Replacing Headlight Globe - Hid Or Halogen?

[PureXIII]

Since i bought my R34 my low beams have always been terrible - ie. poor visibility.

I'm pretty sure they are some kind of cheap HID kit from ebay that the previous owner has put in. They take a second to flick on and have a blue tint to them.

Anyway i think one of the bulbs has blown on the passenger side or something else is going wrong.

When i turn on the headlights the passenger side flickers on for an instant before turning off. Is the bulb gone or is it something else?

Also what options do i have if i wanted to put in brighter (more usable light) lights? Don't want blue ones, wouldn't mind white but i'd prefer to see the road first.

Also i tried to take off the dust cover to see what globe was in there but there was a weird hexagon screw with a small piece in the center - do i need a hollow hex key or something to take it off?

[sleptema]

Since i bought my R34 my low beams have always been terrible - ie. poor visibility.

I'm pretty sure they are some kind of cheap HID kit from ebay that the previous owner has put in. They take a second to flick on and have a blue tint to them. 20140503_154618.jpg20140503_154623.jpg

Anyway i think one of the bulbs has blown on the passenger side or something else is going wrong.

When i turn on the headlights the passenger side flickers on for an instant before turning off. Is the bulb gone or is it something else?

Also what options do i have if i wanted to put in brighter (more usable light) lights? Don't want blue ones, wouldn't mind white but i'd prefer to see the road first.

Also i tried to take off the dust cover to see what globe was in there but there was a weird hexagon screw with a small piece in the center - do i need a hollow hex key or something to take it off? 20140503_154605.jpg

I believe that bit is called Torx Tamper Resistant. But I think you'll find the dust cover just twists off, and that bolt is to secure the surround to the light assembly. It's just tight as hell, or that was the case with mine.

As for your lights... With the standard halogen I was having similar sight issues, but by the sounds of it you have 8000+k HID lights. Maximum light output is achieved at 6000k, which is true white, 8000 is blue tinge, and 10000 is basically blue, and 12 being purple, and so on.. I have 6000k on my r34, and they are brilliant. I see EVERYTHING. So it may be a case of poor quality/chinese bulbs and ballasts. Personally I would buy your own, and I don't know how the ballasts are mounted in yours (factory is in the actual housing) but mine had been cut so I had to externally mount mine.

I am going out tonight in the car, I will take a picture of my lights and throw them up here for you. And if you are going to buy HID's, I will recommend "Delonix". They are over here in Perth, but are fairly cheap, and very customer satisfaction orientated. I accidentally ordered the wrong globes, and she came on a Saturday to swap them for me. I think I got 6000k 35w low and 6000k 55w high for $260.

It could also be an issue with how they are aimed, but you should be getting flashed by on coming cars if it was that bad.

Hope I helped.

Edited May 3, 2014 by sleptema

[NYTSKY]

lol you just twist the dust cover mate. Don't remove the screw.

[central coast person]

Your lights are factory Xenon's (Note the wording on your lens). On my r33 GTR xenons you can't just twist the cover off you need to get the security torx screw off or the cap will just hit the head of the screw. Same story for r34 lights. The security torx size is a T20

They need to be there because if you manage to zap yourself it will hurt, there are about 10,000V-20,000V to zap you with. Previous owner would have just bought a cheap bulb off ebay not a HID kit because your xenons are factory fit. A proper bulb will cost you about $300+ for the pair and make sure you disconnect the headlight electrical connector when you change the bulb

[PureXIII]

Your lights are factory Xenon's (Note the wording on your lens). On my r33 GTR xenons you can't just twist the cover off you need to get the security torx screw off or the cap will just hit the head of the screw. Same story for r34 lights. The security torx size is a T20

They need to be there because if you manage to zap yourself it will hurt, there are about 10,000V-20,000V to zap you with. Previous owner would have just bought a cheap bulb off ebay not a HID kit because your xenons are factory fit. A proper bulb will cost you about $300+ for the pair and make sure you disconnect the headlight electrical connector when you change the bulb

Does this mean i still have the factory Xenon HID ballasts and they weren't remove at compliance (or re-fitted after)?

[central coast person]

Check under the headlight itself. There will be a ballast under the headlight bolted to a bracket, you will be able to tell if its a genuine one or not easily.

[niZmO_Man]

http://www.powerbulbs.com/au/product/xenon-vision-d2r-85126-single

That's a proper bulb.

Anything higher than 5000K, make sure you buy lots of neon lights to put throughout the car, and get a full boot install and nitro purge through your bonnet.

[sleptema]

http://www.powerbulbs.com/au/product/xenon-vision-d2r-85126-single

That's a proper bulb.

Anything higher than 5000K, make sure you buy lots of neon lights to put throughout the car, and get a full boot install and nitro purge through your bonnet.

Because some people want higher visibility at night, over 5000k is considered F&F/ricer shit? That's a very narrow minded view. I have issues with my sight (multiple eye surgeries) and at night I sometimes find it hard to see the road, so I give myself the best chance with the brightest possible headlights and proper aiming.

Those are my headlights. They are fairly bright, and the picture really doesn't do them justice. My Internal ballasts had the wiring cut, and replaced with H1 halogens for compliance. I replaced the halogens with HID's and mounted the ballasts under the light assembly.

[niZmO_Man]

If you have had multiple eye surgeries and want to see better at night, you'd stay away from blue bulbs. Wondered why OEM is 4300K and fog lights are yellow (3000K or lower)?

That's my R32 with retrofitted projectors and the Philips D2S 4300K bulb (glare and dark streaks caused by the standard housing's front lens). I've had 6000K bulbs before (was sent the wrong bulbs) and quickly changed back to halogen (on my R31, haven't retrofitted it yet). 4300K is A LOT better for seeing at night, especially when it rains. Don't believe me? Try it for yourself (I'm sure you can find cheap ebay bulbs if you don't want to spend $200).

Perhaps you should do some more research on colour temperature vs light output at a specific power output.

Of course, 6000K does 'look' more cool (pun intended), especially next to your blueish white LED park lights. Just because it looks whiter to you doesn't mean it's brighter, but whatever makes you happy.

Another thing I found is cheap eBay bulbs vary quite a bit with colour temperatures. I had 2 pairs of ebay 4300K bulbs and every single bulb was a slightly different colour. Bought genuine Philips bulbs (99% of eBay ones are fake) and never looked back.

OP, if you have the ballasts mounted on underneath (sounds like you do have the OEM stuff), then simply splash out the cash for some Philips/Osram bulbs. I believe Osram do a 'Cool Blue Intense' in D2R, which is 5000K rated to give you that white with a touch of blue light (Standard on the Merc S-class apparently).

Oh BTW, the Philips bulbs colour shifts into the 5000K territory with age.

[sleptema]

If you have had multiple eye surgeries and want to see better at night, you'd stay away from blue bulbs. Wondered why OEM is 4300K and fog lights are yellow (3000K or lower)?

That's my R32 with retrofitted projectors and the Philips D2S 4300K bulb (glare and dark streaks caused by the standard housing's front lens). I've had 6000K bulbs before (was sent the wrong bulbs) and quickly changed back to halogen (on my R31, haven't retrofitted it yet). 4300K is A LOT better for seeing at night, especially when it rains. Don't believe me? Try it for yourself (I'm sure you can find cheap ebay bulbs if you don't want to spend $200).

Perhaps you should do some more research on colour temperature vs light output at a specific power output.

Of course, 6000K does 'look' more cool (pun intended), especially next to your blueish white LED park lights. Just because it looks whiter to you doesn't mean it's brighter, but whatever makes you happy.

Another thing I found is cheap eBay bulbs vary quite a bit with colour temperatures. I had 2 pairs of ebay 4300K bulbs and every single bulb was a slightly different colour. Bought genuine Philips bulbs (99% of eBay ones are fake) and never looked back.

OP, if you have the ballasts mounted on underneath (sounds like you do have the OEM stuff), then simply splash out the cash for some Philips/Osram bulbs. I believe Osram do a 'Cool Blue Intense' in D2R, which is 5000K rated to give you that white with a touch of blue light (Standard on the Merc S-class apparently).

Oh BTW, the Philips bulbs colour shifts into the 5000K territory with age.

Fog lights are yellow, for the fact that you can see better in high scintillation environments - eg fog, heavy rain, but for everyday driving at night, I believe 6000k, gives the best light output. 6000k is hardly blue at all, it is pure white, while 4300k is cool white, borderline yellow, or 3000k which most halogens are.

I have never bought eBay shit, and never will for the facts that you have stated above. I like how you are so quick to jump to silly conclusions, and are so quick to shoot down every one elses opinion.

And my dash lights are supposed to be white. I have no idea why they have the blue tinge to them.

[niZmO_Man]

Like I said

but whatever makes you happy.

I'm providing my opinions based on real data and testing I've done. Spent almost $1k on mostly crap haha. This is a public forum where people will have differing opinions, if you don't want to get scrutinised then don't post?

[warps]

Nizmo - he knows

4300K is the equivalent of sunlight which our eyes have evolved to respond most efficiently to. Can't change millions of years of evolution overnight.

Anything over that will start to look blue, and hence not be as effective. Don't fall into the trap of believing that whiter light is better. to a point, yes, but once you go beyond about 5000 it definitely starts to reduce actual usable output.

No need to get so defensive because someone (who happens to be right) disagrees with you.

[Ben C34]

Human eyeballs have less blue receptors.

So staying out of the blue spectrum is certainly smart.

[PureXIII]

Finally ended up getting the globe out.

You do need the torx screw driver(T20) as "central cost person" said (it prevents the cap from turning)

Figure out you need to turn the ballast connection anti-clockwise to unscrew it. (from this thread guide)

Also ballasts were underneath the housings - seeming to be intact, no wiring cut.

This is my bulb

I'd Assume the Philips Xenon Vison D2R is the replacement right?

[central coast person]

Yeah looks to be factory Xenons have been left in.
You might be better off buying a set of 2 D2R's if your a fussy person like me, because there will be a very slight difference in colour output for the older bulb. Maybe as small as 100-200K but noticeable enough for some people.

[533 RYC]

niZmO_Man, warps & superben are right.

The flicker in your OP is a dead bulb. This has happened to me.

4300kelvin is the closest to sunlight, that's why car manufacturers use that temperature rating. It gives the best vision in all conditions.

The set that are currently in my wagon are 6000kelvin cheap china ebay jobbies. They've been in there for near on 3 years, with no issues & still going strong!!!

The R32 parabolic reflectors are CRAP!

Here is a link for a good conversion:

http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/117874-install-audi-a6-bi-xenon-projectors-r32-headlights.html

[niZmO_Man]

There's a thread in the DIY section as well