High power H1 Led ?

Echo63

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Hi guys, I don't normally venture into this bit of CPF, but a friend asked me this question.

He has recently bought a Kia Optima, which has HID high and low beams, but Incan fogs and turning lights.
The fog lights are easily fixed with a drop in H1 HID kit, but the turning lights (only come on when the wheel is turned a bit, then go off once the wheel is straightened to illuminate the corner) don't really suit the HID startup characteristics.
He is wondering whether it is better to get a blue Incan bulb (so it looks like a hid) or have an LED H1 tower built.
Is there anyone who builds H1 towers with a good amount of output (similar to output from the stock Incan ?)
thanks In advance

Echo63
 

John_Galt

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Tell him to get the HID kit out of the fog lights. For one thing, they are neither legal nor safe, and for another, they are blinding the hell out of other drivers on the road.

For another thing, fog lights, if they are actual fog lights, and not just the "shiny lights" most manufacturers seem to add to cars, then they should only be turned on during extremely heavy fog/snow-fall/etc, without the headlights, and be used to slowly drive along the road.

Also: all of the lights on a vehicle have been designed to do two things by complying with all federal motor vehicle standards: create an effective (hopefully) light source by which to allow the driver to see or signal others, and prevent unnecessary glare in the eyes of other people on the road. This means that they are designed to utilize only the type of light source they were designed for, and not any sort of other bulb, LED, HID,etc. By substituting in a light source that produces a different sort of beam, you make the design of that optic useless.

So, to recap:
Take the HID's out of the fog lights.
Use the correct type of bulb in the "fog lights" and turn them on only in bad weather with limited visibility, with the headlights turned off, to drive slowly along.
Use the correct type of bulb in the turn signals, and do not try to substitute any other type of light source.


If your "friend" still needs help seeing at night, please tell him to take a look at the great variety of high quality auxiliary lighting offered by reputable companies such as Hella, Cibie and Marchall. These auxiliary lights should not be used in traffic, or when there are oncoming drivers, but will provide a much more effective light than just sticking HID's in the fog lights.
 

Lightdoctor

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Tell him to get the HID kit out of the fog lights. For one thing, they are neither legal nor safe, and for another, they are blinding the hell out of other drivers on the road.

For another thing, fog lights, if they are actual fog lights, and not just the "shiny lights" most manufacturers seem to add to cars, then they should only be turned on during extremely heavy fog/snow-fall/etc, without the headlights, and be used to slowly drive along the road.

Also: all of the lights on a vehicle have been designed to do two things by complying with all federal motor vehicle standards: create an effective (hopefully) light source by which to allow the driver to see or signal others, and prevent unnecessary glare in the eyes of other people on the road. This means that they are designed to utilize only the type of light source they were designed for, and not any sort of other bulb, LED, HID,etc. By substituting in a light source that produces a different sort of beam, you make the design of that optic useless.

So, to recap:
Take the HID's out of the fog lights.
Use the correct type of bulb in the "fog lights" and turn them on only in bad weather with limited visibility, with the headlights turned off, to drive slowly along.
Use the correct type of bulb in the turn signals, and do not try to substitute any other type of light source.


If your "friend" still needs help seeing at night, please tell him to take a look at the great variety of high quality auxiliary lighting offered by reputable companies such as Hella, Cibie and Marchall. These auxiliary lights should not be used in traffic, or when there are oncoming drivers, but will provide a much more effective light than just sticking HID's in the fog lights.

+1
 

Echo63

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Perth - West Australia
Ok, he hasn't put HIDs in the fog lights yet - I will recommend he doesn't.
He is after something that is a similar colour to the HID bulbs in his standard lights, to be put in the fogs and turning lights.
The fogs are going to be used very rarely (I think i have turned mine on twice, once was heavy smoke from a bushfire) as it almost never gets foggy enough to be needed, so he can just leave those as standard.

The turning lights should be ok with a tinted bulb (Yes i know that they cut light output, but they aren't going in a normal headlight, just one that illuminates the inside of the corner)
Tinted bulbs are legal here too, providing they aren't some silly colour (like blue or purple)
Anyone have a recommendation for a bulb that is a similar tint to a standard HID Bulb (around 5400k ?)
 

mvyrmnd

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If the fog lights are to be used rarely, I'd suggest leaving the stock bulbs in. The yellow light will cut through fog better than a blue tinted light, and he'll only see them on a rare occasion, and shouldn't annoy him too much.
 

Diesel_Bomber

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I would not suggest making a modification to a vehicle in favor of aesthetics at the expense of utility. That is all that any recommendation of a "blue-er" bulb would be.
 

-Virgil-

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The fog lights are easily fixed with a drop in H1 HID kit

NO. "HID kits" in halogen-bulb headlamps or fog/auxiliary lamps (any kit, any lamp, any vehicle no matter whether it's a car, truck, motorcycle, etc.) do not work safely or effectively, which is why they are illegal. See here. And I would be surprised if there's cause more than once a decade for the use of fog lamps most places in Australia. Even good fog lamps, which are quite rare, are of very little legitimate use to most drivers and should be turned off most of the time. They are for use in fog/rain/snow to help the driver see the edges of the road close to the car so he can creep along through the bad weather at very low speeds. That is all good fog lamps are able to do, and most of the ones available as factory or optional equipment or in the aftermarket aren't even capable of doing that. Leaving the fog lamps on at all times does not really or meaningfully improve seeing or safety, though many people do so out of baseless belief that they can see better this way at normal road speeds in dry weather. See this page for more information, and this thread on here for data and explanation (starting at post #4).

If you were to make your fog lamps put out 4x their normal amount of light by whatever means, it would not make them better fog lamps. In fact, technically and legally they'd no longer even be fog lamps. They wouldn't be "auxiliary" lamps, they wouldn't be driving lamps...they wouldn't be anything-lamps; they'd just produce completely dangerous levels of glare for other road users (regardless of their aim) and they'd completely destroy your distance vision by flooding the foreground with light. If you're going to use your fog lamps in conditions that warrant it, make sure they're equipped with only the bulbs for which they were designed.

He is wondering whether it is better to get a blue Incan bulb (so it looks like a hid) or have an LED H1 tower built

Neither! Either of these would result in grossly reduced performance from the cornering lights, and would render them illegal and dangerous. It would be far better to leave the bloody things alone so they can work as they're meant to.
 

-Virgil-

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He is after something that is a similar colour to the HID bulbs in his standard lights, to be put in the fogs and turning lights.

Why? Is he planning on spending much time in a comfortable chair in front of the parked car, staring at the operating lights? Tell your friend they're safety devices, not fashion accessories, and to leave them alone. Blue bulbs and the like are cop magnets; does he have a cop fetish or something? :lol:

Tinted bulbs are legal here too, providing they aren't some silly colour (like blue or purple)

You already said he wants blue ones, number one. Number two, I think if you and he will read the ADRs more carefully, you'll find tinted bulbs are not as legal as you think they are.
 

Alaric Darconville

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If the fog lights are to be used rarely, I'd suggest leaving the stock bulbs in. The yellow light will cut through fog better than a blue tinted light, and he'll only see them on a rare occasion, and shouldn't annoy him too much.

Yellow light does no such thing. It bounces back at you just like blue light, but your eye deals with yellow light much better than with blue.

Echo,
Turn signals must meet certain photometric criteria; tinted bulbs may make the bulb fail at least one of them. If you mean "cornering lights" (white lights on the side of the car that burn steady when the turn signal is activated), matching the headlight color is rather silly. Noöne will think for a second that they really have HIDs in those lights anyway.

Speaking of echo, I'll echo this: Lights are for safety. While styling can be achieved with lighting, that's done for you by the engineers and designers that made the car. Throwing in off-the-shelf stuff to change it changes the function in addition to the form. Tell your friend to leave 'em alone!
 

Alaric Darconville

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Stillwater, America
Ok thanks for the help guys.
I will tell him to leave tha damn things alone !

Whether he listens or not is a different story

Well, you've done your due diligence. Should he change his lights, he shouldn't be surprised when he sees another set of lights (on a Holden Commodore) flashing in his rear-view mirror. Then you can say "I told you so."
 
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