All this talk of HID lights has me wondering...

[hairball]

Okay, I have to admit, the HID's are sweet! But how do they compare against regular replacement bulbs? Do they use more power? Do you need a relay? How do they work if your composite lenses are not crystal clear?

If I go with Halogens, does anyone have a preference for any of these?:
Manufacturer/Bulb/Color/Kelvin/Life span
PIAA Platinum Super White Near White 3800K average
PIAA Super Xtreme White White 3950K average
PIAA Xtreme White White 4150K average
PIAA Super Plasma Pure White 5000K H / 3800K L average
PIAA Super Plasma Pure White 5000K H / 4200K L average
Sylvania Xtra Vision Stock 3200K average
Sylvania Halogen Plus Stock 3200K extended
Sylvania Cool Blue Near White 3800K average
Sylvania SilverStar White 4000K average
Wagner Stock Halogen Stock 3200K average
Wagner Halogen Gold Stock 3200K extended
Wagner Lazer Blue Near White 3900K average
Wagner BriteLite (Xenon gas) White 4000K average


I want to replace my headlight bulbs with brighter ones but I don't want to blow a bunch of coinage on the above listed bulbs if HID bulbs are not much more expensive! But I also don't want to have to replace them more often. I've been reading so much about HID bulbs lately that they're getting very tempting. Those PIAA Super Plasma bulbs certainly seem ultra bright. Do any of these bulbs get hot enough to melt stuff? After all, the headlight housings are all plastic.

Opinions? Advice?

[white90dx]

All the bulbs you have listed there are halogen bulbs - just with higher wattage filaments, more efficient filaments and/or colored glass. Generally, they work well (as long as the glass is clear or only lightly tinted), but they last a shorter time than your run-of-the-mill bulbs.

Real HID lights use a completely different technology (arc discharge) to create light. They require a separate ballast to drive the bulb, and generally require an extra relay to handle the much higher startup current. After they are running they use less energy (35W vs. 55W standard). Unless the housing of your headlights is designed for it, HID bulbs create poor beam patterns. This is especially true with the 9004 bulbs use in the gen2 Camry - the light source on an HID bulb is in the wrong location and in the wrong orientation.

For myself, I use Sylvania Silverstar bulbs in my Alltrac. They are brighter/whiter and my vision is noticably better at night with them. I keep my headlights on all the time (yay LE auto turn-off) and get about 15k miles out of a set (1 year). Its up to you whether the increased cost is worth the extra vision.

Another option for better vision is a set of well designed and aimed fog/driving lights...

-Charlie

[hairball]

My mom got me hooked on driving with my headlights on 24/7 too. It's a safety thing. I like to be seen! So brighter is better, day and night! I do remember a bunch of my motorcycle rider friends putting HID lights on their bikes and talking about all the work involved. So I guess I'll pass on them for now and just get some brighter halogens.

I wonder if HID's will work better in a 93 Cadillac Seville. I'm buying my brother's car and will want to get brighter lights for it also.

Thanks. Charlie "shines" through once again!

[MR2Jedi]

I like the Sylvania Silver Stars too. I'm not willing to go thru that much trouble and expense for the HID's.
Silver Stars work just fine for me, in both my Tacoma 4x4 and MR2.

[MR2Jedi]

Some of those HID's should be outlawed. I hate when they are coming at you, blinding you the whole time, you flash them thinking they've got their high beams on and viola!- it's the low beams. Ought to be a law!

[hairball]

How about the PIAA Super Plasmas? Those seem to have the highest output of the ones I found in a list on a lighting site. I can only imagine they're expensive!

[white90dx]

Originally Posted by MR2Jedi

Some of those HID's should be outlawed. I hate when they are coming at you, blinding you the whole time, you flash them thinking they've got their high beams on and viola!- it's the low beams. Ought to be a law!

ALL of the real HIDs that have been put in halogen housings already are illegal... and people do get tickets for it(just not often enough, obviously!).

Many 'upgraded' halogen bulbs (the really blue ones) also are also illegal, fyi.

-Charlie

[MR2Jedi]

Originally Posted by white90dx

ALL of the real HIDs that have been put in halogen housings already are illegal... and people do get tickets for it(just not often enough, obviously!).

Many 'upgraded' halogen bulbs (the really blue ones) also are also illegal, fyi.

-Charlie

Ah, Just as it should be.
Thank you.

[hairball]

yeah, I agree with you all. I've been IN a car with HID headlights and YES, you can see for miles (it seems)! Super nice, white light! BUT, I hate cars with HID headlights coming toward me!!!

Ironically, I wish I could figure out how my 2007 Honda 919's headlight worked. Oh, I know how it "worked", but I really like the design of it! It "chopped itself off" at right about a flat level just below a car's driver. I love that design! When I pulled up to my garage before I opened it, you could see the light almost at a perfectly level point across the garage. Not the entire door. Never figured out if it was the bulb or the lens but I'm guessing the lens.

[Darwin686]

Go with the silver stars it makes all the diffrence in the world. I love mine! HID are horrilbe in the gen 2 they are not desinged for them and do not have the proper reflectors, its like begging for a ticket where I live if you have them installed. and yes you would need a second relay for them.

[joeykrim]

Seems quite a few people like the silver star bulbs and in our gen 2. Has anybody purchased these silver star lights online?

[91_ToYoTa_CaMrY]

I have HID's when I installed them, I went around the block to see how it was. It was really bright and my headlights were turned up all the way up so when I was driving around the block I could see so much, So I lowered them low enough, so I wouldn't blind people, and when I pull up behind a vehicle it doesnt get in their rearview either. I am still able to see the road well and I love the HID's because they dont dim when I play my music.

[hairball]

Originally Posted by 91_ToYoTa_CaMrY

... I love the HID's because they dont dim when I play my music.

That's funny. Seems like you must have some bumpin goin' on there!

Sounds like an upgraded, higher output alternator should be on your shopping list. About 25 years ago I had a Honda Civic with quite the systemage in it and when I would crank it up, the lights would dim to the beat of the music and if I really cranked it up it would often melt the wire right off my alternator! This happened a few times! Lucky for me I had a brand new DieHard battery because when that wire comes off the alternator you're driving off your battery only. The wire got so hot it would literally melt off the connector! My remedy was to not only replace it with a heavier gauge of wire but also install a bigger alternator. I found that the more things you can power straight from the battery, the less the lights will dim to the beat.

[hairball]

Well, sounds like I'll go with the SilverStars for my Seville since several of you agree on them. Anyone know of a cheap place to buy them? Like an online store? The 2-packs of SilverStar Ultras at AutoZone are $50 and I need two of those! 2 high beams + 2 low beams = $100!!! Dang! The 2 packs of regular SilverStars are $30. They must be cheaper somewhere else.

Anyone know the difference between the regular SilverStars and the Ultras? They both put out the same wattage but the color temp on the Ultras is 4100 and the regulars are 4000. Is only 100 in the color temperature worth the additional $5 per bulb? Sylvania's website claims the regular SylverStars put out 30% more light and the Ultras put out 40% more than regular halogens. I find this hard to believe since they both put out the same wattage and only 100 difference in color temp. So would regular SylverStars be adequate?

I did find the Ultras are the same price at all the local retailers, but I found them on ebay for $35 for the highs and $38 for the lows with free shipping.

Thanks for all the input. I'm still learning about HID headlights but it sounds like they're more of a pain than they're worth so I'll most likely just stick with brighter Halogens.

[Darwin686]

Sean,
The Color temp is what is going to give you more light a higher temp give you more visibility. Its all spectrum based. Here is a comparison example for you. Buy two 40 florescent bulbs one cool white and one daylight bulb and turn one on at a time outside in the dark. Same wattage different temps = different visibility.