REVIEW - HID vs PHILLIPS DIAMOND & CRYSTAL VISION

[LD_Mart]

Car - Civic Type R 08
USED IN - FOG and LO BEAM Lights


HID 8000K
Price - $129.00
Where - Applio (ozhonda)
Results - The hardest thing about this was mounting ballasts in the engine bay as it is so small and also with the fog lights so hard to get your hands in around every thing in the way.
The lights are awesome, much brighter then stock standard. They Show lines on the road, Street signs and everything in general much clearer and tend to give it a fluro look.
The problem with these HID's is the car wasnt built for them and tended to shoot out light in all directions. Got flashed by one car thinking that i had high beams on but never got in trouble with cops, even when being pulled over just for random breath test.
Another Problem with HID's is that they are not street legal.
Never used them in fog or rain so no results for that

PHILLIPS DIAMOND VISION
Price - $89
Where - Mars Performance (ebay)
Results - These are ment to be Phillips top of the range bulb. They give out the look of 8000k HID's but the beam is much more controlled then HID's. They look awesome but the light is just so blue and makes everything on the road look blue. They are very cool for looks but just dont do the job for every day driving at night. These are also not street legal.
They worked well as fog lights but not as general lo beam bulbs.

PHILLIPS CRYSTAL VISION
Price - $79
Where - Mars Performance (ebay)
Results - These are great lights and work well for everyday driving. They dont do the 50% brighter light as claimed but they are brighter then the stock bulbs. The light is very controlled and lights up things very well. It gives off a 6000 - 8000 K HID look, From some angles a touch of blue but very white on others. They work well in the rain. These are street legal. The only complaint i may have is that the light is very narrow but this just maybe cause i used HID's which blurred everywhere before hand. It is heaps easy to install just plug and play with no ballasts.


FINAL CONCLUSION
HID's - are defenitly the brightest. but are to out of control
DIAMOND VISION - are way to blue and just dont do the job
CRYSTAL VISION - personally i would go for these as they look good and work the best. They are also very easy to install and cheaper then HID's. They also come with free parker bulbs to match the colour.

I ended up with Crystal Vision lo beam bulbs and Diamond Vision in the fog lights.

I would put up photos but i suck with a camera and all the lights were just big blurr's in the screen.

Hope this helps some people.

[hondavti25]

i asked the police about my 8500k HIDS and they said there perfectly leagle.. only thing they said that arent are coloured parkers and things like that? thats in qld any way? and ps where did you get HIDS for fog lights?

[Jaso]

Using the 4000k Phillips one they are street legal and very happy with the result...i paid $59 from Autobarn. Install was easy but was a bit fidley. Also came with parkers.

Nice review mate.

[m3ntAL_l2]

any picz compare?

[LD_Mart]

i asked the police about my 8500k HIDS and they said there perfectly leagle.. ps where did you get HIDS for fog lights?

They are not legal in NSW
Fog Light HID's are the same as normal HID's just buy the correct bulb



Using the 4000k Phillips one they are street legal


All of the phillips bulbs are street legal except Diamond Vision.



any picz compare?

They all look the same in my photos just a big blur of white. I got a crap olympus from about 4 years ago and never use it and dont really know how to use it. Sorry

[howy]

All of the phillips bulbs are street legal except Diamond Vision.



hmmm...

since when were crystal visions legal?

last time i checked (probably last month), they weren't ADR approved.

HID's are definitely not legal if they did not originally come with the car. You can get everything engineered though (washers, automatic leveling, housing) but that will cost quite a bit)

[[ricer]]

both diamond vision and crystal vision are crap
their life span isnt that great for the price

blue vision last way longer

[LD_Mart]

since when were crystal visions legal?


They are legal and always were...


;1716786']both diamond vision and crystal vision are crap
their life span isnt that great

Wouldnt know cause didnt have them in for that long...
but time will tell

[howy]

I don't know where you're getting your information from but you might wanna check out these 2 websites:

http://www.philipslighting.com.au/Philips-Upgrades.htm

http://www.lighting.philips.com.au/au/en/Portal?xml=automotive_lighting/app&fldr_id=96&fid=4555

CrystalVisions and DiamondVisions are not approved for road use.

[absolutR]

ive had my crystal vision for a year now n working fine, they're legal in victoria, else at aubahn it would have signed not street legal, but it doesnt. i wouldnt mind upgrading to hid in my dc2r its something i gotta do i reckon

[IVTECS4]

I have the Phillips Crystal Vision H1s bulbs on my Accord Euro... it's not bad. I also have the Phillips Blue Vision H1s bulbs as well... while not as bright as the Blue Vision, the Crystal Vision does a good job of providing good light output and everything shows up nicely... definitely worth the price I got at Autobarn some time ago... the Blue Vision H1s were cheaper :p

[FAT VTI]

Aftermarket headlights which suit hids will give you the best light, looks and performance.

[T-onedc2]

Diamond visions in my projectors are fine for me, alongside other cars at night they certainly look bluer but clearer, I have no comlaints. Is there a government site describing why these aren't considered legal?

[kongfu]

bulbs are just waste of money.6000k hid would be reliable.

[howy]

Australian Design Rules website (http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/motor/design/index.aspx)

that's the website i'm not sure exactly where the design rules for headlights or bulbs for that matter is...

[my_vtec77]

I thinking to get Crystal vision for long. Just wondering do I need to remove front bumper to install them? For Accord euro btw.
Thanks.

[Jaso]

Ive got an 04 and no its not necessary to remove the front bumper. You just have to unscrew the black seals behind the head lights, unclip that pin thing and replace the bulb. It sounds easy but it is very fiddly - make sure you do it in good light and have good patience!

[tiksie]

How did you score HID's for $130 ?

[aaronng]

Australian Design Rules website (http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/motor/design/index.aspx)

that's the website i'm not sure exactly where the design rules for headlights or bulbs for that matter is...

I think the rules just states "white light". How white is white? Stock bulbs seem yellow to me lol

[NightKids]

These two bulbs aren't the best Philips has to offer, as myself & DSP26 have both used the top of the range Philips X-Treme Power (+80%):-

http://www.nam.lighting.philips.com/us/automotive/products/xtremepower.php

But if you were after something different from Philips then the Osram Night Breaker (+90%) is the way to go:-

http://www.care4car.com/productdisplay/productid/229/Osram_Night_Breaker_+90percent_xenon_bulbs.html

Didn't mean to go off-topic but in the DIY it says Diamond visions are Philips top of the range, so letting people know there's better halogens out there.

[aaronng]

I wonder how long the +90% lasts. Osram's +50% only lasted 12 months for me on my stock car. When I had stiffer suspension, they only lasted 7-8 months. On the "bright" side, I managed to score many Osram +50% H1 bulbs for cheap when the local Repco was clearing out their old stock.

[NightKids]

There was a review on them & they looked pretty good, maybe you should pick up a set of +90% & try em' out aaronng

[aaronng]

I'm still on my crystalvisions. How much are these +90% bulbs? I still have 4 pairs of the +50% to use after the crystalvisions blow. Also have a set of diamondvision that I shouldn't have bought.....

[power_of_dreams]

Ive got an 04 and no its not necessary to remove the front bumper. You just have to unscrew the black seals behind the head lights, unclip that pin thing and replace the bulb. It sounds easy but it is very fiddly - make sure you do it in good light and have good patience!

same with all euros. First time is pretty tricky, and for the drivers side you might want to remove the windscreen washer piping.

[Sp00ny]

i asked the police about my 8500k HIDS and they said there perfectly leagle.. only thing they said that arent are coloured parkers and things like that? thats in qld any way? and ps where did you get HIDS for fog lights?

Are you sure about that, if so get the officer to quote the law that he is referencing.

Cars with HID bulbs are Illegal unless they are in a housing (projector or engineered reflector) that is designed for the extra light output and change in color temperature. Also more importantly if you have HID's it is a legal requirement to have AFS (Adaptive Front Lighting System) which auto adjusts the line of the cutoff when you go over bumps, go up/down hills etc and one that is true of American law but unsure of Australian is the fact you need jets that are set to go off every x uses of your regular wiper jets (as seen in the Accord Euro Luxury).

Also HID's would be putting out to much light above the cutoff point, so even in certain states that "may" not state HID's as being illegal, the glare they cause will be and renders them unroadworthy.

You can test them by going to a Testing specialist and get the beam pattern assesed. They will tell you if it passes the "glare" standards.

If the actual HID kit isnt illegal then the only way to get the beam pattern to standard is by installing proper HID Projectors....As I have done....known as "Retrofitting".

Link to my Retrofit: http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=88696

Regards,
Andrew

[Sp00ny]

I think the rules just states "white light". How white is white? Stock bulbs seem yellow to me lol

I am pretty sure in America (not sure about here precisely) but the highest road legal Colour Temperature is 8000k, 4300K/5000K is what comes with most cars standard and 5/6000K are often Factory Options. Don't forget these cars are designed for the light output of HID's.

Don't forget the higher the color temperature not only do you loose lumens you are decreasing visability in foggy and wet conditions dramatically when using over 6000K.

4300K FTW

4300K = Pure White (no yellow or Blue, closest to natural daylight)
5000K = Hint of blue (more like crystal white)
6000K = White/Blue
etc.... just google "HID colour temperatures" and you will get plenty of information.

Regards,
Andrew.

[Crapdaz]

if your running H1-d2s bulbs? do you need to buy d2s bulbs to fit or can H1 bulbs fit?
cause i think the connector is different.
application = Accord Euro Luxury

[diffuzn]

bought some night breakers, they seem pretty similar to my stock lights?? pretty yellow :S

[DNYALL]

I got diamond visions in my civic, i have been through two sets now. they ussually last about a year or so. I got pulled over once, I got canaried for being too low, strut bars, racing seats etc. They asked if my headlights were HID and i said "no, they are the phillips diamond vision, just a normal style globe". He said ok then, and moved on to pay me out for everything else with my car...

But yeah didn't pull me up for the headlights. This about 1.5 years ago now, so don't know if it has changed at all.

Diamond vision don't put out as much light as the others but do look really good :)

[markoJEK1]

sorry to high jack the thread but you got done for strut bars ... ?

[adaminc]

so how long do these crystal visions usually last compared to stock bulbz

[DNYALL]

sorry to high jack the thread but you got done for strut bars ... ?

Haha yeah, he did me for the rear strut brace in my boot...he said because it wasn't standard and i didn't have an engineers cert for it then it was defectable...

When i went to vic roads to get the defect cleared, i just took the centre bar out and left the two brackets for it on. The vic roads guy read "rear strut brace" on the defect letter and shrugged his shoulders looked in the boot and moved on to checking the ride height. i think he was surprised to see it on there.

[markoJEK1]

hmm ok, I dont think / know why its a defect, some cars do come standard with him, just not in the boot :P

[nd55]

Is anyone running a headlight wiring harness?

Any negative ground switched harnesses to suit Hondas available?

Nick.

[A'PEXi]

for a bulb replacement only, i also think the crystal vision is worth looking into... great bulb for the price.

hids are in a different category, but they are also quite affordable nowadays and give off some very bright light in comparison to normal bulbs...

[Petronas]

Edit//////

[Element12]

How did you score HID's for $130 ?

I got mine for $84 posted.