Have you ever noticed one car with sleek headlights that are a very different color than the average halogen headlights that you are now so used to? Chances are that what you were looking at were HID headlights that are becoming more popular as each day passes. It is true that these tend to be more on the expensive side, but there are good reasons for it.
First of all they last longer, a lot longer than halogen bulbs which means a heck of a lot longer than the average household light bulb. Second of all they work better. People who get good quality HID conversion kits experience an average of about three times more light than what they got from the previous halogen headlights. In some cases up to five times more light is produced.
If you compare halogen and HID headlights one huge key difference will stick out at you immediately. Halogen headlights have filaments encased in quartz that is of course filled with halogen gases while have tubes filled with different gases that react to create an arc that produces the light without the use of filaments.
As said before HID conversion kits use headlights that work by having an electric current course through gases that respond by creating an arc that gives you more light than you could ever get from the halogen headlights that you probably have in your car right now. Because it doesn't use filaments, the way household light bulbs and halogen headlights do last a lot longer than anything you use now. They can last as long as our car.
The reason other light bulbs burn out is because the filaments that allow electricity to flow through eventually wear down and snap ending the flow of the current. This happens rather quickly with household light bulbs because as the filaments begin to break down they deposit on the bulb. Halogen headlights last a lot longer than household light bulbs because the filaments are somewhat protected by a quartz tube that is filled with halogen gases the halogen gases allow the bits of the filament that are broken down to undergo a reaction allowing them to be deposited back onto the filament significantly improving the life of each filament. The HID lights last the longest because they don't have filaments that break down over time.
Despite all of these wonderful improvements that come with the HID lights it would take a long time for them to heat enough for there to be visible light. However, thanks to xenon and their break through we are past this problem. Now there is xenon added to the gas mixture to help produce the light faster than you would have it otherwise.
Two decent HID conversion kits are the HID xenon conversion kit and the McCulloch conversion kit. The McCulloch conversion kit claims that it is easy enough for anybody at home to put in their car, but it is always better to find a mechanic willing to and get their opinions on the best HID conversion kits available.
For those who are still unaware of it (and I'm pretty sure there isn't too many of you) H.I.D. means High Intensity Discharge. HID Headlight Conversion Kits are one of the most popular car accessories nowadays. This is obviously because they represent several advantages. However, there also exists a controversy around the use of them, which you are certainly aware of as well. And the controversy precisely bears its source from the fact that HID bulbs present the property of High Intensity Discharge.
An important advantage of the HID Headlight is that its lifespan time is the same as the car itself. An HID bulb is more than 300% brighter that a classic Halogen bulb. The clear white light, which emanates from an HID bulb due to the fact that it provides light at a higher color temperature, is so close to daylight it perfectly reflects road signs and markings, as well as upcoming objects, clearly and instantly, thus promoting overall road safety and reducing eyestrain and tiredness during night time driving. The HID bulb has no filaments, unlike a halogen bulb, which provides it with a wider range of illumination.
Just as HID lighting can be cost effective due to its extended lifespan, HID Headlight Conversion Kits represent the most cost effective way to get HID lighting for your headlight. Indeed, HID conversions can be done to almost all vehicles and they have instant and easy installation properties. Thanks to the high compatibility property of the HID Conversion Kit, almost all halogen headlights can be easily converted to HID. However, a few limitations and constraints in HID conversion do exist as well. High / low halogen bulbs (two filament bulbs such as H-4, 9007) tend to lose their ability for high beam. This is because the HID bulb is only a one beam bulb, and therefore it cannot function as a dual high / low beam. Moreover, with additional equipments that need to be installed for the conversion to be done, HID conversion may end up not being as cost effective as it initially seemed. For instance, in order to convert a car or motorcycle to be HID equipped, ballasts (amplifiers), igniters (if not built into the ballasts), HID bulbs and 20 amp fuses (for startup) may be required as well. If the car or bike uses a sealed halogen beam, a sealed beam conversion will be needed. Other options are wiring harnesses, upgraded factory harnesses and relays.
But the greatest controversy around using HID Headlight Conversion Kits lies in the fact that the more beneficial HID lighting can be to you, the more it can affect other drivers on the road, blinding them and provoking accidents ? in particular the ones mounted on the fronts of vehicles. This is particularly true during inclement weather when the road surface is wet. The additional volume of glare id reflected off the road surface directly into other drivers' eyes. Which is why HID lighting is the subject of an ongoing rulemaking intended to reduce their intensity. It is also worth noting that laboratory measurement made by various parties do not support the claims about the glare intensity and lifespan of HID bulbs.
Both Hassaan Ahmad & Maxwell Davis are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Hassaan Ahmad has sinced written about articles on various topics from Shopping, Cars and Pets. Buying the right can seem confusing, but it doesn't have to be! At