HID vs Halogen bulbs- which puts off more heat?

I was wondering if the actual temperature is higher with HID or Halogen?? I have stock Halogen bulbs on my 03 R6 and when i put my hand close to the headlight assembly they get hot. I have heard aftermarket bulb replacements are actually hotter but cant find out about HID. Is this true? I am gonna install Angel Eyes and want to avoid melting them. I was considering the 4100k HID Group buy they have goin on till the 3/31. Someone please explain this to me or someone with HID put their hand in front of their light and see if it is hot.

halogen put off more heat... HID's actually run pretty cool

i dunno how true that statement is. HID lamps heat up quite a bit too. the inner quartz envelope where the actual arc is heats up to a few hundred degrees, maybe even around 1000*

actual ambient temp in the housing is anyone's guess though. i'll have to go to my friend's shop and see if he'll let me borrow his IR/laser/whateverthefuckitis temp gun. all i know is that the damn thing is accurate <img border=0 src="http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/happy.gif" />

I was under the impression that HIDs give off less heat, and draw less power. I would check hidforum.com to be sure.

[Jumperalex]

scott from NJ don't even bother trying to use one of those IR guns to determine the temp. the light given off by the light will make it nearly impossible to get an accurate reading and it will likely be much higher than actual. The only thing that might work is to check the temp immediatly after turning it off but that is still not going to be the greatest because you will still pick up temp of the hot inner quartz and not the surrounding glass bulb.

I think they actually run pretty cool (guessing here) because although the arc is very hot in temp it does not actually put out a lot of heat. as a result that little bit of heat is disapated pretty quickly keeping the surrounding area from ever getting all that hot.

I also just consider this: no special considerations are made for both OEM HIDS and HID conversions that I have ever seen for what might be excessive temps. So I'm guessing that the area immediatly surrounding a HID bulb doesn't get all that hot.

But this is a good bit of conjecture / SWAGging in my part.


*SWAG = Scientific Wild Ass Guess

I did an HID conversion to my cage (not retrofit) and the headlight lens does not get hot at all. You also gotta remember that HID's only draw 35watts during normal operation. Not sure how many watts on the actual start up. If I remember correctly, the start up actually generates 20,000 volts of electricity. :eek That is the purpose of the starter. Halogens pull almost double depending on what kind of bulb you are using. Some of those cheap aftermarket bulbs run as high as 110watts. That is why alot of people burn up the harness that connects to the bulb. I say that you would be safe installing these lights along with the Angel Eyes mod. :thumbsup

Alright so the HIDs are most likely not as hot which is what i had figured. Now on the group buy thing for the HID lights( pub114.ezboard.com/fyamah...487.topic) it says for two bulbs. Can I replace both the low and high beam bulbs with those and wire it so they both turn on together?? I would prefer for both to turn on with the High Beam switch, is this possible? Also does anyone know what exactly makes out high beam side the high beam? Is it the angle? Wattage?? Lens?? Cause i know that both bulbs are the same 55w on both sides so why is one brighter? Thanks

Its because on the high beam side their is only 1 projector, the one on the inside is just a clear lense. So if you get another one somewhere you could run both with the highbeams on. Im sure you can find a smashed headlight assembly on Ebay or something for cheap:thumbsup

Let me make a distinction here... some people get confused:

HID - High Intensity Discharge. This is a special bulb connected to special ballast/ingnitor, housed in specifically designed housing that properly aims the light put off by the bulb. These setups generally run ~200/light source and come OEM on many vehicles.

HID bulbs - A bullshit marketing term. These "HID bulbs" offer no advantages over stock bulbs. However, many people rave about their benefits because they give off light of a different color. So they look like real HIDs, and they fool the eye into thinking that they are brighter.

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One more note. Summer of 2003 is the last time that HID 'kits' could be sold legally by businesses. They are no longer legal to sell. (Too many people complained about crappy installations that do nothing but blind other drivers.) So if you see some business on the net selling 'kits', they are doing it illegally and they can earn themselves some very stiff fines.

That said, OEM HID equipment is OK to resell and install. That means takeoffs that include the bulb, ballasts, and - very important - the projector housing, are still OK to put on your bike, and - best of all - they deliver the highest quality light output.

Trust me, the HID capsules are super hot, and I do mean super hot. I also did a conversion on my car and I was messing with them when I was doing my conversion and I made the mistake of pulling out one of the capules right after turning them off thinking the same thing that they ran cool but the base was hot enough to burn my hand. I think they give off less radiant heat which is what you feel when you put your hand in front but still generate tremendous amounts of heat, besides, its still arching electricity which is plasma, and its hot enough to vaporize metal.

I just remembered something, in the instructions, they said to call them regarding if your headlights can handle the extra heat. They said most cars are good but better safe than sorry...

Laters
Ken 99R6
99 //Mcoupe