What does HID stand for?
Why does HIDConcept only give 1 year of warranty?
How do I contact HIDConcept?
What is color shift?
How do I measure the K(Kelvin) of my HID bulbs?
Do I need a matching set of HID bulbs?
What are D2S and D2R?
What is the difference between D2R and D2S?
Who is manufacture for the OEM HID bulbs?
What is the difference between Philips and Osram HID bulbs?
Is Overnight delivery/Express mail available?
Can I add HID conversion kit on my DRL (Daytime Running light)?
How do I figure out if the bulb is bad or the ballast?
Are these HID light systems street legal?
What does HID stand for?
HID stands for High Intensity Discharge. It refers to lighting technology that relies on an electrical charge to ignite xenon gas contained in a sealed bulb. The technology of HID automotive lamps is similar to that of common vapor-filled street lamps. HID lighting doesn't have a filament but instead creates light by igniting an arc between two electrodes.
Why does HIDConcept give only 1 year of warranty?
Some vendors offer 'LIFETIME WARRANTY'. It would be very good if they really take care of you for lifetime. However, most places who offer such lifetime warranty go out of business in 1 to 2 years.
Then, where will you file a warranty claim through? We have been in the market since 2001 and we are very confident on the quality of our products. Therefore, we would like to provide a true realistic 1 year of warranty period. We do not advertise and promise on something that we cannot follow up with, but rather deal with customers with truth.
How do I contact HIDConcept?
The best way to contact us is via E-mail. Our e-mail addresses are shown below.
information: info@hidconcept.com
billing/payment: sales@hidconcept.com
wholesale inquiry: wholesale@hidconcept.com
Ride of the Month: promo@hidconcept.com
Why does a new HID bulb look yellower than my old one?
It is very rare to find a high quality (Osram, Philips, GE) HID bulbs break, but if it does happen it would be a normal thing purchase same brand and model. It is a normal thing that a replacement bulb of same brand and model will look more yellow, because all HID bulbs do color-shift to become bluer and whiter as more usage applies on the bulbs. Therefore, putting a new bulb on one side and used bulb on the other side will give you an un-even color and lighting output. Up until now, dealers have told custmers that there is not much to do about it, unless both bulbs are new.
What is color shift?
The labled light color on an HID bulb is an average that it will maintain over 2-3000 hours. After passing around 100-500 hours the phenonmen "color shift" will take place. Color will change slightly from a yellowish tone to a crisper bluer tone. The magnitude of color shift will vary depending on brand, model and rated color. It is a very gradual change and unless paid close attention to, a customer might not notice. OEM 4100K Bulbs manufactured by Philips has been reported to have a more noticeable color shift than OEM 4100K Osram. OEM 4100K Bulbs manufactured by Philips has a colorshift of approx 250K after 500 hours, which will bring it to up to 4350K.
Asian manufactured bulbs has been reported to have little or no color shift. Most of them come with output stealing blue filters, which may be part of the cause.
How do I measure the K(Kelvin) of my HID bulbs?
Many HID bulb resellers claim a certain color or Kelvin rating. Many times these bulbs is not the Kelvin rating they are supposed to have. The manufacturer know that the customer will never be able to measure this anyway. You can stare at the coating or salt micture for decades, but it will still end up being homebrew guestimates. It would require advanced measuring equipment worth several thousand dollars. Many customers buys HID kits second hand and needs spare bulbs. Unless part number listed on bulb, you are more or less traceing back a dead end. Resellers of HID kits comes and goes and manufacturers are changing specs faster than you change underwear. Both Osram and Philips have P/N listed on bulbs, detailed specs are released on the web, and they stand behind their claim of lifetime.
Do I need a matching set of HID bulbs?
Yes. Always get a matched pair. This means they must have the same:
· manufacturer
· part number
· use time (if bought second hand)
Exceptions from this will show smaller or bigger differences in color, output and size of hotspot.
What are D2S and D2R?
The letter combination has a meaning to them.
· D2S: Discharge second generation shielded
· D2R: Discharge second generation reflection
What is the difference between D2R and D2S?
The main difference is that D2R bulb has the U-shaped masking on the capsule, which blocks out unpredictable light in certain direction, when D2S bulb has no masking on its capsule, but just clear. They did not want to use projectors like BMW. A glare box inside the headlight could have been used to accomplish a straight line, but a mask painted on the bulb was cheaper to make and had better precision. Other (near) luxury cars (Lexus, Infinity and Acura) followed Mercedes and equipped their cars with D2R bulbs in reflector based headlamps. Using a D2R in anything else than an OEM HID headlight designed for the D2R bulb makes no sense. It will only reduce output. Some HID kits come with D2R bulbs. Some amateur kit designers will even claim that D2R generally reduces glare in a retrofit. This is nonsense. The D2R bulb masking is around 3-4 a'clock and 8-9 o'clock when bulb is in right position. Those are not the (only) sectors that creates glare.
As an example, here is the data on Philips 2 versions:
D2S: 3200lm, 4250K, 91lm/W, 35W
D2R: 2800lm, 4150K, 80lm/W, 35W
Who is manufacture for the OEM HID bulbs?
Philips and Osram manufacture the OEM HID bulbs that are widely used in cars in North America/Europe. (GE is still trying to get their feet into car manufacturers budget.) They come with standard 4300K color temperature only. This is the only legal HID bulb color temperature under DOT/ECE regulations. Many projector headlights in upscale vehicles may look like they have higher Kelvin rating, but that is an optical effect.