HID kits for Honda 98 CRV - Are they a good idea?

Discussion in 'CR-V' started by Boomer, Feb 11, 2011.

  1. Boomer

    Boomer Guest

    The price for these HID hi/lo kits has gotten very low. It looks like it is
    not tough to do. I might make a good winter project in my garage while it is
    10 below out and I can't work outside.

    I would love to hear more comments about how well these Xenon headlights
    work. I was considering getting the 35 watt 3000K (yellow) colour lights. I
    did not want these lights to attract attention and possibly a ticket. So I
    wanted the same colour as comes with halogen bulbs.

    They claim that the bulbs last 3 times longer than halogen. Do they really?

    I have gotten a lot older, 68 now, and my vision at night has degraded. The
    brighter lights would help me see.

    I added some low beam assists in the form of separate fog lights just below
    my bumper. However, this turned out not to be such a great idea. The four
    wheel drive allows me to plough through high snow, but this tends to damage
    these fog lights. I need all the brightness I can get in my regular lights.
    I want to remove the lower lights.

    Michael
     
    Boomer, Feb 11, 2011
    #1
  2. Boomer

    Tegger Guest



    Retrofitting HIDs to halogens is not a good idea. Headlamps are a whole
    package: Bulb, lens, and reflectors must be designed to work together,
    otherwise you will annoy and endanger oncoming traffic with excessive
    glare.

    The guru of automotive lighting says so.
    <http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/HID.html>




    Those are disgustingly glary. If you install these on your car, I will
    personally come over to your house and shovel all the snow from your
    lawn onto your driveway. Then I will tamp it down good and hard so you
    can't get it off again.





    Won't happen. HIDs are always different from halogen.




    OEM Honda (Stanley) bulbs last ages, often the life of the car. GE
    Nighthawks are close second.

    Forget SilverStars and other fancy ephemera.




    Brighter lights will blind other drivers. Please think of them too.

    If you (like me) find your eyes no longer as night-friendly as they used
    to be, then slow down, and keep your lenses clean.



    Your fog lights are too low to provide proper illumination.

    I recommend GE Nighthawks. You may have to ask for them at the parts
    counter.
     
    Tegger, Feb 12, 2011
    #2
  3. Boomer

    dgk Guest


    I hate cars with fog lights. They almost always seem to point in my
    face.
     
    dgk, Feb 14, 2011
    #3
  4. Boomer

    Dillon Pyron Guest

    If you really want something to do a Rudolph for you, look into bullet
    lights. The ones I've seen sit just inboard of the headlights on the
    bumpe. One of the guys I used to AX with has some on his Acura and
    claims "50, maybe 60 miles". :) But it really looked like about
    double regualr highs. I can't remember the exact wiring, but it
    seemed to be somewhere between dead simple and easier to write a
    check.
    --

    - dillon I am not invalid

    An object's desireability to a dog is directly
    proportional to its desireability to another dog.
     
    Dillon Pyron, Feb 25, 2011
    #4
  5. Boomer

    Clete Guest

    Whoever uses lights like that should be strung up.
     
    Clete, Feb 25, 2011
    #5
  6. Boomer

    Tegger Guest



    As I said to the OP, "Brighter lights will blind other drivers. Please
    think of them too."
     
    Tegger, Feb 25, 2011
    #6
  7. Boomer

    Dillon Pyron Guest

    They shouldn't. The whole idea of fogs is to keep the beam lowish so
    you don't get as much backscatter. I checked mine before I posted
    this. They sweep lower and the pax side really goes toward "the
    ditch" while the driver's side is mostly forward. I actually find
    them useful driving at twilgiht in the country around here. I'd
    rather take a deer with a .270 than a Fit.
    --

    - dillon I am not invalid

    An object's desireability to a dog is directly
    proportional to its desireability to another dog.
     
    Dillon Pyron, Mar 1, 2011
    #7
  8. Boomer

    Dillon Pyron Guest

    Yeah, but these lights are used RATHER THAN highs. If you drive
    around with your highs on all the time, you may find that a stone
    cracked one of your lenses. I may have to whack the lens with the
    stone several times.
    --

    - dillon I am not invalid

    An object's desireability to a dog is directly
    proportional to its desireability to another dog.
     
    Dillon Pyron, Mar 1, 2011
    #8
  9. Boomer

    dgk Guest

    Yes, they are supposed to have lowish beams, but from what I can tell,
    most add-on kits are not properly installed.
     
    dgk, Mar 1, 2011
    #9
  10. Boomer

    Boomer Guest

    "Dillon Pyron" wrote in message

    Yeah, but these lights are used RATHER THAN highs. If you drive
    around with your highs on all the time, you may find that a stone
    cracked one of your lenses. I may have to whack the lens with the
    stone several times.
    --

    - dillon I am not invalid

    An object's desireability to a dog is directly
    proportional to its desireability to another dog.
    ____________________________________________________________________

    Well I got my HID kit in and got it installed yesterday. The colour for the
    light was 4300K. I took it out for a drive that night. The position of the
    new bulbs had shifted slightly and the headlights were aimed a little high.
    I turned them down today and will test them again tonight. I will keep
    cranking on the "lower" bolt until my low beams have no chance of hitting a
    driver in the eye.

    The advertising for these HID lights are correct. You can see a lot further.
    They are cheap and easy to install. I chose the 35 watt lights over the 55
    watt option. My headlights now use less power than before the conversion.

    For some reason that I don't understand, there is a rather sharp vertical
    cut off point at the top of the beams now. It is quite apparent on the
    garage wall and on the road.

    I saw an admonition on an internet site that these bulbs would simply not
    work properly in an incandescent reflector. That was bull****. Light is
    light. It reflects at the same angle whether produced by incandescent
    filaments or a gas discharge tube.

    The kit I chose uses a solenoid to move the bulb into a low beam
    configuration. The manufacturer thoughtfully made this transition rather
    dramatic. Low beam has quite an angle change in vertical beam direction.

    I still have my fog lights attached and they appear to be completely
    overwhelmed by the headlights now. The colour is quite different so it is
    easy to differentiate between the two. I will soon remove these fog lights.

    So for those who need more illumination on country roads as exist where I
    live, this conversion might be worth considering especially if you must deal
    with lots of snow.

    Michael
    (seeing better now)

    PS since I know longer have stock lights, I will buy another kit for spares.
    This will give me spare lights and ballasts.
     
    Boomer, Mar 3, 2011
    #10
  11. Boomer

    Tegger Guest



    It's not the aim of the reflector, it's the scatter. Scatter is what blinds
    and annoys oncoming drivers. You cannot fix scatter with aim.

    Reflectors designed to work with real HIDs control scatter better than
    reflectors designed for halogen bulbs.

    You're a menace.
     
    Tegger, Mar 3, 2011
    #11
  12. Boomer

    Tegger Guest


    Especially high up, in that CR-V.

    I come across your type all the time: those who think that dazzling
    oncoming drivers--or drivers ahead of them--makes them somehow "safer".
    "Stupid" is the only word for your kind.

    That the new lights "overwhelm" your auxiliary lights ought to be telling
    you something, but evidently its not. That you went ahead and did this
    anyway tells me you're beyond reason.
     
    Tegger, Mar 4, 2011
    #12
  13. Boomer

    Boomer Guest

    "Tegger" wrote in message


    Especially high up, in that CR-V.

    I come across your type all the time: those who think that dazzling
    oncoming drivers--or drivers ahead of them--makes them somehow "safer".
    "Stupid" is the only word for your kind.

    That the new lights "overwhelm" your auxiliary lights ought to be telling
    you something, but evidently its not. That you went ahead and did this
    anyway tells me you're beyond reason.


    --
    Tegger


    Tegger,

    Contrary to what you might think I am not crazy. I use this newsgroup to get
    answers to questions and advice. I still make up my own mind.

    I did not decide to use gas discharge headlights flippantly. I thought about
    the conjecture here and on the web that somehow the headlight reflector on
    my vehicle will behave differently with an HID bulb than it did with an
    incandescent bulb. I realized, like many things on the internet this was
    just hogwash. Light from either bulb reflects in exactly the same way, if
    the bulb is in the same physical 3-D placement in the reflector. I checked
    this alignment with one incandescent bulb installed against the gas
    discharge bulb.

    They were aligned the same. The only difference was a very slight vertical
    position change. This cause my headlights to increase their vertical angle.
    I have been carefully aligning this to keep my low beams out of the eyes of
    oncoming traffic.

    There is no more "scatter" with a gas discharge tube than with an
    incandescent bulb. Light will reflect in the same way.

    It appears I have another change with my new lights that is to my benefit
    and to the benefit of oncoming drivers. The new gas discharge lamps are
    shielded on the front and 180 degrees on the bottom side of the lamp.

    This change appears to have made the vertical boundary line of the lamp very
    very sharp. So, when I finally get these new lamps adjusted to be below the
    sight line of an oncoming driver. there will be less stray light above that
    boundary.

    If I find that after my best efforts at alignment, oncoming traffic flash
    their brights at me to indicate my headlights are on bright, I will change
    back to the incandescent bulbs. That change would be very simple. I would
    just pull out the HIDs and reinsert the incandescent bulbs. I do not intend
    to blind oncoming traffic.

    My on going experiment with HIDs does not mean that I am beyond reason. It
    means that I would rather find out for myself than trust the advice from
    someone who has not even tried this modification. I don't really understand
    the passion with which you oppose this modification. Of course you are
    probably young and the young have more passion than us old folks. Nothing
    wrong with that.

    I will continue to post the results of my experiment here, even if I find
    that my experiment failed.

    Michael
     
    Boomer, Mar 4, 2011
    #13
  14. Boomer

    Tegger Guest



    True, but there is considerably more "scatter" with lights that are
    significantly /brighter/ than intended.

    All lamps (flashlights, spotlights, house lights, etc.) exhibit a certain
    phenomenon that's known as "falloff". Falloff is the decay of the beam from
    the middle "hotspot" where it's brightest, to the periphery where it's no
    longer detectable. The degree and rapidity of falloff will depend on
    several factors, and one of them is the intensity of the light. Make the
    light more intense, and the falloff cone will expand.

    Falloff is also known as "scatter". Headlamp engineers make careers out of
    minimizing scatter while maximizing available light to the driver.



    Only from the perspective of the occupants of /your/ car. Scatter is seen
    by /others/.

    Here's a test you can perform: You lend your CR-V to a helper. You get into
    another vehicle. This "other vehicle" should be a CAR, not another high
    truck. Now the two of you start a few miles apart, and drive towards each
    other, eventually passing each other. Also make sure you test this
    situation with the vehicles pointing uphill relative to each other, and
    with the road curving to the LEFT for you, and the RIGHT for your helper.

    Now try a test with your helper driving behind you, with you still in a CAR
    not another truck.



    I have given up on flashing the dazzlers. Mostly they never shut off their
    high-beams, because they /intend/ their high-beams to be on, beyond all
    sense. And sometimes what I thought was their high beams was actually their
    LOW beams! I know this because they flash me in return.

    So don't expect too many flashers; others have probably given up on the
    dazzlers as well.



    I'm 49. My 84-year-old mother considers me young, and seeing what she's
    going through now, she's right.
     
    Tegger, Mar 6, 2011
    #14
  15. Boomer

    Dddudley Guest


    Typical! If you use the proper tool for the job, you won't have that
    problem. Ballpein hammer!<g>
     
    Dddudley, Mar 6, 2011
    #15
  16. Boomer

    Dillon Pyron Guest

    Okay, add-ons. I was thinking OEM. Most people seem to think that
    fogs should point straight out. Well, that does work. BUT, the
    lights have to be behid you. And you have to be driving a rally car
    or a SCORE car or truck.
    --

    - dillon I am not invalid

    An object's desireability to a dog is directly
    proportional to its desireability to another dog.
     
    Dillon Pyron, Mar 7, 2011
    #16
  17. Boomer

    Dillon Pyron Guest

    I'm an x-ray technologist and scatter can be your enemy or your
    friend, but you have to know how to "use" it, how to compensate for it
    and when to just damned well do everything possible to avoid it.

    Headlights fall into category 3.
    Yeah, particularly trucks. I could have sworn there was some kind of
    requirment that passenger vehicles have their main headlights mounted
    no higher that 42" off the deck. When I see trucks with lift kits
    that have the headlights in my face while I'm standing (I'm 5'10")
    that's a little absurd.
    I'd love to see some flashers while I'm driving.

    Oh, lights. Never mind.

    I rarely even see people flash for cops anymore. I don't think many
    people even understand "the code" (once-get out of my way, twice-go
    ahead or thank you, thrice-cop/speed trap, lots of times- there is
    something really, really bad ahead of you/behind me)
    I'm 54 and agree with Tegger on this point.

    The lights are designed as a system. Would you change the cam alone?
    --

    - dillon I am not invalid

    An object's desireability to a dog is directly
    proportional to its desireability to another dog.
     
    Dillon Pyron, Mar 7, 2011
    #17
  18. Boomer

    Boomer Guest

    "Dillon Pyron" wrote in message

    I'm an x-ray technologist and scatter can be your enemy or your
    friend, but you have to know how to "use" it, how to compensate for it
    and when to just damned well do everything possible to avoid it.

    Headlights fall into category 3.
    Yeah, particularly trucks. I could have sworn there was some kind of
    requirment that passenger vehicles have their main headlights mounted
    no higher that 42" off the deck. When I see trucks with lift kits
    that have the headlights in my face while I'm standing (I'm 5'10")
    that's a little absurd.
    I'd love to see some flashers while I'm driving.

    Oh, lights. Never mind.

    I rarely even see people flash for cops anymore. I don't think many
    people even understand "the code" (once-get out of my way, twice-go
    ahead or thank you, thrice-cop/speed trap, lots of times- there is
    something really, really bad ahead of you/behind me)
    I'm 54 and agree with Tegger on this point.

    The lights are designed as a system. Would you change the cam alone?

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    The road lighting is not exactly the same thing as the engine. Often the
    headlight designs from the factory are abysmal failures. I remember a 1990
    dodge caravan that had what must have had the poorest headlight design ever.
    Factory designs are rarely what I would call the gold standard for lighting.

    I have changed the lamps in my headlight assembly already. It is done. I
    have them adjusted where it appears that the low beams are have the top edge
    below the oncoming windshields. Time will tell if this mod worked. The final
    answer will be found if and when oncoming traffic flashes their brights at
    me, indicating they think I have my brights. on. The mod was relatively
    inexpensive and easily dropped back to incandescent bulbs. I have no self
    esteem invested in this project. If I find that I must go back to
    incandescent lighting, I will post it here. I think it would be good
    information for the group to know how an actual
    conversion attempt worked out.

    If I must replace my gas discharge bulbs with incandescent, it will
    reinforce Tegger's opinion. I value his opinion on almost any subject here.
    He has a lot of experience. However, he has not tried using gas discharge
    bulbs.

    I am 68 years old. I have cataracts in both eyes. They are not bad enough
    yet to rate surgery. My doctor said that he could not remove them at this
    stage without going beyond normal and accepted medical care standards. So,
    in order to drive safely, I need a little more light on the road in front of
    me.

    BTW, I don't care for the 4300K colour of my headlights. If I find that I am
    going to keep these lights, I will change the bulbs to 3000K.


    Michael
    (the tinkerer)
    --

    - dillon I am not invalid

    An object's desireability to a dog is directly
    proportional to its desireability to another dog.
     
    Boomer, Mar 8, 2011
    #18
  19. Boomer

    Tegger Guest


    Yes I have. I have been forced to "try" them as a consequence of having
    people like you drive towards me, or drive behind me.

    You, as the driver, may not see the scatter you create. Scatter that is
    invisible when reflected off a surface can be dazzling when it hits a human
    retina.

    Don't count on other drivers flashing you. They too may have given up on
    your kind.



    Ah, so that's it. To compensate for your own failings, you dazzle and annoy
    others. Lovely. Get off the road at night, or get somebody else to drive
    for you.
     
    Tegger, Mar 8, 2011
    #19
  20. Boomer

    billzz Guest

    Just passing by and note that my doc said that one of the criteria for
    replacement is trouble seeing at night. I'm 73 and have had one
    replaced, the other will be next month, and I drive at night. I'm a
    chorale singer so have to read music at music speed, which is harder
    than night driving (and was my criteria for replacement.) You might
    check with another doc. The lights in my 2010 Honda Pilot Touring
    seem very adequate, in fact better than any previous car I've owned.
     
    billzz, Mar 8, 2011
    #20
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