Xenon Bulbs

Killer Angel

I am thinking of replacing the headlights of my car to Xenon HID bulbs.I understand that there are different Kelvin temperatures of Xenon bulbs.If I am not mistaken,they range from 4,000K all the way up to 14,000K.Which among them is the brightest and gives the best vissibility at night?Which is the best also for rainy nights?
Thanks.

neil06

well, 6000k is the best in terms of performance and looks. go anywhere lower and you'lle get a yellowish tint but better performance on wet roads. 4500k is still ok. its like a super bright white light mixed with hallogen light.

shun_sakurai

Don't be fooled...color temperature isn't something that can be generalized as "the higher the better." If you've taken a film photography class and studied the nitty-gritty of film you know what color temperature means.

To give you an idea here's a short list...always think of the rainbow and the letters "ROYGBIV" when traversing the degrees Kelvin of the color temperature scale.

3200K - orange.
4300K - color temp. of Benz/BMW stock HIDs, circa 2003. Daylight yellow.
6000K - Bluish-white. Just about the highest color temperature acceptable for road use
8000K - Blue
12000K - PURPLE and totally unusable for the road.

Caveat emptor.

slamm

Also, HIDs work and perform best when they are installed in a headlight housing that's designed for HID bulbs; usually projector headlights. Some people who installed aftermarket HID bulbs on their stock H4 bulb housings werent too pleased with the results (particularly with the beam aim and pattern... and the blinded fellow motorists). I'd go with the 4300 or 6000K as these are the ones most widely used.

As for me, I still prefer the budget friendly relay and wiring upgrades on my headlights (then i use 90/100W All-Weather halogen bulbs).