First off, do you guys think i should upgrade to 6,000, 8,000 or 10,000? The other colors are out of the question. Also, i THINK (judging from the pictures) that 6,000 looks a little more teal than blue, so i may have to pass on that particular one for that reason as well. Second: can i sell my existing bulbs & ballasts on eBay? How much are they worth and will they fit other cars, or only the Z?

 

I've got a 9000k kit on mine. I'll try to get some good shots of the color and post them up later.

 

i would take the Kelvin with a grain of salt

in my experience, and ive used alot of different hid kits, a 6000K globe from one manufacturer looks totally different to anothers

i get my kits now from xenondepot.com. I first started with a 6500K kit, but they were too purple, no blue at all, and purple light on a black road just doesnt light up well. Im on the philips ultinon 6000K kit now, color output is more white with a tinge of purple, slightly more output too. And the latest philips kits that xenondepot sell come with the new gen slimline ballasts, very high quality kit and all philips components http://xenondepot.com/product.php?product_id=13

Im thinking of going to philips 4300K globes now because im curious as to how much brighter they would be compared to 6000K

on the upside, the halogen headlights do produce a good beam, very wide and with a very decent cutoff line. Heres some pics of the 6000K, thats not the true color as every time i take a pic different ambient light adjusts the color of the xenons on the camera, but u can see the beam pattern and cutoff

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...e/125_2586.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...e/125_2585.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...e/125_2572.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...e/125_2571.jpg

note here car is jacked up and headlights werent adjusted. That would be the closest pic to the true color output
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...e/125_2570.jpg

6500K output....notice the clean cutoff on the sidewall
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...e/125_2509.jpg

 

Keep in mind that light output decreases the higher you go in the Kelvin rating. A 10000K bulb only puts out approx. 2/3 of the OEM output.

 

^10,000K iis alot less than 2/3 4300K output

a philips ultinon 6000K globe has 2400lumens vs a 4300K 3200lumens - that's 3/4

id say 10,000K is around halogen output, maybe less because yellow light on a black road is easier to see than navy blue/purple on black

 

I've got all the numbers, and 8000k is about 2x the brightness of halogen, with 6000k being around 3x. I'm guessing 10000k is around 1.5x, which still isn't bad. What i'm concerned about though, is the color. Like someone already mentioned, different manufacturers' bulbs with the same kelvin ratings look different. What i want is a BLUE light; not bluish-teal, not bluish-purple, not bluish-white, but BLUE. Where, oh where do i get this?

 

7000k for blue

 

Are you sure? Check out the comparison shots on this page. Compared to 10000k, wouldn't 7000k look almost teal? 6000k sure does!

 

3000K, check this out:

I have to say, they are NOT bright as the 4100K, but in the rain

 

4300K is white with hints of yellow.
5000K is pure white (no yellow).
6000K is more towards blue/purple.
7000K is a deep blue/purple.
8000K is bordering on green and blue.

 

fyi: halogens are 3000k

 

the better choice that we see in the 350z costumers is 5000k or 6000k, amazing results.

 

anything other than OEM philips or Osram capsules are going to be a dramatic decrease in light output. Thus, defeating the purpose of HIDs.

 

6000K is about 1.5X as bright as halogen, 7000K is about on par with halogen, anything 7000K+ is below halogen output (lumens)

The color everyone is looking for is a factor of xenon projectors NOT the bulbs/capsules. Don't waste your time and money on anything other than oem phillips capsules.

 

What is the stock HID output on a Z?

 

oem:
~3200 lumens
4300 Kelvins

 

Not true...


4300k = 3200lm

6000k = 2800lm


8000k = 2500lm



12000k = 2100lm


halogen = 900lm?



different shots...

5000


8000


10000




so is there a difference? yea... is one hid bulb 2-3x brighter than the other? hell no!

 

ROFLMAO diabolic, those pics are a victim of Photoshop

dont believe everything you see on the net

 

Prove to me that an 8000K capsule puts out 2100 lumens.

 

I could just as easily ask you to prove to me that it puts out 1500 *shrug* But why do you not think the figure is accurate? Plenty of sites quote it. I've seen a LOT of photos and most are pretty consistent with a 30% decrease or so. I haven't seen anything that looks 300% duller.