Quote:
Originally Posted by jexeffectz
I don't mean to bash...but
Summary: HID "kits" in a reflector assembly is unwise and unsafe IMHO. Reason being is because stock reflector assemblies can reflect light into the eyes of other drivers of oncoming traffic, or those in front of you.
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I agree with this wholeheartedly. There is no safe way to retrofit HID lighting into headlamps that were meant for halogen bulbs. None whatsoever.
Why is this? First, you have to understand how a reflector headlamp like the one in the Fit works.
Notice how the light is collected off different facets of the reflector to form a beam pattern. These facets aren't created randomly. Computer aided design is used to map out these points according to certain mathematical formulas. In short, everything that a reflector does is based upon the specific position of the light source down to the millimeter. Need proof?
Here is a paper that details the whole industrial design process for an automotive headlamp.
What happens then when you switch out the bulb that was specified to be used in a headlamp with an HID burner* ? You change the position of the light source within the headlamp. All those CAD calculations that were done in the headlamp design process are now incorrect. The headlamp no longer has a coherent beam pattern. Light can now reflect off the reflector in any number of ways. You get hot spots, dim spots, and the most dangerous, stray light glaring other drivers. This can't be fixed as the HID burner will always be in the wrong position relative to the halogen bulb it replaced.
You might not think that a small amount of glare would be that much of an issue but consider that a D2S HID burner emits more than twice the amount of light than an H4 halogen bulb does on its high beam setting. Remember the last time you encountered someone who left their brights on and how annoying that was? Using an HID kit is like that but even worse to other drivers due to that light intensity.
When it comes to headlamps, optics trumps everything else. You can have a great light source, but if it isn't in focus, what is the point? Light all over the place isn't going to help you see better down the road. You need to have the right optics to take advantage of all that light.
If you need more information, take the time to read
this link. Keep in mind that this guy has worked with the NHTSA (
link) and thus is in a better position to determine what is safe and what is not than someone trying to make a buck selling HID kits.
*HID lights don't use a wire filament to emit light so it is incorrect to call them bulbs.
very nayce~
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