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Best Hid Lights

dcovell

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dcovell Enthusiast

dcovell

Posted
Posted

I am looking to buy new HIDs (H11) bulbs for my Sierra and want to know what brand is of the highest quality. I am looking in the price range of $250-$350. Anyone else have HIDs on thier Sierras or Silverados? Also I want the 5000K range as I am intrested in the most light output not the lame bluish color.

WilliamsVMAX Enthusiast

WilliamsVMAX

Posted
Posted
I am looking to buy new HIDs (H11) bulbs for my Sierra and want to know what brand is of the highest quality. I am looking in the price range of $250-$350. Anyone else have HIDs on thier Sierras or Silverados? Also I want the 5000K range as I am intrested in the most light output not the lame bluish color.

 

 

Hey, I'm glad you posted this because I am looking for the same thing. I just have Piaa bulbs in for now until I get a set of HID's. I am kinda sketchy about what brand to get cuz there are so many out there. I have a buddy who has them in his car and they are always going out on him. There suppose to last longer than a halogen bulb. It would be nice to have them in the truck. I am looking for a little lower k...around 4000k. I do alot of highway driving and that kelvin would produce the brightest white light. I'm pretty sure on vehicles with factory HID's they are usually around 3800k. I hope you find a good set of HID's. Let me know when you get them and what they're like.

 

Thanks

-Devil- Enthusiast

-Devil-

Posted
Posted

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most factory HID's are in the 4300k range ...

 

most of the aftermarket HID's will shift on their light output after the bulb has burned in ... (meaning if you get some that are 4600k, after a few hours of use they will become 5000k's) ...

 

they last a good while if getting a quality pair ... but that is hard to find with most of the junk that is out ... i am still looking around for some as well ... best thing .. is try to find a company that has been around for a while .. that sells them ... and if they offer a 1+ year warrenty on the bulbs and ballasts ... then go with them ...

PhilB Enthusiast

PhilB

Posted
Posted

FWIW - it is illegal to replace halogen bulbs with HID bulbs. :rolleyes: Standard 108 for DOT says that you should not put an HID bulb in a housing that was meant for a halogen bulb.

 

A good resource for information on HID lights is www.hidplanet.com. A lot of good information about HID bulbs and kits.

 

Phil

-Devil- Enthusiast

-Devil-

Posted
Posted

the only way i will run a HID is with the right lens assembly as well ... but an aftermarket light housing isn't made for my style truck yet ... so i am just searching for upgrades to the stock ... so far it is looking like a modified H9 bulb for the lowbeams ...

 

there are laws on the books that make pretty much everything we do to our rides illegal in one form or another ... meh ...

getwired Enthusiast

getwired

Posted
Posted

I recently bought a 5300K H13 bi-xenon kit for my Yukon Denali from www.ultrabrightlights.com. Danny over there is very helpful, and will probably cut you a deal if you tell him you're on the GM Trucks forum. He sells McCulloch kits. I did the installation myself a couple weeks back, and it was pretty straight forward. No issues with heat or anything thus far.

dcovell Enthusiast

dcovell

Posted
  • Author
Posted

The reason they do not want you putting in HIDs aftermarket is because way to many people don't aim them properly or at all and they are a problem. Also the high color temps are annoying and I personally believe they should not be able to sell them. They also put out less light so they are nothing more than show. Many years ago Sylvania made a Xenon kit for the f-150 and I didn't get it as I could not justify the money then. I wish I had because the stopped making/selling them due to law changes. They were the lens assembly, bulb, ballast, everything and they outlawed them.

 

Now you have the "grey market" where it is legal to sell them but some states say you can't use them. Well I really don't care what my state says, because I AM going to aim them properly, I AM going to get the 5000K and not the "bluish" ones. So if you do it right there should not be an issue.

 

Also the HIDs actually use less wattage than the stock bulbs, I am not sure about heat but I have never read an issue of the housing getting too hot etc.

PhilB Enthusiast

PhilB

Posted
Posted

I had researched getting HIDs before and read that the reason the DOT does not allow HID replacements for halogen bulbs is because of the glare that is produced for oncoming drivers. The reflectors in the headlights are designed for a specific bulb, based on the size of the bulb and where the light is being generated. Hence the reason why there are so many bulb sizes. With the rebased HID bulbs, the focal point, if this is the right term, for the light is being changed. This causes the light pattern to change, thus causing more glare. Aiming the lights does help some, but won't stop all of the glare.

 

Phil

dcovell Enthusiast

dcovell

Posted
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Posted

I completely understand the glare thing, have seen it myself on some of the headlights that have the plastic diffuser lens. I really wish they would have full aftermarket kits that include a lense assembly so that they could be done 100% right. My GMC has clear lenses so it should not be too much of an issue if any.

 

DOT should realize that they have caused a bigger problem by saying no then by regulating it.

SLPR_04 Enthusiast

SLPR_04

Posted
Posted

HID = High Intensity Discharge. The high intensity of the arc comes from metallic salts that are vaporized within the arc chamber. Instead of using regular filaments like tungsten.

Doomsday Enthusiast

Doomsday

Posted
Posted

I'd agree with most of the guys here, HID's are preatty much a waste. Anytime you retro fit an HID ballast into a socket not meant to hold it you run into alot of problems, aiming being one of the biggest. Anyone how has passed a Honda on the other side of the road with "retrofit" HID's and gotten blinded can attest to this fact. At a certian point, and its really low there is alot less usuable light with HID's and the hotter burning the less your seeing. White light is what you want, not blue or purple, if you've ever been in a car at night with one of these you can see how much harder it is too see, its nothing but a cool factor and dangerous. If these trucks had projectors in them then the possiblity of running a succesfull, usuefull HID could be possible, withouth that I don't think I'd try it.

dcovell Enthusiast

dcovell

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I put this in the same catagory with window tint. DOT should create a national standard for both tint and the HID lights. BTW what does HID stand for?

 

 

I agree on the window tint and lights. They should be a federal standard not state by state. You can have all your windows tinted as much as you want in Arizona but not in California, so when you are in California they can't do anything about it. Same thing bugs me about Mexican cars without smog controls.

grimmysnr Enthusiast

grimmysnr

Posted
Posted

I would rather keep laws regulated by the state because then its easier to lobby the requirement for such mods. Here in Alaska, having HIDs or Hella off road lights can make the world of difference. Sometimes those lights can mean whether you actually make it home or not. In Arizona or Texas where the sun and heat are outrageous having 10% tint all the way around can be very effective against glare or heat related health problems. The state would know better about its climate than the federal government. Therefore, instead of writing your congressman and senator of what you would want legalized only to wait years to have a bill passed, you could write you governor and have a bill passed within the next quarter or so.

 

Would a DOT law maker living in DC know better about our climate in Alaska than someone who actually lived here? Probably not, but our governor would. Which is why HIDs and Hella off road lights are all too common here. Tints on the other hand are not such a hot commodity. Its hard enough to see as it is.

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