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HID=Bad, Halogen=Good ?

2862 Views 46 Replies 21 Participants Last post by  evan938, 
C
Greetings to all! This topic is to discuss the benefits of halogen over HID. yep i said it and many will cringe at the thought but this is what I have found.

The use of an HID system in a Halogen housing is not as good idea as it sounds. The fact that the HID system is tremendously brighter than the Halogen lights is true and when applied properly is the best lighting system you can have. The use of this system in a Halogen Projector housing is bad news to everyone on the road including yourself. Not only is it illegal and you can be ticketid for it, but the housing is not designed to handle such intense light. Everyone knows you have to lower the aim on your lights when using aftermarket HIDs as not to blind oncoming traffic (and anyone who has been unfortunate enough to experience head on, misaimed, aftermarket HIDs knows what im talking about.) and in doing this you actually lose visability on the road. Sure it will be super clear and super bright for about 20 feet ahead of you but then the amazing cutoff takes its toll and virtually limits visibility to zero beyond that 20 feet (for example) But when using the Halogen lamps in the proper projector housing (which R&D at mazda spent much time and money perfecting) you can actually aim them higher and thus farther than the HIDs. Factory equipped HIDs hace auto leveling systems and the whole housing of the projector has been built around the light output of HID lighting not to mention the lense is completely different to not magnify the light as much as Halogen Projectors thus making the system still very much brighter but it won't blind you once under the cutoff line. Basically what im saying is i have had the aftermarket HID system and i have had cars that have it Factory and these are my findings. Please comment and give feedback to this. In conclusion buy a car with factory HID or do everyone a favor and dont try to imitate it
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Re: HID=Bad, Halogen=Good

Wow all that text and no new info. :lol: Actually our stock headlights with halogens do have projectors, unlike other cars which is where you run into problems exactly like what you stated. Are they as good as the factory equiped HID projectors? No, but my understand is that it isn't as bad as you're implying for our cars.
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Re: HID=Bad, Halogen=Good

[quote author=lc link=topic=66352.msg1138241#msg1138241 date=1168232283]
Wow all that text and no new info. :lol: Actually our stock headlights with halogens do have projectors, unlike other cars which is where you run into problems exactly like what you stated. Are they as good as the factory equiped HID projectprs? No, but my understand is that it isn't as bad as you're implying for our cars.
[/quote]

+1

the headlight housings on our cars are already prepped for a HID kit. they come with one from the factory as an option. we have the projectors already in our housing. and its not like its going to melt anyways.
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Re: HID=Bad, Halogen=Good

very interesting !
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Re: HID=Bad, Halogen=Good

[quote author=small town king link=topic=66352.msg1138251#msg1138251 date=1168232588]
[quote author=lc link=topic=66352.msg1138241#msg1138241 date=1168232283]
Wow all that text and no new info. :lol: Actually our stock headlights with halogens do have projectors, unlike other cars which is where you run into problems exactly like what you stated. Are they as good as the factory equiped HID projectprs? No, but my understand is that it isn't as bad as you're implying for our cars.
[/quote]

+1

the headlight housings on our cars are already prepped for a HID kit. they come with one from the factory as an option. we have the projectors already in our housing. and its not like its going to melt anyways.
[/quote]

+2
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Re: HID=Bad, Halogen=Good

if i could plus myself i would.
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Re: HID=Bad, Halogen=Good

i already know we have Halogen projectors in our cars. im not saying they have problems with heat im saying the way the lens and the reflector housing for the projector are built cant efficiently handle the LIGHT from HID bulbs unless it is a true factory HID projector that was built around these high levels of light output. The HID and Halogen projectors are different.
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Re: HID=Bad, Halogen=Good

.....


a projector is a lens, that angles light. it doesnt matter how bright it is or anything.

basically, there are no problems if you buy an HID kit. as long as you properly instally it.
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Re: HID=Bad, Halogen=Good

[quote author=small town king link=topic=66352.msg1138281#msg1138281 date=1168233485]
.....


a projector is a lens, that angles light. it doesnt matter how bright it is or anything.

basically, there are no problems if you buy an HID kit. as long as you properly instally it.
[/quote]

Again, +1
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Re: HID=Bad, Halogen=Good

soo how would more powerfully hid like bulbs melt somehting ?
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Re: HID=Bad, Halogen=Good

well, at some point the plastic housing will melt.

but i'm sure if that was the case with any of the hid kits, we would've heard about someone melting their housing by now.

and also, i'm sure in some cases HIDs may even be colder, not by a lot, than some halogen lights.
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Re: HID=Bad, Halogen=Good

i dissagree, the projector is the whole assembly the lens is what it is, a lens. Projectors are made op of a Peflector which reflects all usable light to the lens which magnifies that light onto the road. The halogen lens is more curved which amplifies the intensity of the light leaving it due to the fact that halogen bulbs are not as bright it needs to compensate for that. so throw in a super bright HID bulb and you have yourself the same affect of looking at the sun through a magnifying glass. Poor ants. :klavergreg:
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Re: HID=Bad, Halogen=Good

no man. theres so many things wrong with this.


a projector is a lens. it PROJECTS the light onto the road. it PROJECTS it NOT into the eyes of other motorists.

the HOUSING is the whole thing. it HOUSES the lights.

the halogen lens? no. the lens you are speakign of, is a projector, and theres a little metal strip right before the lens, that actually cuts off the light, and makes it flat. the projector angles the light, no matter how bright halogen or HID onto the road at the proper angles.




bottom line. there are no problems with adding an aftermarket HID kit. AT ALL.

end of story.
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Re: HID=Bad, Halogen=Good

I was referring to high beams .. i got 100w that produce 150w .. i was told that would melt everything cuz the highs are only 55w ! but i guess it could apply too the HIDs too
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Re: HID=Bad, Halogen=Good

Placing halogens in a projector setup was a bad idea to start with. Aiming them up will help, but having another driver do this and driving towards him I noticed it was just as bad as having the high beams on. I'm sure they developed a good oem hid projector system, but halogens with a cutoff is dangerous.

The kits aren't the best, there is quite a bit of glare (thanks in part to the three holes in the chrome housing) and there's no flicker making it painfully obvious the setup is just a kit. The best solution is a retrofit, but that's too expensive, but hey the proofs in the pictures that have been posted in the hid showoff thread.
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Re: HID=Bad, Halogen=Good

ok i obviously cant explain a projector to you but you said it yourself " the right angle" which is my whole drive for thes topic. I already know how a "Projector" is built i have taken them apart. and i know about the metal cutoff piece and all that. what im saying is the aftermarket HID kit is WAY brighter BELOW the cutoff line so when ever you hit a bump in the road, go up a hill, down a hill, over speed bumps, hit a cat, over train tracks, or you just didn't bother to lower your lights after installing the kit, and there is a car coming in the other lane it is EXTEMELY bright to them. granted factory HIDs are bright but not nearly as bright as aftermarket ones. ( because they are built differently) i challenge you to find out for yourself if you dot believe me or ask anyone here even the sponsors.
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Re: HID=Bad, Halogen=Good

yeah, that just has to deal with if you installed them properly.

[quote author=small town king link=topic=66352.msg1138281#msg1138281 date=1168233485]
.....


a projector is a lens, that angles light. it doesnt matter how bright it is or anything.

basically, there are no problems if you buy an HID kit. as long as you properly instally it.
[/quote]

that includes angling it properly.
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Re: HID=Bad, Halogen=Good

my point exactly man you have to angle them so low that you actually lose light distance unless you like to blind people then these work great. I have had a kit before and i installed it right and angled them to the point where they were below oncoming traffics eye and i lost light distance compared to Halogen. In otherwards i speak from experience ok i tried to make the kit work believe me a spent 250 bucks on it but in the end it wasnt as good in my opinion. And thats all i want is peoples opinions.
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Re: HID=Bad, Halogen=Good

I've seen my HID kit from every perspective possible, which includes being in another car and observing a friend drive my car with the HID active. I've seen it from the rear, head on, and also in a 2 lane street to see how the light appears as it gets closer to me. The lights are properly aimed, and there is no glare. None. The lights are a pure white, and look no different than any BMW or Acura I see around me at night.
The fact is, for every HID kit that has blinded me in the street by morons who can't install them right, I have come across another 10 halogen lights that blind just as bad as brights would.
Your experience will come from the kit you buy, and the quality of it. If you buy some ebay special, be prepared to get what you paid for. I personally own a 4300k Apexcone 35watt kit. The lighting is pure white, and the output is particulary amazing in the total dark highways I take to and from school at Western Illinois. I have never been flashed once.
Assuming you installed the bulbs correctly and buy a quality kit, there will be no issues in this car. That being said, every light housing is different. Something that looks great in our light housing could be terrible for a Chevy or what have you. The stock halogen projectors emit no more of a bright light than any reasonable HID light out there. That's a fact. If you had a bad experience with a product, go return it and stick some yellow halogens in your car. If you install it correctly, there will be no issue. There is no argument past that in the case of this car.
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Re: HID=Bad, Halogen=Good

Thank you for your opinion mummyman
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