I currently have a set of ultra white LED city lights in the housing, which look great in my opinion. I am thinking to upgrade to a 6000K bulb. Do you guys have any recommendations as far as which Looks best 6000 vs 8000K? Who do you guys use for the a bulb manufacturer?

 

What you're experiencing is typical for HID bulbs. They lose intensity over time and the color does tend to change. I replaced my bulbs this year, and the difference was quite dramatic.

There are a couple of things you should keep in mind when you choose a color temperature for your new bulbs. OEM bulbs are 4,300K, as I'm sure you know. This temperature is chosen for a reason - when the light hits the road it comes very close to the light produced by natural sunlight. This is the color temperature for which the human eye is most adapted. If maximum visibility is your major concern, then I would stick with 4,300K bulbs.

If you are trying to achieve a certain look, especially more of a white or blue look, then you might prefer a 6,000K bulb. They look awesome, there's no doubt about that. However, there is a trade-off. They put less usable light onto the road. This is especially noticable in poor weather conditions, such as fog. True fog lights (as opposed to driving lights) are typically yellow for this reason. Another example is the lighting on the steps in movie theaters. What color is it? It's blue. The reason is that the blue light shows you where the step is, but it doesn't put out enough light to distract you from the movie screen. The more blue the light is, the less usable light there is. There's also an impact on depth perception with blue light. Did you ever see people trip on the steps in the movie theater? That's why they trip...

8,000K would be an option too, but again, you lose even more usable light. 8,000K is also going to be a little more of a purple looking light than blue, and you mentioned that you didn't like the fact that your HIDs are turning purple. That seems a little too high to me.

Good luck with your decision. I think you might be amazed at how good a new set of OEM 4,300K bulbs would look, but I understand why you're attracted to the higher color temperature bulbs.

 

This explains why I see so many people in my area driving with purple HID's. I had no idea they would change color when they lost their intensity.

car detailing san luis obispo
San Luis Obispo auto detail
auto detail san luis obispo
car cleaning san luis obispo
auto detailing in san luis obispo
san luis obispo car detailing
auto detailing san luis obispo

 

rep for Dennis !
thanks for the explanation. i always heard that 4300k (oem) was optimal, but now i know why !

 

Thanks Steve!

 

They actually go through two color changes. The first takes place after about 150 hours of use. They are often brighter and whiter in this initial period, then they settle down a bit. After that, they gradually lose intensity and the color temperature changes.

When I changed the HID bulbs on my C4S, it was 9 years old. The difference surprised me.

 

well i have had my Passenger Side Turn Purple at around 2 years old. But last Summer my Driver Side turned Blue/Green, light was very Dim.

So my Pass Side lasted 2 years and Driver side 6 Years lols

Ever seen or heard of them going Blue/Green?

 

Blue/Green? I've never seen that! I assume you just replaced them and now the are fine...

I had one fail on a Saab I used to drive that just durned dark purple and hardly put out any light at all. I always change them in pairs to try to match the color as much as possible.

 

I have been dealing with/selling/installing automotive HID products for over 12 years. IMO I would go over 6000K.

 

Yes i just Replaced it with some Used Spares i got, just for this kind of situation and all was Savvy

 

I would take this :

Osram Xenarc Cool Blue Intense

They are original and a little more blueish and they are OEM.

 

Go over 6000K??

 

Oops! Typo - I meant NOT over 6000K.

 

Any pics floating around here of 6000K installed on our cars? I had a set of 6000K in my Range rover and felt they were to blue, However in my B5 audi s4 i had a 55w 6000k in oem rs4 housings and they look amazing! --Rob

 

I have installed the Philips UltaBlue Xenon lights, they have 6K amd making perfect light and it looks very good.

here is a video: http://www.myvideo.de/watch/5467847/Philips_Xenon_Ultra_Blue_6000K_Start one more: and the last: