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Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2004 9:17 am
by smorison
i hate to put a negative spin on this but everyone should read that article...

it's very interesting and makes sense...

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2004 11:41 am
by FTO338
Hmmmm am I wrong by saying his article is base on reflective type headlight not projector type, which are use on FTO :?

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2004 11:57 am
by ruchi
He actually covers both.

He talks about the reflector but also talks about "lens", "cutoffs" and "polyellipsoidal optics" which all relate to projector headlights.

In short he is saying that the optics of the headlights are designed for halogen globes and by using a light source which produces a different type of light you will run into trouble.

This makes sense, it's a bit like two people swapping glasses; each has been optimised for their particular "optics".

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2004 12:43 pm
by HiRAEdd
Well I was driving last night in my new FTO :D :D :D :D and so I was talking note of the cut-off point of the beam and it was well and truly below the dash height of other vehicles so my thinking is that assuming HID's throw light in the same way, it wouldn't be an issue.
My new query is how does the "cloudy" nature of the low beam FTO headlight affect the look of HID light?

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2004 12:47 pm
by ruchi
That's part of the issue, they don't throw light in the same way. The light is emitted differently, it has a different focal point and different pattern and colour characteristics.

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2004 7:02 pm
by HiRAEdd
Yeah but what I'm saying is the standard headlights have a very definite cut-off point, a distinct line. I was watching it on cars in front and on concrete guards to the side of the car. It was certainly low enough not to worry other drives. Actually, I've now got to get used to being that much lower and having other cars headlights blind me!

Light is light is light so whilst it is brighter, my only issue is whether it will blind oncoming cars and I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't emit in the same direction as the current bulbs which would be perfectly ok. I just wonder what the blue tinge will look like coming through the cloudy low beam lamp.

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2004 8:44 pm
by ruchi
Headlights are based on reflectors and lenses which require the light source to be located exactly at the focal point. If you alter this focal point by putting in a different shape globe or one which emits its light differently then all the angles, including the cut-offs, will be wrong. The article explains that this will occur with HIDs.

Trying to rectify this by re-aligning the headlights will be fruitless as the whole issue is that the optics are designed for a particular light source which is completely different, which goes back to the example I used of changing glasses with another person.

Not all light is the same. Different types of lights have different refractive properties which will lead to different light patterns and differences in visible and usable light. As an example, why do you think fog lights are yellow while driving lights are white? Yellow will penetrate fog while white will either bounce back off it or refract in it creating a white wall which you can't see through.

Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2004 11:35 pm
by akuma3
I think i'm getting it from the same place for $400 :D

Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 9:45 am
by G1
really how did yo manage that... please take some pics so we get an idea of what it looks like...

friend at work with SP23 had it installed recently, i havent checked it out yet, might even take some photos

Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:02 am
by akuma3
well i don't know if it's the same dude but i'm sure it's the same brand HID, i just happen to know the dude hehe, when i get it done i'll take some pics yeh

is it hard to install yourself? :o

Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2004 2:10 am
by akuma3
put it on already, doesn't look as bright as i thought because 8k is blueish colour :D

Posted: Fri Oct 01, 2004 3:36 pm
by G1
any pics?

btw, did you have the silver spolier?

Posted: Fri Oct 01, 2004 4:03 pm
by HiRAEdd
akuma3 wrote:put it on already, doesn't look as bright as i thought because 8k is blueish colour :D
That is soooo not what I want to hear about these lights considering I've just bought them. If my normal bulbs are better than these HID's, I'm gonna be really peeved.

Posted: Mon Oct 04, 2004 6:11 pm
by tangcla
akuma3 wrote:put it on already, doesn't look as bright as i thought because 8k is blueish colour :D
pfft. shoulda bought my kit. Not one person who has bought the kit I sell (over 70) have come back to me with problems. All have commented on how much brighter it is... :roll: :P

Well, like I say, you get what you pay for. Made in Germany is definitely a lot different than made in China :D

Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2004 8:10 am
by MuMan
:roll:
Hey guys..
this sounds all very high tech and all that, but has anyone fitted these lights and can say if they are worth the cost or no?
I'm definetely interested if they do!

Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2005 12:04 pm
by HiRAEdd
MuMan wrote:...has anyone fitted these lights and can say if they are worth the cost or no?
Yes, I have, talk to tangcla about his kit, that's the one I bought. Or see the other HID thread on the forum, I've written a review on them there.

Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2005 6:49 pm
by tangcla
HiRAEdd wrote:Yes, I have, talk to tangcla about his kit, that's the one I bought. Or see the other HID thread on the forum, I've written a review on them there.
Link? :)

Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2005 11:22 pm
by HiRAEdd

Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2005 5:01 am
by tangcla
pfft... that's not much use! :P

Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2005 7:55 am
by MuMan
yeah thanks..
received an email about it :)

Anyone had any problem with discoloured headlights..like lenses?
My lhs one has this smokey tinge to it, both headlights are in mint condition, and I thought it was just a burned HB4 bulb..but it wasn't, seems to be inside the headlight..the lense. No idea what caused it or what to do to fix it??