I searched and havent found anything. I already have OEM HID not aftermarket and I was wondering were I could get different bulbs. not sure what the factory brightness is but I was probably thinking 6000K. Also with going with brighter bulbs would I be fine with the factory ballast??

 

6000k is not brighter, just a different color.
Stock is 4300k which from the reading I have done is just about ideal. However, a higher number will give you a more blue look.

The ballast should be fine with the same type of bulb, there is no significant electrical difference.

 

Bulbs with higher temperature color are for styling (bluer light), not function. Actually more blue makes light LESS visible to the human eye.

 

I've done alot of research on this topic lately. The stock bulbs are around 4300K. Don't fall for the cheap knockoffs that advertise 6000K, 8000K, 10000K, etc. as the bulb brightness. This is in fact the color. Here's a forum article that helps explain this: http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/sh...ad.php?t=22688. If your HIDs don't seem bright enough, consider adjusting the housing height. Even if the bulbs auto-adjust, you can still select a starting reference point.

If you want brighter bulbs, you want to look for the lumen value. Go here to look up bulb values: http://www.rallylights.com/. It is a bummer the R53 HIDs only operate as low beams. I just installed the OSRAM 64217 65W H7 bulbs for my high beams. They are definitely bright; you won't be disappointed. The 64217 bulbs have a 2100 lumen rating and an average life of 500 hours, which is what standard halogens are rated at. And they are only a mild increase in wattage, so they won't melt the wiring. You can get them here: http://store.candlepower.com/h7bulbs.html.

If you are really trying to match color, you can try the OSRAM Nightbreakers. I am not sure of their lumen value, K value, or lifespan.

 

The blue-er the light, the more it scatters, which means that the less focused beam will be of less use to the driver, and the increased glare will blind oncomming drivers more. To put it another way, blue bulbs only look brighter to OTHER drivers.

 

1+

Stick with Phillips (OEM) D2S / D2R bulbs. They're brighter, and have longer life. You can find slightly higher color temp bulbs from Phillips which they used in BMW 3 and 5 series if you google it.The color temp is all personal reference, and doesn't give you more light, just more rice.

Found it:

Philips D2S (4300K) - (85122+) is stock in MINI.
Philips D2S 5000K ( 85122CM).

CM stands for color match, and its to match up with an old bulb after one blows. The bulbs start out a little yellow when they're new, and after about 100 hours, they color shift to a cooler color, hence - color match. BTW, the bulbs are brightest by before the color shift, they get dimmer as they get older. They also make bulbs that dont color shift, which stay a little closer to 4400k they're entire life, and stay a little brighter.

Soooo.... in conclusion, the bluer a bulb, the dimmer it is. I've tested this with many many bulbs using a camera with the same manual exposure (shutter, aperture, ISO, color temp, etc...) a while back when I did a TSX projector retrofit in my last cooper / TL projector retrofit in my Hyundai. I also tested many many projectors to see which were brightest. The projector effects the brightness far more than the bulbs / ballasts.

 

In a projector style housing, light will not scatter regardless of the colour. The reason why light scatters is because people buy cheap drop in HID kits and throw them in front of a reflector behind glass that scatters light and has no cut off pattern. You are right about the blue only looking brighter to other drivers though.

 

Just thought I would mention the blue Xenon-like 100W H3 bulbs in my driving lights are actually not that bad. Though they are not as bright as clear bulbs, they do light up the center of the road pretty well. I used them driving on the interstate this past weekend on my way back from the EAA Airventure show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. And they do blend better with the Xenon light.

 

Wrong. Blue light scatters. Period. And, it is exactly why your last sentence is true. The reason why the HID kits are bad is because the HID bulbs have different focal points within the stock headlight reflectors, messing up the light patterns. This would be true with yellow or white light as well. It's much worse with blue light, though, because...again...it scatters.

 

i just bought my first r50, and it comes stock with the xenon hid kit... but my lens are complete shot... i haven't found aftermarket replacement that fit.. i was wondering if i get a whole new system (aftermarket) is it hard to install...or has anyone done the conversion that can help guide me...

 

i just bought my first r50, and it comes stock with the xenon hid kit

Hmm ... an R50 did not come stock with xenon .... stock would be halogen

do you mean is has factory xenon?

are you sure? Xenon not common on an R50 IME

easy way to tell .... does it have headlamp washers????? If yes then you DO have xenons ....

if in doubt post a picture of a headlamp . . .

Let's confirm what you have and go from there . . .

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Clouded lens can typically be buffed out as the cloud is usually the outer surface breaking down ..... I hit the wife's Honda's lenses every couple of months with the buffer and a medium cut compound. Two minutes with the buffer is about all it takes to make 'em clear . . . but since the plastic is old and breaking down they start to go immediately even tho I treat them with the sealer in the Rain-x kit for this "issue"

 

It's common. Xenon was part of some popular optional packages.

 

I'm assuming

 

Just talked about here on the older -7/2004 headlights

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...lacements.html