Perfect example why HID "kits" don't cut it.

[xplode]

It is a bad comparison...the wall is lit up by auxiliary lighting, and who the hell cares about the side profile of a beam pattern? The point still stands that the Mercedes has wayyy better optics, even with the (H7?) halogen projectors...but that doesn't mean that having HIDs in reflector headlights are pointless, as many manufacturers still do it (Nissan, Toyota). I must admit though, in the last year and a half or so a lot of car companies switched to projectors, which is good for junkyard shoppers, but regardless...some people (like myself and BustedLX) don't like the look of projectors; if our headlights were more cloudy/ribbed then maybe...but I just don't like the look. And anyway, if I can just mod my headlight housing slightly and get decent optics then why not? Projectors are expensive, and I'll lose them or have to buy new headlights when I sell the car. By just adding a piece of metal to the bulb shield I can have decent optics and change them back to stock when the car goes.

What I REALLY want are the RHD ECE Euro 1-pieces...I think USC has them on his whip. While I know they're rare and expensive and probably not as functional as projectors they'll def. work, especially blackhoused.

GEtting ahold of ecodes is going to cost you atleast 600 before shipping.. but then again you wont have to worry bout spending that because its almost impossible to get them anymore . its illegal for authorized honda dealerships to ship a ecode headlamp to US. different standards therefore illegal so ur better off shielding ur oems..

[usc]

Busted: You can get somewhat similar results with OEM housings but you just need to find a way to fabricate an under-belly shield that covers the lower 1/2 of the HID capsule when inserted into the housing. Majority of retrofit glare (from halogen reflector housings) comes directly from the lower 1/3-1/2 of the reflector at the back of the housing. The stray light from the bottom of the housing doesn't account for the glare that travels directly into oncoming motorists. The upper 1/2-2/3 of the reflector reflects the light downward/forward. The quality (width/smoothness) of one's beam pattern primarily derives from the reflector dish in the back of the housing, not so much the light source.

The benefit of H4 housings is that it was designed for both high and low beams. The low beam pattern is isolated with a built-in underbelly shield in the bulb itself. This prevents/reduces the amount of light that hits the lower 1/3 of the reflector. But if you simply stick an unshield HID capsule, that lower 1/3 of the reflector will light up and cause tremendous glare to oncoming traffic. (And by shielding the HID capsule, I mean more than just the D2R strips.)

However, as stated before, ideally, you'll want OEM HID projectors. They provide the smoothest, widest, and best cut off. I'd recommend Ecodes (Euro headlamps) for retrofitting but since they're just about unattainable, unless you can beg European members to get you a set, I won't bother mentioning them any further.

Lessee if this old photo is still working:


Cool, it still works. Top photo is from a "poorly" shielded H4 retrofit (yes, there is an underbelly shield, just an insufficient one). Bottom is what I currently have. BTW, the difference in color is due to the shielding as well. These two photos were taken using the same HID bulb. The bottom of the HID capsule casts yellow light due to the salt content that's ignited. The yellow light is actually responsible for most of the usable light. The top produces the blue/purple (due to the burning of Xenon gas as gas is lighter than salt). So by shielding the bottom and preventing the yellow from going all over the place (other than back up to the top 2/3 of the reflector where it produces the beam), it also gives it the OEM HID look without the need of getting 6000K/8000K/10000K bulbs). For those wondering, I'm running 4100K D2R capsules.

[see bee seven]

anything brighter than factory honda bulbs is cool w/ me...

[CoPilot1]

would the H4 retrofit work on a 5th gen?

[DUNKiNUTS]

To end this comparo is to simply say, the HID kits are what they are KITS! True HIDs are the brighest, truest (not a word?!?!?) light. The best way to get more like without redoing all of you headlight wiring and what not its to get highoutput light bulbs to use what the OEM wiring can give. The housing does play a part but if the bulb isn't right and the power isn't there its useless.

[acch22]

beautiful "HID KIT", oh and thats a 12000k p.o.s. bulb:

[gloryaccordy]

USC- the solution to the glare issue is blackhousing and D2R bulbs, which are used in reflector-based housings. D2R bulbs differ from D2S bulbs in that they are coated to block the lower half of the bulb's light; I'm not sure if they reflect that light back up. In any case, a blackhoused USDM headlight would probably work perfectly with a D2R kit.

[my92cb7]

my lights arent bad and it doesent really scater that bad, i am using lexus 4300k kit out of a lexus rx400
picture is from 20ft away from wall.

[acch22]

my lights arent bad and it doesent really scater that bad, i am using lexus 4300k kit out of a lexus rx400
picture is from 20ft away from wall.

Holy GLARE batman!! Dude, are you high on something? If you were coming at me in the opposite direction, I'd wait till I regain my sight back and I'd turn around, pull you over and slap you up-side your head. But in the real world I'd try to pull over and wait till the red spots go away before I keep driving. That is an insane amount of glare, it does not matter is you have the Maybach lights or Ferrai lights in there, you don't have the correct reflector/projector to go with the HID capsules.

This is what it should look like:

[my92cb7]

thats cause you have projectors, I have the reflector d2r bulbs every car you see wether they are stock hid's on cars with reflector housings are going to glare a little. what i meant by my previous post is the glare is the same with my stock lights vs my hid's

[gloryaccordy]

Oh you have D2R bulbs? I feel like your pictures dont do your beam pattern justice...maybe you should back up from the wall a little bit (both the car and the camera)...I mean if you look at the light above the sign isn't that lit up, so the glare might really not be that bad.

[97Lude]

funniest thing i've seen all day

[acch22]

thats cause you have projectors, I have the reflector d2r bulbs every car you see wether they are stock hid's on cars with reflector housings are going to glare a little. what i meant by my previous post is the glare is the same with my stock lights vs my hid's

ah, no, you are wrong. I will get you pics of OEM reflectors for HIDs and they will NOT have glare like you have. Your reflectors are for halogen, not HID capsules.

[acch22]

here you go, stock OEM 03' Acura CL reflector headlights:

yours:

oem

pics by epattonm


no glare above the cut-off line unlike your reflector headlights.

[accord91lx]

would the s2k "complete" hid kit from hidplanet work fine retrofitted into stock accord lights? thats my question... i've been reading up but it seems the experts are here so i figured i'd ask....thanks