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what would be the best temperature to go with to imitate an OEM HID. i like 4300k but i heard that aftermarket bulbs would not give off the same temperature as OEM 4300k. im afraid that a 6000k might look to aftermarket. i dont car for the blue tint just a pure white is what i want, like OEM

4300 is stock, 5000 is good and I know of a couple people that have 6000K and IMO it has a slight purplish tint to it but isnt too bright or too aftermarket looking. 6000 though diminishes a lil bit of the light output you get compared to 4300. I put 6000 Ultinon's in my retro's just because I like the color and I dont do too much back road driving where optimal light output is needed.

Don't go higher than 5000k.  IMHO, that's the limit.  Anything above 5200k gets blue/purple and luminosity is reduced.  You should go for a retro though.  HID bulbs in a halogen housing (regardless of color temperature) will create glare.

if you have the Cheap ebay headlight assembly... the heat from the Hid bulb will show you the imperfections

It doesn't matter what you use.  The fact is that when you use a HID bulb in a halogen housing, there WILL be glare which is unsafe.

i always like LUMINICS Ultra White never looked aftermarket just pure white light

i cant afford the time or money right now for a retro job. i do know that HIDs in a halogen headlight do cause glare but hopefully i can angle the headlights to decrease glare a litte bit. i dont want to decrease the safety of others with a glare kit, but being that a live in a well lit area i dont think it will be too bad. i should try to avoid using back roads tho. as for temperature i think i will be going with a 4500k or 5000k set up. thanx again guys

Why don't you just buy OEM bulbs?? As long as you match up the socket they'll all work with aftermarket kits...that way you get OE luminosity.  Even if you manage to angle your lights enough to avoid complaints from other drivers, you're going to reduce your overall sight of the road.

I have had HID bulbs in stock housing for 6 months now.  Not once have I been flashed by anyone.  Though I have properly aimed my headlights.  All headlights create glare if you stare at them.  Our cars are low to the ground....they create no more glare than your generic truck or SUV with their oem low-beams and fog lights on...and their lights are like 4ft off the ground.  IMO the enhanced visibility/safety I have at night with HID's outweighs the occasional slight eye strain I may cause an oncoming driver.  The only way someone could get "blinded" by a headlight would be if they stare into the light.  If someone is starting into an oncoming cars headlight the driver is not looking where they should be to begin with.

thats exactly what i want. i know that the 01-03TL's used HIDs in their halogan headlight. i wondered if the bulb would fit. i dont care much for the ballasts. if they run out on me after a couple years. i ll get another set for cheap again. still better than paying 5 times the amount for 10 years... great advice skip!

So do my inspire headlamps, but the trick is the reflector is a bit different, and is made for HIDs, thus you will not get the same output as the tl, cl, etc. And the oem reflector hid systems use D2R bulbs, and the inspires use D2S which are usually meant for projectors.

That may be your opinion, but I strongly disagree.  In my experience, I have driven in front of CM Accords with HIDs in OEM housings and found them to be obnoxiously bright.  Sure, any headlights will "blind" you if you stare directly at them, but we're talking about unwanted glare.  IMHO, there's a huge difference from staring at headlights, and being blinded by glare created from improper use of HIDs.  Everyone that has HIDs in their OEM halogen housings down plays the fact that there is a ton of glare, and say that aiming them down makes everything better.  That's just an opinion with no facts or proof.  Based on what I've seen personally, it's not true at all.

Here's a fact though.  OEM halogen based reflector housings are designed to reflect a small amount of light above the cutoff to illuminate street signs and the like.  Since they are designed for halogen bulbs, when you take a HID bulb that's much brighter, it creates hot spots and glare.  If you really want, I can go ahead and take some pictures comparing HIDs and halogen bulbs in OEM halogen reflector housings, and HIDs in a projector retrofit.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm going to make sure that the truth is told about HID kits.  I am strongly against them because they create a lot of glare and are unsafe for other drivers on the road.  A lot of people blow smoke up your ass and avoid the actual truth about these kits.  If it weren't a matter of safety, I probably wouldn't care as much.  I have been blinded by plenty of people with HID kits in their halogen headlights to not say something about this.

I mean no offense to you Greg, nor am I calling you out in any way.  I'm just trying to provide information based on my experience and research, and help people do safe modifications for them and other drivers on the road.

Maybe it's my tinted windows, but I've had several CMs with HIDs in stock housings behind and coming towards me and they generally do not bother me at all below 6000k. I even drove in front of my friend's tC with reflector headlights and 6000k HIDs for 800+ miles from FL to PA and it didn't bother me. It just made him stand out from the other cars making it easier to make sure he was following.

That being said, every single SUV or truck that I've seen with HIDs blinds the shit out of me. I'm not trying to downplay the fact that there is glare compared to a properly fitted projector, but the argument that certain cars create more glare than our CMs is valid. After all there are cars with reflector headlights designed for HID use. (i.e. inspire headlights, which have a similar low beam reflector to our USDM headlights except an inch or so lower.

A lot of older cars have headlights that are reflected with a refracted lens. This is the absolute worst glare scenario.

I understand what you're saying Steve.  The one thing I'd like to point out about the reflector based HID housings (i.e. Inspires, CLs, IS300) is that they are designed for HIDs.  I always make sure to be very clear about that I am talking about halogen based reflector housings, and not to be confused with HID based reflector housings.  Sure, other vehicles will create more or less glare, but it will always be there.  I have tinted windows also, and still find it obnoxious to have someone with HIDs ranging from blue to purple literally blinding me at night.  I also refuse to drive in front of any of my friends that have HIDs in their OEM housings.  Maybe my eyes are more sensitive to that kind of stuff, but I know I'm not the only person that it affects.

OEM or not OEM hid reflector housing, they will bother oncoming traffic. for ppl who have inspires (except for Tim as far as i know), dont think you are out of the question couse Inspire hid headlights were design for RHD cars so they through some light to the left and will blind oncoming traffic

as far as i know. either hid in our oem housing or inspires will create same amount of glare (maybe inspires will have more couse of RHD design)


i noticed that single fimalment reflector housings creat a lot less glare then dual filament headlight housings when used with HIDs

You can always modify the stepped cutoff in the Inspires from RHD to a flat, unstepped cutoff and then aim them properly.

yeah you can modify it but how many ppl who have inspires actualy did this? can i safely assume none?

is the step some kind of shield thing or its certain reflectors that do that like in our regular housing?

I think Thien has done that Misha.


I will say that my dad had a CL with stock HIDs in reflectors back when no one had seen them before, and he got high-beamed like crazy in that car (until it became one of the thousands of CLs whose transmission had premature issues...twice). So I think Misha's theory is accurate. I have been blinded by HIDs in projectors and HIDs in stock housings alike.

No offense taken Tim. I respect your opinions.  I do not support people making unsafe modifications to their cars either.  I did not mean to hi-jack this thread either.

This is a very subjective topic....definetly deserves more thought and consideration.

ok so to stay on topic.... re-based bulbs are pretty expensive. is re-basing a d2r bulb difficult to do?

Actually, I met a guy that did this to his inspires a few years ago.  He was on v6p and g7a, but hasn't posted in a long time.  His screen name was arom, and lives up in Maine.  Anyway, he's the only guy that I know of that has modified the reflector to have a flat cutoff.

Of course any light will have some glare depending on how it's aimed and the road conditions (hilly or flat).  Since any retro doesn't utilize self leveling motors, they are at a disadvantage.  In Europe, they have very strict standards with HIDs.  All HIDs must use a self leveling motors and have some way of automatically washing the lenses, along with a few others that I can't remember off hand.

In the hierarchy of headlights go when it comes to HIDs and glare, it goes OEM projector HIDs with self leveling motors > HID retrofit > OEM reflector based HID > OEM halogen housing with HID bulbs.

I'll take pictures to show you guys the difference between OEM halogen bulbs, OEM halogen housings with HID bulbs, and a HID retrofit.  When you see all the hot spots and glare created by HIDs in OEM halogen housings, you will be surprised.