5000k HID question.

[davidf]

I installed a set of 5000k/55 watt HID's on my daughters Celica last year. Note: these are OEM projector. I rarely see her driving down the road but I saw her the other eve with them on and WOW, I was amazed at how crystal white they are. I was a tad jealous actually. I currently run whiteNSX's 35 watt kit and yes they are nice, great quality but not crystal white like the Celica's. Is there a "great" quality 55 watt 5000k kit recommended by anyone here. Could it be the Celica's projectors are superior than mine? Sorry for the long winded post.

 

[Rusted_nailz]

Ddm tuning offers a 55w hid for $40 +shipping. I've had them on many of my cars and never had a problem. If you do go with 55w, get the extra harness too.

 

[davidf]

Thats the one on my daughters Celica. No issues so far. I've been told here and there that 5000k is really 4300k. Not sure how true.

 

[Rusted_nailz]

The 55w washes the color a little since it's brighter. 5000k 55w is close to a 4500k 35w. They explain it on their site

 

[ysoslow]

mine is crystal clear on my nsx. It's the same kit you're looking for. I installed a set on nick's nsx and it was night and days compared to his last set. david. i have a set u can have for free. I might also have two brand new bulbs too. i shot u a pm already.

 

[JD Cross]

This is a good thread.

I have the White NSX 35w 4300 K kit.
My understanding is that wattage measures the output of a light and the temperature (K) determines the whiteness.
You can buy higher temp (K) bulbs for Steve's kit which will give a whiter light.

If you increase the wattage and the temp then you'll have a more powerful and whiter light.

Are you needing more wattage or are you really just looking for a whiter (higher temp) bulb?
I think when you increase the wattage you have to beef up the wiring package as well.

 

[Hapa88]

My original 5 year old DDM 55W 5000k bulbs were pure white. Just replaced them with another kit $45 DDM 5000k set and they're not quite as crystal white as before, but pretty close (my guess is 4700k).

This is how DDM classifies their kits:

 

[davidf]

Too bad a 55watt/5500k isn't available. ysoslow is hooking me up though. :wink: Huge thanks.

 

[shawn110975]

yeah I have been using the 30 dollar zentec off ebay and sine they are only 30 bucks when the ballast burn out its only 30 bucks LOL

the lowest white you can get is 4300 which is the normal OEM for most cars now adays the brightest

the higher the Kelvan you go the least distance you can see. so laugh inside at the car that have super bright blue/purple crap
as they cant see but 20 feet in front of them LOL garbage.

30 bucks is alot cheaper than those other brands does the same thing but doesnt come with the modded bulb cover that you can do your self with a sharp knife

 

[JD Cross]

the higher the Kelvan you go the least distance you can see. so laugh inside at the car that have super bright blue/purple crap
as they cant see but 20 feet in front of them LOL garbage.

Could you please share where you got this information?

 

[Hapa88]

My understanding is that wattage measures the output of a light and the temperature (K) determines the whiteness.
You can buy higher temp (K) bulbs for Steve's kit which will give a whiter light.

If you increase the wattage and the temp then you'll have a more powerful and whiter light.

Are you needing more wattage or are you really just looking for a whiter (higher temp) bulb?
I think when you increase the wattage you have to beef up the wiring package as well.

You're almost there.
Wattage is a measurement of power consumed by the HID kit. More power means more power goes into the kit and, hopefully, out the light bulb.
The lightbulb is the final step of converting the power (wattage) to lumens (measurement of light output). The higher the power, generally, the higher the lumen output. Of course there are other electronic factors that contribute to the overall efficiency of the HID kit to transfer wattage to lumens. So not all 55w HID kits will produce the same lumen output, some kits are more efficient than others.

Bringing in color temperature adds a whole other dimension to the overall output and a few things influence brightness (or preceived brightness).
HID get's it's color mainly from the xenon gas it uses in the bulb. The natural color of xenon arc lamps is around 4100k. In order for HID manufacturers to get other colors, they either have to coat the bulbs to filter out the other colors (thereby reducing lumens), or they have to adjust the gas mixture to gases that are less efficient at converting power to light (reducing lumens).

 

[BATMANs]

I have 35watts HID in the NSX and it doesn't compare to the 55watts HID in the GTO and S-10.

 

[JD Cross]

The natural color of xenon arc lamps is around 4100k. In order for HID manufacturers to get other colors, they either have to coat the bulbs to filter out the other colors (thereby reducing lumens), or they have to adjust the gas mixture to gases that are less efficient at converting power to light (reducing lumens).

Thank you for the explanation
Does this mean for 6000K HID's some wattage is used on a less efficient gas reducing lumens?

- - - Updated - - -

I have 35watts HID in the NSX and it doesn't compare to the 55watts HID in the GTO and S-10.

I presume you are saying the 55 watt HID is brighter.
What temp are your 55 watt HID bulbs

 

[Hapa88]

Thank you for the explanation
Does this mean for 6000K HID's some wattage is used on a less efficient gas reducing lumens?

Generally yes, but overall you'll have much more lumens than a 35w HID kit or the OEM original halogen.
OEM original Halogen 55w bulbs hover around 1100 lumens
35 watt HID is around 3200 lumens @ 4300k
55 watt HID is around 5000 lumens @ 4300k
In theory, a 55 watt HID @ 6000k to be around ~4500 lumens.

It's usually advisable to us a separate wiring harness for 55watt kits because of the initial surge of current required at startup. Once the bulb has been lit, factory wiring would normally be able to handle this draw, but it's the initial startup that requires the beefier gauge wiring.

 

[davidf]

FWIW, I created this thread: http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/178618-LED-headlamp-bulbs-in-the-future with high hopes of finding LED's that would work. There is stuff out there but no real world proof of how they'll work in our cars.
Guess I'll go the 55watt/5000k until then.

 

[scammy]

for those not wanting to alter wiring what is the best bulb out there now for the flip up lights for regular night driving

 

[Hapa88]

for those not wanting to alter wiring what is the best bulb out there now for the flip up lights for regular night driving

What do you mean by "not wanting to alter wiring"?
For some of the newer 55watt kits, you can run them without a harness (those that don't draw too much current). I have a wiring harness on mine as a precautionary measure and addition of this wiring harness is not hard. There's no "altering" of wiring when using a harness. The wiring harness itself is pretty much plug & play and does NOT involve any cutting, crimping or soldering. Connect one side of the harness to the battery, the other side plugs directly into the HID ballasts, and another to the factory bulb plug (used for on/off switching).

Here's my buddies step by step on his NSX on how he installed his 55watt HID with the harness:
http://petrol.jasonwoan.com/2012/01/03/ddm-tuning-nsx-hid-kit-install/

Anyway, best light would come from a 55watt 4300k-5000k HID kit IMO. I have a 55watt 6000k system in my NSX, because I wanted to go for a more exotic look without affecting too much of the light output. Note, however that the 6000k provides horrible visibility in fog and rain due to the concentration of shorter wavelengths of light.

 

[shawn110975]

Happ88 is a great source of lightoutput LOL great info.

so confirm that 15,000K light output should have a purple color and their visibility is that of a mouse with sunshades on correct

so the best visible distance is the lower K bulbs, I also wanted the slight tint of blue for exotic look but I well know the best is 4300 which is similar to OEM

 

[Hapa88]

Happ88 is a great source of lightoutput LOL great info.

so confirm that 15,000K light output should have a purple color and their visibility is that of a mouse with sunshades on correct

so the best visible distance is the lower K bulbs, I also wanted the slight tint of blue for exotic look but I well know the best is 4300 which is similar to OEM

15000K should be purple. I'd even go so far to say even blacklight purple! I mean, it'd be pretty psychedelic man! GROOOVY BABY!


If you want a very slight tint of blue and "mostly" usable light, go 6000K.

 

[Nero Tenebre]

DDM tuning kits are trash so that's where I put mine after both kits I had developed problems and they wouldn't honor the "lifetime warranty".

 

[Onsoku]

What about the Morimoto XB35? I'd like to try the 55w kit.

 

[Hapa88]

DDM tuning kits are trash so that's where I put mine after both kits I had developed problems and they wouldn't honor the "lifetime warranty".

So far in the last 7 years I've had 4 kits in my MS3, 1 kit in my NSX, 1 kit in the wifes IS250 (fogs), 1 kit in the wife's old Corolla, and 1 kit in my Mom's Avalon.
So far I've replaced the 2 original kits in my MS3 because they were having issues after 7 years of continous use. Didn't bother trying to warrant them since I didn't have the paperwork anymore. All others are going strong.
The newer kit on my MS3, however, has definitely dropped in apparent quality ($40 kit now vs $350 when I first got them), but we'll see how it holds up. Working pretty good for the last 2 months. Crossing fingers.

 

[davidf]

My first HID kit was from a 1997 Lincoln mark VIII. Yes they offered HID's in 1997. I bought the entire setup at Ford. Retrofitted them into my MR2. Ballasts were big, really big, but it never let me down.

 

[Nero Tenebre]

I've had the McCulloch kit from Steve for over 6 years I think, it has almost always worked perfectly. I would buy that one again and I think they are out there for much less now.

 

[ysoslow]

my set for my 91 worked for over 3 years. david the one i sent you are brand new and are the same brand i was using on mine. I modified my old 9006 bulbs to fit my d2s and still working like a charm