Brewster said:
A leveling mechanism is understandable to have, but a self-adjusting mechanism is quite a different animal.
FINALLY, a real H4 BI-XENON kit.
- Thread starter siman
- Start date
A leveling mechanism is understandable to have, but a self-adjusting mechanism is quite a different animal.
You use the adjustment screws to level and pitch the headlamps.
My JDM H4 housings do not point either way, they are STRAIGHT AHEAD. There is no difference between them and the old stock sealed beams that were on it.
As for self leveling, my old Infinity FX45 had them and our new QX56 has them. Both of them have a little "scroll tab" like on a mouse to level them.....there reallly not "self" leveling but you adjust them to your liking from inside the cabin, left of the steering wheel.
The actuator is very small grim, if you have ever seen them person you would understand.....they stick out about 1/2 inch more..
And there is so many places to put the relays and ballast in our engine bays...thats not even remotely an issue.
My JDM H4 housings do not point either way, they are STRAIGHT AHEAD. There is no difference between them and the old stock sealed beams that were on it.
As for self leveling, my old Infinity FX45 had them and our new QX56 has them. Both of them have a little "scroll tab" like on a mouse to level them.....there reallly not "self" leveling but you adjust them to your liking from inside the cabin, left of the steering wheel.
The actuator is very small grim, if you have ever seen them person you would understand.....they stick out about 1/2 inch more..
And there is so many places to put the relays and ballast in our engine bays...thats not even remotely an issue.
DrakeMK3 said:
They are self adjusting, that's why you didn't know that came with them. :icon_bigg
You guys are thinking when you go into a TURN that the lights turn with the car....thats the self adjusting part...there is no self "leveling"....leveling is UP AND DOWN.......the car cannot possibly sense where the light beam is spread and if the driver is having a hard time seeing up close or far away....get me?
The only thing there that is automatic is when you TURN the whole unit turns to shed light further into the turn instead of the beam cutting off and making a quote unquote "blind spot".
Either way, Drake said he paid like $350 for his HID's without the high beams....these are like $50 bucks more for high beams....thats not bad at all considering what you get in and out of the kit.
-Jonathan
The only thing there that is automatic is when you TURN the whole unit turns to shed light further into the turn instead of the beam cutting off and making a quote unquote "blind spot".
Either way, Drake said he paid like $350 for his HID's without the high beams....these are like $50 bucks more for high beams....thats not bad at all considering what you get in and out of the kit.
-Jonathan
You're misquoting me. I paid $325 for EVERYTHING, not just HID's. I paid $250 shipped for a McColloch 5300k kit which contained the ballasts, ignitors, and bulbs. That's $150 less than the hi/lo combo. Included in that $325 are the brand new e-code housings AND my adapters so I don't blind people.
Also, the term self-adjusting levelers is misleading. I was thinking about putting a load on the car and it automatically adjusts the level for you. The fact you can adjust the lights from the inside of the vehicle isn't nearly as impressive.
I have seen the actuators - some are small, some are not.
For everyone who thinks that SilverStars are even close to equivalent to HIDs - NO. HIDs kick the piss out of any halogen based bulb you can buy. Silverstars are a nice upgrade over stock, but they aren't even in the same league as HIDs. I parked my SilverStars next to Spipedong's HID setup, my lights looked like marker lights by comparison.
I will be another convert to HID soon.
For everyone who thinks that SilverStars are even close to equivalent to HIDs - NO. HIDs kick the piss out of any halogen based bulb you can buy. Silverstars are a nice upgrade over stock, but they aren't even in the same league as HIDs. I parked my SilverStars next to Spipedong's HID setup, my lights looked like marker lights by comparison.
I will be another convert to HID soon.
siman said:
I'm not talking about when you turn. I'm talking up and down. There's a sensor located in one of the front wheel wells in stock HID equipped cars that detects the load on the vehicle and adjusts the lights accordingly. I have no idea how they work, but I know they're there and that's why aftermarket HID's are illegal in some states. Because there is no self-leveller and you can blind other drivers.
Adjuster
Supramania Contributor
I have HID's from the factory on my A8.
And the Silverstars in the Supra and my Q45.
At night, on an empty road. the Q45 has the best headlights, followed by the Supra sealed beams, and then the HID lamps on the Audi. (So much for HID kicking ass....)
I will say the Audi lamps are very good, better than the Tauras compnay car I had for years. (Converted it over to Silverstars too, and improved it 100X) The problem with the Audi lamps is they are trying too much not to cause glare to oncoming traffic. This cuts the light off so much, you can't see down the road very far. (With it adjusted correctly that is. With the lamps adjusted "above" what the DOT standards would like, they are excellent lamps, but not any brighter than the Q45 or Supra really. (Just blue light v/s white light. Big deal. Even the McCullogh site notes that 4500k is right light, and that your 10k lamps are not as "bright" even though the light is a higher wave length.)
Sunlight is what? 5600k or something like that. The Silverstars claim to be near 5k, so I see very little need to spend 300+ on lamps at this time. (When they are 200.00, I'll make the change over to this setup, with the high and low beam patterns, and some H4 Hella housings.)
I think the HID's are great. Just don't know if the value is there yet at 300 and some change. (Compared to what you can have for less than 1/2 the cost.)
And the Silverstars in the Supra and my Q45.
At night, on an empty road. the Q45 has the best headlights, followed by the Supra sealed beams, and then the HID lamps on the Audi. (So much for HID kicking ass....)
I will say the Audi lamps are very good, better than the Tauras compnay car I had for years. (Converted it over to Silverstars too, and improved it 100X) The problem with the Audi lamps is they are trying too much not to cause glare to oncoming traffic. This cuts the light off so much, you can't see down the road very far. (With it adjusted correctly that is. With the lamps adjusted "above" what the DOT standards would like, they are excellent lamps, but not any brighter than the Q45 or Supra really. (Just blue light v/s white light. Big deal. Even the McCullogh site notes that 4500k is right light, and that your 10k lamps are not as "bright" even though the light is a higher wave length.)
Sunlight is what? 5600k or something like that. The Silverstars claim to be near 5k, so I see very little need to spend 300+ on lamps at this time. (When they are 200.00, I'll make the change over to this setup, with the high and low beam patterns, and some H4 Hella housings.)
I think the HID's are great. Just don't know if the value is there yet at 300 and some change. (Compared to what you can have for less than 1/2 the cost.)
You are right on Adjuster about the Kelvin lighting.
The best lighting to light up the road is around 4500-5500 Kelvin (K)...any more than that is just for show(color) and the beam is actually not as destinct and direct as the whiter 4700K, which I am going to get the 4800K or whatever they offer NEAR 5000K........Kids in my town have the 8K-12K HID's and the beam pattern isnt that distinct and the lighting is piss poor....they just want the look rather than the added safety and benefit....though my friends 12K HID's on his S15 Silvia front ended S14 LOOKS GOOD....its just not "right".....
My brother got 6K HID's on his 300zx projectors for low beams....The higher Kelvin HID's on PROJECTORS looks good and can have a some what good beam patter.....though on regular housing lamps like our H4's ......it would just be for SHOW....My brother is going to buy 4700K HID bulbs pretty soon to replace his 6000K's anyways...he said they are too blue for him...LOL
-Jonathan
The best lighting to light up the road is around 4500-5500 Kelvin (K)...any more than that is just for show(color) and the beam is actually not as destinct and direct as the whiter 4700K, which I am going to get the 4800K or whatever they offer NEAR 5000K........Kids in my town have the 8K-12K HID's and the beam pattern isnt that distinct and the lighting is piss poor....they just want the look rather than the added safety and benefit....though my friends 12K HID's on his S15 Silvia front ended S14 LOOKS GOOD....its just not "right".....
My brother got 6K HID's on his 300zx projectors for low beams....The higher Kelvin HID's on PROJECTORS looks good and can have a some what good beam patter.....though on regular housing lamps like our H4's ......it would just be for SHOW....My brother is going to buy 4700K HID bulbs pretty soon to replace his 6000K's anyways...he said they are too blue for him...LOL
-Jonathan
It's mandatory for HIDs to be self-levelling in Germany, simply to avoid blinding the oncoming traffic when you put say... a 7M block into your trunk which would lift the car's front end up.DrakeMK3 said:
It must be self-levelling because HIDs are much brighter than halogens, so a manual levelling feature is not sufficient since that would still be depending on the driver to take care for it.
So if I mounted HIDs without that feature, I could get busted by the police.
BTW manual levelling with a knob thing is mandatory over here since 1990, my '92 MKIII has that too.
Oh, I definitely see the need for the self-leveling. I myself have noticed when I am involved in some spirited driving I can see farther. 
You've got to love the torquey 7M.
You've got to love the torquey 7M.
DrakeMK3 said:Oh, I definitely see the need for the self-leveling. I myself have noticed when I am involved in some spirited driving I can see farther.
You've got to love the torquey 7M.
on stock suspension that is :haha:
average sunny day is about 5600k
a clear day with the sun at full tily is about 6500k
9500k is probably an extremly bright sunny day... with SNOW all over the place
a clear day with the sun at full tily is about 6500k
9500k is probably an extremly bright sunny day... with SNOW all over the place