[LotusSG2057]

I noticed when I have been driving the lotus at night, the vision really sucks because the lights don't shine that far out and the lights are like 3,500K, which are not that bright and I am really considering and convincing my dad to get HIDs for his Lotus like 8,000K, which will look nasty. Also, it would be better than getting the factory HIDs because assuming they charge like $1,500 for it, I compared it to other HIDs. For example I have HIDs in my car 6,000K and it looks sik and I only paid $210 for it without the labor because I installed it myself since it was very simply. Also, I got it at a really good place in Waltham called East Side Motoring. But obviously, a professional would have to install it in the lotus. So, I compared the price (1,500 to 250-->East Side Motoring Sports. About $800 of savings.) So does anyone has HIDs in their lotus'?

 

[SirLotus]

"Search" is your friend http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f129/now-available-complete-elise-hid-kits-16052/

 

[serpent]

Lots of people have HIDs in their lotuses

but why would 8Ks look nasty? i would think they would look ok :shrug:

How come your 6Ks look sik? maybe new bulbs are in order :shrug:

 

[m4mica]

3500k, 8000k, etc. represents the color of the light (yellow, white, blue, purple). The wattage will determine how bright it is. Of course, the human eye is more / less perceptive at certain colors but that's minor compared to the wattage. FWIW - you can get them from ddmtuning.com for around $70. The 50W are REALLY bright. By far the brightest of any car I own.

 

[Sh4rkattk]

Lotus does not make OEM hid. All HID's on lotus cars are aftermarket. Installation difficulty depends on which kit you get some are better then others, this is where price comes in.

3500, 6500, and 9000 are color temps. They do have some effect to brightness.

The kit I have on my car is Dabears2k Performance. 6000K 55w option.

The brightest selection would be 4500K 55w.

 

[kabob]

Lots of people have HIDs in their lotuses

but why would 8Ks look nasty? i would think they would look ok :shrug:

How come your 6Ks look sik? maybe new bulbs are in order :shrug:

You must be a dad or something He's not saying that they're "sick" as in unhealthy, "sick" in slang terms means the opposite. He's saying that his 6K's look awesome.

 

[Sh4rkattk]

You must be a dad or something He's not saying that they're "sick" as in unhealthy, "sick" in slang terms means the opposite. He's saying that his 6K's look awesome.

Serpent is making fun of OP fore using slang

 

[stinkyonion]

Sure dont need a professional to install. It was the first project I ever did on a car, period. People were talking about like an hour each side, but took me like 4-6 hours altogether, but had to figure out the jack and such. Just make sure you use screws or rivets to attach the ballast to the car with, the double sided tape doesnt work too well all by itself.

 

[serpent]

You must be a dad or something He's not saying that they're "sick" as in unhealthy, "sick" in slang terms means the opposite. He's saying that his 6K's look awesome.

i cant believe you explained it to me, lol

rotflrotflrotflrotfl

 

[LotusSG2057]

hey that's a really cool website and good affordable price for that kind of HID kit. By the way could you send me a picture of your Lotus so I can see what the HIDs look like. Thanks

 

[andykeck]

The brightest selection would be 4500K 55w.

Just wanted to emphasis this. The eye is most sensitive to light at about 5000K. The bluer temps 'feel' brighter but are in fact less bright.

 

[Simba]

The eye is most sensitive to light at about 5000K.

4100-4200k produces the most usable light on the road. Above (or below) that and you start losing lumens and adding tint, which aside from reducing the effectiveness of the lights, makes one look like an idiot.

 

[kaz]

the Dabears2k is awesome and very cheap...highly recommended - once your lense housings are adjusted they throw an incredibly bright, wide, and far reaching cast

 

[PECivil]

what?

once your lense housings are adjusted

I bought Dabears2k kit. What is this housing adjustment thing???????

makes one look like an idiot.

I laughed so hard I choked on my diet squirt rotfl

 

[ZAMMY1]

the real lotus driving lights are great. too.
inexpensive. a great help.
sam

 

[ewalberg]

I;ve replaced my bulbs with the +50 H1 variety of bulbs (as in 50% brighter)and the improvement is noticeable to me and doesn't affect radio reception like it seems the HID kits do... they also sell a newly available +90 version but i thought they might not last long enough...

Interstingly, non of the stores around here carried anything more than a +30 H1 bulb, or the stupid blue coated bulbs. The +90 sold on the website have some blue tint on them but i spoke with the folks at candlepower about the +90's and they said their primarely light beam is unaffected because they only tint the parts of the bulb that affected some of the peripheral light. Which would probably be okay by me. i'm not a fan of bluish light.

H1 bulbs

 

[drkshen]

i just installed Osram Silverstar 55w 12v
good bulbs, but i hear short life!!

 

[TimMullen]

i just installed Osram Silverstar 55w 12v
good bulbs, but i hear short life!!

Shouldn't be, my originals are still going strong (although I admit they haven't had that much use). Higher wattage bulbs tend to have shorter lifes. The Osrams, are simply very high quality bulbs made to put out the maximum allowed legal amount of light.

The Osrams (not Sylvania) Silverstars are a significant improvement over the stock bulbs, but not as good as HIDs.

For those considering upgrading to higher wattage bulbs, consider that the wring is not sized for that, and you could cause overheating problems with the wiring, and/or problems with the lights being too hot for the plastic housings over the headlights.

 

[ewalberg]

for reference, the bulbs i posted about are the same wattage so there is no risk to wiring. They're +50% and +90% brighter because of subtle filament design changes that have them burning brighter and hotter... which does mean the should lasts a shorter amount of time because relatively speaking they're over-volted. The 90% lasting a shorter amount of time than the +50 for example.

Running a higher wattage H1 bulb of the same design as stock should theoretically last the same as stock but yes, then there is more risk to wiring. That would not be my first choice of route to take.

I recommend changing and fully adjusting one at a time so you have the original beam height to go by as reference.

Also for reference the website is from Daniel Stearn, a lighting consultant who's pretty conservative so the products sold there have likely all be tested to actually verify quality and light output.