Red highbeams???  at 6500K, WTF?

[jay21112]

Alright guys, I really wanna replace my high beams with a red bulb. (Don't know if I'll do it cause it'll be tough to get an inspection sticker, with it being illegal and all... but I'm thinking about it anyways...)

So...the only 9005 red bulbs I have seen so far were matrix 100W bulbs. I was worried about the high wattage so I was debating the issue further, but tonight as I was piddling along on Ebay I saw this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymot....y=36476

Its a 9005 bulb that is supposed to shine red...Ok
It says its rated at 65 watts.... thats a plus
THEN it says its 6500K H.I.D......WTF??

It's not HID, they are just saying that to sell it, but what is with the 6500K. They are saying that the K isn't the color temp, but the brightness. I thought the K was the color temp and 6500K will produce a blueish light...not a red light.

Somebody knowlege me and either tell me that:

1.) This is for real, and you have it backwards
2.) The advertisement is a load of bull...but the light should work and shine red in the highbeam slot without shorting out your bike
3.) This is all BS, the light will shine red for 10 minutes and then the red will melt away and probably damage your headlight housing....and oh yeah...you are an idiot for ever going on ebay.

 

[frisbee]

I don't know about the 6500K and stuff but I do know people with tints , green , purple , blue, or yellow . I was debating on the red also but I figured the cops wouldn't like it .

 

[#cruncherbusa]

Better Ping IceMan or Rythum!

I'm going for #3 except for the idiot part! I would like to see a red light made but I don't think this is possible!

 

[#cruncherbusa]

Cecil -- just went to the E-bay sight, to me this screams scam or the red will damage your hi-beam housing and you'll be screwed in the end!

 

[zukracer]

well I know in NC its illegal to run anything but white and amber bulbs in the front of your car .... even the little wiper lights that are blue/red/green are illegal now. So I'd say that while you are in RI, you might want to check the laws about it. You mention already that its illegal, so I'd worry that you would have to correct the color on the spot or have your bike taken/towed

I guess what I'm sayin, is CYA, if you find its legal or illegal, you might want to have a copy of the law with you (www.findlaw.com) so no cops give you any chit.

From my past experience, I had two super bright amber main headlights in my gsxr1100 .... cops used to pull me ALL the time. When I could quote them the law that said you can have any color but x,y,z,1,2,3 and they had to shine XXX ft on high beam, they would let me go. This didnt work in Myrtle Beach however....I was told to get a white bulb or get a ticket. Had to swap/buy a white light from a guy at 1am

 

[busahaya]

I would'nt do it, to much hassel to deal with if you get pulled over.

 

[shortBoarder]

You're gonna get hassled by a lot of cops w/ a red headlight. Most states don't allow red lights on the front of a vehicle unless it's a police car or ambulance etc.

anyway, a red hi-beam isn't going to provide you with a lot of visibility. Kinda kills the idea of a hi-beam, no?

 

[shortBoarder]

if they're saying the 6500K isn't the color temp, they're full of crap.

A Kelvin rating has NOTHING to do with brightness. You could have a white 1 watt Christmas tree-bulb with a blue gel over it, and the color temp would measure 12000K. Likewise, a million-candlepower red lamp would still only have a color temp of a few-hundred K, if that.

Lumens measure light output (brightness).

On the ebay site they're saying that the Kelvin measures how far and how wide the field of illumination is...WRONG.

You're not an idiot by any means, but I wouldn't trust 'em. You get what you pay for.



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[jay21112]

Thanks for the input.

Shortboarder: I thought they were full of crap about the K. That's what really got me wondering if these lights won't just melt on me.

OH YEAH, one more thing that got me doubting this ebay auction...they say they are D.O.T. legal!! There is no way a 9005 bulb that is RED is D.O.T. legal....would never happen.

busahaya and zukracer: It is by far illegal to have in RI and in MA, but I'm not really worried about getting hassled by the cops..just about getting an inspection sticker. I'm not stupid enough to drive around on the highway with my red high beam light on. I don't have HID right now and I never use my high beam...and when I go HID I'll really NEVER use my high beam. So that's why I wanted to replace it with a red bulb...just for trick factor. You know, when I'm parked in a parking lot (cops can't site me then because it's "off road") and when I'm out riding with my buddies (just a quick flash here and there and the law won't notice.)

So...the consensus is that this is a scam, huh? Well it was worth looking at...glad I didn't bid on 'em!

So...does anyone have any info on how to put a 100W bulb in the highbeam slot then. Matrix makes red 9005 bulbs, but they are 100 watts. Would this fry the housing....is it possible to re-wire the housing to handle 100 watts...would this be expensive??

 

[shortBoarder]

your welcome.

I'm not personally sure about voltage capabilities etc. for the Busa in regards to the headlamp; depending on the amount of stuff you have wired to the bike, it may prove a problem...there are others on this board who can speak with more knowledge to that.

I don't think it would melt the housing - the stock halogens as well as xenons and the HID lamps that folx are getting burn HOT.

ICEMANN's ordering a bunch of yellowish hi-beam lamps (that are BRIGHT) right now, since the HID lamps that the board has been buying make the stock hi-beam lamps look underpowered. Search for his post - you may be interested in those.

ps: the photos on that ebay site are obviously doctored - they didn't take pics of the cars with the lamps in them, they colored the photos in Photoshop......

 

[jay21112]

Ok, I had emailed the guy this:

"I don't understand: 1.) Why you say Kelvin is not the rating of color temperature, but is the width of the light, when Kelvin is ONLY a measurement of color temperature. 2.) How these are D.O.T. approved, when it is illegal to have any color bulb except white facing the front of the vehicle? I ask these questions because I would love to buy a red 9005 bulb....however these strange statements made by you make me feel that this bulb is not of high quality and will "melt" with very little use. Thank you for your time."

and this is what I got:

"Hi

Because the Kelvin rating is the projection.......and if illegal why are we supplying hundreds of Police cars with them?? and I have the Red in my SUV for 3 years now and I travel from state to state and not one problem in fact I get asked where did I get them....Look at all the feedback not one bad feedback about a ticket or being illegal or melted wires...........because it's the wattage that melts wires and we have the same wattage as stock bulbs..........

Thanks For The Email............Let Me Know............"


So, basically I think I'm done with this game. I'll look into the matrix or take a red marker to my fricken high beam bulb.

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[shortBoarder]

Because the Kelvin rating is the projection.......and if illegal why are we supplying hundreds of Police cars with them??

uh, no. Kelvin has nothing to do with "projection". He doesn't know what he's talking about.....

Color temp, pure and simple.

If he's supplying police cars, it's prob. for emergency lamps to identify the car as a police car in the first place. They wouldn't be used as headlights, as you'll see less on the road with a red light than you would with a regular old white bulb. You'd have to pump a lot more wattage through a red bulb to have it output the same amount of light as a uncolored bulb, and you prob. still wouldn't have the same amount of resolving power....

Hey, it's only 10 bucks. Maybe it's not necc. a scam, but I don't think his product is all he says it is. That's my .05

 

[ICEMANN]

Hey Sorry about the delay in responding just got the email and post.

1st off no offense to any particular culture. HOWEVER those bulbs are the cheap copies. The are the "jap" bulbs. They are basically sold to "mimic" the hid lights.

If you were ever to do a search on tinted or colored bulbs you would find those everyting. Actually on most sites they run about $4.00 a bulb. Or $8.00 for the pair. So it's actually a little high. The bulbs are dipped in a red film. Once heated the "hot spot" of the bulb burns thru the filiment tinting on the glass and you have a "pinkish" light because the white part shows thru and the red highlights the rest.

IMO I would stay clear of the bulbs that cheaply made. They have a very very thin filiment in them as well. Basically a good bump and their toast. Been my experience with them.

6500K deals with the "K" value of the light or color in the light spectrum. Technically 6500K should be slightly purplish blue not red. Now what theyve probably done is taken 6500K copies and tinted them. Even worse. The usable light pattern from the bulb would really suck. If you did it just for the red look you would only be out a few dollars to see how long they really lasted.

Having a strong traffic LE background I would say that you have a 100% chance in any state of being stopped if it were seen in the ON position.

I ride and I would have to say I would stop someone with a red front light. As you ride and hit bumps in someones mirror from a distance they could mistaken your light as an emergency vehicle light. From experience people tend to "GLANCE" in the mirror, "CATCH" a glimpse of the light and "REACT" by "JERKING" the wheel and braking before they ever look to see whats over there. Natural reaction. To much civil liability to have in my lap just for a red bulb. Again just my .02 cents. Then again I wouldnt have wrote anyone for it just make em fix it and bring it in.

You can get away with yellow and white. Not red as far as I know.

 

[jay21112]

Thanks for the response Iceman. I kinda figured it was crap just by what he was advertising on the site, but I figured I would let someone who knows a little more take a looksie.

Any info on anybody who makes a quality red 9005 bulb?