H.I.D Headlight system

[GP Kevo]

Arc lights like H.I.D. are fine and well when you are behind the light, but they throw light at all angles and as a result there is much too much glare from such lights. They all should be banned unless off road rallying. A good high intensity halogen provides plenty of light output with far less glare but I suppose this is the future, with everybody blinding everybody else on the road.

[Speed Demon]

Tried this system in a GTS and tested for TAG. Very bright but accuracy of beam is down to the positioning of the bulb.

It is fine for an S1 because the headlight and ballast can all be mounted together and don't move. For any other traditional it might prove to be a headache because there is unlikely to be room for the ballast in the headset so you have lots of wires constantly being twisted if you mount the ballast somewhere else.

My main issue was not how it worked, but what happened if it stopped working. Unlike a normal bulb it would be very difficult to trace a fault and almost impossible to find a replacement bulb or ballast unless you carry one with you. Given that there are now lots of high-performing (admittedly less efficient) Xenon 55/60W H4 or even Bosch-fitting bulbs available it seems more prudent to fit those.

Also as Kevo mentioned - the glare off these for other road users is terrible. Great for you but worse for everyone else.

[SCREWDRIVER]

Arc lights like H.I.D. are fine and well when you are behind the light, but they throw light at all angles and as a result there is much too much glare from such lights. They all should be banned unless off road rallying. A good high intensity halogen provides plenty of light output with far less glare but I suppose this is the future, with everybody blinding everybody else on the road.

absolutely not

a Good quality Xenon kit correctely set up on the scooter or bike will work much better than any halogen bulb on the market.
but i suppose you can't do enything against people using fog lights or badely set up lights....so xenon or not they will blind you anu way

Mathew

[SCREWDRIVER]

Tried this system in a GTS and tested for TAG. Very bright but accuracy of beam is down to the positioning of the bulb.

It is fine for an S1 because the headlight and ballast can all be mounted together and don't move. For any other traditional it might prove to be a headache because there is unlikely to be room for the ballast in the headset so you have lots of wires constantly being twisted if you mount the ballast somewhere else.

on my ZX-10 the balast is under the back of the bike and i use a extra long hi Voltage wiring loom all the way to the head lampe whith no probleme for the last 4 years

[SCREWDRIVER]

My main issue was not how it worked, but what happened if it stopped working. Unlike a normal bulb it would be very difficult to trace a fault and almost impossible to find a replacement bulb or ballast unless you carry one with you. Given that there are now lots of high-performing (admittedly less efficient) Xenon 55/60W H4 or even Bosch-fitting bulbs available it seems more prudent to fit those.

if it dose stop working you just have to replace your Xenon bulb whith a std halogen one until you get a new Xenon spare bulb.
to trace the fault it's easy if you can see a dark grey or black spot in the center of the bulb it's the bulb thats faulty if not it's the balast a xenon kit is sold for +/- 18.000h ( 1 year garanti for the bulb and 2 year garanti for the balast on the equipement that Mark has fited on his serie 1)

[mark]

i have wired it so i can plug a normal h4 bulb in in case of bulb failure. i am now looking for a 120mm parabolic reflector and a clear lens if anyone has an idea

[sydduckett]

i have wired it so i can plug a normal h4 bulb in in case of bulb failure. i am now looking for a 120mm parabolic reflector and a clear lens if anyone has an idea

it was when you said "parabolic reflector" that i decided this thread wasnt for me...

[SCREWDRIVER]

i have wired it so i can plug a normal h4 bulb in in case of bulb failure. i am now looking for a 120mm parabolic reflector and a clear lens if anyone has an idea

ha ha good job

[GP Kevo]

Arc lights like H.I.D. are fine and well when you are behind the light, but they throw light at all angles and as a result there is much too much glare from such lights. They all should be banned unless off road rallying. A good high intensity halogen provides plenty of light output with far less glare but I suppose this is the future, with everybody blinding everybody else on the road.

absolutely not

a Good quality Xenon kit correctely set up on the scooter or bike will work much better than any halogen bulb on the market.
but i suppose you can't do enything against people using fog lights or badely set up lights....so xenon or not they will blind you anu way

Mathew

It is the arc-light, burning over a gap between contacts, that produces light at more varying angles than a filament light. H.I.D. lights are arc lights. These types of lights produce more glare than filament type lights.

From Wikipedia:

Vehicles equipped with HID headlamps are required by ECE regulation 48 also to be equipped with headlamp lens cleaning systems and automatic beam levelling control. Both of these measures are intended to reduce the tendency for high-output headlamps to cause high levels of glare to other road users. In North America, ECE R48 does not apply and while lens cleaners and beam levellers are permitted, they are not required;[33] HID headlamps are markedly less prevalent in the US, where they have produced significant glare complaints.[34] Scientific study of headlamp glare has shown that for any given intensity level, the light from HID headlamps is 40% more glaring than the light from tungsten-halogen headlamps.[35]

I notice far more glare from oncoming H.I.D. lights than normal headlamps. On small roads with no center or edge paint, it is enough to blind me to the road.

[mark]

Good job I'm in England then :biggrin:
I will continue with this as iam very aware that I need the stupid blind driver to notice me.