Which lights the road better? 4000k, 6000k, 10,000k?

I have been looking at several different Xenon headlight conversion kits, and each one has so many different variations. I am aware that the difference in Kelvin also is a difference in color, in that the higher the Kelvin, the more blueish the light is. What I am more curious about (And I would like those with personal experience to please mention this in your reply) is which one of these Xenon bulbs tends to light up the road best? I am trying to choose between the 4000k, 6000k, and 10,000k bulbs and would like to know in advance, if possible, which one tends to give off the farthest throw, and widest dispersion of light. anyone with actual photos of their specific headlights would be MOST appreciated. Thanks!

 

4000 puts out the most, and most usable light.

 

Keep in mind HID K rating is Kelvin, this is the color rating.

I have a set of 4300K and 6000K. I feel the 6000K are too blue and the 4300K are a little to Yellow (whiter than halogen). I think higher than 6000K is not effective, detracts others drivers vision, and looks 'ricer'

5000K would be ideal for me.

 

So it seems so far that 4000K puts out the most USEABLE light as mentioned? How far of a throw forward are they? (I am assuming that yours are also the Xenon HID? or am I wrong?)

 

I didn't notice a difference in light output between the two. Good housings make all the difference *cough* TRS, my housings are from ebay (not stock, two bulbs Hi/Low). I don't know any other automotive HID other than Xenon ones, unless you mean Bi-Xenon (for single bulb housings like stock). Mine are from SlimCubby.

 

Yeah, I am looking at the Bi-Xenon where both high and low are Xenon. Any idea if the high beam takes a very long time to energize?

 

Not sure what style your looking at, but most just move a shield to provide your high beam, (using only one bulb) so no, lag in powering up. But if your putting these in stock housings, your gonna be disappointed. The beam pattern is terrible, and scatters light all over. Just drop for some real projector from TRS, and be done with it, IMO.

 

I'd stick with a 4300. As far as color I've used 5000 and 4300 in my past vehicle and the difference was negligible as far as color. 4300 was just barely whiter and the 5000 had just a slight slight hint of color.

I'd highly recommend a projector retro and not to put them in stock halogen housings.

 

I have 4300 as well. Mine don't have any yellowish hue or anything yellow. If you look at them in a way, it almost looks blue. Id stay around 4000k. From what I've heard 4300k is the whitest, brightest light.

 

x2 definitely need new housings

 

4300K is indeed the most usable light, I currently have 5000K and there is a bit more blue then I'd prefer. That was my derp for not going with 4300K but they work well enough.

As previously mentioned to get optimum usability of an HID kit you will need to do a retrofit, Theretrofitsource does sell some quality stuff but it's at a high price... Here's some cheaper projectors that so far have gotten good reviews (just stay away from their HID kit)

http://www.modifystreet.com/2-x-ret...ector-lens-2-x-gatling-gun-silver-shroud.html

I have PNP HID's in my regular headlights and although not terrible they could greatly benefit from a retrofit.

 

The ones I am looking at are dual, not single with the shield removed.
I forgot to mention that I already have replacement housings. Though not as good as the second gen design. My 97 has the old 7X6 halogen sealed beam that I replaced with an H4 housing.

 

As everyone has stated for the most part, 4300K is the best,brightest,usable light to me personally. I've got a couple pics of my retrofit setup with 4300K and the output,color,range is spot on perfect, i can see both sides of the road and my fog lights are now useless. a pic

 

Bill, if you want a great set of HID lights for every day driving purposes, I'd retrofit. Throwing HID's into a reflector housing won't focus the light where you need it and will produce a lot of glare.

 

So, these run two HID bulbs per side? If that's the case, there may very well be some lag when switching to your high beams, and perhaps (I don't know) back to low, IF, the low bulb is switched off when going to your high beam. Can you post a pic of this set up? I'm curious....

 

No, not a dual bulb. I bought bi-xenons for my motorcycle and there is no lag. The high beam though is barely any different than the low beam though. I'm not sure exactly what the kit does for high beam but there's not much difference visually.

 

If you read what the OP said they were dual bulb. I'm fully aware of the type your refering to. Also, these are going into a '97 sealed beam type housing, nothing like a second gen. headlight. I've replaced some of these 7x6 bulbs in a old Hardbody I had with great results, low beam only.

 

On the subject of single build hi/lo usually there is a shield or the bulb itself is shifted so that the light shines higher/wider effectively giving you instant-on hi beams.

In the case of dual bulb housings like mine (yes mine are 2nd gen) my high beams are halogens. This allows them to be instant on while my low beams are HID and turn off when I turn the high beams on.
Think about how long you actually have your high beams on, now discount that amount of time because your low beams are going to be better for most situations.

Make sure to properly aim your lights after installation. Also only put hid/xenon/big xenon bulbs in projector.

 

I did read what the OP said and he made references to both....

If he's truely going with 2 HID bulbs in a single housing, I would strongly advise against it. There is a period of time that it takes an HID bulb to 'warm up' so when you turn on your high beams, while the high beam bulb is warming up, you'll actually have less light (unless the low beam stays on at all times). Also, HID's don't like to be cycled repeatedly or in rapid succession. I would not use HID's for a high/low setup if you are truely considering having them be separate bulbs.

I truely believe what the OP has, or is asking about, is a bi-xenon setup like the one I have on my bike, not a dual bulb setup.

 

What do you mean exactly by retrofit? I just want to be sure I understand what you are saying. I have already replaced the factory housings with a design that holds H4 type bulbs.

I will have to do more research on this then. I was under the understanding that there were going to be two separate bulbs. I may have misunderstood from what I am reading. I will check and then come back and post the info I find out.