well, i saw a pair of headlights on here the other day i liked. they were smoked lightning heads with black painted insides and a projector kit thing. i want them to be honest. i know there custom, and i can handle the paint and smoking. but i never leaned about all these new headlight technology. so can someone help me out?

what are HIDs and what are projectors? whats the difference? and what do you need for both? anything special? which is brighter?

sorry, im pretty far behind.

 

Reflector headlights have been around for a long time, and they have a proven track record. They're design is simple: take a small light source and magnify it into a powerful beam. The housing is curved and covered with a reflective material, like mirrors. A bulb is mounted right in the center, and when it's switched on, the light strikes the reflective surface and is bounced back as a stronger, brighter and larger beam. The downside to this type of lamp, though, is that some of the light will inevitably scatter away and be lost. Almost 95% of all headlights on the roads use this design.

Reflectors:




The latest and greatest in automotive lighting technology is projector headlight technology. They work much like the traditional reflector optics, but with an added step. After the light bounces off the reflective surface, it travels through a lens, which focuses the light into an incredibly tight, powerful beam. Hardly any light is scattered away, so you're left with brilliant illumination and a futuristic look. Along with this focused beam, projectors also feature a cutoff that prevents blindness from oncoming drivers.

Projectors:





As for halogen vs Xenon:

Halogen bulbs are like reflectors, almost 98% of the market as a cheap and basic way of providing light. A tungsten filament is strung through a glass bulb filled with an inert gas to prevent gas cycling. When electricity is passed through, the filament heats up, producing light. In terms of efficiency, the halogen bulb is VERY inefficient. It gives off 90% of its energy in the form of heat.



Xenon bulbs, are a small quartz bulb filled with xenon gas and halide crystals. When an electrical charge is shocked through it, the electrons are excited and emit light. This type of lamp is more efficient than halogens. With different gases, you get different lights. (sodium vapor is the yellow street lights and neon is bright red).



Generally most projectors come with xenon lights (Mercedes, BMW, Cadillac). some cheaper ones still use Halogens in the projector (Toyota, GM, etc). IF you put an HID in a reflector that was designed for a halogen bulb, the light will strike the reflectors at a different angle and cause glare and scatter most light someplace else.


pictures via google and a write-up in the 99-03 section.

 

sweet! first reply, all the info i need! thanks alot! internet high-five to you!

 

raptor, nice little summary. I say that if you put a little more time into that post, it should be stickied as a general know-all thread about different types of lights. Pros/Cons, etc

 

+1

Raptor--very nice write up and good info. Can you answer me this?---What makes one halogen bulb brighter than another?? Such as you can get a replacement bulb from Parts store of your choice for a few bucks, or you could get a Sylvania Silverstar (the one pictured above appears to be a Silverstar) and IMO have better bulb as it is brighter. Is it quality of materials, or something else that produces a brighter bulb??

And if you are so inclined to go into detail on HIDs, I sure would appreciate it as I know others would as well. I have read multiple postings on HIDs and I believe I come out MORE confused than informed. You have a simple way of explaining things. Thanks again man---DirtySCREW

 

write-up it is. check back in an hour

 

 

--hehe----DirtySCREW

 

check the appearance section

it depends on what bulb it is. basically it is the draw of the filament. a 9005 bulb is a single-filament designed for high-beam applications so it has a very thin tungsten filament. when 65W of power given off from the vehicle is passed through it, it emits more lumens than say, a 9006 (low beam bulb, 55W).

if you shop for the same bulb but from different manufacturers (say, a 9007 General Electric bulb versus a Phillips 9007 versus a Sylvania 9007) the only difference is the type of glass, gas inside, etc. They all get 55W, and they all have the same standards they are built to (regarding service life, light power, etc). the color may be different and some may last longer, but apples to apples, no you cannot get a more powerful bulb. there are exceptions, as a 55W H3 (fog lamp) bulb can be swapped with a 100W H3, or the 9145 fog (45W) can be interchanged with the identical 9005 (65W, high beam)

 

For those of you too lazy to go to the appearance section:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/ap...ns-v-hids.html

LOL---DirtySCREW

 

He did it!

 

well i purchased projectors with 8000k hids and they were not bright at all, in fact i had difficulty seeing at night. i had to sell the projectors and get 8000k hids for my stock light housings and these are ten times brighter than the projectors. i would recommend either lightning or hd lights which i wanna get clear lightning heads and corners when i have the money