FAQ's About HID / Xenon Lighting System

FAQ's About HID / Xenon Lighting System

by Mike C on November 02, 2017 Categories: News

 



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 Xenon automotive lamps is similar to that of common vapor-filled street lamps. HID Xenon 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 trust.


How do I contact HIDConcept? 

The best way to contact us is via email. 
email: info@hidconcept.com
telephone: 1-888-579-5917


Why does a new HID Xenon bulb look yellower than my old one? 

It is very rare to find a high quality (Osram, Philips, GE) HID Xenon 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 Xenon 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? 

 


How do I measure the K(Kelvin) of my HID Xenon bulbs? 

 


Do I need a matching set of HID Xenon bulbs? 

 

 


What are D2S and D2R? 

 


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 Xenon headlight designed for the D2R bulb makes no sense. It will only reduce output. Some HID Xenon 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: 
·  PHILIPS OEM D2S (Model# 85122): 3,200lm, 4,300K, 35W 
·  PHILIPS OEM D2R (Model# 85126): 3,200lm, 4,300K, 35W

Are these HID Xenon light systems street legal?