to give an average.

 

I notice a lot of members of various enthusiast Forums complaining of overall bulb life of the Sylvania SilverStars to be less than 1 to 3 months - at the same time, there are also not-infrequent reports of sets lasting well over 2 years.

[TYNY]

mine work, wife likes hers; we're both happy

[phoenix96]

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?

 

There is a dramatic difference in the light - it's white and has a sharper cutoff than the stock halogens. It also appears very bright when parked directly in front of a garage door. That doesn't necessarily translate to better nighttime visibility though.

 

Maybe there is something wrong with my kit? I'm not sure what it could be - both headlights seem to be equal in brightness and what are the chances of both ballasts having the same problem?

[phoenix96]

I can see this turning into a never ending debate. But for what it's worth, I love my Xtec 4500k 35W kit! The stock headlights on the LGT are some of the best factory headlights I have seen, but with the HID's installed I can "see" where my $300 went.

 

If you were to take a ride with me down a truly pitch BLACK Colorado canyon road at night, you would "see" exactly what I'm talking about.

 

They do "flood" the front of the car with light, and off to the sides too. But this is exactly what a good set of fog lights would do.

 

But I already have fog lights. The point in 'upgrading' the low beams is to gain better visibility when using low beam headlights, not to turn them into ultra-bright fogs.

 

I can 'see' where my $300 went too... but it feels like bling to me.

[phoenix96]

FYI for anyone joining this thread late, give your HID's 1 month and they will be more bright than the day 1 install.

 

Also, to the OP, HID light is "different" than the halogen light that is displayed. It's all about having your eyes adjust.

 

I am aware of that, and I'm still not entirely convinced that my kit is working properly since there seem to be a number of people who feel that the HIDs greatly improved nighttime visibility. As it stands, I've already put the money and time into these HID bulbs, and they are marginally brighter than the stock bulbs, so I won't be switching back - but I wouldn't make the same choice if I was doing it over again. The way they work on my Legacy doesn't come close to comparing to Infiniti's OEM HIDs - I don't know how they compare to Subaru's OEM HIDs on the STI or on the Legacy in other countries.

[gt_ltd]

mine aren't that bright on the streets, but once i get to highway where the lamps are far away from each other, i can tell the improvement over stock halogens. in fact, slow cars are more willing to move outta my way now.

 

if i were you, i'd meet up with a local member and compare lights.

[TSiWRX]

phoenix96 - is/are your cutoffs and beam-pattern correct when placed close-up to a forward surface? I'm almost wondering if your bulbs are properly installed (physical positioning).

 

 

And for what it's worth, from a flashlight collector, I totally agree with your assessment. "Garage pix" truly are worth absolute zero in terms of how well any setup may work on-the-road. A better shot - typically, comparative between the system in-question and "stock" - would be one that gives a good idea of the true throw and beam-pattern of the setup, down-road.

 

[MaStaMooN]

I had the same concerns when I installed my HID kit... I was like "this is what everybody is raving about?"... but as months have gone by.. actually a year now, they are very much brighter.. scratch that.. more INTENSE than the stockers for sure... Its not so much that they are bright enough to light up everything you need.. but they seem to light up a bit further down the road.. I can see them lighting up signs, deer eyes, etc... while driving behind somebody with stock halogens...

 

I think you have to forget trying to put a price to their performance.. saying 300 bucks for this is gonna leave you feeling short changed.. But just leave them in, drive with them in the real world for a few months.. you will not be able to go back.

 

My wife has a 02 elantra that before I got my HID's, thought had pretty good headlights... Now I get in that car, and cannot understand how she drives at night... you get a nice bright spot in front of the car.. but the throw is much much much less. I realize this is apples and oranges... but it makes me appreciate my lights that much more.

[TSiWRX]

.. but they seem to light up a bit further down the road.. I can see them lighting up signs, deer eyes, etc... while driving behind somebody with stock halogens....

 

This may actually be a "perceived" benefit more than anything else....

 

The reason why reflective signs as well as animal eyes seem so much more catchy with the HIDs can typically be traced down to the rahter big differential in color-temperature output between it and standard, conventional halogens.

 

In many instances, drivers using extremely high color temperature bulbs - be it halogens or HIDs, will report such highlighting at-distance, and erroneously assign it to a true quantitative increase in distance throw. During the initial "blue bulb" craze of the early 90s, this was a significant reason why so many thought they were seeing "better/farther" with such colored bulbs, when they were truly seeing much, much less where true illumination was critical.

 

Without physically altering the size and design of the optics and reflector assembly, it is virtually impossible to gain any quantitative improvement in throw distance or beam pattern.

[MaStaMooN]

Either way... it works.

[robinlsb]

yawn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[TSiWRX]

Either way... it works.

 

True, that it does.

 

It's really too bad that there's just no really, really good compromise currently on-market. Sure, it's easy enough to combine several different lighting units in order to give the best performance under any one specific condition...but what about "single unit" performance?

 

The LED/tactical-flashlight guys are now experimenting with mixing different color LEDs in order to best-achieve night-time performance (same as with our "car hobby," most flashlight hobbyists have sought the "whitest" possible since the influx of high-powered LEDs came on-market; but recent examination again shows that what we knew from before, that "straw/amber/yellow" colored light is what we're most responsive to as biological beings, thus making such "absolute white light" actually much less than ideal for true night-time performance enhancement).

 

Maybe we should be seeking the same?

[phoenix96]

phoenix96 - is/are your cutoffs and beam-pattern correct when placed close-up to a forward surface? I'm almost wondering if your bulbs are properly installed (physical positioning).

 

I wondered about that too, and I have double checked - the bulbs only fit one way. There's the possibility that they were manufactured with the tab in the wrong spot, but that seems unlikely. I'll post up a picture of the cutoff and beam-pattern when I get a chance.

[apexjr]

I put the xtec 35watt 4100's in my wifes 05 and they were a HUGE improvement over stock. I just picked up a 08 GT today and I plan to order a set for the lights and the fogs. They are good lights.

 

Only issue we have had with them is that when you leave the lights on and turn the car off, when you come back and turn the car back on they might not ignite. It's best to shut off the lights when you leave the car (habbit for me, not the wife) and you won't have the issue. I aimed the lights just a bit lower then they were stock to make sure, because they are WAY brighter then the crap that came in the car.

[jyax]

I got the cheapy 55w, 5000k ddm kit about a month ago. The light output is considerably brighter and covers a much wider span.

 

The yellower stock halogens were a bit more visible on the ground when the ground is wet, but on dry ground (or snow) the difference with the HID output is night and day.

[apexjr]

Yah, on the snow it is amazing how much better the HIDs light up over stock. You and I have gone through a lot more snow then Oregonians have been used to lately. That last batch we got on Sunday, I drove from Seattle to Portland in my brand new car at night on snow the whole way. Talk about stressful. My wife's had X-Ice 2 studless snow tires on her's so I wasn't worried for hers. Mine was stock tires. Did fine, no problems at all. Loving this car so far!

[apexjr]

I need to correct my original post. I did not put in xtec, I was confused. It was the HID kit for Xenon Export www.xenonexpert.com

 

Those are great, and the price is amazing.

[Krayzie0099]

HouseofHID.com has some good HID's. I have them on my Legacy and also had some on my Lightning. Never any problems...