A phillips 4800K D4S bulb produces 3800 lumens. (these are mercury free bulbs found in the new LS460)
A phillips 4300K D2S bulb produces 3200 lumens. (OEM)
A phillips 4300K D2R bulb produces 2800 lumens. (OEM)
A phillips 6000K DS2 produces 2400 lumens.
And so on and so forth....The higher the K the less light is produced. (if you just want color why even get hids in the first place)
A Halogen bulb is somewhere in the range of ~1800-2200 lumens.
An OEM setup is the best you can get.
A retrofit using OEM parts is the next best thing.
Just slapping rebased bulbs into your existing housings that were made for halogen bulbs is where the problem's start. A halogen housing is made to utilize the output of a halogen bulb. Putting a bulb that produces 2-3x the amount of light is not going to work very well. Sure you'll get output because the light has to go somewhere but a halogen housing is made to concentrate the light in front of the vehicle. Halogen housings also scatter a lot more light causing glare. Now when your using a halogen bulb thats not really a problem and is acceptable by DOT standards. Putting in the HID bulb is now going to produce a glare that is unsafe for other motorists. If you live in a well lit area this is very annoying, but imagine a winding mountain road. The HID housings are made to effectively use the increased output of the bulb. There is more light directed to the sides of the vehicle as well as the front. The distinct cutoff also stops glare to other motorists. OEM hids also use an auto-level system so that when you go down a hill for example you don't blind everyone on the other side.
Call us HID Nazi's all you want. The results speak for themselves. Have you ever wondered why OEM's equip their cars with Phillips or Denso? They provide the best results for the best cost/reliability. The chinese knockoffs may work fine however there is a reason they are cheaper, and what has been said already....you get what you pay for.
A phillips 4300K D2S bulb produces 3200 lumens. (OEM)
A phillips 4300K D2R bulb produces 2800 lumens. (OEM)
A phillips 6000K DS2 produces 2400 lumens.
And so on and so forth....The higher the K the less light is produced. (if you just want color why even get hids in the first place)
A Halogen bulb is somewhere in the range of ~1800-2200 lumens.
An OEM setup is the best you can get.
A retrofit using OEM parts is the next best thing.
Just slapping rebased bulbs into your existing housings that were made for halogen bulbs is where the problem's start. A halogen housing is made to utilize the output of a halogen bulb. Putting a bulb that produces 2-3x the amount of light is not going to work very well. Sure you'll get output because the light has to go somewhere but a halogen housing is made to concentrate the light in front of the vehicle. Halogen housings also scatter a lot more light causing glare. Now when your using a halogen bulb thats not really a problem and is acceptable by DOT standards. Putting in the HID bulb is now going to produce a glare that is unsafe for other motorists. If you live in a well lit area this is very annoying, but imagine a winding mountain road. The HID housings are made to effectively use the increased output of the bulb. There is more light directed to the sides of the vehicle as well as the front. The distinct cutoff also stops glare to other motorists. OEM hids also use an auto-level system so that when you go down a hill for example you don't blind everyone on the other side.
Call us HID Nazi's all you want. The results speak for themselves. Have you ever wondered why OEM's equip their cars with Phillips or Denso? They provide the best results for the best cost/reliability. The chinese knockoffs may work fine however there is a reason they are cheaper, and what has been said already....you get what you pay for.
