Knowledge of HID kits
What is HID Conversion Kits
High-intensity discharge (HID) lamps are a type of electrical lamps which produce light by means of an electric arc between tungsten electrodes housed inside a translucent or transparent fused quartz or fused alumina tube.
HID automotive lamps are using the technology similar to the common vapor-filled street lamps. And HID lamps are also called xenon lamps , just refer to the gas inside the lamps. In a Simpler wordings, HID is the upgraded lighting kits from the original halogen bulbs, it is getting more popular this few years, as most of the new car models are all equipped with the HID Light Kits.
Advantages for HID Lights :
HID lights generate a greater output of light compared to the original halogen bulbs, which can up to 3 times. And its light covers almost 70% of the road, so it's good for road safely as driver has a better vision on the road. If you have the experience in using the original halogen bulbs, the bulb life is always short, but HID lights can last up to 4-10 years with a greater durability, can withstand a greater amount of vibrations and shocks. HID light is a good choice when you are planning to upgrade your car headlight system, as it provides greater light with lesser power consumption, can save it up to 25%.
What is Color Temperature?
HID Color temperature refers to the degrees (K), which simply the measures of the color for the lighting output, like golden yellow, white, crystal white, blue...
Degree (k) refers only to the color, while lumen refers to the lighting intensity. So the higher the color temperature (degrees K) does't mean a higher light intensity (lumen). Here is the summary for the common color temperature on the market --
3000K (Golden Yellow) , 4300K (Bright White), 5000K (white), 6000K (Crystal White),8000K (Crystal Blue), 10000K (Aqua Blue), 12000K (Purple-Blue).
Bulb Size:
The common bulb size is H1, H3, H4, H7, h13, 9004, 9005, 9006, 9007, D1S, D2S. And it has single beam conversion, hi lo kits, Telescope and Bixenon kits. Here is the summary for the features and bulb sizes ranges for all those kits.
Single Beam Conversion Kits -- H1, H3, H4-1, H7, 9004-1, 9005, 9006, 9007-1, with 2 ballasts and installation clamps.
Hi-lo Beam: H4-2, 9004-2. 9007-2 hid for low beam and halogen bulb for high beam, with 2 ballasts and installation clamps.
Telescope Kit: H4-3, 9004-3, 9007-3, single HID can switch between high beam and low beam, with 2 ballasts and installation clamps.
Bi-xenon Kit: H4-4, 9004-4, 9007-4, 2 HID bulbs on each bulb, which works for high and low beam, with 4 ballasts and installation clamps.
HID Conversion Kits purchasing guide?
Are you planning to upgrade your car lighting system from halogen to HID, or high intensity discharger? If so , you are on the right move, as HID is getting more and more popular now, many new car models are all equipped with HID lighting from the factory, because HID lights bring a better light intensity with a lower power consumptions. Here are some things you should know before purchasing a HID conversion kits for your car.
Four Common HID Kits
1. Single Beam Kit. comes with 2 pairs of HID bulbs, 2 ballasts.
(if your vehicle uses 2 pairs of bulbs, 1 for low beam and the other for high beam, you can take this single beam hid kit for your low beams.) Common Bulb sizes are H1, H3, H4-1, H7, 9004-1, 9005, 9006, 9007-1 and so on.
2. High/Low Beam - Hi/Lo Kit, comes with 2 pairs of HID bulbs (one HID and one halogen on each HID bulb to perform the high and low beam function, Halogen for high beam and HID for low beam.) and 2 ballasts. Common bulb sizes are H4-2, 9004-2, 9007-2.
3. Telescope Kit: Single HID can switch between high beam and low beam, with 2 ballasts and installation clamps. Common bulb sizes are H4-3, 9004-3, 9007-3.
4. Bi-xenon Kit: 2 HID bulbs on each bulb, which works for high and low beam, with 4 ballasts and installation clamps. Common bulb sizes are H4-4, 9004-4, 9007-4.
Most of the HID Conversion Kits on the market are 35W/12V, you need 24V for a truck. Some hid kits are using 55W, so buyer has to read the specifications carefully.
Color Temperature:
HID Color temperature refers to the degrees (K) , which simply the measures of the color for the lighting output, like golden yellow, white, crystal white, blue...
Degree (k) refers only to the color, while lumen refers to the lighting intensity. So the higher the color temperature (degrees K) doesn't mean a higher light intensity (lumen). Here is the summary for the common color temperature on the market --
3000K (Golden Yellow) , 4300K (Bright White), 5000K (white), 6000K (Crystal White),8000K (Crystal Blue), 10000K (Aqua Blue), 12000K (Purple-Blue).
5000K or 6000K are the most popular color temperature, and if you are planning to buy the hid kits with 10000K or over, please be careful about the legal issue in your country. Most of the 12000K or 14000K (purple) are using off road only.
Warranty:
You can get the HID Kits on EBay or other auction sites at a cheap price, but warranty issues would always be a big problem. So buy it from a reliable shop or online store would be the best choice because you will have a better follow up for the warranty issues.
How popular is automotive HID lights?
HID headlight, or High intensity discharger, is the upgraded lighting system for your original halogen headlight, it comes with many decent features compared to the halogen lights. The main advantages are the high light intensity provided by the HID lamps and a low power consumption. HID lights are getting more and more popular for automotive car headlight system, most of the new car models are equipped with the HID lamps, and it seems that the HID lights will keep replacing the original halogen lights in the future.
As mention above that the HID lights can provide a higher light intensity with a lower power consumptions, there are some other factors to make it so popular.
1. Color temperature: HID has a range of color temperature measured in K, which is a measures of the color for the lighting output. The common color temperatures are 3000K (Golden Yellow) , 4300K (Bright White), 5000K (white), 6000K (Crystal White),8000K (Crystal Blue), 10000K (Aqua Blue), 12000K (Purple-Blue). While 5000K and 6000K are the most common color temperature for HID lamps and its widely accepted by most drivers because of the natural sun lights it provided.
2. Lifetime for HID lights: Most of the HID lights can last for around 2500 hours.
3. Lesser power consumption: HID lights can generate 3 times greater the light intensity compared to the original halogen bulbs with even lesser power consumption. You can save it up to 25% on the power.
There are something you should consider before purchasing a HID conversion kits, check your bulb size with refer to your car model, choose the correct color temperature, 5000K and 6000K are widely accepted, if you are planning to use the 12000K (purple), be noticed that it's illegal in many countries, those color temperature are always used off the road.
How important is the H.I.D ballast?
HID Lights are getting more and more popular in the automotive industry, you may also notice that there are a pair of hid bulbs and pair of ballasts for your hid conversion kits, and how important is the ballast on the whole kit ?
To make it simple, we need to know what is the HID light.
An HID light consists of a glass tube that contains tungsten electrodes, gas and metals. You see light emit from the tube when an electrical arc is struck across the electrodes. The gas helps the light to start, and once the metals are heated they function to produce the light. Gardeners enjoy the benefits of using these lights because they provide light that most closely resembles sunlight, a definite plus when you are growing plants indoors without exposure to sunlight. They are also cost efficient, because they last longer than other light bulbs and are more energy efficient.
Functions of the hid ballast
The ballast is used to start the lamp and to allow the electricity to continue flowing through the bulb to keep the light on. The ballast's function is to control the electrical current running through the glass bulb so that there is just enough current flowing through so that the light ignites and is maintained, but not so much that the bulb is destroyed. Having said that, it is clear that you must use a ballast when you want to run your HID lights in order to control the electrical current; otherwise, they will not work properly.
There are three different types of ballasts that are used with high intensity discharge lights, and they include magnetic ballasts, electronic ballasts, and digital ballasts. A magnetic ballast is also called a core and coil ballast, which refers to the components inside the ballast. Along with a capacitor, they work together to control the current to ignite the light and keep the energy flowing at exactly the correct rate for the bulb. Some magnetic ballasts also come with an igniter, which are used in coordination with sodium and metal halide lamps. Electronic ballasts use electronic circuitry to control the electrical flow within the HID bulb. A digital ballast works on a higher frequency, so it produces more light but uses less energy to do so. The digital aspect of the ballast allows it to function at consistently correct temperatures, which helps the bulbs to last longer.
Can H.I.D increase the road safety?
Do you want to drive safer at night with a better and wider light vision, and see far much beyond the dashboard? HID lights is your best choice, we call it HID lights, hid conversion kits and HID xenon. It's getting more and more popular in the automotive industry, and replaced most of the halogen headlights with it's better light intensity and lower power consumptions.
What is HID?
An HID light consists of a glass tube that contains tungsten electrodes, gas and metals. You see light emit from the tube when an electrical arc is struck across the electrodes. The gas helps the light to start, and once the metals are heated they function to produce the light. Gardeners enjoy the benefits of using these lights because they provide light that most closely resembles sunlight, a definite plus when you are growing plants indoors without exposure to sunlight. They are also cost efficient, because they last longer than other light bulbs and are more energy efficient.
Here is some specifications for color temperature
HID Color temperature refers to the degrees (K) , which simply the measures of the color for the lighting output, like golden yellow, white, crystal white, blue...
Degree (k) refers only to the color, while lumen refers to the lighting intensity. So the higher the color temperature (degrees K) doesn't mean a higher light intensity (lumen). Here is the summary for the common color temperature on the market --
3000K (Golden Yellow) , 4300K (Bright White), 5000K (white), 6000K (Crystal White),8000K (Crystal Blue), 10000K (Aqua Blue), 12000K (Purple-Blue).
5000K or 6000K are the most popular color temperature, and if you are planning to buy the hid kits with 10000K or over, please be careful about the legal issue in your country. Most of the 12000K or 14000K (purple) are using off road only.
Please make sure that you know what kits you need to install your hid lights, here are something you should know before purchasing a new hid kits.
1. Single Beam Kit, comes with 2 pairs of HID bulbs, 2 ballasts.
(if your vehicle uses 2 pairs of bulbs, 1 for low beam and the other for high beam, you can take this single beam hid kit for your low beams.) Common Bulb sizes are H1, H3, H4-1, H7, 9004-1, 9005, 9006, 9007-1...
2. High/Low Beam - Hi/Lo Kit, comes with 2 pairs of HID bulbs (one HID and one halogen on each HID bulb to perform the high and low beam function, Halogen for high beam and HID for low beam.) and 2 ballasts. Common bulb sizes are H4-2, 9004-2, 9007-2.
3. Telescope Kit: Single HID can switch between high beam and low beam, with 2 ballasts and installation clamps. Common bulb sizes are H4-3, 9004-3, 9007-3.
4. Bi-xenon Kit: 2 HID bulbs on each bulb, which works for high and low beam, with 4 ballasts and installation clamps. Common bulb sizes are H4-4, 9004-4, 9007-4.
Most of the HID Conversion Kits on the market are 35W/12V, you need 24V for a truck. Some hid kits are using 55W, so buyer has to read the specifications carefully.
