Bill Dearborn

How do the 4300 high beams work? How much further can you see than the stock high beams will allow you to see?

Bill

mcgilles

your best bet is to find someone in your area so you can check them out and compare in person. pictures don't do it justice, and everyone's eyes seem to like different colors of light. I personally thought for a long time that cars using the factory 4300k HID lights were running halogens they were so yellow. I didn't like the looks of 4300k lights at all once I realized which cars out there actually had those on them and that it wasn't a halogen bulb I was looking at. I chose 6000k for high's low's and fog's I am very satisfied with them. I also like the looks of the bluer light, my original plan as to go with 8000k for fogs and lows because I like the way they look, then go with 6000k for the high beams to give me more light output. but you need to make sure you pick the temperature which works for you, and not for everyone else. because people are different!

one thing we can all agree on, no matter what temp you choose, the HIDs are a huge improvement over stock lighting. check out the $150 HID thread for some comparison pictures I posted up after my install. the difference is amazing.

C5 RACNG

well said MrLeadFoot

MrLeadFoot

To add to Toque's reply, when you get past about 7500k or so, you get to a color temperature in which the red spectrum starts to become more prominent. Remember also that the human eye can only pick up certain colors, which is why we start to see that red mixed with the blue as purple.

Of course, some people like more bling, so they go with the higher color temperatures (AKA degrees kelvin), which is not necessarily a bad thing. It all depends on what you're after. I, personally, chose what I chose because I wanted to see better.

Now, I must say that I was fortunate to have previously had experience with other lights bulbs, in that before I switched to HIDs I ran the PIAA Xtreme White 4000k bulbs. So, I was able to see how much white 4000k was already. Combined with my experience in fish-keeping ( I have 7 aquariums, all equipped with difference variations of types of lighting, as well as different colored bulbs), and I was already pretty sure 4300k HID bulbs would be the right choice for me. And, it indeed was. Those 4300ks are so white and bright you literally can't even LOOK at them when they're on. I'm not kidding.

MrLeadFoot

I'll tell you what, Bill. Words simply cannot describe the difference! And, no pitcures do these lights any justice. All the pics on these threads dim in comparison to real life, although they do provide proof that the HIDs are MUCH, MUCH brighter than stock.

Know that the HID bulbs and ballasts are the same for highs and lows. The only difference is the notches in the the bulbs seats, which are different so they fit into the headlight capsules correctly.

With that said, the variation between the notches in the highs and lows is slight; you can easily trim the notches to that low and high bulbs can be used interchangably.

But, when considering running HIDs in the high slots, you MUST remember that HIDs require several seconds to reach full power, which can be downright dangerous. Thus, I would highly recommend that you do not run HID highs unless you:

1) Already have HID lows.

2) Do a mod to keep the lows on when you turn on the highs. Otherwise, you might as well pray literally for your life when you turn on your brights, because you WILL be driving pretty much in the dark during that interim period when the lows turn off and you're waiting for the brights to power up!

And, that's partly why I recommend #1 above. When you turn on your brights, it's because you want/need more light, right? Since HIDs, even in the lows, are so bright, as long as your lows stay on while your brights are powering up, you can afford the wait. And, because they're HIDs, you can still see farther down the road, and more of the road for that matter, thus even though you need brights when you turn them on, those HIDs low will still help you drive safely during the highs powering up stage.

On the other hand, if you had stock lows, and HID highs, when you turn on your brights, while those stock lows ( or should I say "candles") would still remain on (with the mod, of course), they won't help you at all during those time when you need brights, does that make sense?

My car is setup with the headlight mod I have a link to in my Sig below. The other night I was driving with my 10 year old son down the typical road in my area that has no streetlights. Where I live there are no streetlights in residential areas. When I flipped on my brights, my son exclaimed, "Wow! Your lights are bright! It looks like daytime outside!"

Oh, and one more thing. How much FARTHER down the road is not really the whole story with HIDs retrofits in our headlight capsules. I mean, stock highs shine farther down the road, yes, as does any high beam. But with HIDs you see way BETTER down the road. Plus, the benefit of the reflector design of our headlight capsules also results in a BROADER illumination, so you see more width of the road, too, instead of just seeing the part of the road that your lights are aimed at, does that make sense? The end result is that you don't strain to see anymore. In fact, all reflective items, like lines in the road, signs, road markers, everything, as far as you can see are all lit up real well.

jdmvette

i took a few pics for you tonight. these are 8000k in my GF's -03 trailblazer. i'm not too sure if they're accurately conveying just how blue the color actually is, but it's quite a bit more blue than my 6000k bulbs are.







i also took a few pics of her rear LED tail lights and if you take a look at the light projected on the ground in this shot, you can get a better idea of how blue the 8000k are.



i personally wouldn't recommend anything above 6000k.

UKXPAT

I'd definitely go for the 6,000K, that's what I went with and I just think that the 4,300K's are too yellow.

mickey_7106

so if 4300k has some yellow and 6000k has less output wouldnt a ~5000k be better? is there any good brand bulbs with that temp?

knyght4

No. From what I've seen, there are only 4300, 6000, 8000, and 10000.

0TheRadioFlyer97

5000k: personally too much glare in the color especially on street signs and concrete.


6000k: all of these are using projector housings the color also has less glare)





SW projectors with 55w 6000k:


I will soon be upgrading the projectors in the SW housings...probably to e55 Bi-Xenons.

MrLeadFoot

4300k has NO yellow whatsoever in it. I did not go any higher and I am completely happy because the light output is nice and white. Don't let anyone tell you 4300k has yellow in it. And, because it's so white it doesn't look like a mod, which is a bonus. You just get a MUCH brighter light and it's white.

jeremyttt

i just installed some 4300k low beam lights in my vette and love them. There is a huge difference with stock lighting, to be honest i dont know how i was able to see at night before. My lights have no hint of yellow what so ever just pure white.

jdmvette

a 4300k D1S bulb comes with the ACA lights as their low beams. these are several random pics of what it looks like:









on driver's side only.




are you trying to say these don't have any yellow?

0TheRadioFlyer97

I would call 4300k a "warm white" and 5000-6000k more of a cool white.

MrLeadFoot

I think your camera is throwing a slightly different hue than what you would see in real world coloring. I'm also wondering if it might be that your 4300ks are not the norm, or because they're a different brand or something, they're more yellow. They actually look like they could be 3800s, or something because mine look completely white, just like Jeremyttt said his are.

FWIW, when I shine my lights on a wall, they are white, not yellow, like yours appear to be.

jdmvette

^ uh huh. so it's my camera and my non "norm" bulbs that are causing it.

i think if you'd see in person 6000k right next to your 4300k you'd realize they have yellow in them.

MrLeadFoot

Not to try to argue with you, but like I said above last year, you put any bulb next to any bulb and you'll see a difference. In fact, all colors have yellow in them, that's part of the color spectrum, so when you put a bulb with a higher color temp next to one with a lower color temp, of course the lower temp bulb will look more yellow. As well, a higher temp bulb will look more blue, that is until you get up to the 9000k range because that's where the human eye tends to see more red than blue.

But, yes, I contend that either your brand of bulbs or the light spectrum that your camera picks up makes your 4300s look even more yellow. I say this because in some of the pics, you'll notice the bulbs are more yellow than in others. Note also that those pics are shot at different times of day. If you notice, during the day your camera's eye sees the bulbs as more yellow than it sees them at night. And, that doesn't mean you have a crappy camera. All cameras' eyes see things differently than other cameras. That's why there are so many differentiated reviews on cameras.

The only reason I mentioned the brand of bulb is because there is one shot at night with your car shining on the garage doors where the 4300s look quite yellow, and that's definitely NOT what I see with my bulbs. My bulbs shine pure white, or at least my EYE sees pure white. But, then again, the 6000s you have in the other light slots are more blue, which exxagerates the color difference, and makes one look more yellow and one more blue. The other reason I mentioned it was because the 4300s look REALLY yellow inside the projector housing, however, that shot was taken as the camera's EYE tried to gauge and evaluate the bulb against the daylight outside your garage. But, all in all, I mentioned brand because of your statements about your 4300s being so yellow to you. Of course, it's also possible that your own eyes are more sensitive to yellow hues.

I also notice immediately when an approaching car has non-white bulbs; in fact, bulbs with blue tend to jump out at you, and I personally wouldn't want to be so noticable like that.

As well, several folks higher up in this thread mentioned they could see blue in even 5000k bulbs.

In any case, I guess we can say that personal preference is what really matters. If you like a cooler bluish white, then 5000k and up is the way to go. If you prefer a more natural white, 4300k is it.

boomie1

6k here. LOVE it!

carnut101

4300 is anything but yellow with the proper projector.

Toque

I lined up my 6000K car with a 4300K car and a 8000K car.

The 4300K owner said my 6000K lights made his look yellow. The 8000K had a good amount of Blue in them.

They all looked good though. Everyone agreed that my 6000K were the most WHITE though.

Toque