HID vs Stock lighting

[voodoolord]

I just got done reading the sticky on the HID mod and had a couple of thoughts. One is how hard is it to change the bulbs on the stock system like if your on the road and a bulb goes out and you have to go to Autozone or something. Second is how is the life of the HID compared to the stock bulb? Ive heard that the brighter the bulb the shorter the life so if its a serious ***** to replace bulbs and they have a shorter life is it really worth it? Im still waiting for my service manual to get here so I have to rely on your expert opinions here

 

[lankeeyankee]

Ive taken 4 day trips 600 miles away from home out in the North Carolina mountains and I have never had one worry about my HID's going out.
If you go HID go ahead and get the 55Watt!! Night and day difference over the 35W Go with a good brand such as Phillips, you get what you pay for I found this out with some cheap ebays

 

[kromdom]

Im still waiting for my service manual to get here

get a free copy here now: Suzuki GSX-R 1300 Hayabusa | Service manuals for Suzuki GSX-R Motorcycles

P.S. page 612 of the manual

 

[voodoolord]

Thanks for the link and the page number. It sucks to use these sites cause you have to pick the right link or your downloading some third party program. I found the right link though.

 

[chrissb6]

Ive taken 4 day trips 600 miles away from home out in the North Carolina mountains and I have never had one worry about my HID's going out.
If you go HID go ahead and get the 55Watt!! Night and day difference over the 35W Go with a good brand such as Phillips, you get what you pay for I found this out with some cheap ebays

Hi, regarding 50watt H.I.D lamps are there any issues with heat build up with the lamps. I have a 35watt H.I.D lamp fitted to the low beam on my bike its bright enough, but the spread of light is not as good as stock

 

[cheferman65]

Hi, regarding 50watt H.I.D lamps are there any issues with heat build up with the lamps. I have a 35watt H.I.D lamp fitted to the low beam on my bike its bright enough, but the spread of light is not as good as stock

Plenty bright for sure! The "spreading issue is due to the housing of the OEM headlight. You would need to do a custom projector to really get the full effect (proper aiming) of the HID lights. Somebody on board was toying with that project a while back.

 

[dadofthree]

You have a Gen II, why are you messing with the head lamps. Take some night rides and see if there's an issue before you do this. Anyone on this site on a regular basis understands what I'm talking about.

BUNDLE, WE ALL BUNDLE

 

[lankeeyankee]

Ive taken 4 day trips 600 miles away from home out in the North Carolina mountains and I have never had one worry about my HID's going out.
If you go HID go ahead and get the 55Watt!! Night and day difference over the 35W Go with a good brand such as Phillips, you get what you pay for I found this out with some cheap ebays

No..
Just a few weeks ago when me, rollin20z, and treyyoung went to Bowling Green to dragrace I measured the headlamp temp of my GENII with the 55watt lit and Treys GENII stock OEM headlight and mine was actually cooler by a few degrees I dont remember the temps but the headlight assembly with the 55w HID was cooler then the stock OEM

 

[voodoolord]

You have a Gen II, why are you messing with the head lamps. Take some night rides and see if there's an issue before you do this. Anyone on this site on a regular basis understands what I'm talking about.

BUNDLE, WE ALL BUNDLE

I have ridden at night and thought brighter would be better.

 

[squale147]

Plenty bright for sure! The "spreading issue is due to the housing of the OEM headlight. You would need to do a custom projector to really get the full effect (proper aiming) of the HID lights. Somebody on board was toying with that project a while back.

i installed them on my 1k

 

[lankeeyankee]

I have ridden at night and thought brighter would be better.

The GENII does have good lighting for oem I will agree!
35WATT HID's I didnt get the HOLY CHIT factor over the OEM but when I upgraded to a 55W I could see a difference. I wouldnt install 55W if you do a lot of city driving, 55watt's arent friendly to those in the beam

 

[voodoolord]

Thanks, Most of my driving is in what you would call back woods with no street lights anywhere and deer everywhere. Thats kinda why I was wondering about better lights.

 

[lankeeyankee]

Thanks, Most of my driving is in what you would call back woods with no street lights anywhere and deer everywhere. Thats kinda why I was wondering about better lights.

I would suggest you go with a 6K 55Watt HID Kit from a known name brand. I got a heavy population of deer on my road for 3 miles and have seen them numerours times on the side of the road, and a couple of times run out in front of me when I seeen them and expecting them

I will say most cars dont like them and you will get oncoming traffic flicking there beams at you thinking your running the high beams but when ya flash your high beams back they turn theres off pretty quickly.
Cars are also quicker to get out of the left lane when you come up on them they dont like the bright lights in there mirrors.....

I wish there was a way to where you could adjust the wattage output for times when I am driving in the city with street lights

 

[bigjack7679]

I would suggest you go with a 6K 55Watt HID Kit from a known name brand. I got a heavy population of deer on my road for 3 miles and have seen them numerours times on the side of the road, and a couple of times run out in front of me when I seeen them and expecting them

I will say most cars dont like them and you will get oncoming traffic flicking there beams at you thinking your running the high beams but when ya flash your high beams back they turn theres off pretty quickly.
Cars are also quicker to get out of the left lane when you come up on them they dont like the bright lights in there mirrors.....

I wish there was a way to where you could adjust the wattage output for times when I am driving in the city with street lights

which ones do you have?

 

[lankeeyankee]

which ones do you have?

Philips Xenon HID Motorcycle Slim Kit - 55w

The 55 watt kit provides 4800 to 5000 lumens light output, which equals to about 40% more light.

This kit includes: 1 Philips Xenon HID bulb of your choice & 1 digital slim 55 watt ballast with plug & play connector.

For a Specialty low beam bulb add $10.00 & Bi-Xenon bulb add $20.00.

 

[Stachowiak]

I just did a retrofit on my Gen II and used a 4300k 35W and did the projector retrofit, and its light output far exceeded what i thought. On roads without street lights i almost never need to use the high beam due to the projector spread. I have a picture of the output and what the fit looked like on here.

 

[C-Ya]

I have a 2011 Busa, I also owned a custom LED & HID lighting company that I sold last year. I installed HID (H7) 4300k 35w ballast on my bike. The 4300k color temp offers about 10% more lumens (brighter) over the 6000k color temp.

With a 4300k color temp bulb, and 35w ballast I am at 3250lms, with a 55w ballast, I am at 5000lms. It is my personal preference that I run a 35w ballast due to the smaller headlamp housing. In my car I have a 55watt ballast.

Please see the pic of my busa with the 4300k/35w ballast

 

[C-Ya]

It also depends on te color temp of the HID bulb you are installing.

Example = 4300k/35w ballast will be brighter than 8000k/55w ballast. There are also other factors to consider such as headlamp housing, deflector in headlamp housing, etc.....

I hope this helps

The GENII does have good lighting for oem I will agree!
35WATT HID's I didnt get the HOLY CHIT factor over the OEM but when I upgraded to a 55W I could see a difference. I wouldnt install 55W if you do a lot of city driving, 55watt's arent friendly to those in the beam

 

[squale147]

It also depends on te color temp of the HID bulb you are installing.

Example = 4300k/35w ballast will be brighter than 8000k/55w ballast. There are also other factors to consider such as headlamp housing, deflector in headlamp housing, etc.....

I hope this helps

i thought that 5k bulbs were the brightest??

 

[sixpack577]

Philips Xenon HID Motorcycle Slim Kit - 55w

The 55 watt kit provides 4800 to 5000 lumens light output, which equals to about 40% more light.

This kit includes: 1 Philips Xenon HID bulb of your choice & 1 digital slim 55 watt ballast with plug & play connector.

For a Specialty low beam bulb add $10.00 & Bi-Xenon bulb add $20.00.

Both of these links are for 35w and don't include ballasts.

I'de like to replace my hi and low beam 35w 5k HIDs.
The hi is pretty good, but the low is not as good as stock.
The low beam is scattered and there is little to no light to either side, bad when leaning into a curve.
I'll run a 55w now that you've put a temp gun on them.
Got any more links?