Nzaw4

4300 kelvin to id say 5000 is crystal white. 6000k I think is a blueish tint

uberspeed

HID runs cooler than halogen.

Papa

Well, yes, lights listed in the 4200k to 5000k range look white white, or crystal white or silver white as opposed to the yellowish color of lower kelvin-rated bulbs. But with non-xenon bulbs, that whiter appearance is often achieved by coating the bulb with a blueish color. While the bluish coating may result in a whiter looking bulb when illuminated, it probably also cuts down on the amount of light the bulb actually puts out. So, in terms of getting the most lumens out of the bulb, it would probably be better to go with the 3100k bulb which does not have the blueish coating on it.

CIONIDE

iTrader: (1)

Per Sigma's website http://www.sigmaautomotive.com/lighting/catz.php
their "Standard White" bulb is rated 3,100K and has a clear glass bulb
their "Supreme White" bulb is rated 4,200K and has a blue tinted glass bulb

nameless_ak

I think the reason that hid was ruled out was because hid's take a few seconds to warm up and most of the time you would be done backing up before your light was even warmed up.

D_Unit

HIDs take about 1.5 - 2 seconds to come up... I don't know how big of a rush you young guys are in, but I can manage to wait a second or two. The main problem using an HID bulb is the fact there is there is no projector in front of it.

nameless_ak

You could get a projector lens on ebay there are plenty there, i dont know exactly how that would work, but im sure you could figure out a way. To me after you put in the money for the lens the bulbs the ballast and everything, along with the time it would take, i'll just squint my eyes and backup carefully.

D_Unit

I agree. I am done retrofitting. When I bought this XB, I promised myself nothing drastic. Here's my bixenon fx35 + TSX lens retrofit I did for my e36 m3. I am sure I could figure something out for the backup light, but why re-invent the wheel when the Rumion tails are already integrated.

xseveredveganx

But it looks like only one person on the forums actually knows how bright the Rumion tails are.

Kinda sucks about the reverse light... It's tough seeing out 5% tint...

I was thinking, it's legal because they might consider the back up light as a light so people know you're reversing. Not neccessarily to see behind you. I could be wrong, it's been known to happen from time to time, but just putting it out there.

Bigfieroman

Finally, someone else said it.

I thought maybe I was going crazy, but I always considered reverse lights to be more for others than for you. Even with 2 lights, I can rarely tell any difference in the mirror or even turned around (at night, of course).

All these people suggesting headlight projectors, foglights, etc, are missing a very important point; none of them will have the proper beam pattern for a backup light. They may be brighter in terms of output, but they will probably be less effective as a fog light.

ScionFred

iTrader: (1)

PM sent and thanks again. The guy at Sigma is Edward.

Pity that Scion doesn't care about their poor design. My guess is that they're only required to provide just enough light so that others can see that you're backing up. Having had dual 50W halogens on a few previous cars I can tell you that it's really nice to see where you're going.

SLO-BOX

10-4 on that Fred. I like to see in the dark in all directions forward and back. I'm ready to cut out the back-up light hole a lil and re-wire it for a 5" light of some kind.

D_Unit

[quote="Bigfieroman"]I'm going to have to disagree with you on this. Having a projector in front of a bulb will spread the light and will increase its width and probably its depth too. However, since projectors have cutoff shields to prevent the output from blinding people, all you would have to do is remove the cutoff shield from the projector. That way, when shined through a projector, I guarantee it will shine everywhere. Ever heard of bi xenons? It's basically the same thing. With bi xenons, your low beams are HID and when you turn on your high beams, it activates the selonoid to make it seem there is no cutoff shield. If you ever drove a car with bi xenons and turned on the high beams, then you will know what I'm talking about.

That being said, an HID backup light would probably be WAY too bright. However, using a projector fog light with the cutoff shield removed, should work blissfully. At HIDplanet.com, the blazer fog would be a very very popular choice. It's cheap and it out performs most fog lights.

http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/view...ghlight=blazer

Man, I'm talking so retrofit-edumacated, I might have to show you guys up and do this myself.

chicotunner07

Ok retrofit master!! do u hear urself talking?? tell me how much it would cost for a tsx projector? or any HID projector for that matter, now tell me how much it would cost to put it in the blazer fog? now how much more to make it fit on the Xb bumper? now how much for a single HID kit? now how much to make the wiring safe to use.........

waaaayyy to much for people who just want enough light to see

wat ur suggesting is way out of the question, some one needs to simply fit a single halogen light in there, and remember, even if more light does come out of that single light, it still will not be enough to see on the right side of the car wen ur backing up, i say hide two small rectangular fogs under the rear bumper, wire them up correctly, and enjoy backing up safely

i personnally dont use the reverse lights to see on my tc, theyre more for signaling puposes

can u imagine if we didnt know when other people were backing up, it would not be fun

ScionFred

iTrader: (1)

Before you go cutting your bumper you might want to try fitting a 35W H8 bulb into the existing housing. I plan to try this but the weather here has been too ____ty to be crawling under the car. Naturally this would require a new socket and probably some modding of the housing but I think the stock housing and wiring could handle 35W for BU light duty.

Also, I've seen quite a few 4" round fog lights that would require less cutting. Maybe just cut the back part out and mount it into the existing bumper opening. This is my backup-backup plan if I can't find an easier solution.

uberspeed

Edumacate us all, just share with the rest of the community ;)

D_Unit

$150 for a pair, but way too overkill... Again, I am not suggesting that.

probably like $20 to $40 for a pair... since you only need one, you could sell the other half...

well, since none of this is rocket science, I'm assuming labor would be for free since this is a DIY project...


again, once you retrofit the blazer onto the backup assembly, the install should install just like stock...

$125 plus relay kit should fetch somewhere around $135 or so for a pair, but like I said in my last post, you probably won't need an HID kit for this. Instead, you could just use a different bulb of your choice, but would have to rewire....

ummm... You don't know how much wire costs?

You're jumping too conclusions about a topic you don't really understand. On top of that, you ridicule me with calling me "Master." Wait a second, I like being called Master. You're still okay in my book Chica....

Whether you know it or not, you're basically agreeing with me. A retrofitted blazer fog + regular bulb should do the trick. In other words, a retrofitter should be able to get away with spending:

$10 - $20 for a blazer fog
$10 on wires, epoxy, screws, etc.
$10 on bulb?
Free Labor

Just because I am currently not doing this retrofit right now, doesn't mean it's not possible. Trust me, this should be pretty very doable. The hardest part would probably be running new wiring to the back of the car. If you have an audio system installed, you could probably tap off those power wires and run a relay/harness similar to what HID kits use.

D_Unit

Here's a picture of the stock assembly.

Here's a picture of a blazer fog.

I would open up the blazer fog in half like this....

I would then remove the cutoff shield located here so it will have lows and highs....



Put simply, I would cut a big enough hole in the back of the stock assembly area like a vagina. Then, I would insert the blazer fog into it from the back and securely mount it using long 3.5" screws and epoxy. From the front, I would make the backup assembly totally intact and make it still look like stock.

Then with this part sticking out from the back, I would re-wire it to accommodate this bulb. Again, the rewiring would be the sucky part. But if you had an audio system, you could always tap your power and ground there and just use a relay with the original backup wires.



Is this doable? Yes. Would it take you the whole day? Maybe. Would it take longer than that? It might, but it shouldn't even for a beginner. Am I going to do it? I dunno. I'm already going to have a backup camera installed sometime this month and I might get the Rumion lights so I can smoke my backup lens and disconnect it.

Master is out....

jimmbomb

OK. time to lighten this up a little bit.. Sorry guys, I cant resist!!





And stick it in your window & roll it up!!!





Walla!! All done!! Start backing!!!..... jh

uberspeed

Make it a SCUBA solution, hand held submersible HID and we're in business, just need it on both sides.