Quote:
Originally Posted by Stalwart
I know I'll probably get heat for this but there is NO WAY you can do HID properly without changing out the reflectors. The focal length and light distribution pattern cannot be matched with a bulb change. HID's CANNOT sit at the proper depth and position in a reflector that is designed for and incandescent bulb. You'll get light where you don't want it or need it, and too little where you do need it. Not to mention they are not DOT approved, therefore not legal.
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Agreed 100%. I mean obviously anyone can buy a H13 HID kit and put it in the H13 slot, but this is not the right way to do it. As quoted above, you need reflectors (or more commonly projectors) which were built for the HID bulb.
H13 halogens put out ~1100 lumens on low beam. The H13 HID will put out ~3200 lumens on low beam. Heat will be no concern, the HID will actually burn cooler, but the amount of light will be way too much. There will be stray light going places it is NOT supposed to go. YOU will be able to see better at the expense of everyone else on the road. Aiming them down is counterproductive as you will loose distance, and you will still be throwing light above the horizon if you have these HID bulbs in a DOT free form reflector which was built for a halogen bulb.
Projectors provide a perfect cutoff and allow very little (if any at all) lights above the cutoff, this allows all the light to be put on the road. The reflectors in our truck have decent cutoff for halogen, but when you increase the bulb intensity 300% there is way too much light coming up above the cutoff.
Here's a test - take your truck with the headlights on and drive toward a wall and you will see your cutoff. Can you see anything above the cutoff? YES you can, because some light is allowed to stray upwards to light overhead signs. A true low beam HID system should allow very very little light upward. Putting the HID bulb in the H13 is a "no no."
The only true HID bulbs are D2S, D2R, D4S. D4R, and maybe one or two other types. Anything in the 9000 series or H series (9005, etc... H7, H9, H13, etc..) are HALOGEN bulbs and replacing them with anything other than a like wattage HALOGEN bulb is a violation of DOT rules.
There's even new studies out saying the while Halogen bulbs may not look as bright as HID, they allow better distance vision, because with Halogen, the change (on the horizon near the cutoff) from brightness to darkness is slow. While with HIDs you go from really bright light to super darkness (due to sharp cutoff) and it takes your eyes longer to adjust.
To answer your question though. You can buy the kits with low/high capabilities. This would be called a bi-xenon kit. It simply moves shield (or the entire bulb via a magnet switch) when you hit the brights.
FYI, the kits are considered illegal for any use besides 100% OFF ROAD USE.
