8200k HID?

Re: 8200k HID? (Nick Cottiss)

I think you've seen too many blue colored bulbs to apply that to this situation.
heh. The color in HID bulbs are changed by adjusting the salt mixture in the bulb to whichever "hue" is desired. "Filters" can be put on HID bulbs, but they are uncommon. I agree with your other statement though. Yes, light output is cut at the expense of color. As GTI has said, it most likely is dimmer then the "4300k" bulbs, but both are purely for color.
I don't see why everyone wants these expensive kits. Why don't you just buy a real HID from a reputable manufacturer? I'm not flaming or banging on anyone. Its just a thought. Why risk being pulled over ? The color and intensity may give your car a unique look, but wouldn't you rather be happy spending your hard-earned money on a regular HID kit thats all go, no show? Personally, i'd rather buy a regular, straightforward HID kit made by a reputable manufacturer and enjoy the brighter light and increased visibility / safety then risk getting pulled over for the suspiscious color of your lights. Not sure, but won't you get "more busted" if the person that pulled you over finds out that you have a retrofit HID kit? (Pssst, don't you think a regular ol greenish white light will attract less attention )
Anyway, it bascially all comes down to quality or color. You can have both, but not unless you retrofit audi / hella projectors onto your car. Normal HID lights emit a slightly greenish, pure white light (manufacturers vary in color) while others may have a slight bluish tint. As for certain cars from Audi and BMW which use projectors, the color is achieved by the optics in the headlights. I'm not sure how it works, but as light is reflected in a certain way, it tends to seperate into its seperate colors, just like how a prism seperates the colors into seperate bands. After all, "white" light is actually all of the colors in the rainbow combined. In this situation, the HID bulbs emit a pure white light which , when reflected into the optics, seperates the color a little, leaving most of the white/purple/blue in a line right above the cutoff line. The red, green and yellow light is probably reflected somewhere else, maybe aiming very low to the ground or entirely contained in the headlights. On the other hand, there are the cars like the Lexus IS, etc. that in stock form, have these bluish HID headlights. This color is just emitted purely from the bulb. The optics play no role in this situation. The bulbs were Probably made by philips, and the salt mixture slightly different then another manufacturer, say OSRAM for example. Everyones different.
As for these newly introduced bulbs boasting 4300k, 8000k color temps, they are again, only so more people buy them. Following a similar principle as the tinted halogen bulbs, color makes all the difference in the world. Although a big company like Philips introduced the "Ultinons"(6000k), i'm sure that they did so after a lot of testing, mainly to make sure that the output wasn't hurt too much. But the fact remains that there are still HID bulbs being made by some big company in korea. Korean bulbs can be good, but I guess its just like Taiwan. The koreans / taiwans aren't paid as much, and hence also the quality control is http://****************.com/smile/emthdown.gif . Basically the koreans adjust the salt mixture in the bulb to change the color and packages them as 4300k/6000k/8000k bulbs. Remember the word "quality control" ? Yup, that effects the finished product in yet another way. Although the whateverK color temperature is achieved, the output suffers a lot. Put it this way. the korean bulbs would decrease in output the more the color is changed, but the output decreases more then if a manufacturer like philips were to change the color in the same way. Get it? Sorry, but I don't really have my way with words. since philips or OSRAM etc. has more knowledge and more resources, they will be able to make a better compromise then the korean bulb makers.
I am just trying to clear things up a little bit.
Money, Color, Brand and Opinion etc. are almost always factored into the many things we buy.
Think about it.

Oh my .. its pretty late and I am about to fall on my bed and sleep. hehe. I hope I was AT LEAST HELPFUL!
Good Luck on your decision .. and .. If you want to learn more about HID's, check out the automotive lighting forum at http://lighting.philips.com/forum/forum_6/wwwforum.cgi. They talk HID all day, all night, and HID comes out of their butts too. hehe.

Dan


[Modified by Danny`, 1:06 PM 2-16-2002]

Re: 8200k HID? (Danny`)

First thing i gotta say is, YOU HAVE WAY TOO MUCH FREE TIME! haha, ok now ont answering you. I would suggest a 6000k Super white kit, These are what I am personally getting. I dont have anything as far as style goes on my car, its all about the "sleeper" look. But I am getting Hella smoked dual round projectors wtih these 6000k super white HID this summer. All you said si true, however these area REAL HID KITS. The OEM kits just use 4300 bulbs, almost all these ballasts are the same, other then the older phillips which has restart failures. Thanks and IMHO 8000k is a bit much, and is too blue for me, however you know all the show vws on the vortex, and they do LOOK the brightest when you look at them say at a show or something, so thats the main purpose for 8000k. I have recently been notified two companies now make 10000k green HID bulbs in Japan, however I would not touch these EVER,its just not right