I have been looking into many different forums trying to decide if I should replace my Halogen High Beams and Fog Lights with HID. The fog lights don't seem to be too much of a problem as H3 HID Kits are pretty easy to come by and the projection system would make it look and work well. With that said, the high beams seem to be a bit trickier as they are reflector based and I'm not sure if there are any kits out there that will not only work well but not require any drilling.

What kelvin is the stock STI HID? I think it is 6000k based on color charts but that is my subjective analysis and is most likely highly prone to error.

The number of vendors for this technology also seems a bit overwhelming. First I heard that McCulloch was supposed to be the best and then Phillips and then this Korean company. With all the FUD on the net does anyone have an objective view on the subject? Also, what should I expect to pay for such a kit? The range seems to be $300 - $500 for the above mentioned brands.

Please help…

well, i will help on the brands. dont get McCulloch. get oem brand stuff. Phillips and hella are the way to go. you can get these kits for aound 300 bucks if you shop around.

Shane

Stock HID is 4300k

replacing the high beam with HID is not really a good idea. when you need to use the passing beam and flash people, your HIDs will not do much because they are not at their full operating potential in 1/2 a second. in addition, flashing HID lights is a pretty quick way to kill them. if you want a better high beam, get the IR spectrum headlight bulbs. HID in the fog light is your choice.

Further, HID is far less than optimal for a foglight. Blue light will tend to scatter and cause more glare against snow, rain, fog, and sleet than a softer incandescent light does. Also, HID lights tends to scatter more inside your eye as well.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/disadvantages/disadvantages.html

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/blue/bad/bad.html

not only the color temperature of HID will hinder the fog performance, it's the actual intensity(different from brightness) of the HID lighting that causes scatter and glare in heavy fog.

if it's foggy enough to warrant the use of foglights, it's too foggy for HID to help.

think of it like trying to shoot a block of cheese through a strainer, rather than a block of jello.

the jello (halogen) has less density(lumens) and can squeeze through the strainer(fog) far more easily than the thick cheese(HID).

g'ya fallow?
http://adweek.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/billcosby1_1.jpg
ai g'knew ja would...

for high beams, HID would be good for light output but awful for the longevity of the HID system's components, since the beams could not be flashed or turned off and then on quickly without causing damage to the bulbs and ballasts. HID capsules (bulbs) need time to cool and crystalize into salt form after they are shut off before they can be turned on again, since the jolt of high voltage electricity is extremely detrimental on xenon gas that hasn't recrystalized yet.
you could use them, but you'd notice decreased performance and premature failure from the bulbs and/or ballasts and it would become extremely expensive.

and you may not flash your highbeams, but you would need to turn them off if oncoming traffic were to appear around a bend, over a hill, or in the distance.




funny how there's always a justifiable reason for automotive manufacturers to do things the way they do them...
stick with halogens.

Thanks for all the great information, it really saved me a lot of time and money. In the end my decision is to go with the HIR tech for the high beams and leave everything else stock.

Last week I bought a 2007 Triumph 675 and plan on making the low beam HID and the high beam HIR if possible. (HID is easy, but not sure if they make HIR for the H9 bulb type)

The cheese explanation made me laugh but brought home the point.

H9 are already extremely bright bulbs so you don't really need to upgrade them.

HIR only come to fit the 9005/9011 and 9006/9012.