What you need to know about HID vs HID kit

[striker_1818]

First of all, I've been getting alot of critizism about people because they think their cars look "good" with an pnp(plug and play) HID kit throw in stock halogen headlights.
First you need to know the basics so here it comes:

-Projectors will make the enjoyable of HID lightning work at its maximum potential. Projectors control the ammount of light on the road but you may be asking HID bulbs shift light everywhere? how could a projector enhance the performance of my HID bulbs? Well, there's this thing built inside the projector called "shield". A shield will control the shifting of light thus producing a beam with the maximum light possible to the road. The projector itself can be adjusted and you have the maximum light output at its maximum potential.


1) HID: High intensity Discharge lightning that produces an arc shifting light everywhere. In other words, this means that light from HID is basically uncontrollable. It shifts up, down, left, right. But what are the advantages and consecuences of having HIDs in your car?

A) OEM Projectors with HID's. These come in luxury cars. Great output, and road visibility is superb for those with poor visibility or weak eyes. If you love the look of it, then this is a must for it not only enhance visibility but the colorful cut-off makes you scream how could that be possible? The trick is in the lenses itself but I'm not gonna get into that here.




15ft by 30-40ft road output with a nice arc.

Pros: Superb visibility during night-time driving and when the weather gets bad really. Excellent during the rain and really noticable if you change from halogen headlights to OEM HID with projectors headlights. A wider road output The colorful cut-off band above the cut-off line makes you wow. The looks of a car with HID is just amazing. You can chime in and add your own experiences.

Cons: Poor road sign visibility. projectors make it hard to see those tricky and hidden road signs atnight unless they glow in the dark.

B) HID kits on ebay and elsewhere which claim to "enhance your light output on the road like true HID with projectors from luxury cars".
Reason why I hate pnp kits is that they lie their butts off to sell such hazard products which put in danger innocent lives while they make a profit out of it. Products which are sold for 100, 150 and/or 200 are just garbage. If you want a true pnp hid kit which will not have as much glare as others will be a good 400+ kit. Remember, you get what you paid for.
As I said before, HID bulbs produce an arc of light which shifts in every single direction: up, down, left, right. However, if you put a pnp kit in a halogen housing(reflector), you will have the effect of an HID without projectors, thus making that high intensity discharge lightning work to its minimum. Why? Reason why HID bulbs do its job shifting in the +/-x, and +/-y. You cannot control the shifting with a reflector. It has NO shields. This will case in glare coming from every single spot of the headlight. In other words, scattered light will be coming out of the headlight. This is the main complaint about pnp HID kits.
Let me show you.


You get a brighter light, more light output than halogen but the essential work HID bulbs are made for is not being properly used to get its maximum potential.
Now, a real picture would be from a fellow 8thcivic member.
http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/showt...=17625&page=34
you can find the picture there. As you can see, he's approximately 6ft tall and is aiming the camera down to take a picture of his headlights with a pnp HID kit. Have in mind that when you're driving on an opposite direction driving from whom he'll be driving, your eyesight will be at 4-1/2 to 5 ft above the ground while his headlights will be at 3' above the ground. And that picture was taken at approximately 6ft above the ground yet you can see glare coming from the left. That's what i mean by "HID bulbs lightning shifting in every direction".
But, you may be asking I can lower the aim of my headlight thus causing less glare. Yes you can and IT WILL CAUSE LESS GLARE. But this will backfire you. Why? You will not see as far as with a properly aimed halogen or hid w/projectors headlight. During night-time driving, that is a NO-NO.
You can also paint your housing black, thus minimizing the glare. YES IT WILL MINIMIZE THE GLARE but it won't be much.
As far as the widthness of the output, you can look at yourself here in the following diagram...approximately 8ft by 20ft ground light output.



Pros of having a pnp kit: It will light up the road twice as a normal halogen will. You will be ab le to see road signs clearly.

Cons of having a pnp kit: widthness of light output isn't great. True cause of using an HID will be misinterpretated. Glare to oncoming traffic will be alot causing yourself to be a road hazard on wheels. Reducing the glare will in fact make your headlights aim down the ground more than they should which will backfire you. This backfire will be the loss of light output further down the road. IT IS ILLEGAL IN ALL STATES.
Read more:
http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/rulings/glare.html

Now, draw your own conclusions and if you want a get a pnp kit because you want to improve your night-time driving and don't want to spend lots of money on retrofitting, then by all means go ahead but before you decide to get one, do your research and do it right. Get one that has a known brand name and is also known for reducing glare. If you decide to save money and greatly improve your night-time driving, then a retrofit with oem projectors is your best bet.
There are many great retrofitters in this website.

[tomasro]

And another problem with retrofits is that they too are illegal. It is illegal to modify your headlights in anyway, otherwise they are not approved by the department of transportation. Sucks either way doesn't it?

[BLU BY U]

dumb question from BLU comin up......

what if you got projector headlights and a pnp kit instead of just throwing the pnp in your stockers. would that turn out good?

[atruhondagrl]

Can't win for loosing.


I'm still planning on getting retrofits. I'll take my chances. All I've done is complain about the crappy light output on my lights. Honda should have put projectors on the car from the getgo but they didn't. I think the stock lights suck majorly in rain. I might as well be driving blind in rain.

I've seen HIDs in stock housings vs HID's in retro projectors (civicwithnav's lights vs TypeX's retros) projectors make a HUGE difference. The HIDs in a stock houring are everywhere so I agree with Striker. I just saw a FG1 with those Ebay projectors lit up at a red light. I don't like them. I'll take my chances with a retro.


Striker, +1 for breaking it down.

[striker_1818]

Originally Posted by tomasro

And another problem with retrofits is that they too are illegal. It is illegal to modify your headlights in anyway, otherwise they are not approved by the department of transportation. Sucks either way doesn't it?

True but a great retrofit will not cause glare problems such as mentioned in the article so you're safe =D

Originally Posted by BLU BY U

dumb question from BLU comin up......

what if you got projector headlights and a pnp kit instead of just throwing the pnp in your stockers. would that turn out good?

Here's your answer blue:
http://www.xenondepot.com/product.php?product_id=8
typex who retrofitted his headlights himself and this other guy who got his done by customlightz got them and they work just fine...but these ballasts they got are OEM ballasts modified...in other words made for pnp.

Originally Posted by atruhondagrl

Can't win for loosing.


I'm still planning on getting retrofits. I'll take my chances. All I've done is complain about the crappy light output on my lights. Honda should have put projectors on the car from the getgo but they didn't. I think the stock lights suck majorly in rain. I might as well be driving blind in rain.

I've seen HIDs in stock housings vs HID's in retro projectors (civicwithnav's lights vs TypeX's retros) projectors make a HUGE difference. The HIDs in a stock houring are everywhere so I agree with Striker. I just saw a FG1 with those Ebay projectors lit up at a red light. I don't like them. I'll take my chances with a retro.


Striker, +1 for breaking it down.

I love you too

And bump for my first hidplanet sale =D(off-topic...sorry)
http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=26127

[jasongg06]

Originally Posted by tomasro

And another problem with retrofits is that they too are illegal. It is illegal to modify your headlights in anyway, otherwise they are not approved by the department of transportation. Sucks either way doesn't it?

yup

[DumbasSi]

So what would you say is the best PNP kit available? Something from Phillips maybe.

[shungo]

a real phillips is like 900+ right?
i heard those fake phillips is like 300+, i wonder if its good or not???

[ethlar]

Originally Posted by tomasro

And another problem with retrofits is that they too are illegal. It is illegal to modify your headlights in anyway, otherwise they are not approved by the department of transportation. Sucks either way doesn't it?

actually they are legal with certain restrictions, mainly that you have to maintain the geometry of the lights and use DOT legal parts

http://www.v6performance.net/forums/...ad.php?t=63425


Also to the OP, this has been discussed so many times in so many different threads

[Exeon]

i love my ebay PnP hid kit

[striker_1818]

Originally Posted by DumbasSi

So what would you say is the best PNP kit available? Something from Phillips maybe.

I don't know which one is the best available to be honest. But if it has the "casper" shield, then it might be good because it will reduce glare with it.

Originally Posted by shungo

a real phillips is like 900+ right?
i heard those fake phillips is like 300+, i wonder if its good or not???

Fake hid setups will be sold with temperature rating at above 5K which is the highest Philips went. The kits include bulbs, ballast and brackets on OEM. The extra wiring is custom made. Bulbs alone are 100-120 bucks new. Once awhile you get offers for less than that. If you have a kit for example a kit which is worth $200. That means the ballast would cost around 100-80. That's a no-no. It's plain simple and by all means to save some buck all low q uality has been used. It is true HID when you use D2S bulbs =D... That's why reviews are made for. And yes "you get what you paid for".

Originally Posted by ethlar

actually they are legal with certain restrictions, mainly that you have to maintain the geometry of the lights and use DOT legal parts

http://www.v6performance.net/forums/...ad.php?t=63425


Also to the OP, this has been discussed so many times in so many different threads

I know this has been discussed but now I'm showing diagrams and the pro's and con's. Most threads just simply say HID projectors suck and a pnp HID kit is the best bang for your back. While others say the opposite yet they have nothing to back them up.
I broke it down so ANYONE could understand what the big fuzz is all about.
If you tell a stubborn person something is bad they will not agree with you. But once you show them why they're bad and the pro's and con's of both parties being discussed, then the guys from both sides can in fact know more about what they didnit know yet or add some knowledge to the thread.


BTW i can see the immaturity on the bad reps...
thanks alot guys to each their own

[Tim]

striker: I appreciate your zeal in being so anti-ebay-PnP-kit, but a few of your facts are a little bit hazy or just plain off. I think there are better ways to broach the subject than bullying.

[striker_1818]

Originally Posted by Tim

striker: I appreciate your zeal in being so anti-ebay-PnP-kit, but a few of your facts are a little bit hazy or just plain off. I think there are better ways to broach the subject than bullying.

I didn't
I just explained the cons and pro's of both an HID OEM setup with projectors and an hid kit. Price-range is the real issue here. And i did in fact said that an hid kit is better than halogen. But then again it has its con's.
And last but not least, i told them not to be misled by cheapo companies who jsut want to make a quick buck.

[maximus20895]

Sticky plz

[ethlar]

Originally Posted by maximus20895

Sticky plz

already been done
http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20963

[Tim]

The very thread title is something of an anomaly. HID vs. HID kit? There are cars that come from the factory with HID but without projectors. Does that make them fall under the "HID kit" category?

Philips makes a bulb rated at 6000K.

HID bulbs "shift light everywhere". I'm sorry, but that's a little silly. How is that different from a halogen bulb?

I'm not trying to be mean, but I just don't know what your point is exactly. I don't think that most people who have bought kits from ebay have been discontent with the results or even been misled. Much as it grates me to admit it, plug-and-play kits are viable options for this generation Civic, because the light is *relatively* controlled.

[tennisfan16]

Originally Posted by Tim

The very thread title is something of an anomaly. HID vs. HID kit? There are cars that come from the factory with HID but without projectors. Does that make them fall under the "HID kit" category?

Philips makes a bulb rated at 6000K.

HID bulbs "shift light everywhere". I'm sorry, but that's a little silly. How is that different from a halogen bulb?

I'm not trying to be mean, but I just don't know what your point is exactly. I don't think that most people who have bought kits from ebay have been discontent with the results or even been misled. Much as it grates me to admit it, plug-and-play kits are viable options for this generation Civic, because the light is *relatively* controlled.

to me, bottom line, his point is that he is anti-pnp. this guy is kinda a joke. most people with any intelligence wouldn't give a rats ass what he thinks, i know i don't. i don't care that he spent all that time making that write up, it didn't change my mind about anything or tell me anything i didn't already know. he just needs to give it up.

[Exeon]

summary,

striker : dont buy hid kits from ebay, it blinds and kills people with glare, asfsfdgbdfb, etc

[ethlar]

typically PnP kits have incredibly crappy output, and do throw random light everywhere but our cars handle it fairly well. I have had no one flash me yet and i used to get flashed with the halogens on my old car. Technically the best "proper" light output has been with projectors, but their downside is that they do not illuminate road signs at all whereas the reflectors will.

heres a some decent light output comparisons
http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/showp...&postcount=352

[striker_1818]

Call me a joke, talk trash about me and keep giving me bad reps. In fact, do whatever you want.
The fact of the matter is that our headlights are meant to handle 700 lumens...not 1600+ lumens that a stock 35w hid bulb produces. Those extra 900+ lumens is what produces glare...
Do you understand now? Do you understand my graphics?
I'm not trying to change your mind I'm only educating you about HID's.
The reason why you guys "think" it can handle an hid kit thrown in is because of the way the headlight is designed which practically decieves your eyes. You have nothing to compare your "high end hid kit" to a OEM projector headlight with HID's. Have you guys actually taken a look at your headlight to begin with. Take a look at the inside of the reflector so you'd know how the beam pattern actually comes out of your headlight. WIthout a proper shield, your beam will be shifting EVERYWHERE. It will not shift to a single point on which the reflector is being aimed at.
BTW: HID = HID with projectors because that's their main job for which an HID bulb can perform at it's maximum by giving you the meximum performance.
HID kit = Any pnp kit that you throw in your stock halogen reflectors.