mklauser47

I bought a set of the Recon Diamond White http://www.gorecon.com/product.php?p...-Diamond-White
Ive talked to many people that use these lights daily and say that they're great lights. Post pictures tomorrow when i get them in.

amick218

I have 8000k HIDs and I love them!! super bright, why dont you guys like HIDs?

otto457

Something about not being DOT legal, not being in the correct housing, not being aimed right, not actually being brighter and just fooling the eye with Kelvin rating....

tkm3d1a

please explain how when something LOOKS brighter, it actually isn't? Isn't that kind of how brighter works?

otto457

Different colors can look bright, but the amount of usable light varies.

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/inde...howtopic=45087

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...ghtness-output)

tkm3d1a

yes, I know, and HIDs or any light in the 4-6k kelvin range is the brightest, most visible light. 8k will not look very bright and won't give off much light. I want you to explain how something can look bright but not be bright buddy

otto457

Yet we continue to have several (even in this thread, look to page one) who claim their 8k lights are super bright. Wasn't pointed at you, it was pointed that those who think they have bright lights. You can look at a light and think it's super bright, then get behind the wheel and the amount of usable light is much less. People also fool themselves into thinking things are brighter because of the color when it is not.

06F150CFCT

The HID's just displace a ton of light in the stock housing and dont direct the light in any certain place. You will notice the light is scattered in many directions and doesnt have a correct focal point. If you look at guys trucks on here that do the Retrofit and how the light has a cutoff point and the light is evenly displaced to the sides and downward, that is what it is supposed to look like. The standard light housing for our trucks are for halogen lights and arent made to support the plug and play HID's. I had 6000K HIDS in my 2000 F150 and for the first 3 months in my 2006 F150 but took them out because going offroad was destroying my ballasts left and right. Water kept getting into the connectors on the ballasts and causing them to flicker. Also, people were flashing me when I had the lows on and when I went to pass someone everyone would put their hands up to shield the sideview mirror from the glare my headlights would produce. Obviously this is just one case and I am sure not everyones produce the same light pattern but nonetheless.

This is one of the correct ways to use HID's:
https://www.f150forum.com/f2/trs-hid...thread-105468/

This is a popular debate amongst everyone on here so you will find info on either side. Either way that is not what the OP asked. So for that I would have to say I am running the Sylvania Silverstars and cant say anything bad about them. They definitely are brighter than the stock bulbs. I cant say anything about the Philips ones.

tkm3d1a

Ok, but I was pointing out that you said "your eye gets fooled by the kelvin rating" when that is just the opposite. a 55w 8000k HID bulb can look super bright if you've never seen a 55w 4300k or even a 35w. Lights can't LOOK brighter than they are, seeing as what we SEE as bright is determined by our eyes. Nothing gets fooled, its just a matter of what you have, or have not, seen before.

eidt: getting off the topic to much, I was just pointing out misinformation, color temp is important as it directly correlates to brightness with 4300k - 5300k giving the best light output for a given wattage

mSaLL150

Glare is what makes PnP HIDs look bright. They scatter the light everywhere, so it looks bright to oncoming traffic. However, the amount of lumens that are actually hitting the ground (the point of headlights, right?) is quite poor. As you go higher in Kelvin, you lose luminous output but the glare remains and still "looks" bright. Blue chalk doesn't show up on a chalkboard very well, and likewise blue HIDs don't light up the road well especially when the light is refracted in factory reflectors.

BTW, most labeled aftermarket 55w ballasts don't put out nearly that much. In fact, many are no more than 35w and sometimes lower. Quality control on this stuff is usually terrible if non OEM.