Quote:
Originally Posted by darcane
I presume this means you didn't bother with using a projector lens, and just used your standard reflector headlight housing?
All the HID enthusiasts bemoan this practice due to the poor light pattern it creates which leads to glare for oncoming drivers.
Having seen a bunch of these driving around, it seems like much ado about nothing, but it's enough to keep me from giving it a shot. However, my Civic's headlights are rather pathetic, so I've been considering it.
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Some halogen headlights are better than others regarding stray light, but since they all meet the same standard there's no telling which ones are better. The fact remains that the standard approves their light control with sources of roughly 1/3 the output. This means that if a particular light was right at the limit of the standard, it could be close to THREE TIMES the limit with an HID swap.
This, and the general disregard for other motorists by the "key target demographic" of HID kits (i.e. people who just do it for the look without knowing or caring about other factors) are the key reasons for its lack of popularity.
Many of these kits are also of poor quality and are not regulated in any way, so if the arc is not positioned precisely where the bulb filament would be the light pattern can change.
If we "ecomodders" were truly eco-minded, we'd be looking to keep light output the same as halogen and using 15 watt ballasts instead of 35.
