METAL's HID Installation - Low Beam

[DeafDave76]

Hmm I do find this topic interesting.

Last saturday night I drove thru Wellard and it was so dark and very under lighted areas. I had to turn on my foggies AND high beam in order to see where I was going! I ended up getting lost at 1st cos of bad directions by the hostess of the dinner party I went to last saturday night. Turns out I made a wrong turn off freeway onto mortimer rd and it only took a quick glance at the map book to figure out it was the other way I needed to go. And yes I still used the foggies and high beam to get to the right area. Finally I got into the correct suburb and it was lighted a bit but still under lighted so I turned off the high beam but my lights for some reason wasn't bright enough in the area. So I am already thinking of having HID put in my car and converting parker to leds. 2 questions:

I am unsure if foggies have to be HID or just leds?

Can a Presara headlight complete with HID kit fit into Aurion Touring?

Don't use HIDs for fog lights unless you want to blind everyone in front of you. If you really must get HIDs then get 3000k

Yes the Presara headlight will fit in a Touring because they both have the same shape. Do you intend to get the front bumper for the washers and suspension for the auto leveling as well?

That's why I was wondering about that. I only use the foggies when I am in a dark area or if there is a real fog but as I recall last friday we had a extremely bad weather driving and the foggies weren't bright enough to illuminate the wet road. Looks like I have to get a special globe that isn't a HID for foggies. I seem to recall reading somewhere someone used a nightbreaker globes on the foggies?

As for the other one regarding Presara headlights, I assumed the Presara headlights comes fitted with washers and auto levelling. I didn't realise you had to get a new bumper for that. Looks like I need to get a brighter globe that looks like HID, I believe a nightbreaker one. I also read somewhere they were bright enough and close to HID level. Is this what they were talking about? http://www.invisionsales.com/lighting/philips/headlight-upgrades/be-seen or http://www.osram.com.au/osram_au/Professional_Products/Automotive_Lighting/Products/Headlights/NIGHT_BREAKER/NIGHT_BREAKER_Family/index.html

[Buff Hamster]

The strongest non HID light for H11 is Osram Nightbreaker so try them for your fogs. The washer is located on the bumper not the headlight itself.

[DeafDave76]

The strongest non HID light for H11 is Osram Nightbreaker so try them for your fogs. The washer is located on the bumper not the headlight itself.

That's what I thought about the Nightbreaker being used on foggies. I will do that one.

I understand now about the washer on the bumper. Alright what was the strongest non-HID for the low beam? Someone mentioned they used CrystalVision on their car without needing to convert to HID as a way of saving their $$$$. But from where i am reading on the website, 4300K sounds like it is a HID globe and not the actual Halogen? Sorry for the question but I am thinking of upgrading the lighting while the car is in repairers on the week of 4th july.

[Beep Beep]

Hmm I do find this topic interesting.

Last saturday night I drove thru Wellard and it was so dark and very under lighted areas. I had to turn on my foggies AND high beam in order to see where I was going! I ended up getting lost at 1st cos of bad directions by the hostess of the dinner party I went to last saturday night. Turns out I made a wrong turn off freeway onto mortimer rd and it only took a quick glance at the map book to figure out it was the other way I needed to go. And yes I still used the foggies and high beam to get to the right area. Finally I got into the correct suburb and it was lighted a bit but still under lighted so I turned off the high beam but my lights for some reason wasn't bright enough in the area. So I am already thinking of having HID put in my car and converting parker to leds. 2 questions:

I am unsure if foggies have to be HID or just leds?

Can a Presara headlight complete with HID kit fit into Aurion Touring?

Don't use HIDs for fog lights unless you want to blind everyone in front of you. If you really must get HIDs then get 3000k

Yes the Presara headlight will fit in a Touring because they both have the same shape. Do you intend to get the front bumper for the washers and suspension for the auto leveling as well?

That's why I was wondering about that. I only use the foggies when I am in a dark area or if there is a real fog but as I recall last friday we had a extremely bad weather driving and the foggies weren't bright enough to illuminate the wet road. Looks like I have to get a special globe that isn't a HID for foggies. I seem to recall reading somewhere someone used a nightbreaker globes on the foggies?

As for the other one regarding Presara headlights, I assumed the Presara headlights comes fitted with washers and auto levelling. I didn't realise you had to get a new bumper for that. Looks like I need to get a brighter globe that looks like HID, I believe a nightbreaker one. I also read somewhere they were bright enough and close to HID level. Is this what they were talking about? http://www.invisions...pgrades/be-seen or http://www.osram.com...mily/index.html

I think foggies are only ever meant to illuminate the area directly in front of you (from front bumper to say 10m ahead of the vehicle), and no further (that's what your low beams are for). I think the deficiency you've identified in the experience you described lies with the actual low beams themselves.

I presume you have projector lamps with the standard halogen bulbs in them. Therein lies your problem. I've found projector type lens setups put out light that's less intense, but more focused. This is ok for clear night driving. However, in adverse weather conditions (rain/fog/drizzle), the effectiveness of these types of lights seem to be much poorer compared to normal reflectors/lamp setups.

For your situation, It may be an idea to investigate whether there are higher rated bulbs available, and change the low beam bulbs. Combine that with, as a previous poster has said, upgrading the bulbs in your foglights. This is where your local auto shop comes into play. Hopefully the guy running the shop stocks various bulbs and can guide you appropriately. Who knows, this may prove to be a suitable solution and is so much cheaper than forking out for aftermarket HID kits etc.

If this doesn't give a satisfactory solution to your lighting troubles, then you might want to get in touch with Metal13 to see how he's done his upgrade to HID, and where he sourced his HID kits from. You could possibly go Genuine Toyota (assuming you can actually purchase the HID kit and parts, that is) but you're definitely looking at big big big dollars here, so it's probably not worth considering.

If you do ultimately decide to go the HID way, and if visibility and illumination is what you're after, you ought to go for bulb temps of between 4300K and 5000K as this is the temperature band where you get the highest output (Lumens). 6000K and above will look good (blue-ish light tending to purple) but luminous output is far lower. The light from these higher Kelvin temperature bulbs, because of the blue/purple bias makes it more difficult to distinguish features or obstacles in front of you. 4300K - 5000K will give you a very white, bright, luminous light with a very very very slight hint of blue tinting. Perfect for stark separation of features and obstacles and general illumination ahead of you. Modern day searchlights (think Police choppers, etc) use HID in this temp range.

Also go for 55W or higher systems. 35W used to be the standard, but is now so passé especially considering HID technology has improved in leaps and bounds since HID first became available on high end Euro luxury vehicles.

Again, my 2c worth.

BB

Edited May 25, 2011 by Beep Beep

[Buff Hamster]

The strongest non HID light for H11 is Osram Nightbreaker so try them for your fogs. The washer is located on the bumper not the headlight itself.

That's what I thought about the Nightbreaker being used on foggies. I will do that one.

I understand now about the washer on the bumper. Alright what was the strongest non-HID for the low beam? Someone mentioned they used CrystalVision on their car without needing to convert to HID as a way of saving their $$$$. But from where i am reading on the website, 4300K sounds like it is a HID globe and not the actual Halogen? Sorry for the question but I am thinking of upgrading the lighting while the car is in repairers on the week of 4th july.

The strongest for low beam which is H11 is still Osram Nightbreaker. 4300k just means the temp the light is. You see halogen claiming to be 6000k as well but that's just colour not intensity. A dark blue coating on the light bulb making the light look more white.

You can buy H11 nightbreakers here with free shipping and a pair of free W5W lights. You can ask for the blue W5W instead of the standard clear.

http://www.powerbulbs.com/product_detail.asp?prod=113

Edited May 25, 2011 by A Buff Hamster

[DeafDave76]

The strongest non HID light for H11 is Osram Nightbreaker so try them for your fogs. The washer is located on the bumper not the headlight itself.

That's what I thought about the Nightbreaker being used on foggies. I will do that one.

I understand now about the washer on the bumper. Alright what was the strongest non-HID for the low beam? Someone mentioned they used CrystalVision on their car without needing to convert to HID as a way of saving their $$$$. But from where i am reading on the website, 4300K sounds like it is a HID globe and not the actual Halogen? Sorry for the question but I am thinking of upgrading the lighting while the car is in repairers on the week of 4th july.

The strongest for low beam which is H11 is still Osram Nightbreaker. 4300k just means the temp the light is. You see halogen claiming to be 6000k as well but that's just colour not intensity. A dark blue coating on the light bulb making the light look more white.

You can buy H11 nightbreakers here with free shipping and a pair of free W5W lights. You can ask for the blue W5W instead of the standard clear.

http://www.powerbulbs.com/product_detail.asp?prod=113

Ah sorry I was so busy that I forgot to reply to this post! Hmm that link looks good. I will buy them soon before the car goes into the repairers in 2 weeks!