Headlight Globes - Which temperature gives you more road light?
 

I need new globes for my low beam and I'm looking at getting the same as what I previously had - Philips Crystal Vision 4300K.

But I'm also considering the Philips Diamond Vision 5000K.

They are going into projector low beams, which ones will give me better/brighter road lit conditions?

Josh

4 - 5k K are closest to 'natural' light, after that you starting turning blue. You'll find most oem HID's are rated to 5000k and emit a natural white light.

Only thing that put me off the 5000k is I read this on a 12V website -

[i]DiamondVision delivers a very white light[b] [U]but with decreased light output[/U].

[U]Lower output than standard[/U][/B][/i]

what about $100-$150 ebay hid's :D

These diamondvision globes alone are $110!!! The projectors say "HID Bulb not allowed" anyway.

So are you saying the 5000k would give you more light than the 4300k jamie?

[I]color temperature

The measurement of color expressed in Kelvin (K). The reason this measurement is called a "temperature" is because it was derived from a theoretical object called a "black body radiator." When the radiator is heated, it changes from black to red to yellow to white to blue. The lower the Kelvin rating, the "warmer" or more yellow the light. The higher the rating, the "cooler" or more blue the light. See white balance.

Approximate
Temperature
Lighting In Kelvin

Candle 1,800 K
Indoor tungsten 3,000 K
Indoor fluorescent 4,000 K
Outdoor sunlight 5,500 K
Outdoor shade 7,500 K
North sky 28,000 K[/I]


Stolen from internet, but its a fairly straight forward explanation.

To add to JME's post ^^

4300K are the 'Brightest' HID per watt..... and give you the longest visible range.

The higher the Kelvin temperature the shorter the percieved range of the lights from the driver's seat.

I would highly reccomend the 4300k, thats what I am currently using. Pretty much pure white in my opinion and work great on the country roads at night.

To add to the HID thing:

Although the lights are far brighter than 55watt Halogens the light is 'cold' - as in the lamp lens & reflector are cold to the touch - unlike halogen that pumps out more heat than light.

What would my 07 STI have for its HID's?

4300K or 5000K