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HIDs ?
Written by timdearborn on 10/30/2010 at 02:10 pm

Review of HID Headlight
I have had opportunity to put about 60 miles on with my newly installed HID
headlight. For information on purchasing and installation, read the post
below...

Brightness: The HID headlight is easily 300% to 400% brighter than stock.

Fill: The light does a excellent job at filling the road in front of you. It
seems to have a wider spread and does a better job at lighting up the sides of
the road too (think deer).

Color: I chose a 6000K color bulb. I love the color, which is pure white with a
hint of blue. It is similar in color to many modern-day LED hiker headlamps, and
is one of the most popular colors chosen.

Hi/Low: The high beam works similar to the way it does on stock. I'm not sure I
would ever use it though. I find the low setting fill pattern wider, more
useful, and illuminating plenty of distance down the road.

Other drivers: In 60 miles of day and night riding (granted, not a lot yet), I
never had a vehicle flash me to dim the headlight. When following a friend that
was use to my stock light, he waved me over within a couple of blocks (without
my asking), to inform me how much more bright and noticeable my headlight was in
his mirror.

Warming Up: It takes a few seconds for the HID light to gain intensity. It
reaches 75% intensity after about 10 seconds and full intensity in about 30
seconds.

Other Misc: The moment I turn your key on, I hear a faint whine, which I assume
is the ballast of the HID headlight. Once the engine is started, this whine is
not perceptible. Starting (and electrical draw in general) does not seem to be
any different from stock.

If you need to replace a headlight, or what to be more visible in general, I
highly recommend looking into HID bulbs.

-Tim Dearborn
Blue Island, IL, USA
'96 Pacific Coast, "Tuppie", 36K

--- In ipcrc@yahoogroups.com, "TimD" <tim@...> wrote:
>
> I just installed a HID headlight from vvme.com. The kit I got was a 12V
50/55W H4-3(9003) Bi-Xenon HID Kit color: 6000K - found at
http://www.vvme.com/12v-5055w-h439003-bixenon-hid-kit-p-31.html?cPath=44_46_35 -
for about $59 or so with the one headlight instead of two. This kit comes with
a headlight relay, so you are drawing power directly from the battery, and not
through the headlight switch.
>
> A note on the company: you will find vvme's name popping up on several
different vehicle forums. They appear to be a German based company. I had
troubles contacting them at first. I sent a detailed email that went
unanswered. I called several times, only to get an answering machine.
Eventually, I decided to leave a message. Finally I got a call back from a lady
with a very heavy accent. I told her what I wanted (one bulb instead of two in
the kit), and she quoted me a price. I paid on Paypal but didn't have an
invoice, which I was a little nervous about. Due to misunderstanding the amount
due to the accent, I paid the wrong amount. After we finally got the payment
straightened out, they shipped the product rather quickly, and I received it -
mailed to me directly from China.
>
> Now - on to the headlight. To prepare, I installed an auxiliary fuse box (I
had been wanting to do this for a while anyway. I then removed the windshield,
removed the original bulb (good directions on the forum for this), put the new
bulb in, and plugged everything up. I did run a longer hot wire from my new
fuse box and a longer ground wire to the headlight ballast. If I didn't need
longer wires, this install would have been entirely plug and play.
>
> I am not very good mechanically, so I was pleasantly surprised when I turned
the ignition key and the headlight actually worked! I noticed faint whine (maybe
the ballast?), which would probably not be noticeable at all if the engine where
on. The headlight took a minute or so to brighten in intensity. I have not taken
it on the road yet, but I can already tell that it is about 3 times brighter
than my original headlight and seems to have a much better fill pattern. High
beam does work as well. I really like the 6000K color that I selected - a nice
white with a hint of blue mixed in.
>
> I will report back in a week or so, once I get some real road experience with
it.