Been doing research on HIDs lately, and I thought I would share some of the knowledge I have come across, all typed by me, with a collection of information obtained from multiple sites.

What are HIDs?
High Intensity Discharge. Unlike your regular Halogen light bulbs, which use a 'burning' filament to produce light, HIDs use Xenon gas, Mercury, and Metal Halide Salt, and are ignited by an arc of high voltage energy provided by a ballast, making them much like a fluorescent light.

Temperature (color), and Lumens (brightness)
Probably one of the most mis-understood factor of HID lighting is the temperature and lumens. Many people think that the higher temperature(k), the brighter the bulb. This in fact, is un-true, in fact, the higher the temperature, the LOWER the light output is. For example, a 5000k HID bulb puts put 3200lm (lm = lumens) which is more than 3x the light produced by a regular halogen light bulb, whereas a 12000k HID bulb only puts out 'only' 2100lm, which is about 2x the light of a halogen. Still brighter, but not as bright as the lower temperature bulb. Here is a list of temp/lumens.

3000 - Yellow - 3200lm
5000 - White - 3200lm
6000 - Blueish White - 2800lm
8000 - Blue - 2550lm
10000 - Deep Blue - 2200lm
12000 - Purple/Pink - 2100lm

Pros and Cons of HID conversions
Pros, for one, they are brighter. And lets face it, they're cooler. But, they can also be a safety hazard to other drivers on the road, and are also technically 'illigal'. Head light housings with Halogen bulbs are designed strictly for Halogen bulbs, to meet the government's standards, and to make the roads safe. HID bulbs produce light totally different from Halogen bulbs, and therefore are not intended for Halogen housings. HID bulbs in a Halogen housing will put out much more light than 'legally' allowed, and in some cases, due to the design of the Halogen housing, will actually blind passengers in front of and oncoming, of an HID equipped vehicle, even when properly aimed, due to the cut-off design of the housing, which is designed for the shorter, Halogen bulb.

Low beam only HIDs vs Low/High beam HIDs
Deciding on weather or not you should buy an HID kit with just low beams, or a low/high beam kit (bi-xenon) is strictly personal. The majority of us spend most our time driving with our low beams on, therefore the low beam has the most to be desired. I low beam only kit is simpler, and cheaper, therefore best for the HID buyer on a budget. A bi-xenon kit isn't actually 2 bulbs, but an HID bulb with a movable scoop that covers the HID bulb, therefore changing optics of the bulb, to cast as if they were high beams.

Thanks for your time, and I hope this helps! Good luck on your HID hunt!

 

I think they look awesome... from the driver's perspective. But if i'm driving and i'm blinded by those things it can get irritating. We've all had someone with HID's behind us blinding the hell out of everyone in the car.

The question is... how cool will those lights look when you're driving on a two-way street and the oncoming traffic runs head-on into your Scion because they couldnt see a thing?

 

Hey great writeup!

i think it would be cool to provide some links to merchants that HID kits could be purchased or maybe some information on piecing together a kit b/c i wouldn't have much a clue as to where to start

 

If your looking for cheap low-beam only kits, your best bet is probably here on the forums in the sponsor classifieds. But you can get HID kits from www.oznium.com, www.xtralights.com, www.xenonpros.com (this is where I plan on ordering from), and many other sites. You just need to know your bulb type (9003 for xB) and its easy from there!

 

I agree completely. If a driver with bright leadlights is behind me, i will fix my driver side + passenger side mirrors to point directly back so i can try to reflect their beautiful headlights back into their eyes... if a driver with bright lights is coming towards me, i put on my highbeams and as i pass, i hold my horn down - and for those of you who dont know - i have 2 sets of hella supertones mounted where the factory grill should be. from about 20 feet away from the nose, they cause ringing in your ears. so as i pass them, they get an earful of discontent. =P haha...

two wrongs dont make a right but it's better than just being blinded and not doing anything about it.
- sh00k

 

Thats the usual way that everyone goes about fending of HIDs is to use their high beams on them. I do it... problem is that sometimes honking or flashing highbeams can be mistaken for gang signs. lol... so now what do i do?!!

Honestly, like i said.. i think they look great on a car, just not a car behind me, facing me, or in my vicinity while i'm driving.

 

www.onzium.com makes a wonderful HID kit. And as the OP said, most headlight housings are made for Halogen lights, not HIDs. Scions especially let off a horrible reflection off of the headlight housing when HIDs are installed. The proper way to run HIDs is in a set of projector headlights, because the glare put off by the OEM headlights is horrible.

 

you don't need projectors you just need bulbs with the built in anti glare sheild.

 

I just installed a set of HIDs and am surprised on how they don't really glare badly. I will be driving home in the dark for the first time, so time will tell.

I was flashed constantly w/ my OEM Halogens so I don't see how the HIDs will make things any worse. I will state the set I purchased do have the anti glare shield and it makes a world of difference.

Pictures to come later tonight.

 

Just another note but here is an example recently posted of bad glare from a HID kit:

 

Good writeup tenchu. HID has been on my mind quite a bit lately. Thanks.

 

I'll hopefully be ordering a set of bi-xenon 4300k soon.

 

Another option is low HID and high Halogen. The halogen high beam gives an instant flash of light. Good for passing during the day. I bought mine from www.365motorwerks.com who were really great.

Nice write up

 

Very true! I totally forgot about halogen high beams. My fear is that the halogen high beams would be dimmer than the xenon lows, lol

 

awesome write up. NJ.

 

Yeah mine are this way, but because the high beams are angled more, well, high, they shine differently

 

[quote="xBtenchu"]
Low beam only HIDs vs Low/High beam HIDs
Deciding on weather or not you should buy an HID kit with just low beams, or a low/high beam kit (bi-xenon) is strictly personal. The majority of us spend most our time driving with our low beams on, therefore the low beam has the most to be desired. I low beam only kit is simpler, and cheaper, therefore best for the HID buyer on a budget. A bi-xenon kit isn't actually 2 bulbs, but an HID bulb with a movable scoop that covers the HID bulb, therefore changing optics of the bulb, to cast as if they were high beams.
[quote]

Close, but thats not a Bi-xenon, a Bi-xenon actually has 2 xenon Bulbs in one Glass Casing, and 4 ballasts in high beam mode it ignites both bulbs giving you a massive amount of light.

The movable flapper HID is actually called something else. The name escapes me, but if you like I can get you a pic of the Bi-xenon bulb.