Deciding on upgrading headlight bulbs
#1
Deciding on upgrading headlight bulbs
I've been deciding lately to upgrade my stock 2003 low beam bulbs to a brighter bulb. I believe the stock is 4300k. If I decide to upgrade to 6000k or 8000k, do I need to change the ballast? If so, would it be better to just stay within the 4500k range?
#2
No u dont i have a 06 coupe and had a 05 u dont need to swap out ballast.. Get 6000k 8000k sucks i got 6k on mine nd i can see fine nd it is alot brighter thAn stock. Www.Intensehid.com on sAle for 50.00 for a pair dude they look amazing
#3
6000K is not brighter than 4300K (stock). It's just different color temp, which play tricks on your eyes and make you see everything glows. I do agree that 6000K does make things look nicer and the only recommendation for upgrading. 8000K will be ok as well, it has a little purple-ish tint like those luxury cars (unlike the rice purple color at 12000K temp), but hard to see the road when it rains. The higher K temp you go, the less light you will get and color will become more ricer.
#5
If you have a Coupe then you will see a bigger difference in visibility by upgrading to the 06 projectors than by just swapping bulbs. I upgraded on my car and the visibility is much better not to mention the headlamps look a lot better. I paid around $500 for mine including shipping and the bulbs, I just stayed with the stock bulbs. You can reuse the ballast from your old headlights on the 06 projectors.
#6
If you have a Coupe then you will see a bigger difference in visibility by upgrading to the 06 projectors than by just swapping bulbs. I upgraded on my car and the visibility is much better not to mention the headlamps look a lot better. I paid around $500 for mine including shipping and the bulbs, I just stayed with the stock bulbs. You can reuse the ballast from your old headlights on the 06 projectors.
#7
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#8
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Why is everyone suggesting 6000k? OP wanted a brighter bulb. As redlude said, stock is already highest lumens. But if OP wanted that cleaner look and wanted to retain as much brightness as possible, I would strongly recommend 5000k. Very clean and little loss of lumen performance.
Oh, and get projectors, the difference is CRAZY!
Oh, and get projectors, the difference is CRAZY!
![Big Grin](https://g35driver.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
#9
Why is everyone suggesting 6000k? OP wanted a brighter bulb. As redlude said, stock is already highest lumens. But if OP wanted that cleaner look and wanted to retain as much brightness as possible, I would strongly recommend 5000k. Very clean and little loss of lumen performance.
Oh, and get projectors, the difference is CRAZY!![Big Grin](https://g35driver.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
Oh, and get projectors, the difference is CRAZY!
![Big Grin](https://g35driver.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
#11
I actually want to stay away from the ricer look, therefore, if 5000k is the best option I will go for that.
I believe the original bulb that has been on my headlights have never been changed. I currently have 114k miles on my car now, so I think even replacing a new bulb will show a brighter difference. Is that possible?
I believe the original bulb that has been on my headlights have never been changed. I currently have 114k miles on my car now, so I think even replacing a new bulb will show a brighter difference. Is that possible?
#12
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I know that 114k miles is a good way to estimate the lifetime of your bulbs, but if you really think about it, that doesn't measure your bulb lifetime at all! Bulb lifetime is a total number of hours of usage, and mileage doesn't tell you how fast you drove or whether or not your lights were on :P
Not sure if this is the correct d2r in our headlights but most of the philips HID bulbs have 75% lumen maintenance at 1500 hours. Which means, yes, replacing the bulb alone will show a brighter difference, most likely.
http://www.hid-online.com/hidonline/...specsheets.htm
Not sure if this is the correct d2r in our headlights but most of the philips HID bulbs have 75% lumen maintenance at 1500 hours. Which means, yes, replacing the bulb alone will show a brighter difference, most likely.
http://www.hid-online.com/hidonline/...specsheets.htm
#13