HID for reflectors?

[saxman]

the cut off isn't the only difference between hid and halogen projectors... yes, on some, putting an hid bulb in there really screws things up, but generally, the light output with an hid projector is just much much better... they're designed for the light output of an hid bulb. You may not get a better cut off(well, you might, depending on what projector you use), but you'll get a lot more light on the road, and a much much wider beam.

It also depends on what projector you're using, as some of the H7 projectors(mainly the valeo units) use pretty much the same projector for both their halogen and hid units with just a different base. The valeos in this case are the exception, not the rule.


The difference between left and right hand drive projectors is which way the step goes. With a left hand drive vehicle, the light will step up to the right, with a right hand drive vehicle, it'll step up to the left. This allows you to not blind oncoming traffic, but sep up to illuminate the sidewalk and such.

For demonstration purposes, here is the output of an LHD projector and a RHD projector


disregard the fact that one step is bigger than the other... that's the difference between an ece cut off and a dot cut off... point is to show the top one is from a RHD projector, and the bottom is from a LHD projector

[saxman]

Came across these photos which really show the difference between an hid and a halogen projector with an hid kit.

The car in these pics is the USDM Mazda 3... comes with oem halogen projectors with hids optional.


this should demonstrate the potential for extra glare and such that you get with an hid kit in a stock projector. The two kits in the middle put off less light and more glare.

Here are some wall shots to show the difference.

This is the output of the oem hid projectors.


This is the output of the oem halogen projectors a drop in hid kit



notice the drop in kits still have a cut off... at least to the sides(with obvious glare in the middle), but have a much much more narrow light output. You get a big hot spot in the middle, but off to the sides the intensity just dies off. This is a result of the halogen projectors being designed to output light differently.


Also, be aware, that with a 6000k hid kit, you're getting 30% less light output than if you were using oem 4300k bulbs.

[Lebowski]

thanks Saxman. Those last 2 pics show the difference very well. I'll have a look at my set up tonight and compare.
When I look at my HID's head on there is definately no glare as demonstrated in the Mazda3 image, the light is very focussed so perhaps I have Valeo projectors (would these be OEM in Subaru?)
So what I'm interested in now is if the light projection is even across the front without any hotspots, I will check that tonight.
I knew I'd trade off some light output going with 6000k, however when comparing against 4300 - 5000k the real world difference was negligible and I much prefered the colour of 6000k.

[saxman]

the thing with the higher color temp bulbs is that because of the blue in the light, they appear brighter(as you're getting color contrast that is normally only there in bright light situations), so the lighting appears brighter to you than it actually is... in reality, you can't see near as much.


Honestly not sure what projectors the new subarus use

[Lebowski]

saxman, since fitting HID's I've begun to pay more attention to other road users with HID's and was surprised when I saw a current 06 BMW 3 series coming towards me with very noticeable glare from the HID's. Not as extreme as the retrofit Mazda 3 but there was glare nontheless. So it seems even OEM HID's are not perfect all the time.

[Fr3aKi3]

Are you sure it's glare and not just the cut off line that's coming into view?

Although you are right, there isn't a perfect HID system (but is there anything that is perfect at all?).
OEM Hid's should have an auto levelling system to help reduce glare but this would only help to a certain extent.

[saxman]

there are a lot of cars that come with improperly aimed projectors from the factory. Also, there are times while driving that the cut off simply is going to be above your eye level(going over hills, over bumps, etc) even with proper autoleveling


Out here at least, not all of the bmw's come standard with hids afaik, so it's possible it could have been a drop in kit.