6000K Xentec HID Installed

[Whelan]

I just received and installed my Xentec 6000K HID kit in my 05 Matrix XR AWD. The difference is incredible. I properly adjusted the lighting and there is no glare, you can tell by the nice cutoff and even line I got with the pics on the wall. The kit cost only $75 and is very impressive. I made sure the coloring was pretty much what you find in a stock Toyota like the Prius or Sienna. I also have a set of HIR bulbs in the foglamps, these are Halogen Infra-red that reflect the IR light back onto the filament making a brighter burn with no extra power usage. The result is a bulb that puts out 1700 lumens as opposed to a stock bulbs 900-1000. Equals 80% the output of an HID bulb. I also have yellow overlays on the foglamps too.

Enjoy!

First a few pics of just the HIDs, you can tell the HIRs in the foglamps are noticeably brighter than the 9006 OEMs were


[img]http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL96/791929/18839871/299927052.jpg]/img]



Beam Length, again note the foglamps brightness now


Closeup of lens



Against a Wall comparison
HIRs


HIDs

[johnd651]

Re: 6000K Xentec HID Installed

wow....really nice...ive been debating updating to HID's but i still need to put strobes into my headlights and tailights, and they get prioroty

[BlueZero]

Re: 6000K Xentec HID Installed

Looks good!

I've been trying to find a yellow upgrade for my fog lights. So your bulb is white but there is a yellow film over the lens?

[Whelan]

Re: 6000K Xentec HID Installed

Correct!

I got them from a buddy on Matrixowners.com named Ycart. He sells all kinds of high quality vinyls and graphics. These were custom made for the car. I am sure if you contact him through his sight and give him some dimensions he can help you out. They were less than $25 and well worth the money! http://importequipment.com/

I went with the overlays because the yellow bulbs you can by fade over time and get really pale yellow as the coloring peels off. With the overlay, same color, and you can use whatever bulb you choose.

Another options is the Lexus bulb capsules, found at the link below the pics But for some lights they require installing them inside the light for use, not just slipping over the bulb.




Here are the capsules offered
http://hidtech.com/

[PorscheGuy997]

Re: 6000K Xentec HID Installed

Looks Good!

I just installed Silvania Silverstars in my car - headlights and foglights. I could not believe how much clearer and farther I can see.

Replacing the bulbs was one of the best upgrades I have done.

[Whelan]

Re: 6000K Xentec HID Installed

Keep an eye on the Silverstars, I used to use those and went through a set every 3 months. The lifespan was not up to par at only 300 hours compared to at least 1000 for a standard halogen.

The Silverstar Ultras have a slightly longer span at 700 hours. But I do a lot of night driving so they burnt out faster.

[BlueZero]

Re: 6000K Xentec HID Installed

Thanks for the information Whelan!

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: 6000K Xentec HID Installed

Whelan, lights look great. Good luck with them. Thanks for the info.

[mckeand13]

Re: 6000K Xentec HID Installed

I'm not here to bash in any way. A lot of people on this board have been very helpful to me. I just want to make sure people are educated and make the right decisions.

Please. Stop fooling yourselves into thinking that your HID kits and Silverstar bulbs are giving you MORE light. You are getting less output in a different color.

Do yourselves a favor and google "Daniel Stern Lighting" He is regarded by many as the automotive lighting guru. Ask him directly about applications for your vehicle.

Here are a couple of links to get you started. You'll be pulling your Siverstars and throwing them in the trash, if they haven't burned out already that is.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/home.html

The FAQ is down right now. Wait until it's back and read. It's great info.

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=10077

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45991

[Whelan]

Re: 6000K Xentec HID Installed

I can counter this in a way. I know Danielstern is considered the bible of lighting on the net. But I originally used Silverstars in my Civic. More light, no, better color, yes. The lifespan of a Silverstar is rated at 300 hours and the output is approximately 750 lumens.

Just for a side note the stock halogen in most cars puts out between 700 and 1000 lumens.

And another note, lumens is the true predictor of light output, not Kelvin or Watts. Kelvin is the color temp of the bulb/light and Watts is simply the power required on the bulbs.

A lot of PIAA bulbs run higher than 50-55watts. And a lot of those aftermarket colored bulbs run into the 85-100+ watt range. Unless you have a high watt adapter harness you could run the risk of melting your wires. They use higher wattage to put out the same amount of light of a stock bulb. The lens is colored either with the glass being changed or a film put on the bulb itself. Over time the coloring fades with the heat and the draw on your system is pointless.

I made the switch to my Matrix to HIR. This is Halogen Infra-red. It was patented by GE years ago after John Deere came to them with the issue of creating an HID like light but would run on the stock harness. Thus they created the HIR. It was eventually sold off to Toshiba who is now the sole creator of these bulbs for John Deere. They come in 9012 and 9011. The only difference between these and a 9006 and 9005 is that one of the tabs on the bulb is slightly larger. A quick trim will fix this and many people have made this change including myself. An HIR bulb is more of a bulbous shape than the typical capsule and has a rainbow reflective coating. This coating reflects the infra-red light from the filament back onto itself, thus making the filament burn brighter while still using the stock 50-55 watts of a convential halogen. The result is a lumen output of approximately 1700+. Your stock high beam outputs at 1850. And your stock low beam as stated is 700 to 1000 lumens. They worked great, have the same 1000 hour lifespan of a regular halogen and are only available through one seller on Ebay or from your local John Deere dealer. JD eventually caught on and the price of a bulb went from $9 to $20 a bulb. FYI these bulbs are stock in the original Viper and a few other cars. Bulbs can be bought from GM for these cars for almost $100 a set.

Moving along I made the switch and put the HIDs in my car. HIDs that are aftermarket use the Kelvin scale for color to match or exceed a stock BMW or Audi HID in color. A typical HID stock for one of these cars is 4300K, which outputs just over 3000 lumens. The projector lens on these cars is what gives them the color and the output. Therefore an aftermarket kit compensates with coloring. The higher the Kelvin temp the bluer or more purple a light will be. Typically 4300-6k is the norm for an HID aftermarket. I chose 6k and they match the Toyota Sienna and Prius perfectly in color, thus looking stock.

It is true if your lens is not designed for HIDs then it will have a glare point and refract more light. But if adjusted properly they will produce more light output than a halogen will. Most projectors and clear lenses have cutoffs for the HIDs they come equipped with. Thus you have 2 different kinds of HID bulbs. D2R and D2S. One is for projector and one is for reflective lenses. Some companies to make shields and others have created their own to allow the light to have a sharp cutoff point to reduce glare.

But in the end, the HID if adjusted properly and the right temp is selected can and will output more than a stock halogen. The 6k kit that I have installed outputs at about 2800 lumens. Well beyond even the highbeam output. An 8k kit which is much more blue will output at around 2300 and it gets less as you go more.

Reflection off of signs and street markings with fluorescent covers or paints will be noticeable at a farther distance.

Bottom line is the most visible color by the human eye is green. But we don't drive around with green headlights. At nighttime, red light is less straining on the eyes, hence on boats the night lights are mostly red.

I do realize that I have a glare point on my car, but I have adjusted mine so that the glare is minimal and I still get a greater output on my low beams.

I moved my HIR bulbs to my foglamps to enhance my yellow overlays so that in foul and inclement weather they help me to see. Yellow light in the fogs does one very important thing. When rain or snow or any moisture is on the road, the road is wet and light is refracted off of it at different angles and intensities, thus making it harder to see. Most fog lamps are white stock but this does not always help. The yellow tint allows the lens to essentially cut through the light refraction given off by your headlights allowing them to be more effective and giving you better visibility in foul weather.

[mckeand13]

Re: 6000K Xentec HID Installed

I can counter this in a way. I know Danielstern is considered the bible of lighting on the net. But I originally used Silverstars in my Civic. More light, no, better color, yes. The lifespan of a Silverstar is rated at 300 hours and the output is approximately 750 lumens.

Just for a side note the stock halogen in most cars puts out between 700 and 1000 lumens.

And another note, lumens is the true predictor of light output, not Kelvin or Watts. Kelvin is the color temp of the bulb/light and Watts is simply the power required on the bulbs.

A lot of PIAA bulbs run higher than 50-55watts. And a lot of those aftermarket colored bulbs run into the 85-100+ watt range. Unless you have a high watt adapter harness you could run the risk of melting your wires. They use higher wattage to put out the same amount of light of a stock bulb. The lens is colored either with the glass being changed or a film put on the bulb itself. Over time the coloring fades with the heat and the draw on your system is pointless.

I made the switch to my Matrix to HIR. This is Halogen Infra-red. It was patented by GE years ago after John Deere came to them with the issue of creating an HID like light but would run on the stock harness. Thus they created the HIR. It was eventually sold off to Toshiba who is now the sole creator of these bulbs for John Deere. They come in 9012 and 9011. The only difference between these and a 9006 and 9005 is that one of the tabs on the bulb is slightly larger. A quick trim will fix this and many people have made this change including myself. An HIR bulb is more of a bulbous shape than the typical capsule and has a rainbow reflective coating. This coating reflects the infra-red light from the filament back onto itself, thus making the filament burn brighter while still using the stock 50-55 watts of a convential halogen. The result is a lumen output of approximately 1700+. Your stock high beam outputs at 1850. And your stock low beam as stated is 700 to 1000 lumens. They worked great, have the same 1000 hour lifespan of a regular halogen and are only available through one seller on Ebay or from your local John Deere dealer. JD eventually caught on and the price of a bulb went from $9 to $20 a bulb. FYI these bulbs are stock in the original Viper and a few other cars. Bulbs can be bought from GM for these cars for almost $100 a set.

Moving along I made the switch and put the HIDs in my car. HIDs that are aftermarket use the Kelvin scale for color to match or exceed a stock BMW or Audi HID in color. A typical HID stock for one of these cars is 4300K, which outputs just over 3000 lumens. The projector lens on these cars is what gives them the color and the output. Therefore an aftermarket kit compensates with coloring. The higher the Kelvin temp the bluer or more purple a light will be. Typically 4300-6k is the norm for an HID aftermarket. I chose 6k and they match the Toyota Sienna and Prius perfectly in color, thus looking stock.

It is true if your lens is not designed for HIDs then it will have a glare point and refract more light. But if adjusted properly they will produce more light output than a halogen will. Most projectors and clear lenses have cutoffs for the HIDs they come equipped with. Thus you have 2 different kinds of HID bulbs. D2R and D2S. One is for projector and one is for reflective lenses. Some companies to make shields and others have created their own to allow the light to have a sharp cutoff point to reduce glare.

But in the end, the HID if adjusted properly and the right temp is selected can and will output more than a stock halogen. The 6k kit that I have installed outputs at about 2800 lumens. Well beyond even the highbeam output. An 8k kit which is much more blue will output at around 2300 and it gets less as you go more.

Reflection off of signs and street markings with fluorescent covers or paints will be noticeable at a farther distance.

Bottom line is the most visible color by the human eye is green. But we don't drive around with green headlights. At nighttime, red light is less straining on the eyes, hence on boats the night lights are mostly red.

I do realize that I have a glare point on my car, but I have adjusted mine so that the glare is minimal and I still get a greater output on my low beams.

I moved my HIR bulbs to my foglamps to enhance my yellow overlays so that in foul and inclement weather they help me to see. Yellow light in the fogs does one very important thing. When rain or snow or any moisture is on the road, the road is wet and light is refracted off of it at different angles and intensities, thus making it harder to see. Most fog lamps are white stock but this does not always help. The yellow tint allows the lens to essentially cut through the light refraction given off by your headlights allowing them to be more effective and giving you better visibility in foul weather.

I agree with most of what you have said as you are stating fact.

The problem is that most HID "kits" use the stock reflector which is not deigned to be an HID light. This is obvious when looking at the pictures you have posted.

By law and correct design, automotive lighting is supposed to have a low beam cutoff. This is very apparent when looking looking at the picture of your HIR's on the wall. A very flat light with a distinct line showing no light above it. The intent is to focus the light where you need it, down the road AND not into oncoming drivers eyes.

Now look at your HID pictures. No distinct line, but rather a cross which is likely projecting some light much too high.

Point being, HID's need to be designed as a system, not a retrofit.

[Whelan]

Re: 6000K Xentec HID Installed

Oh I agree with that.

1) against the law pretty much everywhere to do it the way I and most others do.

2) Only alternative for a car that is not equipped with them is to retrofit using projectors or lenses from a car that uses HID. Hence you can get Acura projectors for a few hundred off Ebay. But a total custom install will run you at least $600.

I did my darndest to make sure they did not have an obnoxious color like some jerk kids do. I also aimed them as best I could. I parked it down the road and got in my Dad's car and drove by it a few times with the lights in front of me and in my rearview. In order for that really bright glare to become apparent you need to physically stand in front of the car and bend down till you are almost level if not a little lower than the lights themselves.

Of course when going up a hill or such the light will be moved up, but I have been hit in the eyes by HIDs many times in that case.

The lens is not designed for them, but I would still have to say the light output is greater than stock. Could it be better if I retrofitted the proper lens or projector, absolutely, but since I am not looking to expand to a huge budget at the moment these are working just fine.