pdonnell
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Posts: 130
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posted May 03, 2009 03:46 PM
H.I.D.'s
Just recieved and installed a pair of 55w HID (4500K) H.I.D. lights (H11, low beam) with the very small digital ballast. I have to say $165 shipped to my door via paypal 4 days later was quite impressive and the a great price. I will have to adjust the beams though since their a bit low. All I did was drop the plastic piece above the front fender and screw them in. No fancy wire nut-ups or gee-weez installation involved. I was inform if I wanted to swap out to 6000K bulbs they would run $60/pr. But 4500 puts out a superior light spread lumens wise.
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Took less than 15 minutes and I was good to go. (I am in no way associated with this company, just very impressed with the customer serve) I got the "slim kit" 55W H11. Let me know of any questions.
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http://www.directjg.com/servlet/the-SLIM-HID-kits/Categories
  
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FastestBusaAround
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posted May 03, 2009 08:23 PM
I have HID lows and highs. Problem you will have is that the lows, once adjusted up to the correct height, will make the highs face up to the sky...they will be totally useless. Also, the light pattern on the lows needs to be spread out to the sides...so you'll need to move the lows out sideways as well. 4500K is whiter than the 6000K, which tends to be more to the blue side.
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xtro
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posted May 04, 2009 06:51 AM
FBA .. have to comment on your comment ..
I have a set from someone off ebay .. paid like $60 each or something really low ..
spread was IDENTICAL to the original .. just blazing white and VERY intense .. I do night riding out of town and shining the sun out there at night is great !!!
I would never use these for high-beams .. there is no way to flash these lights .. so getting some brighter sylvania silverstars for highs was good enough and I can flash people .. something that needs to be kept as a feature .. I use the highs when I thing some fool might be feeling the need to turn left in front of me .. I always show my presense at intersections if I need to..
as for color .. 6000 Kalvin IS pure white .. it is the britest and whitest part of the scale .. not for nothing .. but 4500 is not white .. I did alot of ready to confirm facts and figures .. found most places were in agreement .. and that was good .. but a few had their facts just wrong .. they likely sold cheaper less accurate bulbs.
All I know is mine was a snap to install .. is white as white gets .. and the beams are perfectly aligned as I hoped they would be.
M
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pdonnell
Expert Class
Posts: 130
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posted May 04, 2009 07:54 AM
xtro,
First I would make sure you understand just what K (Kelvin) is and what L (Lumens) is. After that you will see the 6000K modules do not emit the "brightest white". In fact the 6000K modules emit 15-20% less lumens than 4300K modules. 6000K modules emit a small amount of blue. This is not the same as emitting bright white. If you google 4000k vs. 6000k HID you will see 6000K is not considered superior for lighting up the road. If you want to look special and show everyone you have fancy HID get 6000K or 8000K HID. If you want to maximize illumination for riding (which is what I want) you get somewhere between 4300K and 5500K modules. You can see for yourself that lumens is the rating of light and Kelvin is color of light. Not the same thing. Do some googling and you'll see.
.
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pdonnell
Expert Class
Posts: 130
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posted May 04, 2009 07:58 AM
Do your same sources say that 6000K have the highest Lumens rating? That are many charts like the above which I believe represent the truth. I would be interested to see your sources that indicate 6000k is the superior module for HID's.
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Wheelie
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posted May 04, 2009 08:42 AM
 Edited By: Wheelie on 4 May 2009 16:45
xtro, post your questions here http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/ they will set you straight on what is what with hid's. I have 4300k on my 14, you say they are not white? i'll post up my before and after photos when I get home.
wee
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pdonnell
Expert Class
Posts: 130
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posted May 04, 2009 10:16 AM
My brother has 6000K in his 530i and while they look good are not the brightest compared to mine (slight blue tint) . I'd really like to see where you get your facts from.
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xtro
Expert Class
Posts: 112
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posted May 04, 2009 10:40 AM
i was not clearly defining the luminens .. just saying these are bright as fuck ..
yah .. maybe they have a blue tinge .. according to the chart .. but I see litterally a pure white and amazingly bright headlight ..
I just know that when I see jokers going around with these nearly purple and blinding pretend colored bulbs I want to smash them out !!! from that perpective .. I have white light ..
guess I read what I needed to and picked 6000K ( the color ) and 55 Watt wasn't really the issue to pump out lumins ..
I spose we just should agree .. blue and purple is for squids ?? hope I not get flamed for that .. ;-)
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pdonnell
Expert Class
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posted May 04, 2009 11:43 AM
Yea, purple & blue are for boy racers. Same for coffee can mufflers.
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Wheelie
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posted May 04, 2009 12:59 PM
Edited By: Wheelie on 4 May 2009 20:59
4300k
wee
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extrapilot
Expert Class
2008 ZX14
Posts: 155
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posted May 04, 2009 01:30 PM
Edited By: extrapilot on 4 May 2009 21:41
Now that's what I want....4300k
Big difference, right wee?
http://www.directjg.com/servlet/the-SLIM-HID-kits/Categories
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'pilot
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extrapilot
Expert Class
2008 ZX14
Posts: 155
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posted May 04, 2009 01:44 PM
quote:
Just recieved and installed a pair of 55w HID (4500K) H.I.D. lights (H11, low beam) with the very small digital ballast. I have to say $165 shipped to my door via paypal 4 days later was quite impressive and the a great price. I will have to adjust the beams though since their a bit low. All I did was drop the plastic piece above the front fender and screw them in. No fancy wire nut-ups or gee-weez installation involved. I was inform if I wanted to swap out to 6000K bulbs they would run $60/pr. But 4500 puts out a superior light spread lumens wise.
.
Took less than 15 minutes and I was good to go. (I am in no way associated with this company, just very impressed with the customer serve) I got the "slim kit" 55W H11. Let me know of any questions.
.
http://www.directjg.com/servlet/the-SLIM-HID-kits/Categories
Where did you mount the ballasts?
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'pilot
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ZX11D
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posted May 04, 2009 01:52 PM
Edited By: ZX11D on 4 May 2009 21:53
Here is pic if my slim ballast stacked together on 5000 K low beams
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'94 ZX-11
'07 ZX-14
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pdonnell
Expert Class
Posts: 130
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posted May 04, 2009 03:00 PM
In front of the dash (like in the pic) is prolly the best. I just shoved my two ballast right behind the low beams where they sit on the plastic piece directly above the front fender.
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pdonnell
Expert Class
Posts: 130
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posted May 04, 2009 03:02 PM
Wheelie, how much did you turn the adjuster's to raise the light level. Seemed like I did mine hella lot.
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Wheelie
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posted May 04, 2009 03:09 PM
Edited By: Wheelie on 4 May 2009 23:09
quote:
Wheelie, how much did you turn the adjuster's to raise the light level. Seemed like I did mine hella lot.
I think it was 2 turns?
wee
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KawaBonzai
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Leader of the Back.
Posts: 537
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posted May 04, 2009 05:20 PM
So would the 55w 4300k lows be a good setup for us night blind folks?
and where do we get these brighter high beams for flashing? I'm tired of using my raincoat.
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FastestBusaAround
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posted May 04, 2009 05:34 PM
4300 is what all the OEM car makers use - it is the whitest you can get. After that, they start going towards blue. They're all bright, but it doesn't change the fact that you HAVE To readjust the lights upward when you install HID's and that's what fucks up your high beams. There is a solution which means adding shims to the base of the lows to bring them back closer to the back of the reflectors, which means that you don't have to raise them as much, which means your high beams will work fine, but it takes trial and error to get the shims to the right thickness. I just installed a pair of HID H4's on my Connie and I had to adjust the beams upward dramatically to get them to work...so whoever is installing these and saying that they didn't have to adjust them upwards, just doesn't know anything about lighting. This is my 4th set in 2 ZX14's and 2 Connies and each set had to be adjusted upwards, which on the ZX14, becomes a problem with the high beams, seeing as how they're not independently adjustable.
KB - Don't waste money going to a 55 watt HID...you don't need them and it's only an aftermarke thing for marketing. No OEM would even touch a 55 watt HID. Ballasts and ignitors become an issue with 55 watt HID's.
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pdonnell
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Posts: 130
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posted May 05, 2009 06:55 AM
Steve,
I wouldn't characterize "all" OEM car makers using 4300K modules. Lots of blue tints on some of those Lexus, Porsche, BMW and MB car's. And nobody can tell me that there 4300K modules. I agree that re-sighting the lights on the 14 pretty much results in making the hi-beams useless. But overall I have much improved lighting for the 95% of the riding I do at night that I cannot flip on the hi beams. Next time I have my nose piece out for painting on i plan to experiement with shimming the module back.
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Tell me, if you have seen shimming being done what material was used and did re-sighting the light upwards still necessary? Do you feel all the trouble of setting the module back in the light is worth it?
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LLcooljebb
Expert Class
Upgrade I Must
Posts: 146
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posted May 05, 2009 11:08 PM
I pull the fuse and wear night vision goggles...lol!
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you got to spend it all.."
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FastestBusaAround
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posted May 06, 2009 03:56 AM
quote:
Steve,
I wouldn't characterize "all" OEM car makers using 4300K modules. Lots of blue tints on some of those Lexus, Porsche, BMW and MB car's. And nobody can tell me that there 4300K modules. I agree that re-sighting the lights on the 14 pretty much results in making the hi-beams useless. But overall I have much improved lighting for the 95% of the riding I do at night that I cannot flip on the hi beams. Next time I have my nose piece out for painting on i plan to experiement with shimming the module back.
.
Tell me, if you have seen shimming being done what material was used and did re-sighting the light upwards still necessary? Do you feel all the trouble of setting the module back in the light is worth it?
Actually, they are generally always between 4100-4300K in almost all cars, from factory. You can check these cars for yourself if you want to satisfy your curiosity. The blue tinted lights you see, are generally after market lights. The reason they appear to be more blueish, could be because of the reflectors they use in the light assembly. I have a Z06 and a 300C, both of which are using 4300K bulbs. As you get higher up the color temperature scale, as others here have pointed out, you actually start losing light output (lumens). You want to go as white as possible.
Shimming -- I haven't done it yet, but plan to when I have some time to try and recoup the high beams. I don't know for sure but IMO, plastic shims would work fine, as many of the after market bulbs use plastic bases to begin with anyway. The bulbs don't run all that hot - in fact cooler than halogens do.
____________
FYYFF!!!
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pdonnell
Expert Class
Posts: 130
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posted May 06, 2009 03:27 PM
quote:
xtro,
First I would make sure you understand just what K (Kelvin) is and what L (Lumens) is. After that you will see the 6000K modules do not emit the "brightest white". In fact the 6000K modules emit 15-20% less lumens than 4300K modules. 6000K modules emit a small amount of blue. This is not the same as emitting bright white. If you google 4000k vs. 6000k HID you will see 6000K is not considered superior for lighting up the road. If you want to look special and show everyone you have fancy HID get 6000K or 8000K HID. If you want to maximize illumination for riding (which is what I want) you get somewhere between 4300K and 5500K modules. You can see for yourself that lumens is the rating of light and Kelvin is color of light. Not the same thing. Do some googling and you'll see.
.
.
.
I have my old bulbs and plan to take them to a metal fabricator outfit to see what can be made in terms of shims that retain the same secruring characteristics as OEM. I personally have not seen kits that carry the 4300K bulbs thats why I went with 4500K. I am not too worried too much about shimming though since I haven't used my hi-beams all that much in my riding career. The added light from the HID from the low beams makes the trade off a no brainer for me.
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pdonnell
Expert Class
Posts: 130
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posted May 12, 2009 06:38 PM
Edited By: pdonnell on 13 May 2009 02:40
Today I took out the HID bulbs and compared them to stock. Both lit and un-lit. The HID bulbs are longer as their is more glass to them but less of a tin-metal type base as the stock ones. This makes the HID's look much longer over the stockers. However, hummm....the point at which illumination occurs in both bulbs is at the same distance from the seat of the headlight lens.
.
So no, again no, HID bulbs do not illuminate any deeper in the light housing than the stocker does. Meaning that shimming the HID light so that it sits farther back in the lens does not make them even. However that being said, because the lumens output of the HID is so superior to the standard bulbs setting them higher maximizes their throw since they are able to illuminate more area (due to superior lumens output.) For those that follow, this does not mean the problem is with the depth of the bulb but the shortcomings of the lens. You don't see these shortcomings with inferior bulbs. At the end of the day I will take raising the level of throw (the lens) over being able to keep the high beams from illuminating the sky. No one to date has flashed me in irratation to my light and the throw is over twice the distance as stock with superior illumination.
.
Since both bulbs seated in the lens illuminate at the same point (depth into the lens) shimming is pointless.
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dubious
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Needs more time to ride!
Posts: 8442
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posted May 12, 2009 09:09 PM
So, for us highway night speedsters, are you suggesting get HID hibeams instead of lows?
I mean I ride pretty slow in town, (LOL ya OK  ) if I do override my low beams its is relative, but the high beams are critical, as they can be over ridden pretty easily on the highway.
So High beam HID's for the highspeed highway night rides?
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ZX11D
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Internet Police
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posted May 12, 2009 09:36 PM
I would recommend 4,100 to 5,000K (max.) HID low beams and PIAA H9 4,000 K Xtreme White Plus halogen for high beam, just as my set up. You do not want to have too big light temp difference. between the two. Originally, installed only the HID low beams, but the color difference compared to stock Philips H9 was so huge, it was rather disturbing to see the bright white on the road right in front of you and the reddish/orange color of high beam mixed into it. Color of the PIAA H9 is much closer and also brighter.
____________
'94 ZX-11
'07 ZX-14
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