Okay Guys with projectors and HID's help me out, what exactly is HID, and a projector, how do they differ from eachother and what is the deal with the lightbulbs, does anyone have a key as to what temp is what color? Im trying to decide wether or not to do anything with my stock headlights but I dont even know where to begin. Thanks

 

you acknowledge that this is asked a lot, yet you dont bother to search? try just an internet search, theres no shortage of info out there.

 

Actually yes, I did search, yet the info I found was rather lacking. Im not looking to purchase a set of ebay projectors and I dont wish to modify them to a hid kit, and Im not asking which vendor on ebay you got you halo's from. I would simply like to understand what exactly a projector and a hid are, what do the do and what are the differences.

 

a projector headlight assembly is pretty much a fancy housing for the lamp (halogen or HID) that "projects" the light from a reflector bowl through a round lens. You have no doubt seen these type of headlights on BMW, Audi, new vette, etc. There are two different types as well. Some are made for halogen lamps, others for HID lamps.

HID stands for High Intensity Discharge. Rather than using a filament like a normal lamp, there is a capsule that is ignited to discharge light. HID lights are roughly 3x as bright as normal halogen.

check out hidplanet.com/forums for all the info you should need but this should be a very basic explanation.

 

Thanks, thats exactly what I wanted to know!

 

HID = High Intensity Discharge
Its a bulb and ballast assembly. Instead of a filament glowing in a glass tube (incandescent & halogen), HID is a arc of electricity at a high voltage in a glass tube.

Projector Housing
Its a light housing with a reflector "bowl" in the rear, cut-off shield in the middle, and curved glass focus in front. It produces a wide even light pattern with a sharp flat or stepped line with light below and little to no light above. Some projectors are halogen, some are HID.

Reflector Housing
Standard incandescent & Halogen housing with a reflector in the rear and either Clear or Fresnel or Parabolic glass in front. The cut-off and general pattern is not as well defined as a projector. There is no cut-off shield. The beam pattern is determined by the glass pattern and reflector shape. Almost all reflector housings are halogen or incandescent. Only a couple HID reflector setups were available from the OEMs.


Check out the Lighting FAQ for some more info on Headlight upgrades and projectors. HID Planet is also a great place for information.


Another important note:
The K number is the color temp. It is not the brightness (well not directly, I'll explain). 4000K - 5000K is the brightest and whitest. Continuing up the color scale, the light gets bluer then purpler and the lumens output (the actual measurement of light) decreases. In other words, 6000K, 8000K, 10000K HID kits are dimmer than a 4300K HID kit. Our eyes are least sensitive to blue light. Blue light also scatters more easily. In the end, we can see better with a 4300K HID kit for many reasons.

You shouldn't install HID in the High Beam location because they can't be flashed quickly. You'd loose the ability to signal other drivers with the high beams. Vehicles that come from the factory with HID high beam have Bi-Xenon projectors. Its one projector housing for low beam and high beam with a movable cut-off shield. For the high beam, the cut-off shield rises to let more light upwards like a standard high beam pattern.



Here is an example of what a projector looks like:
(The one on the left)

BTW, that projector is in a sealed housing, most are not. In which case, you'd have to make a sealed housing.
Here are some examples of bare projectors:


(Not my hand.)


Here is an example of a projector beam pattern:

(My 2001 Formula with Hella 90mm H9 projector, modified cut-off, and 4300K HID kit.)

 

Here is a good read from HID Planet:

"HID newb crash course [Learn the basics here]"
http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2080

 

VIP1: as always, a plethora of information. very nice.

Btw, my bi-xenon retro for my lt1 bird is under way and it's going to work out really well. I should be done in the next few weeks.

-Brian

 

vip how do you like that h9 projector with that?

 

Thanks.

Cool. If you put together a write-up or update into a thread, I'll put a link to it in the Lighting FAQ.

I like it a lot!

 

Awesome, I may be taking my e46s to do a retrofit on a GTI I'm buying for a DD. THis civic has no a/c and in florida even in the winter sucks!

I still have my D2S Hella Projectors but they are way to big so I'm going to get rid of those. I know the H7 or H9 will fit perfectly.

 

The e46 is a better projector and its a true HID projector, but its a more difficult install on a Firebird than the Hella 90mm H9 projector.