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What is HID? Why Upgrade? And some Misconceptions
High Intensity Discharge or HID for short is a new way of producing light from a small bulb. With Halogen bulbs, a small filament was super heated and the gases inside of a small bulb burnt and produced a yellow light.
Ever notice the newer cars have a bright white light and how yellow the headlights of other drivers look in comparison? True HID produces a white light, rated at 5400 Kelvin's. A standard Halogen bulb, our Sun, and even the Halogen bulbs you use for home burn at 4300 Kelvin's.
Why should you upgrade to HID?
Now these are not scientific but here is why we recommend upgrading. In no particular order:
- Overall cost -- Halogen bulbs last between 600 and 800 hours of use. HID Bulbs last between 2000 and 3000 hours of use.
- Safety -- Since HID lights are brighter you can see more and see further away from your car giving you plenty of chance of avoiding dangerous situations.
- HID uses less power and produces more light , 35W per bulb rather than 55 or even 100 Watts per Halogen Bulb. You will end up with less draw on your car's electronical system.
- You can choose what color your headlight or fog light would like to use, from deep yellow to pure white to blue or even purple.
- Your foglights can match your your HID headlights from the factory. For some reason manufacturers don't offer HID foglights even if they offer HID head lights. So you end up with two different color lights on your car.
How does HID work (the simple answer)?
With HID electricity is passed directly through the gas, Xenon gas (along with some other minor gases) to be specific. This produces a light at around 5400 Kelvin's. Its almost pure white. This new method produces not only a "whiter" light, but it produces a brighter light at well.
Lumens: HID vs. Halogen
Lumens are a measure of how much light exists. The higher the lumens, the more light has been produced -- color does not make a difference. With HID bulbs you get almost 100% more light than you would have using a halogen bulb.
With HID you also use less power to generate more light. Standard Halogen needs 55 Watts of power to burn. Standard HID uses 35 Watts. There are 100 Watt Halogen Bulbs around as well, these produce just about the same number of lumens as the standard HID bulb, but only last 300-400 hours of use before they burn out. Recently HID has started to come out with a 50 Watt version which is even brighter than the 35 Watt version. Do not confuse these with Halogen Bulbs.
Misconceptions about HID
HID Costs too much? No, not anymore.
There seems to be a lot of these around the web. First HID used to cost $300-$600 to upgrade. Now days this is only true if you're buying it with your car from the manufacturer or dealer. Everything the dealer sells you is marked up 250% -- no surprise there. You can find good quality kits between $150a and $200 around the web -- and by web we don't mean eBay.
The Quality of aftermarket HID Kit is cheap
This is simply untrue, from the manufacturers that we have spoken to they all produce the same equipment and just stick a different label on it.
What you should be looking at when buying a HID kit is the quality of the business. Are they going to be there if you need help, warranty, etc. This usually not the cheapest place, but somewhere in the middle. Do your research and see who comes most recommended.
HID Bulbs are sold at AIDS Auto Store for $12.50, why does yours cost so much?
This is one the biggest problems that we have seen or heard about. Don't be fooled with "Xenon-Like", "Xenon Color" "HID-like" terms. These bulbs are not HID. Look where the filament is. If its inside of the bulb or it doesn't come with a Ballast than its just Halogen ramped up to 100 Watts or has a flimsy film around it to make it look blue. These are not HID bulbs. HID Bulbs can not connect directly to your car. You need to have a ballast/starter to convert the power to AC. Read the full article on how to detect fake bulbs.
See our Frequently asked Questions pages for even more information.
HID Management Team
