xBlkGs430x

does anyone have these, should i buy them for the price, are the good quality, if anyone knows let me know im thinking about getting them http://www.suprastore.com/80hidligconk.html

lex400sc

Find out who makes the HID bulbs for that kit, and you will have answered your own question. Although the fact that the author of that energetic little piece doesn't even know what Lexus's OEM color temperature is should speak plenty enough about his credibility .

mjr24

Plus if my limited knowledge of HIDs is right...the higher K it is....the less bright it is (like 6k is not as bright as 4100K). So how 8k is the brightest ever is a lie...its the opposite. My advice for you people is not to skim on the HID's....its a major upgrade. People seem to want to cut corners with these HIDS just because it costs $100 less than the Autolamps....I means whats $100 when you are paying $500-600 for a kit.

BLK13X

This might sound like a NooB Q , but I'm still confused...

I know that just about all HID kits aren't DOT legal, so what do you HID-fitted guys do when it comes around to registration/inspection time? The ADR (Aus. Design Rule) states that HID's need an auto-headlamp washing system and an auto-levelling system for an HID kit to be roadworthy (or something along those lines...). Are these rules (in some shape or form) applicable to those in the US as well?

mjr24

Well they dont inspect headlights if you will really in the U.S. Its one of those laws that really no one knows about or pays much attention to. I cant see any of the cops pulling over anyone for aftermarket real HID's...because for one, being a Lexus, they assume its stock, and two...I think most cops only think colored bulbs are illegal, HID bulbs arent colored. Im curious as if anyone in the U.S. has been pulled over for having aftermarket HID's?

RalAegidius

I'd stay away from something that claims to be 8000K. It's impossible for them to be more than 6000K. It violates the laws of physics. Lights that claim to be more than 6000K are just BSing you, and probably are not very good lights for all that.

Ral

lex400sc

I don't know about "impossible" or "violating the laws of physics", but they are still junk bulbs. Kelvin is a temperature scale and is used to measure how the change in physical temperature affects the color of light. The hotter something burns, the higher up the light spectrum it's light becomes. 30,000K color temperature is produced by many stars and aura so it is possible in the laws of phsyics. The concern is useable light and how practical a solid blue light is during night driving. Another concern is the fact that no reputable bulb manufacturer makes 8000K bulbs for the mere fact that they are more dangerous to use than a dim halogen bulb. Read more about 8000K here: http://www.intellexual.net/hid.htm#miscon

Keith13b

iTrader: (3)

Laws of physics? You guys are mis interpreting the temp rating.

My fish tank has 20,000K actinics to simulate the moon cycle (metal halide HID).

The only problem with going over 10,000K (or near it in terms of 8,000K auto lamps) is that the usable light is so far towards one side of the spectrum, that it becomes useless for its function : To light up the road. They are still bright as hell, and put out the same # of lumes, its just that OUR EYES can't use most of the light given off (Honey bees and butterflies on the other hand, now thats a different story ).

We see a full spectrum of light (from red-violet), but if a bulb is only putting out in the Purple/Ultra Violet range, it can be bright as hell; enough to burn our skin, but we can't "SEE" much of it. Doesn't mean its dimmer. Example: a black light

So the Kelvin "Temperature" has nothing to do with brightness technically. Its merely the frequency at which the light is emitted. Humans see less of the blue'r light spectrum. Our eyes are more sensitive to the red spectrum. So as the Kelvin rating goes up, our eyes are less sensitive to the light, making them LOOK DIMMER. So anything over 7600K is going toward light that our eyes are less sensitive to. Hence 8000K lights wouldn't be the best thing in the world to have as headlights. Lights in the 5000K range would be Ideal.

RalAegidius

Ok, I get it now. Thanks.

So basically you're saying that unless we want to attract bees to our cars, we're better off with the 5000K or so bulbs.

Ral

lex400sc

In Xenon HID, color temperature is directly correlated to brightness because the rule of ceteris paribus is in effect. All bulbs conform to the D2 standard and all ballasts run at a fixed wattage of 35w. In metal halide HID, you are running on an AC circuit, which can vary from 50w (fish tank) to 50,000w (ie: stadium lighting, road crew spot lights, marine search lights). Kelvin once again is a measure of absolute temperature. In automotive HID, it is a fairly accurate indicator of brightness, even though that is measured in lumens. Kelvin is used as a color scale because temperature affects light color. If you've ever watched a regular light bulb burn during a power surge, the surge is feeding it more power, thus it is burning hotter, and thus it burns whiter. If the filament were built to withstand megawatts, I'm sure it'd begin to burn blue at one point. That is the significance of Kelvin.

One HoT

iTrader: (5)

K is just the color of the bulb...It has nothing to do with BRIGHTNESS..4100k-5000k would have a white color to it..6000-6500k would have a slight violet and 8000k would, therefore, be bluish.

LUMENS is the term you should be looking for...LUMENS means..the amount of light...PERIOD regular halgon would have a lumen of around 1000 and HID has a lumen around 3200..

To help you out with this question..I just brought and installed a new set of 8000k's...They are great!! MUCH BRIGHTER THAN STOCK HID"S YOU SEE ON AUDI's, BMW, MERCEDES AND OTHER LEXUS's. IT IS TRULY 3X more light!!

lex400sc

I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to call your BS on that... The only D2 gas-discharge bulb that is rated at 3200lu is a Philips 4100K. Vision, who is the largest manufacturer of 8000K bulbs, stated theirs to be 2000lu on a spam ad in AcuraForums. That is a *slight* improvement over Philips VisionPlus or Sylvania SilverStar halogens (1700lu). You may think that your headlights are brighter, only because it creates more glare, but that isn't the same thing.

I'll state again that in automotive HID where ballasts are standardized, as are bulbs and power input, color temperature is highly indicative of brightness. The only way to make 8000K brighter than 4100K is to pump A LOT more power into it. When Vision starts making 100w ballasts, I'll believe it .

Keith13b

iTrader: (3)

Yep, too bad the jump is usually 4100K to 6000K on the Auto HID's

(FYI: Bee's see far into the ultra violet light spectrum, we can't, so if a Bee was driving- He'd say "Damn these are some bright *** headlights". We on the other hand, cannot)

Keith

Keith13b

iTrader: (3)

The claim of an 8000K bulb is qustionalbe to say the least. If it was a true 8000K bulb, it would be an eerie blue color. 8000K is about the color temp of light that has penetrated about 40 or so feet of water. So go scuba diving and look at the color of the water at 40 or so feet. Look at the corals around you (or sea floor), and thats what the road would look like if your car had 8000K bulbs in it. Chances are, your 8000K bulbs are not putting out 8000K light. They might have a peak of 8000K some where in its output, but if its a true 8000K spectrum. They would appear quite dim, and you'd lose the ability to asertain any object that has the color red in it. This would be highly dangerous to say the least.

I personally think is all a marketing campaign. The higher the # the better it must be. This world is full of idiots with money! There is a sucker born every minute.

lex400sc

Keith, great analogy with the spectral light absorbtion of water, but I thought reds were filtered out at 50-60 feet depth? Disphotic zone?

Regarding 8000K, I think they actually *will* produce close to 8000K color, but most of the time that is because the bulbs are coated in a blue film that filters out red and green from the light. And that's if you own the lesser of the two evils! If your 8000K bulb has a clear bulb then it's an erratic mixture of gases inside that is producing the color and chances are that you bulb will last only slightly longer than a regular halogen, or a mere 7% of the lifespan of Philips 4100K.

Here's 8000K, mmmmm glaaare! And that's at standing-height. Imagine at driver height... poor Corvette driver in front of him... Look at the scuba-like coloration on the ground too . Blue light is higher energy and fatigues your eyes more than white or yellow so have fun on a long night's road trip...