best HID-style headlights?

I'm wondering...what is the best/brightest HID style 9007 headlights?
I'm not looking for an actual HID ballast or lamp, just the normal 9007 style replacement bulbs for my car.

I also see the various lamps with different ratings:
-8500K
-6500K

What do these mean and which is brighter?


My goal here is to get something with the HID tint to it as cheaply as possible /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/broke.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I don't know what exact bulb would be brighter, but I can tell you what the k ratings are.

The "k" ratings (ddegrees kelvin) are the color temperature of the bulb. The sun's color temperature is somwhere from 5600-6200k. The higher the color temperature, the more blue to purple the color is (with the sun being almost perfectly white. it's like the middle of the road). The lower you go, the more yellow to orange to red the bulb "k", or color temperature will be.

The 6500k bulb would be slightly bluish giving you a very good HID tint where as the 8500k bulb would be more purplish tinted (I wouldn't suggest going over 9000k if you're putting it in your car). They go all the way up to something like 16000k which is a deep purple and looks very bad for automotive use IMHO.

Both should be about the same brightness I think.

ok...good to know.
I definately want something that's 6500K then.

So, what are some suggestions for good & bright headlight bulbs? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/poke2.gif

If you look at the specs of the bulbs you'll see that the actual lumen outptut goes down as collor temp goes up. Those purple bulbs will not be quite as bright as a more whitish bulb around 49k. It's a tradeoff.


cfb

so, anyone have experience with one brand or another?
recommendations?

Sylvania Silverstars seem to be pretty good. I use them in my Pathfinder, the light doesn't look much whiter/brighter from the driver's point of view.. but it DOES look whiter/cleaner from the outside

what about those cheap HID style ones that are all over the place on eBay?

SilverStars are cheap and are probably better than the ones plastered all over Ebay. You can get them from PepBoys for $25 /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif (for 1 set)

those inxepensive ones with names like "hyper-white HID plasma-blue arc"
are not really HID at all, just tinted halgen bulbs /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsdown.gif

dont waste your money on them

Try,
Phillips Ultinon 6000K from suvlights.com
They are really nice / bright.

BLG,

You can't drop a 2DS HID into a standard Halogen automotive reflector and use it on the road a retro fit requires a cut off shield for the upper half of the beam to keep from blinding on coming traffic. Check out some of the car HID forums like this for more information.

Later
kelly

The main reason the normal halogen "hid" knock offs are not as bright is because the blue coating filters out some of the light.
I would get the silver stars, they are street legal and are a bit better in color.

retrofit time (e.g. http://members.aol.com/reill/hid/DSC00755.jpg )

Yeah, I guess I should probably get some Silverstars.
I was really hoping for a better alternative that would more closely imitate HID without actually spending the $$$.

I also found that Sylvania makes turning indicator bulbs that have a blue tint when unlit and amber when signaling. Those sound like they would look sweet. Especially since my car is a lighter shade of blue already.

In fact, I built up a DD Lux III Mag Mod with a Mag body the same color as my car! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif

These are bright with a white tint, and the price is hard to beat.

Eurolite HXC

[ QUOTE ]
BugLightGeek said:
Yeah, I guess I should probably get some Silverstars.
I was really hoping for a better alternative that would more closely imitate HID without actually spending the $$$.


[/ QUOTE ]

Isn't that a bit like pasting fake a 'R-Type' sticker on your car?

be careful with these over wattage bulbs....besides being illegal to use on the road, they can melt the plastic around the lamp, melt the wire insulation and burn up the headlamp relay...auto electrical systems are engineered very very tightly to save money, doubling the amp load on a circuit is almost guaranteed trouble /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif

Yeah, I hear you on doubling the amp load /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif
I will probably end up with SilverStars.

Now, I just need to find the SilverStar upgrade bulb for my turn indicators as well! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Sylvania Silverstars blow pretty quick. They arent rated for two many hours to begin with.

If you want the maximum light output without increased wattage from so called "HID xenon superbrite bulbs", you should consider Silverstars from Osram, sylvania's parent company.

Osram silverstars are generally the same, but dont have the blue/purple coating that the sylvania ones have. You wont get that blue effect, but you also dont have to worry about the bulbs blowing early.

Sylvania is well aware of this, that's why they dont rate their usage time for very long. On the upside they do look nicer/whiter.

You might have trouble finding Osram Silverstars. I winded up ordering mine from the UK, then eventually switching over to HIDs.

When your silverstars do blow out after several months though, you might have warranty to get yourself another set.

-Jerry

Interesting...I hadn't heard that before.


Hey, welcome to CPF!