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

MY REXTC,

I wouldn't get the Diamond Vision IMHO, they definitely have decreased light output compared to the Crystal.

Philips have a new product called X-Treme power which gives 80% more light compared to standard globes, the only problem with those, is that they don't have the entire range of headlight globes yet. What type of bulbs are you after, as I have a catalog at work, and can tell you if they make them...

Below is a website which has some great information about headlight bulbs etc...

This article is specifically on Blue headlight globes, but it has heaps of other info, ie. HID's in non HID type headlight assemblies. (although since I fitted HID to my non HID high beams, I've been very happy! :) )

[URL="http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/blue/bad/bad.html"]http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/blue/bad/bad.html[/URL]

Cheers
MCL

I thought it was also illegal in Australia to have HID unless they are auto leveling and had headlight washers.

[QUOTE=Luigi;383552]I thought it was also illegal in Australia to have HID unless they are auto leveling and had headlight washers.[/QUOTE]


Depends who you ask.

Just looked up the X-treme Power ones on Philips site, I wonder what would produce more light... Crystal Vision or X-treme Power 80%? Coz I'm not fazed about the colour of the light, I just want really good lighting.

Nothing compares to HID....... Driving without HID's to me now is like driving blind.......

P.s Subaru says no more than stock boost too.

[QUOTE=LegacyRS;383558]Depends who you ask.[/QUOTE]

Hows about we ask the law? What does that say?

Here's the gas discharge ADR:

[URL="http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/LegislativeInstrument1.nsf/framelodgmentattachments/4C0915B97F539DAFCA2571CD001D8D4E"]Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule 77/00 - Gas Discharge Headlamps) 2006- Legislative Instrument - F2006L02305[/URL]


They mention optics, light formation and matching and reflection areas etc. Very complex documents that a country cop would not understand unless he has a double degree in Quantum Physics and Advanced Optics.

[B]They do not mention Autoleveling or Washers at all. [/B]Upgrades will be illegal if they don't meet the above ADR specs.

If you do get HID replacements, make sure they have a clean cut off, then you won't dazzle oncoming cars if they are aimed correctly.

If you want the brightest get 4300K, 6000K are 20% less bright but bluer. Anything above 6000k is purely for show and not very bright.

So feel free to ask away Buddy...........

[QUOTE=BN01;383584]Hows about we ask the law? What does that say?[/QUOTE]

[URL=http://img15.imageshack.us/i/iamthelaw.jpg/][IMG]http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/6171/iamthelaw.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

and the law says

[URL=http://img15.imageshack.us/i/tehmansecksnozed.jpg/][IMG]http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/4747/tehmansecksnozed.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

4300k or 6000k, I dislike driving without HIDs.

I just went over the pits, with HID's, no autolevelling or washers. I was of the assumption they were law HOWEVER i did use a 'county' inspection station and took my chances:D

Are you able to just chuck HID globes into standard headlights and be done with it? Or are you in need of ballasts?

[QUOTE=JME;383632]I just went over the pits, with HID's, no autolevelling or washers. I was of the assumption they were law HOWEVER i did use a 'county' inspection station and took my chances:D[/QUOTE]

Same here but used Welshpool and all they did was measure the brightness
of the HID's, no dramas or a boo about the auto leveling or pop up washers.

But mine had already passed Aust standards as a personal import when it was
brought in so that may have helped too. :D

[QUOTE=Elrico;383635]Are you able to just chuck HID globes into standard headlights and be done with it? Or are you in need of ballasts?[/QUOTE]

yer, you do need ballasts. And ideally you want projector lights, non projector lights will blind & annoy oncoming traffic

[QUOTE=JTR;383928]yer, you do need ballasts. And ideally you want projector lights, [B]non projector lights will blind & annoy oncoming traffic[/B][/QUOTE]

Wives tail.............No they won't if they're set up properly.

H4 conversion kits to suit reflector headlamps must comply with the H4 light cut off patterns, for both high and low beams, that's why they have a sleeve fitted to them.

The uber cheap low only ones cause issues as they have no sleeve to guide the light output and the light hits both the high & low reflector segments causing dazzle....... non shielded low only kits are illegal as the don't comply to the E1 light pattern cut offs.

HI= High Intensity

Whether I'm driving my cheap RS with ebay specials, or my mates Audi's or BMW's... other drivers still flash their beams at me on dark roads. A lot of people just aren't used to the intensity of light these days and immediately assume they are high beams etc.

^^ True

I hate bmw X5 hid's there always dazzling when coming head on, so are the Porsche Cayenne lamps.