What HID replacements to get for best vision?

Kelvin rating is a measurement of the color temperature of the light. As the Kelvin rating increases, the color shifts away from red and toward blue.

If you need more light than the standard HID lamps, you should seriously consider not driving at night.

Tom

 

That should mostly be controlled by the reflector. The stock HIDs already throw a lot of light to the sides on high beam. On low beam, you don't want the light over into the other lane. Good HID headlamps, like those on the Prius, have very sharp cutoffs on the low beam setting. Drivers not used to sharp cutoffs sometimes feel that the lights are not bright enough or not wide enough, but they are very bright in the intended area, and very black outside it. This is done by design to keep from blinding oncoming traffic. Cheep high intensity headlamps may appear brighter, but this is done at the expense of throwing light all over the place.

Tom

 

This is your solution for better side lighting.

 

Like stated above, it is very unlikely that a bulb change will create more side lighting. Going to a whiter bulb may make the lighting appear brighter but that does not mean it is helping you to see more of the road. In fact sometimes the whiter light can be blinding depending on what it is shining on, expecially fog.

I understand the desire to have a white to blue tinted light for purely asthetic reasons as I've had 3 sets of 8k HIDs in my trucks. For safety purposes I think the stock HIDs are great. A shade whiter may look better but I do not think it would be worth the price to swap the stock ones out unless they have burned out.

 

It must be a perception issue because I sit with the seat all the way back as well as reclined and I do not notice this problem. Maybe a high-end (PIAA 1100x?) wide-angle fog light would serve you well? A driving light would put too much energy forward instead of out. Our fog lights sit a bit too rescessed IMO so you may need to bring the aftermarket set forward a bit to get enough energy out to the sides.

 

What about putting some sort of shim on the fog lights to make them point outward more. The fogs don't seem to do much mostly because the headlights drown them out, but they do provide light. I know because I covered the headlights and drove around with just the fogs.

Someone wanting more side or lateral lighting needs to take the fogs apart and find a way to use washers to point them outward. That should provide sufficient lateral lighting.

 

When you replace them, stay in the range of 6000 K. The higher rated ones will be bluer, but they actually put out less light.

 

I honestly think that may be your problem. I was thinking about your problem while driving down my usual dark country roads and realized that being fairly reclined, a lot of your side viewing is done out the drivers side window and with a dark tint it would be difficult to see well. I recently removed my 35% front window tint and I could see how having the tint could really reduce the amount of light visible to you when looking out that window.

 

Maybe Toyota should consider a feature found on Cadillacs way back to the '60s'..CORNERING LAMPS! That would be cool..

 

Trade in the Prius for a Lexus RX400h with Adaptive Front Lighting System.

 

>I see several HID replacement options on the Sigma website, but I have >no idea what makes for a better pattern of light than the stock ones.

The bulb makes the light, but the reflectors control where it goes. Changing to a different HID bulb will not change what the reflector does.

>I'd like more side light,

That is perfectly doable. The stock foglights are decorative. You are free to pull the factory unit and put in functional lighting. If you want light way up the road and sideways you would get real foglights and install them, perhaps splayed out a little sideways.

>but I don't think that's a function of Kelvin rating.

the Kelvin rating refers to the exact shade of white that the bulb produces. If you look at paints in a hardware store sometime you'll find that there are hundreds of slightly different colors that we call white. The "K" rating lets you know which one you're getting.

>What would be ideal is a reflector that pops into place when the turn >signal is activated, throwing some extra light in the selected direction.

I have also seen those Cadillacs with the cornering lights. They have a fixed white light mounted out at the end of the fender facing sideways. When you activate the blinker the white light comes on and is already pointed towards the side you are turning to. It does not blink. Depending on how they do it, you might be able to transplant the mechanism to your vehicle. All you need is a circuit that will activate a steady on when the blinker is active. It might be part of the blinker relay (the little metal can) for those cars.

>Has anyone needed new HIDs yet and found something good?...

I also have an '04 and think the stock HIDs are not bad. The emitter does dim over time. You have four year old bulbs. If you drive at night a lot they may simply be nearing the end of their useful life, and replacements would bring you back up to full power.

You could also pick an opportune time and see if having your windows open versus closed makes a useful difference when you want to turn. If opening them is all it takes, you might want to go with a lighter tint, perhaps with a clear strip running along at eye level.

 

i have 5500 K and its a very white beam, really lights up the road a lot better than the stock 4300k

 

what is the stock headlight for a 2008 touring? and what about the fog lights? what light can i put there so it actually does something usefull?

please write the info that i need to take to the person and they can provide me with the bulb.. like model and stuff.. thanks

 

I had a 1987 LeBaron Coupe, power everything. At that time there was the "Primo" option and that put illuminated entry and cornering lights on the car along with some other stuff. I used to call them "Ditch Lights" because as soon as you turned on the turn signal, the ditch light on that side would turn on as well. They were mounted on the front right and left fenders down low with the side running lights.
Guy in WNY

 

well, stockers on the 04-05 i know are i think 4200K osram silvania.

i have 5500 K phillips now and the vision is great, but i believe you need to adjust the beam a bit from stock, even with the 4200K bulbs.