[GeoFX]

Disclaimer: Note that these views are based on subjective analysis of the 10K HIDs that phamgiaj and I did last night. This should by no means be taken as a comprehensive evaluation by a couple of experts and I don't want to alarm anyone who haven't installed or received their 10K lights yet. Also note that this was the first time I've ever installed HIDs in my car myself and there could be installation problems (highly doubt it though since they only fit one way but who knows). Would like to get additional feedback from other members.

phamgiaj and I met last night at my house to check out the new 10K HID lights received from the group buy. He really wanted to check them out prior to him receiving his set later this week.

Test conditions: Our test basically consisted of shining the HID and stock lights against my garage door and comparing the obvious things light brightness,"cut," and color definition. The cars were pretty much the same distance from the garage doors.

Anyway here are our pics:

 

[GeoFX]

Here's our short and sweet subjective observations:

Brightness: We both agreed that the stock HIDs have more luminosity (i.e., brighter) than the 10Ks. This was based on the "light to the wall test" as well as driving a couple of laps around my dark neighborhood. The spread of light is definitely greater with the stock HIDs. We guess if the stock HIDs have a brightness of 10 (on a scale of 1-10, 10 being brightest), the 10Ks rate about an 8-8.5.

"Cut": The stock HIDs clearly have a more well-defined "cut" at the upper part of the beam. In person this is pretty obvious (the pictures show it pretty well too.) The separation between the top of the beam and unlit portion of the garage door is clearly sharper. The 10Ks show a lot more fade along the top of the beam. In addition, going from right to left you will see more clearly defined "steps" down from the stock HIDs vs. the 10Ks. I wonder what this could be attributed to?

Color definition: The 10Ks definitely have better color definition than the stock HIDS. More "true" HID-like so to speak. The pictures don't really do it justice. Looking up close you can see a better spectrum of color bands whereas the stock HIDs pretty much show a monochromatic yellow tint.

Conclusions: To us, the stock bulbs are obviously brighter and contain more spread than the 10Ks. This is no knock on the 10Ks, however, since they are still brighter than 90% of the stock bulbs out there. It's more of a testament that the stock bulbs are pretty **** good. The cut and color definition are really more personal issues. I wouldn't think these things affect real-world driving but it's kinda cool to show these things to your buddies at night more than anything else.

Note that IMO, I'm probably going to keep the HIDs on as I am willing to sacrifice a loss of some brightness and spread for the "coolness" factor of having blue lights. I wish the "cut" was sharper but oh well...

 

[MustGoFastR]

Great comparo, guys! 8)

 

[GeoFX]

Great comparo, guys! 8)

Thanks. Tell you one thing - they sure look SWEET with the 7443-15 LEDs. The HFXA guys will be drooling come Friday

gotta get the Spark Blues, gotta get the Spark Blues, gotta get the Spark Blues....

 

[ShadyJC]

Here's our short and sweet subjective observations:

Great photos and well-written comparison, thanks!

 

[FX-1004]

Nice comparison~ Those headlights really do stand out on the road... they look great... but i dont think i can drive with them hehe

 

[2Fast4U]

Here is another pix...

 

[GeoFX]

Yeah. We realized later on (after a couple of beers) that pics against my garage door didn't really give a true comparison so we headed over to Walgreen's and shined both of them against the building...

Notice the very well-defined "steps" from left to right of the stock bulbs. The 10Ks are nowhere near this sharp...

You have the other pic emphasizing the 10Ks along this wall John?

 

[2Fast4U]

Yeah. We realized later on (after a couple of beers) that pics against my garage door didn't really give a true comparison so we headed over to Walgreen's and shined both of them against the building...

Notice the very well-defined "steps" from left to right of the stock bulbs. The 10Ks are nowhere near this sharp...

You have the other pic emphasizing the 10Ks along this wall John?

Yes I do and here it is, in this pix below your 10K is not really that blue but you still see my fine a$$ OEM"cutting" line from far away

 

[ShadyJC]

we headed over to Walgreen's and shined both of them against the building...

Whew... I was just about to comment after that last pic that you had the largest friggin' garage door I have ever seen.

 

[2Fast4U]

Yeah. We realized later on (after a couple of beers) that pics against my garage door didn't really give a true comparison so we headed over to Walgreen's and shined both of them against the building...

Notice the very well-defined "steps" from left to right of the stock bulbs. The 10Ks are nowhere near this sharp...

You have the other pic emphasizing the 10Ks along this wall John?

Yes I do and here it is, in this pix below some how Milton's 10,000K is not really that blue-ish but you still see my OEM's razor sharp"cut-off" line from far left

 

[GeoFX]

WTF were we thinking do this at 12:06am this morning?!

Anyone out there know (esemes?) what the lumens ratings for the 10K and stock HIDs are?

 

[maznblu]

Just wanted to THANK Esemes for putting this together. I recieved my 10k bulbs last night.

They were very well packaged and arrived in perfect condition. The install only took about 30 minutes even though I was tedious throughout.

There is a distinct difference between these and the stock bulbs. I live in a rural suburb without a lot of lighting on some highways. Although the lighting was not as "broadcast" as the stock bulbs, it was definitely sufficient and very sharp.

THANKS also to SweetFx for the detailed install instructions. If you're on the fence about ordering these, should there be another buy, don't hesitate. They look fabulous.

 

[brnjug]

I am onmy lap top so it is tougher to find the right sites(diff order for some reason),but there are sites that give the lumens(less than stock) for the 10K and talks about the increased flaire from the 6,8,and 10 that you showed...bottom line ,you guys did a super job and great garage :lol:

 

[bradical]

its amazing when you put on the high beams with these 10Ks. they shine so far. its wierd becuase they are not as bright yet they light up much more and shine further

 

[FromHereToInfiniti]

Interesting comparison. To my untrained eye, my 10k's look much brighter than the OEM bulbs, and both my wife and daughter commented about the brightness without knowing that I'd installed them. There is no question in my mind that with the highbeams on, I'm seeing much more ahead.

 

[GeoFX]

Interesting comparison. To my untrained eye, my 10k's look much brighter than the OEM bulbs, and both my wife and daughter commented about the brightness without knowing that I'd installed them. There is no question in my mind that with the highbeams on, I'm seeing much more ahead.

That's what I thought at first. You can do your own comparison by adding a stock HID to one side (leaving the 10000K installed on the otherside) and shining them against your garage door. The cutoff line is noticeably sharper on the stock side and the stock lights are brighter. Blue colors do reflect better but at the cost of increased flare and reduced luminosity... Bottom line, it's really up to the individual to decide what he/she likes best.

 

[2Fast4U]

GeoFX, we missed the Hi-beam comparo, maybe next time?

 

[MustGoFastR]

I didn't catch the whole thing, but there was some story on the news last night about crackdowns on superbright aftermarket lights. Some company was even forced to recall their products. Anybody see it?

 

[ShadyJC]

Anybody see it?

If it was a NBC broadcast (KPRC for you, Nightly News, Today Show or Dateline NBC) there is an extremely good chance I can get a copy, let me know.