Headlight Kelvin Value?
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 97
Likes: 1
From: Georgetown Texas
Headlight Kelvin Value?
My C5 needs a headlight upgrade and there are a couple vendors on this forum writing about their "headlight projector upgrades".
Anyone that would pass along their opinion on selecting a Kelvin value to look for in an upgrade would be really appreciated.
My experience with "K" ratings is the bulbs used in my garage. There are multiple fluorescent fixtures mounted on a white ceiling and the first bulbs were very harsh and caused vision fatigue. Those were replaced with 5000K bulbs several years ago and they are very good.
Now I see headlight bulbs offered that are rated all the way up to 8000K. Wonder if that is ok out on the road - from my experience it would not be the best "K" value there either.
What do you think is the best?
Anyone that would pass along their opinion on selecting a Kelvin value to look for in an upgrade would be really appreciated.
My experience with "K" ratings is the bulbs used in my garage. There are multiple fluorescent fixtures mounted on a white ceiling and the first bulbs were very harsh and caused vision fatigue. Those were replaced with 5000K bulbs several years ago and they are very good.
Now I see headlight bulbs offered that are rated all the way up to 8000K. Wonder if that is ok out on the road - from my experience it would not be the best "K" value there either.
What do you think is the best?
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,305
Likes: 80
From: Hollister CA
My C5 needs a headlight upgrade and there are a couple vendors on this forum writing about their "headlight projector upgrades".
Anyone that would pass along their opinion on selecting a Kelvin value to look for in an upgrade would be really appreciated.
My experience with "K" ratings is the bulbs used in my garage. There are multiple fluorescent fixtures mounted on a white ceiling and the first bulbs were very harsh and caused vision fatigue. Those were replaced with 5000K bulbs several years ago and they are very good.
Now I see headlight bulbs offered that are rated all the way up to 8000K. Wonder if that is ok out on the road - from my experience it would not be the best "K" value there either.
What do you think is the best?
Anyone that would pass along their opinion on selecting a Kelvin value to look for in an upgrade would be really appreciated.
My experience with "K" ratings is the bulbs used in my garage. There are multiple fluorescent fixtures mounted on a white ceiling and the first bulbs were very harsh and caused vision fatigue. Those were replaced with 5000K bulbs several years ago and they are very good.
Now I see headlight bulbs offered that are rated all the way up to 8000K. Wonder if that is ok out on the road - from my experience it would not be the best "K" value there either.
What do you think is the best?
You can't go wrong with anything RadioFlyer sells, if you haven't settled on a vendor.
Last edited by bobeast; Jul 19, 2013 at 07:31 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 3,181
Likes: 286
From: Puyallup Washington
Anywhere from 4000K, which is a slightly yellowish white to 5000K, which is a very slightly blueish white is fine. 4300K bulbs put out the most light, at approximately 3100 lumens, while the 4000 and 5000K put out about 3000 lumens.
I bought 5000K 55 Watt projectors from JW with the Hi-4 harness which lets the low beam HID lights stay on when going to high beam, so all 4 lights are on.
They put out a tremendous amount of light.
I bought 5000K 55 Watt projectors from JW with the Hi-4 harness which lets the low beam HID lights stay on when going to high beam, so all 4 lights are on.
They put out a tremendous amount of light.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 2,855
Likes: 78
From: Sammamish WA
WA Events Coordinator
OEM is 4300K in the HID/Zenon world. So 5K gets you the most light output with just a tinge of Blue. 8K is for kids that get giddy over all that blue light, they are the weakest in actual light output that goes down the road. Both my Z and my M3 have 5K Hids and I like them very much...
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Verdad Gallardo
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Joined: Feb 2007
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From: Oklahoma City
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Anywhere from 4000K, which is a slightly yellowish white to 5000K, which is a very slightly blueish white is fine. 4300K bulbs put out the most light, at approximately 3100 lumens, while the 4000 and 5000K put out about 3000 lumens.
I bought 5000K 55 Watt projectors from JW with the Hi-4 harness which lets the low beam HID lights stay on when going to high beam, so all 4 lights are on.
They put out a tremendous amount of light.
I bought 5000K 55 Watt projectors from JW with the Hi-4 harness which lets the low beam HID lights stay on when going to high beam, so all 4 lights are on.
They put out a tremendous amount of light.
I agree. We sell 6000k temps the most. 5000k is what I would suggest. Good observation OP. Everyone wants to be in the lighting business. They're only competing by undercutting our prices. We have the most experience here out of them all. I've been selling these kits since 2008 when we first started. We custom modify these in house to make them plug n play where others make you guess. Our instruction booklet is 12 pages long. No guessing with our kits
Let me know if we can set you up.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-p...alo-rings.html
Supporting Vendor
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 8,550
Likes: 902
From: Republic of Texas
Here's a rough breakdown:
3000K - golden yellow (good for fog lights, rally lights or adverse weather)
4300K - Halogen Yellow (OEM color for most vehicles)
5000K - Pure White (My personal favorite and most popular, this illuminates all objects in their natural color)
6000K - Sky Blue (you loose a little visibility for the added "blue"
8000K - Iceberg Blue (more for show than anything, Not very effective on the roads especially asphalt)
3000K - golden yellow (good for fog lights, rally lights or adverse weather)
4300K - Halogen Yellow (OEM color for most vehicles)
5000K - Pure White (My personal favorite and most popular, this illuminates all objects in their natural color)
6000K - Sky Blue (you loose a little visibility for the added "blue"
8000K - Iceberg Blue (more for show than anything, Not very effective on the roads especially asphalt)
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 4,394
Likes: 6
From: Melbourne FL
IMNHO 5k is the way to go. Higher and you start to look like a Purple Honda Boy (not to mention lower light output). Lower and it starts to trend towards yellow. 5K is a good compromise.
You can't go wrong with anything RadioFlyer sells, if you haven't settled on a vendor.
You can't go wrong with anything RadioFlyer sells, if you haven't settled on a vendor.
