| Author | Message | ||
     Aussybenxb9r |
Hi, i'm installing the starrotors HID kit for my low beams on the R but didn't want to change the high beams over. Are there any decent white/blueish (to match the HID's) 35w halogen globes that would work as a straight replacement for the factory ones? Thanks | ||
| Sprintst |
http://www.americansportbike.com/shoponline/ccp0-p rodshow/9510.html | ||
| Freight_dog |
Auto parts stores seem to carry the bright halogens in every grade except the H8. | ||
| Jcjohnson33 |
$50 seems expensive for just one bulb | ||
| Jcjohnson33 |
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item =390367019505 This is for H8 bulbs (Message edited by jcjohnson33 on November 26, 2011) | ||
| Jcjohnson33 |
Why are our H8 bulbs considered fog light bulbs | ||
| Jcjohnson33 |
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/Sylvania-Ba ck-Up-Light-Bulb?itemIdentifier=966125 | ||
| Zac4mac |
I left my hi-beams OEM yellow when I changed my lo-beams to 6000K HID. Only thing I use the hi-beams for now is to flash oncoming traffic. Color difference is a real attention grabber. Z | ||
| Syonyk |
You can, with a dremel or tin snips, modify H11 bulbs to fit in the high beam socket. Stock H8s are 35W. H11s are 55W. http://badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/290431/ 333928.html has some info. The physical dimensions and filament offset distances are identical between H8 & H11. The plugs are identical The mounting base is slightly different, but a few minutes with a sharp tool can fix this. It's just one small chunk you have to cut - compare the one you pull & the new one and it's obvious. AND, you can get super-bright H11 silverstars or such at your local auto parts store. Figure on about $50 for a set of the "super bright, terrible life" bulbs. I've had mine in for nearly 2 years and 30k miles without burning out yet... The only downside to them is that you can't leave the high beams on with an 08 stator at idle, or you will pull the voltage low enough that the bike gets really unhappy. I just cycle mine off at lights, and on when needed for visibility. Great mod, cheap(ish), and definitely extra light (though my low beam HIDs still fill in close a bit bright). And, the color difference is very definitely visible at a distance. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Zac - how are the 6000's, color-wise? Are they blue? Or white? My eyes/contact lenses don't see very well in blue...but I don't want pure daylight, either, because I also want to stand out. But thinking of going HID on the CR low beam just to save some charging system watts for other stuff... | ||
| Zac4mac |
Joe - 6Ks are a light blue tint. Not quite as blue as the new LED lamps.  | ||
| Timebandit |
Kelvin ratings can be confusing. Sometimes it's a matter of figuring out what people really mean when they talk about a "daylight" balanced bulb. A color temp of 5000K is called "daylight" because 5000K is the color temperature of horizon light during mid day. A color temp of 6500 Kelvin is the reference value that defines "noon daylight" color balance. Going even higher, North Sky daylight has a color temp of about 7500K. Most people in the lighting industry settle on 6500K as being "daylight." that's the color temperature you'll get when you go to buy a "daylight" lamp from Philips or Sylvania at the hardware store. As Zac's photo illustrates, lower values tend to look yellow, and higher values tend to appear blue. I have lots of experience designing HID circuits for non-automtive applications, and I'm commonly working with lamps that range from 2700K to 20,000K. I can tell them apart just by looking at their light output. A 6500K lamp is designed to have a "neutral daylight" balance, with temps below it looking yellow. 10,000K appears crisp white with a tint of blue. 15,000K seems pretty blue, and by the time you get to 20,000K the light is totally blue without any perceived white component. The problem is that even though the higher color temp lamps may produce the same luminous output to a metering device, the human eye doesn't see the blue lights as being as bright as the white ones. For example, my PAR meter may say that a 20kK lamp puts out the same amount of luminous intensity as the 6k5K lamp, but looking at them both, the daylight lamp appears quite bright and the blue light appears quite dim. In other words, a blue light at the same luminous intensity appears more dim and is harder for people down the road to see -- they sense the lamp as being less intense, so it offers less visibility than a white light. If you don't want daylight, then it would be good to avoid 6500K. 10kK is nice and bright, but noticably non-white. By the time you reach 15,000 to 20,000 K the color looks like a deep blue, like a Philips Actinic Type 03. It's pretty hard for people to see blue lights. The big problem that we still haven't' discussed is that aftermarket bulb sellers in the HID lighting industry can be pretty liberal about what Kelvin rating they claim their bulb to have. All sorts of bargain bulbs are sold with color temperature ratings that just aren't accurate. As a result, what you see when you run the lamps may not be what you expected. It pays to stick with a reputable supplier like Osram/Sylvania or Philips. Other artifacts to consider are that the lamps will ALWAYS have a higher color temperature when they are in the warm up phase. This is particularly noticeable following first strike. HID lamps are abnormally blue at startup, and don't reach a stabilized color temp output for about 30 minutes. So be very wary of judging color temp based upon peoples' photos. It's easy to misrepresent color by taking the picture at the wrong time, or by not properly adjusting white balance on the camera. The color of the lamp is defined by the chemical fill of the envelope. These fill chemicals burn off over time, which causes the color temperature of the lamp to drift markedly as the lamp ages, with higher (blue) color temps being the colors that disappear the fastest. As you go higher in color temperature, you have to replace the lamps more often to maintain the proper color output. HID lamps also experience a significant drop in their luminous intensity as they age, so they will appear very bright when you first install them, then they will lose a their luminous intensity in a near-linear fashion during the lamp's infancy. Then the lamps typically stabilize for the long haul at a significantly reduced light output. Any reputable lamp manufacturer can provide you with the data sheets for the lamp that show these plots. This would help you to make an informed decision. If you're really worried about visibility, maybe using color temperature to help you stand out in the crowd isn't the most effective method. A pulsing headlight modulator might be worth considering. Pulsing white lights tend to stand out a lot more than a blue tint, which seems to be somewhat of a fad right now. (Message edited by TimeBandit on November 27, 2011) | ||
| Timebandit |
interesting link: HID tutorial for automotive apps. http://www.intellexual.net/hid.html | ||
| Aussybenxb9r |
Thanks for the tips and advise guys, i'm going to try out the Ebay ones for now and see how they go. i'll post a couple pics when I have them installed, as well as my R/T 3 that is getting built! |
