tqlla3k

iTrader: (1)

I just did the headlight adjustment... thanks to Technique. WHile it helps distance wise... the headlights are still dim for HIDs.

I had an 06 IS with MTEC 4500K HIDs, they were awesome. I could easily see random animals waiting to cross the street 100 yards away.

I have random brand 4300K HIDs on my 3000GT. Not as bright as the old 06 IS, but still a lot brighter

Acuras definately have brighter lights.

So do BMWs.

Whats the deal? Is this something that can be fixed with different bulbs or is the problem the projector? I would guess the projector, since the factory ones are 4100K, which are supposidly the brightest you can get.

Really, I am thinking these stock AFS HIDs were not worth the $875, that I paid.. considering the MTECs were a lot brighter(though very blue for 4500K)... and was only a 3rd of the cost

Technique

Ya, before the Lexus my 01 Acura CL Type S was my daily driver, then my 05 Jaguar S-Type and both (especially the acura) had noticeably brighter HIDs... Both of them also had the beams higher up than my lexus does now AFTER the adjustment... So I know I could raise my IS350 lights even higher if I wanted...

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

acuras run a higher color temperature, doesnt mean its any brighter, did you measure it with a lumens meter to see if its really brighter

tqlla3k

iTrader: (1)

Yeah the acuras do blind me... and I know that my last IS Blinded people(Should have aimed lower). But still these HIDs could use some serious work. WHy not make them bright and leave them aimed downward.

Currently they are dim, and aimed down... after the adjustment, they are dim and aimed forward. I hope that some aftermarket bulbs help. I was especially fond of the Mtecs I had previously.

tqlla3k

iTrader: (1)

You can just drive next to them and see that the ground is lit up... a lot more than ours. Or if you sit in the respective cars, you notice that everything is brighter

BMWs are brighter than my 3000GTs headlights... which are brighter than my IS's headlights.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

tqlla3k, the reason why it looks dimmer on your IS projector relative to your former IS with a kit is because the projectors spread an even distribution of light on the ground. A kit in a halogen reflector will be more concentrated on the ground due to the way the reflector reflects the light in one direction.

I have LS430 projectors in my GS400, and the projector spreads the light out evenly, and VERY wide. My friend has an HID kit in his Honda civic Si hatchback and if you were to look on the ground, it would look as if his light is brighter, but it's only because the light is being projected one way. If you were too evaluate how much light there actually is, I would have more output, but optical illusion kicks in so we think the one with the HID kid in halogen reflector is brighter

Too bad I dont have a visual to show you

gsrthomas

iTrader: (1)

If someone has stock oem HID's, can you still put a aftermarket 6000k kit on like mtechs or xenondepots ones???

The Chad

Finding a bulb that'll fit will be a challenge.

TLe2006

TSX & TL HID are real bright and very wide.

al503

Gsteg is right. When you put in an aftermarket HID kit into a car that came stock with halogen, the reflector or projecter aims more light directly ahead at the expense of the peripheral.

al503

My g/f has a TSX and it does have very good output. However, you can see (especially in foggy conditions) how it concentrates more of it's output directly ahead. There is a noticeable cutoff about the width of the car itself. The IS is much more even all the way across the field of vision.

mctuners

Acuras have the same 4300K OEM bulbs not higher kelvin rated ones.
It's just the different projector lens that gives you different lighting output. Also, Acura projectors give sharper cut-off line, that makes a huge difference.

Drunkebuda

yah i have a 05 tsx my self and the is 250 light just plain sucks compare to how white the tsx looks and how i got yellowish tint. I might just buy some aftermaket phillips bulbs like the tsx and see if theres is any differences. Anyone have some aftermaket bulbs in???

tqlla3k

iTrader: (1)

I dont know, its was pretty bright on the peripheral of my old IS... and on my current 3000. Anyway, Wouldnt most people perfer more light ahead of them, instead of at their side. My aftermarket HIDs on the IS was more than wide enough to see some animal on the side of the road.

al503

You have to remember that the HID bulbs will colorshift (from a yellowish-white, when new, to white, then to a purple/pink white (like the older style acura tl's) at the end of their service life.)

In a year and under the same circumstances, the lights on your IS will be about the same color as the light's on your '05 TSX. You just have to give it some time to shift.

Also, it may appear that you're getting more output with a whiter color. However, you're getting the best output (in terms of lumens/intensity) when the bulbs are new and they're yellowish in color.