HID vs brighter bulbs | GTAMotorcycle.com

HID vs brighter bulbs

ifiddles

ifiddles

Well-known member
newbie here, so i am unsure of what this means...have an 09 kawasaki vulcan 500 and was thinking of putting in an HID kit...however, kahuna powersports suggested just putting in a brighter bulb...so i started looking online and was overwhelmed with all the options...was on the piaa website and they have 5 different bulbs available for the H4 series...they all show 12V 60/55 watt, but they all have different kelvin ranges for temperature...i'm assuming this means how hot or how much heat the bulbs emits???...i'm also assuming that if you go past a certain range, you run the risk of melting the headlamp cover...am i correct in this assumption and if so, how do i know what the maximum kelvin i can go?

p.s...i was looking at the posts on the HID kits from zaris cycle and their kijiji ads states their bulbs go as high as 8000K...
 
for HID try and stay with in the 4500-6000k range anymore and the light goes from white/blue- blueish up to purple. Unles you are going to do a complete retro fit in your headlight the Vulcan will not have a focused light beam and will spray everywhere annoying other drivers. just my 2 cents
 
ifiddles said:
i'm also assuming that if you go past a certain range, you run the risk of melting the headlamp cover...am i correct in this assumption and if so, how do i know what the maximum kelvin i can go?

p.s...i was looking at the posts on the HID kits from zaris cycle and their kijiji ads states their bulbs go as high as 8000K...
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The K temperature refers to the "temperature" of the light output and is more a reference to colour tint than it is to the heat put out by the bulb. The best usable light output will come from 4300K bulbs. A 6000K bulb will have a slight blue tinge and will put out slightly less usable light, but is still quite usable.

Going higher will put you into blue and ultimately purple light output that becomes more and more useless as far as being able to light up the road and things on it ahead of you. The 8000K you saw on Kijiji will look different but it will be a poor performer as far as putting any sort of useful light on the road ahead of you.
 
you need to stay close to the 60/55 watt range. your charging system cant handle the extra power drain and harm the battery/ stator, its a balanced system of wattage.
 
ifiddles, glad you asked!

I did about two months research on HID vs Halogen for my car's retrofit. I learned hell of a lot about light output all the way to how blue light can cause fatigue and headaches.

I suggest you read the literature part: http://sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=6311

This will educate you on all the terminology and how it all fits together.

If you chose to do a retrofit, then I suggest you visit www.hidplanet.com/forum or message user oren102 as he does retrofits for a living and can help you out getting the best light output at a good cost!
 
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Please god will people stop dropping in HID bulbs without a proper projector. If your vehicle came equipped with HID's, or if you are changing the entire housing to one designed for HID's go nuts, but if it is just a bulb change you will blind everyone and increase bike hate. You cannot just drop HID bulbs into normal housings and expect that the pattern will be acceptable.
 
Stewart said:
you need to stay close to the 60/55 watt range. your charging system cant handle the extra power drain and harm the battery/ stator, its a balanced system of wattage.
Click to expand...

Even if your stator and rectifier can handle the additional load from high wattage bulbs, high wattage usually means more heat. I've seen light housings melted by people who have melted their housing and lens after putting in 100/90 watt headlight bulbs.
 
A few years ago I wanted a brighter head light as well. I tried a Phillips X-treme Power bulb and love them. Way more light than the old halogen, street legal and installs in minutes. They also seem to last, I am starting my 3rd season on the same bulb.

Link: http://www.lighting.philips.com/ca_...arent=79912999330&id=ca_en_automotive&lang=en

I purchased mine from the UK, but I think you can get them in Canada now.
 
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