Are these HID lights?

[Chinadian]

So I have been noticing really nice lights on luxury sedans/suvs. They are white light and really focused lights. Usually when I see HIDs on most cars they are very dispersed kind of light (ie. the whole area of where the bulb is is white) and not shaped.

I was wondering if anyone knows what I am talking about and if those are HIDs? Because I want the focused look of HIDs, not the very dispersed look. I also think that part of the dispersed look is from the camera/picture vs in real life.

I am also a noob, don't know much about anything.

TThat would be what I call "dispersed" white light

vs something like this, more defined shape of the light (don't know if its HID or not.


even this BRZ lights look "dispersed"

[continuecrushing]

most of the time they have a "defined shape" but when taking a picture the camera overexposes the headlights, making them look dispersed.

Normally you will only get a "dispersed" look if you have hid's in non-projector housings(ie, old style reflectors-any car without projectors).

However, the projectors in our cars(frs) were not really made for HID's, so although they will fit, it can cause glare above the cutoff line, which is hazardous for other drivers. Many members on here have bent down the squirrel finders inside the stock housings to try and limit the amount of light above the cutoff line, but the effectiveness is perspective based(you might think its fine, but a hardcore headlight guy/driver coming the other direction as you might not think its fine)

[continuecrushing]

if the defined/dispersed look explanation doesn't make sense, I'll take some photos of my car tonight to show that its usually based on angle/exposure.

[LeeMaster]

Technically, all the above mentioned ARE High Intensity Discharged lights. The difference in what makes them dispersed vs non-dispersed are the Projectors themselves. You can buy any projector HID from any local junkyard and modify them to fit your vehicle. A quick google search you can find a few DIY with people who uses 06-08 TSX projectors.

From top to bottom
1) Dispersed HID
2) semi-dispersed HID
3) Projector HID(defined)



ps
Your stock FRS headlight with an HID kit would probably look more like #1 from picture above.

[Chinadian]

Originally Posted by Shutter

if the defined/dispersed look explanation doesn't make sense, I'll take some photos of my car tonight to show that its usually based on angle/exposure.

Yes please.

[Chinadian]

Originally Posted by LeeMaster

Technically, all the above mentioned ARE High Intensity Discharged lights. The difference in what makes them dispersed vs non-dispersed are the Projectors themselves. You can buy any projector HID from any local junkyard and modify them to fit your vehicle. A quick google search you can find a few DIY with people who uses 06-08 TSX projectors.

From top to bottom
1) Dispersed HID
2) semi-dispersed HID
3) Projector HID(defined)



ps
Your stock FRS headlight with an HID kit would probably look more like #1 from picture above.

Do you have shots of the actual look of the car in the 3 various settings?. By looking at the 3 lights, definately the last one looks alot better. But i really want to see how the car itself looks.

Also, are luxury cars' "projectors" nicer then? because (I am assuming) that middle aged women driving a bmw, with nice white lights, probably didnt modify her lights (add HIDs)?

[KI_ZN6]

Originally Posted by Chinadian

So I have been noticing really nice lights on luxury sedans/suvs. They are white light and really focused lights. Usually when I see HIDs on most cars they are very dispersed kind of light (ie. the whole area of where the bulb is is white) and not shaped.

I was wondering if anyone knows what I am talking about and if those are HIDs? Because I want the focused look of HIDs, not the very dispersed look. I also think that part of the dispersed look is from the camera/picture vs in real life.

I am also a noob, don't know much about anything.

Checkout our thread and visit our online store to learn more about our HID Conversion Kits for the FR-S =)

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8500

www.hidpowerhouse.com

[Vten]

The last picture seem sharper because of the upgraded clear lenses versus the oem lenses .... The clear lenses definately will give a sharper beam output .

Had a retrofitted headlights on my old ride and very happy with the result .

[LeeMaster]

Originally Posted by Chinadian

Do you have shots of the actual look of the car in the 3 various settings?. By looking at the 3 lights, definately the last one looks alot better. But i really want to see how the car itself looks.

Also, are luxury cars' "projectors" nicer then? because (I am assuming) that middle aged women driving a bmw, with nice white lights, probably didnt modify her lights (add HIDs)?

I do not have shots of the actual car unfortunately, I'll take a picture with my BRZ light soon and then hopefully somebody with an HID kit for the FRS can chime in as well.

All factory cars that comes with HID are required to have projectors. Which is why old ladies/men who drives nice BMWs, AUDIs and Acuras have nice white light that dont make you go blind. Regular cars with halogen bulbs dont need projectors because their light output is lower so they only use a semi-projected unit to keep from blinding oncoming drivers and to see better at night.

[Sbeezy]

Not all. There were some earlier cars that came with d2r xenons from the factory first gen mini was one of few until the 2005.5 facelift then BMW switched to d2s xenons.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

[Yruyur]

Get an hid retrofit kit. Link in my signature.

Retrofit kit includes the correct projectors to focus the beam for hids.

The cutoff is amazing. Its addicting watching the cutoff at night. Bright white then absolute pitch black an inch above that.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

[nalc]

Originally Posted by LeeMaster

All factory cars that comes with HID are required to have projectors. Which is why old ladies/men who drives nice BMWs, AUDIs and Acuras have nice white light that dont make you go blind. Regular cars with halogen bulbs dont need projectors because their light output is lower so they only use a semi-projected unit to keep from blinding oncoming drivers and to see better at night.

This isn't true. There are some cars (2002-2003 Maxima, some older Acuras) that came with reflector HIDs from the factory, although these were never as popular as projector HIDs, and fell out of style a decade ago.

And the converse is also true - plenty of cars, including the FRS, have halogen projectors.

Fundamentally, a projector is a less efficient device than a reflector, but it allows more control over the beam. They work well with HIDs because a HID bulb produces a lot of light. Projector optics allow you to manage glare a lot better and create more ideal beam pattern, and you've got so much output that you can afford to take the efficiency hit. With reflector optics, you've got less control over your beam, but a higher efficiency, so it's a better match for a dimmer halogen bulb.

[Richard Cranium]

Originally Posted by LeeMaster

ps
Your stock FRS headlight with an HID kit would probably look more like #1 from picture above.

^This is completely incorrect. I'll post a photo tonight, but the factory FR-S lens' w/an aftermarket HID kit looks more somewhere in between photos 2 and 3, not even remotely like photo 1.

[Chinadian]

Originally Posted by nalc

This isn't true. There are some cars (2002-2003 Maxima, some older Acuras) that came with reflector HIDs from the factory, although these were never as popular as projector HIDs, and fell out of style a decade ago.

And the converse is also true - plenty of cars, including the FRS, have halogen projectors.

Fundamentally, a projector is a less efficient device than a reflector, but it allows more control over the beam. They work well with HIDs because a HID bulb produces a lot of light. Projector optics allow you to manage glare a lot better and create more ideal beam pattern, and you've got so much output that you can afford to take the efficiency hit. With reflector optics, you've got less control over your beam, but a higher efficiency, so it's a better match for a dimmer halogen bulb.

So is FRS the "projector" or "reflector"?

Thanks for the input everyone!