What HID replacements to get for best vision?

[mikepaul]

I don't need new HID capsules yet but I think I have to worry a bit after 4 years.

I see several HID replacement options on the Sigma website, but I have no idea what makes for a better pattern of light than the stock ones. I'd like more side light, but I don't think that's a function of Kelvin rating.

Has anyone needed new HIDs yet and found something good?...

[qbee42]

Kelvin rating is a measurement of the color temperature of the light. As the Kelvin rating increases, the color shifts away from red and toward blue.

If you need more light than the standard HID lamps, you should seriously consider not driving at night.

Tom

[mikepaul]

Originally Posted by qbee42

If you need more light than the standard HID lamps, you should seriously consider not driving at night.

Umm, yea, thanks for that.

So I take it that different HID bulbs won't disperse more light to the sides?...

[qbee42]

That should mostly be controlled by the reflector. The stock HIDs already throw a lot of light to the sides on high beam. On low beam, you don't want the light over into the other lane. Good HID headlamps, like those on the Prius, have very sharp cutoffs on the low beam setting. Drivers not used to sharp cutoffs sometimes feel that the lights are not bright enough or not wide enough, but they are very bright in the intended area, and very black outside it. This is done by design to keep from blinding oncoming traffic. Cheep high intensity headlamps may appear brighter, but this is done at the expense of throwing light all over the place.

Tom

[Steamboatsig]

This is your solution for better side lighting.

[F8L]

Like stated above, it is very unlikely that a bulb change will create more side lighting. Going to a whiter bulb may make the lighting appear brighter but that does not mean it is helping you to see more of the road. In fact sometimes the whiter light can be blinding depending on what it is shining on, expecially fog.

I understand the desire to have a white to blue tinted light for purely asthetic reasons as I've had 3 sets of 8k HIDs in my trucks. For safety purposes I think the stock HIDs are great. A shade whiter may look better but I do not think it would be worth the price to swap the stock ones out unless they have burned out.

[mikepaul]

Here's the trick: with the thick posts on either side of the windshield, a lot of the time I feel like I'm turning into a black hole at night, since I have to look out the side window to see what I'm turning into. I'm not as close to the windshield as other folks, since the seat is all the way back. I'd prefer more light off to the side to make it less exciting.

What would be ideal is a reflector that pops into place when the turn signal is activated, throwing some extra light in the selected direction. Short of that, I guess a brighter capsule would do but what would fill that job best?...

[F8L]

Originally Posted by mikepaul

Here's the trick: with the thick posts on either side of the windshield, a lot of the time I feel like I'm turning into a black hole at night, since I have to look out the side window to see what I'm turning into. I'm not as close to the windshield as other folks, since the seat is all the way back. I'd prefer more light off to the side to make it less exciting.

What would be ideal is a reflector that pops into place when the turn signal is activated, throwing some extra light in the selected direction. Short of that, I guess a brighter capsule would do but what would fill that job best?...

It must be a perception issue because I sit with the seat all the way back as well as reclined and I do not notice this problem. Maybe a high-end (PIAA 1100x?) wide-angle fog light would serve you well? A driving light would put too much energy forward instead of out. Our fog lights sit a bit too rescessed IMO so you may need to bring the aftermarket set forward a bit to get enough energy out to the sides.

[Steamboatsig]

What about putting some sort of shim on the fog lights to make them point outward more. The fogs don't seem to do much mostly because the headlights drown them out, but they do provide light. I know because I covered the headlights and drove around with just the fogs.

Someone wanting more side or lateral lighting needs to take the fogs apart and find a way to use washers to point them outward. That should provide sufficient lateral lighting.

[mikepaul]

Maybe it's the tinted windows screwing me over, if I'm all alone on wanting extra light.

Anyway when I need new HID capsules I'll be thinking maximum legal brightness just to see if it helps...