DIY HID - All About High Intensity Discharge

[Guest nE0]

Originally posted by paiseh@Feb 2 2006, 05:28 PM

i read up on the HIR. apparently they are not as bright as HID am i right? can anyone explain more on HIR?

HIR > Expensive, but interesting technology.

 

Lab test results >

(9005/HB3 bulbs)

 

Sylvania Silverstar - 1900 lumens (Stock on my bike)

Philips Vision Plus - 1850 lumens (Hard to find)

Toshiba HIR - 2500lumens

HID D2S - 3200 lumens

 

For about 1/4 the price of a HID kit~! But with a short lifespan. Great for highbeam usage

[limbat]

How much did yr sample HIR cost U ? Can I have a look at it ?

 

[Guest cheeko]

Originally posted by nE0@Feb 3 2006, 02:02 AM

HIR > Expensive, but interesting technology.

 

Lab test results >

(9005/HB3 bulbs)

 

Sylvania Silverstar - 1900 lumens (Stock on my bike)

Philips Vision Plus - 1850 lumens (Hard to find)

Toshiba HIR - 2500lumens

HID D2S - 3200 lumens

 

For about 1/4 the price of a HID kit~! But with a short lifespan. Great for highbeam usage

Mr Neo, do u have a lumen meter ? Can borrow me to test my bike brightness?

[limbat]

Originally posted by nE0@Feb 3 2006, 02:02 AM

HIR > Expensive, but interesting technology.

 

Lab test results >

(9005/HB3 bulbs)

 

Sylvania Silverstar - 1900 lumens (Stock on my bike)

Philips Vision Plus - 1850 lumens (Hard to find)

Toshiba HIR - 2500lumens

HID D2S - 3200 lumens

 

For about 1/4 the price of a HID kit~! But with a short lifespan. Great for highbeam usage

 

hey.............nEO, do hv the watt rating for this lab test - I tot the HIDs were rated 4000 lumens at 35-40watts.

 

[langy]

have u guys any idea how frigging bright the HID lights are?

They are practically blinding - even worse than someone using his high beam!!!!!!!!

And even high beams are not always on!

Wait till u meet an accident becos the HID light blinded you!!!!!! Then we'll see if u would sing HID's praises anymore......

 

Seriously, there is no reason to use HID or even fog lights in Singapore's road condition.

There are good streetlight coverage on practically most of Singapore roads.

If u need better lighting due to rain or even haze, there is always high beam - in case anyone's wondering, the high beam is actually built for these kind of SPECIAL circumstances!!!

 

Whoever did the testing and research saying HID are brighter than normal halogen are rite- but they did not mention abt high beam. Do you know why?

They are really "advertising" for HID!!!!!

 

The only main reason anyone would use HID is becos.....thaz rite - it looks cool -I've gotta admit that.

FYI, this is also why HID lights are originally for luxury or high end cars- to add to the aesthetic feel of an expensive vehicle.

 

A minor reason would be trips up north where much of the roads are not lighted but that is also where the problem lies.

A bright light in a very dark environment will.....yes, make the light even brighter, thus blinding the vehicle not only in front of you(looking at rearview mirror) but also those in the opposite direction. Cool deal huh?

 

Now before u comment, do note this question : Do you notice any difference when a HID car comes towards you as opposed to a normal halogen lighted car?

[paiseh]

dear langy,

 

with proper positioning of the HID bulb, it wont blind other road users. it will only light up the road. sometimes u see blinding effects of HID (even when it is properly positioned) is because of uneven road surfaces.

 

have u ever stood in front of a HID? u need to bend down to at least half ur height (persuming u r 1.6m tal) before the HID could really achieve the blinding effect.

 

regards

[paiseh]

Originally posted by cheeko@Feb 3 2006, 08:53 AM

Mr Neo, do u have a lumen meter ? Can borrow me to test my bike brightness?

the stats were taken from a website.

[scooterer]

Originally posted by langy@Feb 3 2006, 11:37 AM

Whoever did the testing and research saying HID are brighter than normal halogen are rite- but they did not mention abt high beam. Do you know why?

They are really "advertising" for HID!!!!!

 

The only main reason anyone would use HID is becos.....thaz rite - it looks cool -I've gotta admit that.

70% of my bike's mileage is clocked outside of Singapore.

 

Between last month and today, I clocked 7,000 km in Thailand and 2,000 km in Malaysia.... There are people who need HIDs. (actually, HIDs are insufficient for the kind of riding I do).

 

Those people who blind you with their HIDs are those who have not adjusted them -- these are the people you may want to rant against. Blindly ranting to anyone with a HID just shows that you don't know the whole picture. Do come one day to take a look at my bike's lights, I have on-the-fly controls that allow me to adjust the light levels while riding... in Singapore my lights are automatically placed at the lowest position.

 

And yes, I do have blinding HIDs coming in the opposite direction. There are means and ways of coping with them. Where you look and how you look plays a big part... I mean what are you going to do? HIDs are legal as stock in Singapore... that's the law, if you have a problem with them, please go see your MP....

[Enegue]

Originally posted by langy@Feb 3 2006, 11:37 AM

have u guys any idea how frigging bright the HID lights are?

They are practically blinding - even worse than someone using his high beam!!!!!!!!

And even high beams are not always on!

Wait till u meet an accident becos the HID light blinded you!!!!!! Then we'll see if u would sing HID's praises anymore......

 

Seriously, there is no reason to use HID or even fog lights in Singapore's road condition.

There are good streetlight coverage on practically most of Singapore roads.

If u need better lighting due to rain or even haze, there is always high beam - in case anyone's wondering, the high beam is actually built for these kind of SPECIAL circumstances!!!

 

Whoever did the testing and research saying HID are brighter than normal halogen are rite- but they did not mention abt high beam. Do you know why?

They are really "advertising" for HID!!!!!

 

The only main reason anyone would use HID is becos.....thaz rite - it looks cool -I've gotta admit that.

FYI, this is also why HID lights are originally for luxury or high end cars- to add to the aesthetic feel of an expensive vehicle.

 

A minor reason would be trips up north where much of the roads are not lighted but that is also where the problem lies.

A bright light in a very dark environment will.....yes, make the light even brighter, thus blinding the vehicle not only in front of you(looking at rearview mirror) but also those in the opposite direction. Cool deal huh?

 

Now before u comment, do note this question : Do you notice any difference when a HID car comes towards you as opposed to a normal halogen lighted car?

I'm a malaysian and a biker too...in M'sia there are tons of Lexus, Merc's and BMW's which come stock standard with HID's and even when I drove all the way down to SG, i don't find em blinding even on the other side of the highway...Mind you only they are on high beam does only it really irritates me...not to the extend it really blinds me...like scooter said its where ur eyes look that plays a major role and I fully agree with him.

 

Heck if you can't stand the High beam there's always the universal HIGH BEAM back where if the driver is smart enough he will lower it....buy most of the time my friends who do drive a evo8 which comes stock with HID's i don't see other people high beaming back of even when in a convoy I don't hear complaints from the guys infront saying his HID"s are way blinding...man i hope u aren't exaggerating HID's...

 

If your talking about some cheap proton cars with cheap white bulbs...yes they are blinding and those aren't HID's. Have you ever notice the difference of colour the HID's produce compared to blue coated halogen bulbs?

 

If your a malaysia, and I don't think u are...it did came out on our newspaper in the front page a few months back showing and stating the differences of how blinding HID's are and halogen coated bulbs...

 

SO unless you get ur facts rite...haha I don't think its as bliding as u say...

 

Unless ur talking about offrode jeeps with 5 or 6 HID's on top of thier roof...those are definately blinding as hell...god its as if they were using a giant football stadium lights...those are blinding...

 

P/s I dare say I've travel more on highways than anyone here does as I do visit thailand and singapore often...nuff said...sorry if I offended anyone...just a piece of my mind.

[paiseh]

i haf finally installed HID onto my bike. and my HID isnt glaring at all.

 

i will take a pic of it when i haf the time

[Guest nE0]

Theres a difference between brightness and glare.

 

What we WANT is good illumination of the road as far ahead of us as possible, but not too much right infront of the vehicle. Too much foreground lighting can be coutner productive because the eyes are adjusted to the bright light ahead of us, and can't see far ahead. This is dangerous.

 

To achieve longer distance visibility, we need alot of light at the topmost part of the beam pattern. With conventional lenses and reflectors, because of imperfections, theres always some spill, or GLARE. This should be minimised. Projector lamps produce a razor sharp cutoff, which is great when adjusted properly, because it can throw a very good beam a long way down the road.

 

http://www.intellexual.net/hids/goodcutoff.jpg

 

But having such a sharp cutoff has its disadvantages too. When the vehicle hits a bump, the beam can then shine up high enough into mirrors and the eyes of oncoming traffic. Because the difference between the light and dark parts of the beam is so great, and because all the light pours out of a small circle, it appears as blinding.

 

At a narrow region above the cutoff line is a slight spill of colors caused by different wavelengths of light hitting the cutoff shield. This colorful cutoff is what sparked off the craze for "blue" lights, because it looks cool. But its just white light being split up to its primary colors.

 

HID retrofits on the other hand, can range from quite nice to horribly (and dangerously) glaring. I've seen some really horrible ones installed on some cars, spilling useless light everywhere. Sure, it looks bright, but all that light scattered into the sky is not very useful. We want the light on the road, not lighting up the clouds...

 

http://www.intellexual.net/hids/5.jpg

 

Some glare is good, gives the bike more presence. But too much glare is irritating. There are thousands of cubs with misaimed headlights that have much more glare than a proper HID headlamp. and those are just 25watt bulbs.

 

Projector lamps are small and compact. SIze for size, they produce much more light than conventional headlamps. But for normal headlamps, generally the bigger it is, the more light it can collect from the bulb and put on the road. Thats why touring bikes have such huge headlights.

 

Check out the Hayabusa and Blackbird's headlights, the reflectors are very deep, to collect and reflect as much light as possible and throw it far down the road for high speed night riding.

[Demon]

Originally posted by langy@Feb 3 2006, 11:37 AM

have u guys any idea how frigging bright the HID lights are?

They are practically blinding - even worse than someone using his high beam!!!!!!!!

a poorly aimed headlight will blind you regardless it's halogen or HID. Most up-market cars like BMW X5's HID has self levelling feature so it doesn't become a nuisance to other road users.

 

All cars are going toward HID, even a popular $70k+ korean car (maybe cheaper now) has HID as standard equipment. Maybe Picanto will come with HID soon...haaaa

 

If we are using a after-market HID kit, let's be responsible enough to get it installed properly.

 

Need some advice from limbat, Scooterer or Neo..etc, any problem with your after-market HID during inspection? I don't want to do a HID mod, but have to revert to stock at every inspection.

 

[limbat]

Originally posted by langy@Feb 3 2006, 11:37 AM

The only main reason anyone would use HID is becos.....thaz rite - it looks cool -I've gotta admit that.

FYI, this is also why HID lights are originally for luxury or high end cars- to add to the aesthetic feel of an expensive vehicle.

 

 

langy,

 

most transport trucks tt send goods to stores all over japan, have install HIDs into their lighting systems bec they travel alot at night. Go have a look yourself .................

 

 

HID lights are originally for e luxury of reponsible drivers - who love their family & wans to get where they wan to go safely & also to return safely ......

Aiiyoooo Y U so narrow minded lei .....

 

So, whoever did the testing and research saying HIDs are better are adverting HIDs. And what abt U - wat research or testing did U do to de-advertise HIDs. All U did or say is based on yr personal disliking for HIDs bec U dun like the glare or brightness - rite ??

 

[Guest cheeko]

Mr Langy, Mr scooterer u also dare to challenge ah.....??!

[Guest cheeko]

Originally posted by paiseh@Feb 3 2006, 07:10 PM

i haf finally installed HID onto my bike. and my HID isnt glaring at all.

 

i will take a pic of it when i haf the time

Mr limbat & Paiseh, today after company new year lunch unable to escape, kena recall back to office to work I hope there will be another chance to see u perform again

[paiseh]

Originally posted by nE0@Feb 3 2006, 07:40 PM

Theres a difference between brightness and glare.

 

yup. no glare.

 

and it is bright. Limbat said the HID system is perfect for my bike.

[paiseh]

Originally posted by cheeko@Feb 4 2006, 02:01 AM

Mr limbat & Paiseh, today after company new year lunch unable to escape, kena recall back to office to work I hope there will be another chance to see u perform again

no problem. i wont be performing any soon again. 1 HID is seriosuly enough.

 

however, i must say Limbat is really professional in doing the set up for me. although it was surprinsgly easy to install. But the skills and tinking took quite a bit of time.

 

Limbat was professional in helping me do the connectors and wirings (coz i decided to pull the ballast and ignitor to the rear seat of mine).

 

upz for limbat. Anyone who is considering HIDs, CONSIDER LIMBAT.

[paiseh]

before HID is on

http://www.photoi.org/share/upload3/1/2/995962208/bright2.jpg

 

 

after HID is on

http://www.photoi.org/share/upload3/1/2/1619178568/bright1.jpg

 

HID on, on 1 side

http://www.photoi.org/share/upload3/1/2/1776632875/bright3.jpg

 

HID on one side, H7 on the other.

http://www.photoi.org/share/upload3/1/2/352168203/bright4.jpg

[paiseh]

pls do not be mistaken, it seems glaring but its not. i will take a pic of the HID on road instead of putting it against the wall soon. can see a well defined area being lighted up.

 

u can see how well a HID works while touring.

 

b4

http://www.photoi.org/share/upload3/1/2/326652322/b4.jpg

 

after

http://www.photoi.org/share/upload3/1/2/1796839812/after.jpg

[limbat]

paiseh 954 is the perfect bike for HID installation.

 

 

there is no glare whateverso when installed into the main headlight lamp casing....

what U see up on this thread above is he has move the HID into the high beam position ....

 

[paiseh]

Originally posted by limbat@Feb 4 2006, 06:18 PM

paiseh 954 is the perfect bike for HID installation.

 

 

there is no glare whateverso when installed into the main headlight lamp casing....

what U see up on this thread above is he has move the HID into the high beam position ....

 

im just trying it on the high beam side. i have already moved it back to the main headlight there.

[limbat]

Actually, having the HID on the high beam position gives U better lighting on the NSH. We better build a ON/OFF switch to shut the HID while U R riding in SG roads ... laaaa . U main headlamp light are too low as a result U cannot maximise the full advantage of HIDs. HIDs should provide sufficient lights when U need it most.

 

[Guest cheeko]

Originally posted by paiseh@Feb 4 2006, 04:47 AM

pls do not be mistaken, it seems glaring but its not. i will take a pic of the HID on road instead of putting it against the wall soon. can see a well defined area being lighted up.

 

u can see how well a HID works while touring.

 

b4

http://www.photoi.org/share/upload3/1/2/326652322/b4.jpg

 

after

http://www.photoi.org/share/upload3/1/2/1796839812/after.jpg

Sorry, total numbers of HID install on the BMW GS is it 4nos?!

[scooterer]

Originally posted by cheeko@Feb 4 2006, 11:24 PM

Sorry, total numbers of HID install on the BMW GS is it 4nos?!

Look carefully at the car number plate... the photo is not even in SG...

[ET]

woOoO...the HID, seems interesting...maybe it will be on my next ride...till then...