soon to be getting a 8000k HID kit and need a new battery and terminals, but i cant wait and got the HID kit first
and will get that installed
is there anything i should look out for when changing the battery and terminals after the kit is installed or would anyone suggest against installing the kit first till i get the new battery, theres nothing seriously wrong with this battery except its leaking the acid around the terminals

First up, dope slap for getting an 8000K HID kit. :bowrofl:

You just paid money for less light than halogens. :nuts: :gtfo:

Have a look on the 3rd gen Lighting FAQ for more information. Even a good 5000K kit is about the same output as some decent halogen bulbs (Vision Plus) and a 4300K is just nudging out in front.

Anyway, if you decide to get some better bulbs (5000K max kelvin, anything higher is dimmer and bluer and rice and definitly cop bait) You will also need some relays so that your cheap chinese-made ballasts will last longer.

Yes, I do hate HID kits for a number of reasons...

Cheers
Heath Young

well i havnt bought the kit just yet but the bidding ends soon, and i was lead to believe that the 4000k, 6000k and the 8000k are roughly the same light output
and friend of mine has the 6000k and its brighter than anything else ive seen, i want blue just because its my favourite colour, but if you ANYONE thinks the 6000k is brighter let me know and ill get that

and i dont mind that its cop bait, just adds to a number of things that makes my car cop bait that is just natural fact, you do up a car and cops are gonna look

well i havnt bought the kit just yet but the bidding ends soon, and i was lead to believe that the 4000k, 6000k and the 8000k are roughly the same light output
and friend of mine has the 6000k and its brighter than anything else ive seen, i want blue just because its my favourite colour, but if you ANYONE thinks the 6000k is brighter let me know and ill get that

and i dont mind that its cop bait, just adds to a number of things that makes my car cop bait that is just natural fact, you do up a car and cops are gonna look

Light output - 4300K is 3200 Lumens, 6000K is about 2600 lumens, 8000K is about 2000 lumens. Add to this inefficiencies in lenses etc. The lower the colour temperature (kelvin) the higher the output. Very blue headlights irritate the eyes and get very fatigueing very fast.

I work to a slightly different philosphy of car modification - it goes unnoticed in traffic and goes like hell :)

and i dont mind that its cop bait, just adds to a number of things that makes my car cop bait that is just natural fact, you do up a car and cops are gonna look

it is very easy to modify the car to fit the rules, and still be cop bait (well, in magnas/veradas its hard to turn a cops head unless he hears forced induction lol)
going the illegal way, and you will probably just piss off the other drivers = stupid

Despite how much Heath Young will hate me, I want to try a HID kit on my 2nd gen with parras. I want to try the 6000K. I think its best coz there is a big light output drop from 6000 to 8000K, and I like the colour, on its own its more white with a bit of blue, compared next to a standard car with normal yellowy halogens it looks bluey.

I have a friend with one of these kits (6000K too), and compared to standard bulbs, is WAY brighter. Make sure you headlights are adjusted downwards appropriately though, or you WILL blind oncoming traffic. The kits suit some cars better. On one car they are not bliding at all, but on another, you can get flashed from other cars all the time because they think you have high beam on.

Ollie

ffs i hate these HID kits, good way to blind other drivers without the use of high-beams :rant:

Actually you can blind any driver with normal bulbs if you dont point them in the correct position.

I will be down grading to Crystal Visions probably next year when my Diamonds go.

Despite how much Heath Young will hate me, I want to try a HID kit on my 2nd gen with parras. I want to try the 6000K. I think its best coz there is a big light output drop from 6000 to 8000K, and I like the colour, on its own its more white with a bit of blue, compared next to a standard car with normal yellowy halogens it looks bluey.

I have a friend with one of these kits (6000K too), and compared to standard bulbs, is WAY brighter. Make sure you headlights are adjusted downwards appropriately though, or you WILL blind oncoming traffic. The kits suit some cars better. On one car they are not bliding at all, but on another, you can get flashed from other cars all the time because they think you have high beam on.

Ollie

I don't hate anyone, I just question their wisdom - Decently designed headlamps parabolics will be less tolerant of bad filament/arc positioning. 2nd gen parabolics are properly designed, much better than 3rd gens - you can get away with 3rd gen parabolics and HID kits, but you get pretty much the same light output as good halogens so why bother?

See another thread when I showed photos comparing the beam pattern and brightness. Both had a terrible beam pattern and were about the same brightness.

Although I do admit that it is not always possible to do the job correctly (ie. with optics from a HID equipped car grafted into parabolics).

Choice between 6000K and 4300K I would go 4300K all the time, you are doing this for performance, or looks?

Although I do admit that it is not always possible to do the job correctly (ie. with optics from a HID equipped car grafted into parabolics).
Can you explain that further Heath? I recall seeing a photo of your parabolic headlights somewhere and they were a work of art iirc. How did you do it? What parts did you use etc :)

No problems - the first set I did (that are currently on my wifes exec - my old car) were done with a pair of Audi TT (or BMW E46 - 3 series single xenon) HID projectors mounted on an 3mm thick aluminium plate (I still have the dimensions somewhere), with a cut off 3" exhaust tip for a shroud, a piece of mirror acrylic for trim. Ballasts off a BMW 3 series (hella Gen 3 ballasts) with a 85122 3200 lumen, 4300K bulb.

I still have some projectors and parts as I am doing something different with my headlights - either going bixenon (xenon high + low beam) or an accord euro projector (much brighter than the BMW/Audi projectors)

Those lights look quite nice, and im sure work really well, but too complicated and expensive for me lol

As for HID's, I want to try them mainly because I like the look of them, and colour of light they give I personally like, but as I also believe they will be brighter than standard, this makes it a no brainer. I wouldnt do it if it was going to make light output worse than standard globes, but probably still do it even if I could get better bulbs to be better than the HID's.

Is there any really good aftermarket bulbs that have really good lighting performance and give the look/colour of something like a 6000K or similar HID kit??? That would definitely sway me

Ollie

You ricer heathyoung :P I love euro lights..

you will not get more light with 6000k HID kits, they only look brighter cause the beam pattern is not correct and the bluey colour just makes them stand OUT

i have HAD a set of 5300k HID, everyone in qld will tell you they look bright as and they blind on coming traffic no matter how much i adjusted them

i have now fitted a set of custom made 4300k HID (thanks Heath they are working great) and my beam pattern is perfect and i am very happy with the amount of light i am getting, just not the colour but i rather better lighting than the colour of light

my advice is get HID kits if you want the blue/purple colour, but if you want better lighting get philips/osram bulbs

Glad it worked out nicely for you :)

Its really not that difficult to convert the parabolics to projector HID, just fiddly. And expensive :doubt: