AFTERMARKET BULBS: COLOR TEMPERATURE AND USABLE LIGHT OUTPUT

[SilverY2KCivic]

Originally Posted by S.C

I got a PIAA Super Extreme White 4200k low/ 3950k high for $50. Hehe, I got that cheap because my cuz friend has a shop, and he hook me up. Man, it looks so good and clear. However, I discover there is a water blance inside the lens. Should I make it to center or some other position? When I turn on the high beam, there are many lines of light appeared on the ground which in front of the bumper . It this normal, or should I move the lens around to make it disappear?

I'd say play around with it and see.

BTW, $50 is an average price I've seen for those PIAA bulbs, I got my Super Plasma GT-X's for $65. I've seen places selling them for as much as $130!!!

[eckoman_pdx]

Originally Posted by SilverY2KCivic

I'd say play around with it and see.

BTW, $50 is an average price I've seen for those PIAA bulbs, I got my Super Plasma GT-X's for $65. I've seen places selling them for as much as $130!!!

You got a pretty good price on those for $65, I usually see them @ $75-$85 around here, though I think I saw them for $65 once, though that might have been the regualr Super Plasmas. I have seen them as high as $130 before too, although I believe those are the ones imprted from Japan when they cost that much (i.e, 9005, etc...ones PIAA USA typically sell).

[SilverY2KCivic]

It's funny, Iwas hanging out with one of my buddies the other night, and we both got on the freeway, but I hit a red light just before the ramp, and so had to catch back up to him once on the freeway. Anyways, he was telling me that as I came up to him, he thought my car was a Porsche or something with HIDs because of how my PIAA GT-X bulbs look. Then as I passed next to him, he realized it was only me, and something with HIDs. This is how true to HID color these bulbs are.

[S.C]

The truth is it just a civic! How ironic haha

[SilverY2KCivic]

Originally Posted by S.C

The truth is it just a civic! How ironic haha

Umm yeah, point there was about the BULBS in use, not the car...

[S.C]

Hey guys now you can check my light out in my signature.

[eckoman_pdx]

S.C., the Super Plasma and Super Plasma GT-X's look alot more like Real HID's than the ones in your sig. You might think SilverY2Kcivic is exaggerating, but he is not. They really do look THAT much like a real HID, and this is why I recommended them as one of my choice recommended blubs when I authored the thread awhile ago. Unlike the cheap bulbs which briefly look like HID's but blow out very quick, these provide a real ture HID look, last awhile (they don't burn out like cheap blulbs), plus they do it all at a legel color temperature. To top it all off, PIAA's have a 1 -year warrenty, so if they do blow out within a year, you can exchange them for a new set/blub, as long as you save the receipt.

As SilverY2Kcivic said, the point wadn't what TYPE or car he had, the point was the bulb looked like a TRUE HID, when in fact, it was not ture HID's. This is the point of the whole thread actually, and was the reasonI wrote it. There are many misconceptions about bulbs, qaulity, color temp, longevitiy, legality, and HID look. This thread was started to answer these questions and give memebers a place to look and learn about bulbs, which are often an overlooked and misunderstood product by many people. Many people think all bulbs (even within the same company) are the same, and the truth is they are not. Even if the 2 bulbs by the same company are both qauilty, they can rpovide a very different look, as is shown when comparing your PIAA's to SilverY2Kcivic's or mine.

[S.C]

Actrually, the Super extreme white is the bulb I want. The bulb is inexpensive, brighter than most of the stock bulb, reliable (PIAA), and accessible under my rush for a more visibility blub which I got it 3 hrs after I thought about a new blub cuz my cuz friend owned a shop. So it suited me, and the look of HIB will be a + for me, but it is optional.

Btw, my post will be a future refrence for the later viewers as a compare of Super Plasma and Super Plasma GT-X with Super Extreme White.

[eckoman_pdx]

If the HID look isn't super important to you, the PIAA Extreme White bulbs and the Sylvania Silverstars are both good, reliable bulbs, as I mentioned on the first page. However, only the PIAA's have the warrenty (though I've never heard of an issue with the silverstars). You can't go wrong with a PIAA though, in that sense. Plus, unlike those "high wattage bulbs" cheaper companies manufactor, they won't fry anything...which is always a plus.

[SilverY2KCivic]

Definitely not near as good loking as they are in person, but definitely a different color/look than the Super Xtremes. My PIAA GT-X inside my genuine CTR headlight housings (corner bulb is SilverStar signal bulb)...

[S.C]

Nice, it really looks like a BMW. If my bulb burn after a year, I will gonna try this.

[SilverY2KCivic]

Now you can see why my buddy thought that they were the real deal.

[eckoman_pdx]

S.C., for the record, SilverY2KCivic is dead-on...it may look like the real deal in the pics, it may look nice in the pics, but the pics don't do them justice. The look MUCH better, as well as more like the real deal, in real life. The pics still give a good idea though, and they still look pretty real in the pics, so it gives you a good point of reference. I've run nothing but PIAA Super Plasma's for my headlights since around 2002.

[tilly42069]

Don't waste your time with crap bulbs. If you want color, brightness, color flicker, and better light output your only opition is REAL O.E.M H.I.D lights and projectors. They are not that expensive, if you compare buying a whole bunch of crap, cheap bulbs. Check out WWW.HIDFOURM.COM. They have a lot of cheap H.I.D.parts.

[eckoman_pdx]

Originally Posted by tilly42069

Don't waste your time with crap bulbs. If you want color, brightness, color flicker, and better light output your only opition is REAL O.E.M H.I.D lights and projectors. They are not that expensive, if you compare buying a whole bunch of crap, cheap bulbs. Check out WWW.HIDFOURM.COM. They have a lot of cheap H.I.D.parts.

If you'd read the entire thread, you'd see that was the point...DON'T BUY CRAP BULBS...in fact, this is what I am explianing on the first page, as well as what is good, what to look for, how color temp effects output, about lumans, etc.

Now, HID conversions are not legel in some areas (like cali), unless it's the entire OEM assembly, and that can be too spendy for some. For those people, and for others, bulbs are a viaable option, as long as they buy good bulbs. The bulbs SilverY2Kcivic and I have recommeneded ARE NOT CRAP. PIAA and Silverstar bulbs are anything but crap, plus PIAA's have a 1 year warrenty. If you buy crap bulbs, you replace theem often, plus you fry your headlights due to the high wattage, and it ends up costing a grip. If you buy a good set of PIAA's or Silverstars, they will last you awhile, and you won't run up the costs as you would with cheap bulbs.

I am not knocking HID's, it's just for some they are not an option. For the people who can't afford them or are in an area where HID conversions arn't legel, the information explained in the start of this thread can help make sure they realize not to buy cheap crappy high wattage bulbs. It helps explain to them what to look for when buying and recommends some good bulbs to choose from.