View Full Version : HID - 5000k or 6000k?
Hey guys,
I am debating on install a HID conversion on the SV. My big debate at this point (other than if I can starve a few days for some HIDs...) is whether to go with the 5000k or the 6000k? What is your opinion?
I am not CRAZY on the blue light... But I don't want it to appear just bright stock, know what I mean?
http://www.starrotors.com/bulbs/
All opinions and advice is greatly appreciated! Hope all is well on the other side of the pond!
Mitch
Also, I did some searching and was wondering how I can tell if the capsules contain hi/low capability/the 'dip' function?
Mitch
Manguish
16-08-08, 02:33 PM
4500K all the way. Best light output, least attracting the police too.
i had the 5000k and it was way too blue and risking being done by plod, i went to 4500k and was much happier, whiter light more akin to standard bulbs.
the hi/low dip is usualy a magneticly controled shield over the bulb that needs extra wiring to the battery though a relay circuit.
i had the 5000k and it was way too blue and risking being done by plod, i went to 4500k and was much happier, whiter light more akin to standard bulbs.
the hi/low dip is usualy a magneticly controled shield over the bulb that needs extra wiring to the battery though a relay circuit.
So... How does a dual filament bulb come into the equation? Excuse my ignorance... I am new to all this, so that's why I am asking you pros! :)
Mitch
there are some cheeeop HID systems that are a single HID bulb and a normal halogen filament in a capsule just above the hid bulb, they are total useless.
all hid systems are single capsule bulbs with movable shields or movable capsule that directs the light diffrently to simulate a dual filament halogen.
there are some cheeeop HID systems that are a single HID bulb and a normal halogen filament in a capsule just above the hid bulb, they are total useless.
all hid systems are single capsule bulbs with movable shields or movable capsule that directs the light diffrently to simulate a dual filament halogen.
not technically true.. Here is the script.
SV requires an H4 bulb, even if its HID its still an H4. This is the most complicated bulb to be be produced in HID because the H4 is Dip and high beam all in the 1 bulb.
There are several different versions, however the most commonly used and the most reliable design to date is best found on HIDS4U website. The classic solenoid design where the shield around the bulb changes the light projection for the dip and high beam effect.
All versions have there advantage(s) and dis-advantage(s), its just because of the complications of this sort of bulb.
LUX: different manufacturers will actually market differently so be careful. True 5000 lux is hardly blue at-all. 6000 is the common use where it has a tint of blue but not overpowering. It is still obvious there is a tint however. There is a further 8000 lux and 10,000 lux. As you guessed, the higher the Lux the more blue tint there is. 10,000 is very obviously blue.
5000 is said to be the best light for field of view + useful lux effect. even just going to a 6000 lux you do actually sacrifice a tiny bit of the field of view but nothing you will really notice.
A blue tint is not illegal. even a 10,000 LUX is not illegal. All it does is make you stick out like a sore thumb. Lets face it, we dont reallllly want to attract to much attention of the wrong sort.
Personally if you want a "cool" blue look 6000 is perfect and thats what i use. (good light, blue tint, but nothing silly just very attractive, practical, and awesome in the dark)
Power: There is 2 main power outputs for HID. 35W + 50W.
35W is like night and day in comparison to standard bulbs.
50W is like night and day compared to the 35W.
Its simply an opportunity cost based on money and how much light you will need.
If you are in a city/town and always under street light then 35W is perfect. Dark country roads i would personally recommend 50W. Just outstanding light output!!
dont be fooled HID bulbs will cost you £70+ They have come down alot in price in the past 2-3 years, but any lower than this and really you are not getting a high quality bulb. Especially with the H4 it is a complicated design so we want a good bulb we can trust!
Bare in mind it is very easy just to fit 1 and leave 1 standard bulb in to see the difference. (i guarentee you will have the 2nd bulb replaced within a month though)
not technically true.. Here is the script.
SV requires an H4 bulb, even if its HID its still an H4. This is the most complicated bulb to be be produced in HID because the H4 is Dip and high beam all in the 1 bulb.
There are several different versions, however the most commonly used and the most reliable design to date is best found on HIDS4U website. The classic solenoid design where the shield around the bulb changes the light projection for the dip and high beam effect.
All versions have there advantage(s) and dis-advantage(s), its just because of the complications of this sort of bulb.
LUX: different manufacturers will actually market differently so be careful. True 5000 lux is hardly blue at-all. 6000 is the common use where it has a tint of blue but not overpowering. It is still obvious there is a tint however. There is a further 8000 lux and 10,000 lux. As you guessed, the higher the Lux the more blue tint there is. 10,000 is very obviously blue.
5000 is said to be the best light for field of view + useful lux effect. even just going to a 6000 lux you do actually sacrifice a tiny bit of the field of view but nothing you will really notice.
A blue tint is not illegal. even a 10,000 LUX is not illegal. All it does is make you stick out like a sore thumb. Lets face it, we dont reallllly want to attract to much attention of the wrong sort.
Personally if you want a "cool" blue look 6000 is perfect and thats what i use. (good light, blue tint, but nothing silly just very attractive, practical, and awesome in the dark)
Power: There is 2 main power outputs for HID. 35W + 50W.
35W is like night and day in comparison to standard bulbs.
50W is like night and day compared to the 35W.
Its simply an opportunity cost based on money and how much light you will need.
If you are in a city/town and always under street light then 35W is perfect. Dark country roads i would personally recommend 50W. Just outstanding light output!!
dont be fooled HID bulbs will cost you £70+ They have come down alot in price in the past 2-3 years, but any lower than this and really you are not getting a high quality bulb. Especially with the H4 it is a complicated design so we want a good bulb we can trust!
Bare in mind it is very easy just to fit 1 and leave 1 standard bulb in to see the difference. (i guarentee you will have the 2nd bulb replaced within a month though)
ive have both types of hid bulbs for H4 fittment
ok, the only bit that is not right in my reply is that 'all hid systems are single capsule bulbs with movable shields or movable capsule', while it is true you can get them without the movable shield, this is not wise on any bike/car etc as if you want to flash the high beam its not possable as HID has a long start up time, so the moveable shield was developed to overcome this, and why have a standard halogen for high beam when the HID is better.
blue light is not legal, if you go for the 4500k HID you are unlikley to be pulled and not being pulled means less chance that they will check and see you have HID which is then ilegal for most bikes are they are not OEM kit.
the_lone_wolf
19-08-08, 07:50 PM
my 6000K installation, HIDS4U bulb, Phillips "X-treme" 80% halogen in the other, looked white before i put the HIDs in:
Dipped:
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/4404/dscf6747smallrd2.jpg
Main
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/5181/dscf6748smallxy8.jpg
Difference in light output; you can't compare the two, vastly better with the HIDs
The retractable shield design from HIDS4U is very good at keeping stray light beams at bay, there is one very faint one above the line but it's also there with halogens, just almost invisible because of the lower light output. Haven't had any issues with the man, but the cops down here are quite sensible if you're behaving yourself, and it's no more illegal than my visor, plate and exhaust...
Anyone had trouble with MOT time, or do you make a point of swapping them out?
the_lone_wolf
20-08-08, 09:05 AM
Anyone had trouble with MOT time, or do you make a point of swapping them out?getting deja vu here;)
not had an MOT yet, bike was registered May 2007 so no need until May 2010...
but i have wired it so i can just unplug the original connectors from my HID loom and shove them in the back of some halogens if the inspector gets twitchy:cool:
edit: oops, must read posts carefully, was a general question...
grinch try Pming northwind as he has had HID on his curvy for a while and that must've had an MOT at some point:)
Yes you probably are, I have a terrible memory for these things.
Yaeger, thank you for your explanation; you as well TSM.
the_lone_wolf, I was going to PM you, but I figured others may benefit from your response. Do you have any pictures of the connections to the headlights, as well as the size of the ballasts and where you stored them? More pictures the merrier. :)
Mitch
the_lone_wolf
22-08-08, 07:08 PM
Yaeger, thank you for your explanation; you as well TSM.
the_lone_wolf, I was going to PM you, but I figured others may benefit from your response. Do you have any pictures of the connections to the headlights, as well as the size of the ballasts and where you stored them? More pictures the merrier. :)
Mitch
here's a couple of shots of the loom i made so the relays can sit under the seat:
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/7343/dscf6751smalldx8.jpg
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/8512/dscf6752smallgn2.jpg
and the location for the ballasts (one each side)
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/952/dscf6753smallvm2.jpg
there's sticky back foam between the ballasts and the frame so it doesn't rub the paint of scratch the outside should i want to go naked in the future and remove the side panels
Thanks mate!
Other than you extending the loom, was it basically Plug and Play? IE: Did they come with the stock connectors?
Mitch
the_lone_wolf
22-08-08, 08:05 PM
Thanks mate!
Other than you extending the loom, was it basically Plug and Play? IE: Did they come with the stock connectors?
Mitch
no, i had to go find some blade connectors and H4 connectors to do it, other than that i can't remember what gauge cable i used
essentially my loom plugs into the original headlamp connectors and then ends up going into the back of the HID kit connections. loom is a basic hi/lo beam relay system, google for a wiring diagram
Jackie_Black
31-08-08, 09:38 PM
Will the electrics on my pointy run 2 of those 55 watt HID lights on the hids4u site or should i go for 2 of the 35 watt ones?
yorkie_chris
31-08-08, 11:21 PM
Yes it'll run it fine if that is the current draw TO the ballast. Remember normal halogens are 60/55's anyway.
If the 55w is the current output from the ballast then you'll probably be drawing a bit more, but I wouldn't worry about it too much, there's some spare capacity in the charging system anyway. Enough for hot grips as well as all lights for example.
the_lone_wolf
02-09-08, 09:36 PM
Yes it'll run it fine if that is the current draw TO the ballast. Remember normal halogens are 60/55's anyway.
the power consumption is during the steady phase once the arc has been established and stabilised. in order to create the arc the ballasts draw a larger current momentarily, this was enough to overload my stock wiring fuse with 2x35W ballasts
the power consumption is during the steady phase once the arc has been established and stabilised. in order to create the arc the ballasts draw a larger current momentarily, this was enough to overload my stock wiring fuse with 2x35W ballasts
thats inrush current, but fuses are slow blow, so should not realy have happened, well never happened on my bike/s, i think that the balast you have may not be the same as mine. The balast should charge up caps then discharge to start the arc, so the inrush current is limited. My second set of HIDs are not directly connected to the loom, they go though a relay that came with the kit, but this is because i have the bi-xeon hi/lo kit.
the_lone_wolf
02-09-08, 10:05 PM
all i know is mine would happily blow one 15A fuse after another within a second or two of connecting the ignition circuit, while the arcs were stabilising. re-wired them through a relay on a 30A fuse and appropriate cable and not had a problem since
northwind
03-09-08, 12:28 AM
Mine has its own wiring loom entirely, it only uses the SV power to trip a relay.
Mine are 6000, too hot/white. If I redo it, which I might, I'll definately go as close to 4000 as I can get. Less noticable for the plod, but also much more effective. You'll get a lot of different recommendations on this though, not that any one is correct, different ratings give different light characteristics not just brightness. For instance, very white light is quite poor for depth perception, and that's an effect that actually gets worse with brighter light.
Ive just ordered 5000k 55w from hids4u :-) used the code you postedlone wolf, thanks!
the_lone_wolf
03-09-08, 07:29 AM
Ive just ordered 5000k 55w from hids4u :-) used the code you postedlone wolf, thanks!
no worries, glad it still works
the 55W kit is going to be like turning on the sun, i think mine were twin 35s and they're (if you're excuse the pun) night and day compared to even the best halogen bulbs
edit: if it's for a pointy and it's a twin H4 kit you'll need to build a loom like i did, the relay's are from maplins and the rest i got from a local auto electrical place
I've just got one 7inch headlamp, so I'm hoping not to have to make a loom, but it won't be too difficult if I do need to. I hope they're as impressive as they're supposed to be.
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