| D&A Customs, San Antonio, TX 2010 |
HID lights are very commonly seen on the streets these days. They stand out from the crowd
with their bright and intense lighting. HID lights are now becoming standard on many of today’s
new vehicles straight from the factory. Retrofit kits are becoming more popular as well for
many vehicles which did not originally come with HID lighting from the factory.
The first HID lights were introduced as an OEM option on cars starting in the mid to late
1990s. Some of the first vehicle manufacturers to introduce this lighting option on their
vehicles were Mercedes, BMW, and Lincoln/Mercury.
HID Lighting or just HID stands for High Intensity Discharge. The kit uses Xenon bulbs to
create a much whiter, and brighter light, then its predecessor the halogen bulb. Xenon bulbs
are filled with xenon gas, a colorless and odorless gas and a mixture of metallic salts. HID
lighting can be found in many other applications besides automotive. One example you may
have already seen but not recognized as HID is the IMAX movie projector. It uses a large
xenon bulb to produce the necessary light needed to project on such a large screen. Click
here to see a picture of the IMAX bulb.
When HID lights were first introduced, they were designed as a safety feature. Now it seems
that they have not only become a safety feature, but also a styling feature as many people
choose to use lights that have a more bluish or purplish tint to them. The light that the HID kit
emits is brighter, has a longer and wider range. All of these characteristics allow night driving
to become safer, and obstacles appear earlier on the road, allowing more time for drivers to
respond earlier.
HID lighting is provided by many manufacturers as an OEM option, however it is now
available from many after market companies for those of us with standard halogen lighting.
They are available in most bulb sizes. However, to truly maximize the benefit of HID lighting,
the headlight housing must also be changed to a HID compatible housing as in most OEM
applications.
Here are some of the most common bulb sizes for HID kits:
H1, H3, H4, H7, H13, 9004, 9005, 9006, 9007, D1S, D2S.
Click here to see the different types of bulbs available.
There are single beam conversions, dual beam conversions, and even fog light conversions.
The Single beam is designed for just the low beam to be converted to an HID. They come with
two xenon bulbs, and two ballasts. If you use a single beam conversion in an application
where you have a dual function bulb, such as a 9007 (Hi/Low Beam), you will lose the high
beam option.
The dual beam consists of either 2 or 4 bulbs depending on the application. (two for low,
and two for high beam, or a single bulb with Hi/Low capabilities) and either two or four ballasts.
One type of dual beam single bulb configuration is a bulb that has an electromagnetic
operated bulb that changes the angle of the light to produce a high beam effect. The other
type of bulb has two hid capsules, one providing the high beam and one providing the low
beam. Click here to see an example of the two different types of bulbs.
HID lights are designed to emit different colors. Click here to see the various color ranges.
The bulbs are temperature rated in Kelvin degrees (K) , and depending on the temperature (K)
they emit a different color.
Here is what they are:
3000K (Golden Yellow)
4300K (Bright White)
5000K (White)
6000K (Crystal White)
8000K (Crystal Blue)
10000K (Aqua Blue)
12000K (Purple-Blue).
Make sure you check local rules and regulations in your state, and have your headlights
aimed properly to prevent glare to oncoming drivers.
