HID Self Buy

[NightShine]

...Michael Jackson with cleveage, and that just aint right! :haha:

That's great! I guess perhaps it looses something when scaled down to avatar size for this forum! It's just some animated GIF I found while net surfing that my addled brain translated as "freedom of the open road" or some such...

 

[Bounce]

Once my $ showed up in PayPal, I send the order. It was acknowledged within the day (pays to have insomnia when dealing with vendors in vastly different time zones). Had the FedEx tracking # as part of that same-day confirmation. FedEx showed the shipment as being in their system, but not going anywhere for the first full day following confirmation. It was quickly processed and out their HK door the full day after that. From there it's been "in tansit". Maybe it'll get here this weekend. Maybe not.

Probably hit the same time as my Wilbers comes back from a spring swap.

<MelBrooks>

Work... work... work...

Work... work... work...

HELLO BOYS!

</MelBrooks>

---update---

Came home tonight and the HID kit was waiting for me (H3 for the PIAA 910's).

 

[Penforhire]

Response is still very fast. Some of you must have caught a glitch.

I ordered the bi-xenon's on 11/1 . Actually ordered a few days earlier to Andy's account that wouldn't take a credit card Paypal, then to Andy's OTHER account (HIDseller) that would take a credit card Paypal on 11/1, for a few dollars more. Responded negative to the "do-you-want higher Kelvin?" reply e-mail on 11/2. And I have a valid Fed-Ex tracking number showing a shipment on 11/3.

All-in-all better than most American sellers I've used.

 

[FastJoyRide]

I just ordered the BiXenon's today and already have my FedEx tracking number. A little winter weekend project coming up! Thanks again WC - for all that you do.

 

[GunMD]

My new toys have arrived. Thanks for pointing us in the right direction, Warchild.

Now, When am I going to stop riding long enough to install this stuff?

 

[Toynut]

As long as the topic of power consumption and multiple lighting has come up on this long thread, has there been any progress made on the rewound/improved H.O. charging system components?

I seem to recall a post that Dale was testing some prototypes, a couple of months back.

Just curious....

 

[Warchild]

That was covered in the Jim Owen thread (look in the Iron Butt/Long Distance forum)...

 

[Warchild]

The long awaiited FJRTech article on installing these HID systems is now available:

FJRTech:Installing the H4 HID kit in your FJR

 

[Bounce]

As always, well done. :clap:

 

[vectervp1]

Well I just got back from the SPANK rally, and I have some very strong impressions regarding the hi/low kit. First of all, my impressions come from a lot of two lane roads in northern Arizona, southern Utah, and southern Nevada. A lot of this was your typical desert land with small shrubs, and some small hills. Part of my ride took me through some forested area, but the vast majority was open desert.

I found the low beam to be phenomenal! The light output was wonderful, and really lights up everything up close and personal. It was so good I managed to spot over 20 deer while in Utah, and probably half of them were using my low beams only due to traffic. I only had 2-3 cars flash me thinking my highs were on, but this was only on the two lane roads. On the superslab, I didn't get flashed. I'm finding it hard to express how much I absolutely love these low beams!

Having said that, I'm unfortunately going to have to stick with my original statement about the high beam. I still feel that the light output is less than that of the halogen high beams. The HID's put light to the sides OK, but put out no usable light forward of the bike. While in open desert, I kept switching the highs on and off, but had a hard time noticing a difference. In some of the forested areas, it was easier to notice the light on the trees around me, but still no noticeable difference in front of me. The only thing I really could see lighting up in front of me was the retro-reflective road signs and markers.

Now, having said all this bad stuff about the high beams, I do have to say that I did adjust my lights the night before the rally. There is always a chance that I adjusted them in a way were the low beam is just a bit higher than could be, and therefore shining my high beam into the sky. Also, they do fill that 'oh so important' (to me at least) portion of roadway when banked over in a turn. The lows have such a sharp cut off, that when banked over in a turn you loose light on the roadway. These high beams still help light that sliver of road in front of you when you are banked over.

To give you guys an idea of how bright they are, SkooterG and I did some 'on the road' testing of the HID lights. On low beam, one of my headlights (I have mine wired so I can extinguish the left lamp) was as powerful, if not more powerful, than both of his halogen bulbs! When both lights were on, you couldn't see his light output at all. Unfortunately during our side by side testing of the high beams, his seemed to do a better job lighting up the road above the low beam cut-off much better. Side of the roadway seemed almost equal.

Overall, I have to say that I'm happy with my purchase. I feel the high beams are not as usable as the stockers, but I have PHID's to use as my high beams. As a matter of fact, my FJR will probably be torn down (again) during Thanksgiving to get a complete cleaning inside and out, and during this time I'll be wiring it so I can choose to have the PHID's come on with my high beam, or turn on independently.

 

[FJRocket]

Vecter, what halogen bulbs are we comparing to? Stock? Silver Stars? What's ScooterG running?

I have Silver Stars. I had HyperBrights. Both were considerably brighter than stock. So how much "better" might be even more relative. Like to compare apples to apples. Need to know what H4's we're comparing to.

Thanks for the review. Appreciate your insight and comparison.

 

[radman]

Well, I found a pic in my treasure trove that would explain the high beam difference. This is of Skoots front end before he got the new grille guard...

He could have a nuclear furnace running behind those puppies, and show no improvement.....

 

[vectervp1]

I used to have the Sliverstars in my bike, and I believe Skooter had the Philips Vision+ in his bike. Not sure though, but I think he mentioned that's what he bought a few weeks ago when he had one fail on him.

 

[BrunDog]

WC et al,

What would the difference look like between the 4300K and the 5000K lamps?

Is there a difference in the light output or useable light (according to the website, they put out the same lumens)??

I wonder if the 5000K puts out the same light, but has a slightly more blue tint, that could help in terms of safety WRT oncoming traffic, especially during the daytime. If it is that much more of a LEO magnet, then I certainly would not be interested and would stay with the 4.3kK.

Thoughts and comments are appreciated.

-BD

 

[Warchild]

There is slightly less usable lumens on the roadway with the higher 5000-Kelvin temperature bulbs, and a slightly more blue-ish tint.

So you're only getting a small amount of less light, and increasing the cop-magnet factor by only a small amount. Is it all enough to make *that* big a deal?

Well.... maybe.

If you happen to have your HIDs aimed a pinch too high, the slight blue tint that comes with the 5000K bulbs (even though it's fairly faint in the big scheme of things), is somewhat more apparent to oncoming cars.

Mind you, the entire point here is that you want to try to convince onlookers (especially those with a badge, who might already have a pre-disposed piss-poor attitude toward bikers) into thinking that you simply have a pair of really bright lights. If you got a tell-tale blue-ish tint with the higher K bulbs (however faint) than you would otherwise with the 4300K capsules, then...

Bottom line: you're not going to go all that wrong if you end up with 5000K capsules, but if you can opt for the 4300K bulbs, then get them.

 

[Penforhire]

Woo-hoo! Picked 'em up from Fed-X tonight. My hi-lo kit looks complete with instructions and packaged very tightly. Boy, those capsules look like "no way is that much light going to come out of such a small volume!"

Thanks for posting the how-to!

 

[BrunDog]

...is somewhat more apparent to oncoming cars.
Mind you, the entire point here is that you want to try to convince onlookers (especially those with a badge, who might already have a pre-disposed piss-poor attitude toward bikers) into thinking that you simply have a pair of really bright lights...

Well, that is my point. Would the 5000K lights still be white enough for light output and LEOs but be a little more "twinkly" for oncoming cars, especially in daylight??

Since I accumulate SERIOUS miles ( ), I want to make sure my time on the road is as safe as possible. So, that is why I ask. I am wondering if the slighter blueness would actually help.

I have a VW Touareg with HIDs, and I must admit, they do not have much blueness at all. Next to cars with halogens, they just look very white, not blue. As a result, looking at the lights from a distance as an oncoming car would, they don't exactly *POP* like some of the bluer / earlier HIDs do. Anyway, this is why this all comes to mind...

-BD

 

[Warchild]

...is somewhat more apparent to oncoming cars.
Mind you, the entire point here is that you want to try to convince onlookers (especially those with a badge, who might already have a pre-disposed piss-poor attitude toward bikers) into thinking that you simply have a pair of really bright lights...

Well, that is my point. Would the 5000K lights still be white enough for light output and LEOs but be a little more "twinkly" for oncoming cars, especially in daylight??

I don't think in *broad* daylight that you're going to find a huge difference between the two bulbs with regard to any perceived hints of blue tint.... you (and potential folks you'd rather not attract) might notice a pinch more blue at night than you would during the day.

I'd still say you're generally better off with the 4300K temp capsules.

If you really want to attract attention, consider doing the LED Running Light/Turn-Signal Farkle while you have the nose off installing the HIDs.

 

[SkooterG]

Ok, here goes...........my evaluation of the HIDs after riding vectervp1's fjr for about 20 miles on a dark 2-lane highway, primarily in desert type conditions. You didn't ask fer it, but yer gittin it anyways! :bleh:

LOW BEAMS

These friggin rock! :clap: Holy night-light, Batman! Turn off the sun! Wow! These things put out some light! With vectervp1 behind me, I could not even tell I had my lights on. His lights were making my fjr leave a shadow in front of me, that my stock lights were not filling in. I know these are way different, because the previous weekend we rode together for over 2000 miles with him behind me 90% of the time. No comparison between the two. HID low beams are simply incredible. Hard to truly describe the improvement. Side by side comparisons while stopped showed the same thing. These things are just simply awesome. When he was behind me, I thought they were bright, but not as bad as the weekend before when his stock lights were aimed too high and driving me nuts. Bright, but not annoyingly bright.

HIGH BEAMS

These things suck! :sad2: After much playing over those 20 or so miles, this is what I personally observed: They simply don't put out bright usable light where it needs to be. I could see where activating the high beams would send light out a few degrees higher than low beam. I could see that activating the high beams would light up previously dark reflective road signs, and telephone poles, and bushes and trees, if they were relatively close. But as far as putting usable light down the road - notta, zilch, zero. Extremely disappointing. It seems as though the high beam portion of the light is just not very intense, or bright for want of a better description. Not enough lumens in the high beam portion of the beam. Now, since the low beams are so awesome, vectervp1 and I were wondering if the high beams were just as good as stock or better, but are expectations and judgement were all messed up due the great low beams. So, after a brief discussion, we then did a side by side comparison as we rode down the dark road. We rode side by side, me on his 05 with HIDs, him on my 04. I had the HID high beams activated and he would turn the stock high beams on my 04 on and off periodically. We both agreed on the results. Unfortunately, stock high beams put out significant more usable light than the HID high beams.

Now, this is IMHO, and YMMV, yadda, yadda, yadda, but I am going to go so far as to recommend that if you do not have any type of auxilliary lighting, then do NOT get these lights. I wish I cold say otherwise, but I am afraid many will be disappointed by losing their high beam. If you don't really use your high beam due to mainly city riding, or having aux lamps, then maybe. Also, the low beams are so freaking good that you won't need your high beam as much as with stock lighting, but I think if you don't have aux lights, you would want to have a useable high beam for certain situations.

So there is my .02. For better or worse. Perhaps I am full of caca.

Now, what I think might work well would be concurrently running one stock headlight and one of these HIDs, either in low beam only, or high/low combination. Not optimal for either set-up, but combining a bit of each. Will that work? Is that possible?

Oh, and BTW, on my FJR I am currently running one Phillips Vision+50 bulb and one stock bulb. Long story.

 

[BrunDog]

Is is possible the HID highbeams are casting the light too high, i.e. not on the road at all?

This could be checked by lighting a wall and then gradually backing away from it, to see if the beam cast never goes "down" toward the road...

I think it is important we figure out what is going on with these before too many people have poor results. What other tests can be run?

-BD