Waggin,
In that case you obviously fall under the first category.
"If you have a single Xenon bulb, well there is only one function, depending how you have connected them it will be either Hi or Lo. ".



MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT HID Bulbs etc.

There are many companies and private merchants out there that will advertise 7000K, 8000K, and even 12000K HID kits. Most of these vendors lurk around on eBay, online car forums, websites, and ricer accessory shops. Most of these people don’t know much about the product, THEY JUST sell them. Ask a couple of semi intelligent questions and you will soon find out.

100% of the people that buy these kits do so because they are uninformed or misguided in the field of lighting, and will buy these junk kits thinking three things:
1- that these bulbs are brighter,
2- that these bulbs should cost more money,
3- that they will perform better.

All three statements are COMPLETELT FALSE. Perhaps this misconception and frenzy for purple lights originates from BMW and Audi's infamous Hella projector HIDs.
So here is a the real truth of the matter...
Philips is the number one manufacturer of HID bulbs. The Philips OEM D2S bulb is rated at 4100K at 12.8 volts and produces 3200 lumens of light.
The Philips Ultinon D2S is 5800K at 12.8 volts and produces 2400 lumens of light.
As you can see, with all other factors remaining constant, the brightness of an HID bulb declines the higher up the colour index you go.
One of the Korean bulb manufacturer, makes a 8000K bulb, which they used to advertise on eBay and Forums as 2000 lumens bright.
This is barely a marked improvement over halogens, and will produce more glare and eye fatigue than it is beneficial.
4100K has been proven through tireless independent research by the Germans, Japanese, and Americans to be the most functional, truest white and thus the brightest possible colour temperature
Every car manufacturer in the world (including BMW, MB and Audi) uses none other than a standard 4100K gas-discharge bulb.
No exceptions. The reason being is that 4100K is daylight white in colour and produces the same colour visible light as direct sunlight.
This is least fatiguing functional colour on the eyes and produces the most comfortable contrast on the road.

So, beware.

Have fun,
mavs19

are the phillips globes a good cheaper option. do they look blue/white?

Highly illuminating! no pun intended! It is always a joy to listen to someone who really does know of what they speak.
Thanks for the information, I will be able to use it beat my eldest boy about the head with! - suzuki swift, yada yada, rice, rice.
Thanks mavs19.

HID bulbs come in two common standards today known as: D2S and D2R. D2S uses the D2 base and a clear, naked bulb. D2R uses the same D2 base and a bulb with a metallic strip along one edge to combat unwanted glare in the reflector headlamp.

So in OEM HID applications D2R is used in reflector-type HID assemblies whereas D2S is used in projector-type assemblies.

When you're purchasing an HID kit, you want to go with a D2S bulb because it emits slightly more light than the D2R.

As far as colour selection goes, there are two main colour temperatures out there: 4100 Kelvin, which is OEM colour, and 6000 Kelvin, which is aftermarket colour.

There is no reason for buying anything other than 4100K OEM.

However, some people like blue light and are willing to pay extra money for extra blueness and less brightness…..thus the 6000K and above market.

I'm sure the reason isn't because people like to see everything on the road in “bluescaleâ€￾, but because they want their headlights to appear blue to onlookers.

Their resoning: "It looks cool"...... At the same time some of these guys wing about Neon…..Hah.

The safest, most dependable bulb manufacturers to go with are quite simply Philips and Osram-Sylvania. . Both are incredibly reliable brands though.
Even the Japanese cars that use Japanese ballasts and Japanese projectors will still use German bulbs. Philips and Osram bulbs have a lifespan of between 2000-2500 hours (the longest in production).
Studies have shown that the average "alternative" Taiwanese and Korean-made bulbs last as little as 176 hours or so.
This is largely due to massive defects attributed to poor manufacturing technique, workmanship, quality control, and distribution channels.
These other smaller companies simply lack the major R&D money needed.

So, Why do BMW & Audi lights appear blue when they use a white bulb?
Well, this coloration is the result of the light projectors; the lenses: it's curvature, the tiny grooves etched into it; the projector assembly, the shield, and the reflector bowl.

On the Audi and BMW projectors, the lens curvature at the edge bends the white light producing a "prism effect".
White light is broken down to it's fundamental colours.
Since blue lights is high energy, it is absorbed last and thus travels f@rt.
So with this prism effect, you'll notice that BMW HIDs are only purple and blue from the sides, the top, and the bottom edges, but are always daylight white on the road and in the beam pattern.

Trying to emulate this colour-flickering effect with a solid-state blue or purple bulb is only detrimental to lighting performance, it doesn't fool anyone, but most importantly it endangers other motorists around you.

A blue HID bulb will produce colour bleed around the headlight, around the objects it lights up, outside of the beam pattern, and around the cut off line. This is effect is known as "glare".

I am sure this is illegal. Also improperly installed HID kits are the major reason why HIDs will get a bad wrap. Another chaper to this saga.

I am not sure of the cost of Phillips bulbs, but, you could call a local reputable spare parts or car electrical outlet.

Have fun,
mavs19

I had a lookk at pics of the D2R and D2S globes ... and mine looks identical to the D2R with the metallic shield strip alogn the bottom edge of the globe ... suited to fit in the H4 socket.

The shield is V-shaped

The bulb type and the fittings type are 2 different issues.
The reason being, the original type of Projector Reflectors used for these bulbs by BMW and MB.
Later on when the After Market bulbs were released in the market, different smaller manufacturers use either D2R or D2S. This is mainly due to the cost factor. The cost of buying the initial machines for the manufacturing of the 2 types of Xenon bulbs.

Have fun,
mavs19

can u even buy a ford with xenon or bi xenon lights? i havent seen any.

Yes you can, but only in the US and European markets.

Have fun,
mavs19

yeah i meant australian makes but didnt think u could. i love xenons they are so good especially in the Bmw 5 series iv been driving with active headlights that turn into corners. shouldnt be long before falcons get them i guess. are expensive though $450 for the xenon globe.

The only Falcon/s I am aware of with a proper Projector Xenon HID set up on the roads in Au, is the one I am driving. Which is an experimental set up.
The Projector and the Xenon bulbs, discharge etc. all come from a BMW 5 series.

I don't think that Ford Au will ever release Falcons with a complete headlight set up like BMW. It would make the car too expensive.
Maybe as an optional accessory.
However, as set of projector Xenon HID on a Falcon Next Generation would not surprise me too much.
It looks like that there is a race between Ford and Holden, to see who gets the first Projector HID out first.
Rumours are that a company in Perth also Hella Australia are experimenting with Headlight Assys fitted (at the moment retrofitted) with a Projector Xenon HID set ups.
So let's see who is the first to release their New

Have fun,
mavs19

Well so far Holden has beaten Ford to the Projector headlight as it is ... it's not too much fiddling to fit the HID into production at all.

I can't wait till i get time to open my headlights up and mount a projector in the AU headlights so i can put the HID globe behind it.

Mechan1k,

If you are going to retrofit Projectors, then you will have to abide by the fitting installed by the manufacturer in the projector in question.
.
Anyhow, if you don’t like the fitting, say if the projectors are housing a H1 and you want to have, H4s you need to get a conversion plate.

The focal point is already decided by the manufacturers of the projectors.
It is fine tuned to the reflector, the bulb, the lens and the distance between the lens and the housing.
So you don’t need to do or change anything there. Just keep it standard.
All (by all I mean the few days you need to spend, planning and thinking before you start doing anything to the headlight units etc…) you have to do is: remove the headlight assy , remove the glass (Be very, very careful), if need be remove the exsecting reflector, cut a round hole (large enough to fit the projector, well at least the portion of it that fits in the housing behind the glass) then insert the Xenon bulb connect to the discharge unit, test run.
If it works and the light pattern is perfect then glue back the glass and re-assemble the headlight unit.

I may even reveal a trick or two about retrofitting and how to get a perfect beam pattern etc……

By the way, What type of reflector do you have? Are they Parabolic or Ellipsoidal?
What type of bulb fitting in the projectors?
Can you send me a picture?

I would rather have this post and rest of this communication in the HID thread so everyone else can follow it. Is OK with you?
As mentioned Pic in this thread.
Have fun,
mavs19

Nice indeed.

I will be speaking with Fuzion ... as he can get the Mazda6 projectors ... and I'll have a look at my Fiancee's Brother's Mazda6 and see what factory globes they use.

Interesting about the conversion plate though ... I might be able to use the H4 globe.

I still need to look at what's causing my system to stay on low beam as well (I have been meaning to work on this to show you too).

I know i have to be careful with the headlight housing .... will be getting some help here.

I have the aftermarket headlight from ozeparts for the AU headlight ... looks more like a parabolic headlight than the Ellipsoidal


Sorry about the .gif ... only way to post a pic of it up here.

I want to mount the projector so that I can still use my up/down adjustor on the back of my headlight so i still have some adjustment available.

The projectors are being mounted in the same place as the original reflectors.
So, all your adjustments are going to be intact.

Projectors are going to be mounted in centre of the original main reflector.
Whether you secede to keep the original reflectors or get rid of them is up to you. You will find out as soon as you have cut the hole for the projectors, if you can keep them or must get rid of them.

My question “What type of reflector do you have? Are they Parabolic or Ellipsoidal?â€￾
Was in regards to the projectors not the headlight assy.
The shape of the projector reflectors decide the type of bulb you can use.
D2R = Parabolic
D2S = Ellipsoidal.

The reason most (for exception of a handful) people can’t get their After Market HID Xenon Kits working properly and they have problem with getting the correct pattern and get glare is due to wrong choice of bulb.

If you look at each original reflector and the type of Halogen bulb being used with that specific reflector. You start understanding that each reflector has been carefully tuned and adjusted to the bulb in question.

What happens if you insert a H1 in a H3 reflector??
The beam pattern will be altered due to the changes made by the length difference between H1 and H3 bulbs. The focal centre of the reflector / H3 will be changed and since H1 is longer you will not have any focal point at all.

Looking at Halogen vs. HID Xenon bulbs supplied with the kits, you will see that all Halogen bulbs are of different length. As all HID Xenon bulbs are more or less of the same length.
And, as we all know by now, HID Xenon bulb do not have filaments.
That is why you have so much difficulty in getting a beam pattern and get glare when you install an After Market HID Xenon kit to a Halogen headlight assy.

The problem can be fixed, but, you need to spend some time to fix it.
You need to fid (or create) a focal centre fro the beam emitted from the HID Xenon bulb.
Picture bellow shows the problem.The dotted line is the correct reflection.

Now, that can be a tall order or a piece of cake.

By the way, if you have access to a vehicle with OEM HID Xenon Projectors, take a look at the beam pattern.
Then you know how yours should look like.


Have fun,
mavs19

 

 

Attachments:

reflection-bottom-headlight.gif [ 3.21 KiB | Viewed 1026 times ]

With the reflector in the existing headlight ... does it start peeling up (the coating) when you start to cut it??? I am presuming that's why you are asking whether I wil keep it or not.

Not sure if it would be a good idea to get rid of it or not ... I think getting rid of it might stop some stray light issues.

Ahhh ... I think i know what you mean now ... seeing as the Mitsu Magna uses the Parabolic headlights ... it uses a H1 (or a H7 I think) for the low beam ... not a dual-filament H4 like the AU Falcon.



Like what happened to Brad (Waggin) when he put the H3 HID in his outer XR projector light (meant for a H1).

I found with my H4 halogen ... it was the same length as my HID globe (from the base of the globe section to the end of the globe).

I think with the Mazda Projectors ... I will need to see what the length of the current Halogen globes and see if they are the same.

Then I doubt the high/low function will work in the projector as well ... I highly doubt the beam will be what I am expecting with the H4.

I might have a look at some Honda S2000 lights (a mate at work has one) ... and see what globe they use in them.

I know at the moment I am having issues like when you are showing in the above picture ... with the light bouncing off the bottom reflecter of the headlight and shining light up instead of down.