Lighting Education 101

DirtySCREW

DirtySCREW

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Educate me guys on car lighting.
I'm clueless as what's the best. With the recent Led technology, I don't know if they are the "cat's meow" or not.
When HID came out, it was..And still is awesome. ( Ever look at the BMW or Mercedes at the stop light next to you?)
Aftermarket HID kits came out...Some were good and some weren't. Some people melted their wiring harnesses! With that, I decided it wasn't worth the risk to 'maybe' get a quality kit and upgrade my headlights. Plus I don't want to blind people either and some kits did just that.

Projector headlights. Are they just a better means of getting the light out? Versus the halogen reflectors?
Is LED where it's at now? As far as reliability and light output??

Edjumacate me...Lol
DS
 
LED is where it's at. The problem with upgrading old headlights though is that the reflector housing isn't designed for LED's. Having said that, I put Evitek G6 LED'S in my motorcycle and they are fantastic!
 
I doubt the blue light/HID's help the owner to see much better.
As my eyes have aged, then add floaters, the HIDs, mis aimed lights and high beams blind me.
It's rude & unsafe, I'm very tempted to return the favor with a green laser at times.
I lived in France in the 70's and the headlights were yellow, they're much better at not blinding others.
 
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Please for the love of all things sacred and holy do not put an HID kit in your stock headlight housings.

Ever drive down the road at night and some d-bag just blinds the crap out of you with lights so bright you thought you were about to meet Jesus? It’s because HIDs have to be in a projector housing that has a sharp cutoff for the direction of light.
 
"The problem with upgrading old headlights though is that the reflector housing isn't designed for LED......."

"HIDs have to be in a projector housing that has a sharp cutoff for the direction of light......."

I don't know much about lighting but there is something to the above statements. I tried the Silverstar bulb in my motorcycle years ago, gave me more, brighter light but they only lasted about 10K miles. After two of those I went back to the stock bulb that came in the motorcycle in 2005 ( still running it ).

When the Silverstar bulbs didn't work out I put in a E-Code reflector ( European ). Big difference from stock. Can't say that there's more light but the pattern is different ( improved ) and the cutoff from the ground going up is very sharp and noticeable, right at the height of the headlights on a car. I'd really like to try the Silverstar ( or another aftermarket bulb ) in the E-Code reflector but I just don't feel like spending the money on a bulb that may not last or make an improvement over what I have.

.
 
LED is the bees knees! There is a considerable difference in the quality of the light. I had a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee with HID and wow they were great. But I like my leds in my Honda as well or better and no one wants to flip me off.
 
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I want something that matches the Cibie Z beams I had in my '69 MGB
 
Gator said:
I'd really like to try the Silverstar ( or another aftermarket bulb ) in the E-Code reflector but I just don't feel like spending the money on a bulb that may not last or make an improvement over what I have.
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I've been running them in a '14 Ford Edge, they last 4-6 months & I warranty them It was pleasant experience about a month ago when both went out and I had to drive 45 min down country roads in the dark. :mad:
 
What ever you do please set them correctly, I can not stand people that have crazy headlights pointing all over the place. No matter what they have they will not see anything if they are not pointed in the right direction.
 


Which is better between the two?

DS
 
MikeDawg46L said:
Please for the love of all things sacred and holy do not put an HID kit in your stock headlight housings.

Ever drive down the road at night and some d-bag just blinds the crap out of you with lights so bright you thought you were about to meet Jesus? It’s because HIDs have to be in a projector housing that has a sharp cutoff for the direction of light.
Click to expand...
I was an industrial commercial factory rep for Sylvania many year ago, and this answer is 100% correct.
 
My '99 Taurus and Sable headlights suffer from voltage drop and are dimmer then they should be
they saved money using smaller gauge wire, the power runs to the headlight switch and then back to the lamps.
They make aftermarket wiring kits that use a relay to control the headlights by taking power (fused) from the battery.
 
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Button Pusher said:
My '99 Taurus and Sable headlights suffer from voltage drop and are dimmer then they should be
they saved money using smaller gauge wire, the power runs to the headlight switch and then back to the lamps.
They make aftermarket wiring kits that use a relay to control the headlights by taking power (fused) from the battery.
Click to expand...

My dad was test driving a 99 sable when a woman hit the front fender at about 45 in a 25 zone totaling the car. Totally his fault at a blind intersection he pulled up to see and bam. He got a ticket but the judge later dropped it. We didn't buy the car.
 
MikeDawg46L said:
Please for the love of all things sacred and holy do not put an HID kit in your stock headlight housings.

Ever drive down the road at night and some d-bag just blinds the crap out of you with lights so bright you thought you were about to meet Jesus? It’s because HIDs have to be in a projector housing that has a sharp cutoff for the direction of light.
Click to expand...
Would like to have a parabolic mirror for this situation aimed directly at the driver of that over illuminated vehicle.
 
Pink_Vapor said:
I've been running them in a '14 Ford Edge, they last 4-6 months & I warranty them It was pleasant experience about a month ago when both went out and I had to drive 45 min down country roads in the dark. :mad:
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I have been running Silver star ultras for years in two vehicals and never have had an issue. You do know not to touch the glass part of the bulb as it will cause them to fail early.
 
Short Fuse said:
I have been running Silver star ultras for years in two vehicals and never have had an issue. You do know not to touch the glass part of the bulb as it will cause them to fail early.
Click to expand...
Yup, & I was a top mechanic for 36+ years. The filaments keep burning in half.
I keep pictures of receipts in my phone, and bad bulbs in the package so I can go in and swap them out without opening the hood now.
 
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You run enough power through a semiconductor, it gets hot. Hence the heat sinks and fans in computers.
LEDs aren't 100% efficient, so a small % of the power turns to heat, and since even the high power LEDs are very small, it gets very hot without a heat sink.
 
The Evitek G6 LED'S that I have have a "shield" on them to give the proper cutoff. The shield looks like two little wings on the end of the bulb. It works great.
 
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