Has anyone put different temperture bulbs on their Xenon headlights? I want to get 6-8k but not sure if it's good for the headlight or not? Anyone!?!?!

 

anyone change there hid bulbs in there xenon headlights yet???

 

Very bad idea.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...e/bad/bad.html

 

I don't understand why you would want to. Are the current xenon not bright enough?

 

Because blue "looks" cool? Of course your ability to see stuff goes right down the drain.

 

no, i just wanted 6k, wanted the hint of blue instead of pure white, and i also have the fogs light at 6k so i want them to match.

 

Are all HID lights different from manufacturer to manufacturer? I mean as far as brighness and color spectrum?

It seems to me our HID's are not that blue from when looking at them. When I see an new BMW 3 series or a Lexus they seem to have more of a bluer tint. when coming from behind or approaching you, And its usually older peopel driving them so I dont think they change the bulbs.

or is it because ive never seen a Mini in that situation. I'm just looking at the headlights from the front of the car it would be hard to tell.

I notice when the lights are shining on the wall there is a blue tint to them on the top beam of the light so I assume when driving down the road that spreads and thats how you get that bright blue flickr when a car is coming up behind you the blue edge hits our eyes. Just curious

 

You kinda answered your own question without knowing it. In your last paragraph, you mention that there is a blue tint at the top of the beam (at the cutoff) this is created when the light is put through the projector which has a concave glass lense. Without getting too deep into the actual science behind it, the light at the very top of the cutoff can be a bit more purple or blue than the actual bulb without being a higher temperature bulb. Different projector lenses have different amounts and different colors at their cutoff (usually blue or purple though). It is possible to mod the lense angle slightly to achieve more cut-off color range....but it's lots of work.

Since the top of the cutoff is what you're most likely to see in an on coming car, that's why it appears blue to you. I haven't seen an oncoming r56 xenon mini yet....but it's likely that it has the same effect....you just dont see it when you stand outside the car and stare right at the lights. Bmw's, Lexus's, etc all use bulbs in the 4300K- 5000K range stock.....so none of them are getting a bluer bulb due to higher temperatures. They stay in this range because it offers the most lumens (usuable light output).

Here is an example of a lexus projector after being slightly modded to achieve a greater color cut-off. This blue is the blue twinkle you see when oncoming cars approach.

 

Sweet! Thanks man Yeah I figured that. I see why different manufacturer have more ammounts of blue than others

Also how did that lexus get the mod to help greater the blueish line? How hard is it? You have to grind the round glass lense? What model lexus was that from?

 

To me it looked pretty hard. You had to remove the projector from the housing, take the projector apart (risk of damaging), and then adding a larger than stock o-ring. Sometimes other projectors require washers instead of o-rings. It depends on the projector....i dont even know what the r56 ones look like.

My bad about the confusion.....apparently these are the projectors from the Acura TSX...oops

Here is his how-to write up (this is a good HID forum): http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=28599

 

You can do a shield bend, which gets pretty good results. The cutoff shield is accessible without even removing the headlight from the car. Just remove the bulbs, and use something that wont damage the projector to pull the shield closer towards you.

This is no science, and you should do it carefully, and little at at time. If you do this too much, you will mess up your clean cutoff.

Here's what mine look like after modding, and they dont really match. My right one has more color, so I need to go back and bend the left one more.

Bad picture, but the top of the right step has some nice blue / purple. It did not mess up the cutoff, nor the output. Oh, and they're not properly aligned either

 

Yeah I mean what exactly is the part I have to bend? What did YOU use to PULL OR BEND, the shield? I also have the new 07 lights which are not mounted on the hood anymore.

 

I wrapped my finger w/ a microfiber cloth and pulled the shield. Do a google search for "E46 projector shield", otherwise I can snap a photo later today.

only bend a little, otherwise your cutoff will be softer. If you pull too far, just push it back, its fixable.

 

OK do I Pull or Push - Up or down? I assume my 07' HID's are the same as the 06s'
Here is a video on youtube.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvxUWYKA3_Y

Is it the piece thats moving back and forth is what gets bent? If its not visible in the video yeah can you post a pic?

 

i replaced mine to 5000k D2R xenon bulbs

dont really have a picture handy now though... ill snap one later

 

You pull the shield towards you, just a little. Its best to do a little at a time, and remember that you want to shine your lights at a wall about 25' away, NOT 5'.

have fun!

anytime you go above your oem 4300k bulb, you loose light output FYI...

 

i like the super white look, and i am well aware of anything above 5000 is overkill

i checked around on google for 5 minutes, and you are right turns out, 4300k produced 3200lumens, 5000 produces 3000, any well documented research that shows that 200 lumens is a BIG difference? i drive pretty much only in the city other than for track days when i venture out of the lights, so what's 200 lumens going to make anyways, does it mean i can't see at all? of course not! i drove around plenty with them now for a few months,

and finally, its not like i run 10k lights here...

 

"and finally, its not like i run 10k lights here..."

true dat...

I think some BMWs use 5000k as OEM anyways.. just dont get the 6000k, those are so tacky.

 

funny you said that cuze i had 6000k before... they were too purple for me

for those who might be interested, i just took these in the garage:

 

Sorry BURLEY but that piece in the video that was flapping thats the "shield" right? Thanks for all the info!!

 

yup, thats the shield. Just go slow when bending.

I take my bulb holders off, and leave the bulbs connected to the plug. Turn your lights on, w/ your bulb dangling...

Bend your shield, and place your bulb, by hand, into the projector, and hold... note the results. This makes it so you dont have to keep taking off your bulb holders, reinserting, and turning the lights on and off to check the results.

make sense?

 

Yeah....I think my lamps are different than yours..I'll snap some photos tomorrow morning so I can try to do it tomorrow.

When I open the piece to see inside the headlamp housing the first thing I see is the Ballast....DO I have to disconnect that It looks like I do to get to the shield, (no room to get hand in there at all).

Let me know. Thanks!

 

How do you get to your bulb? You should remove your bulb, then be able to see your shield.