thetahoe

Okay so I'm really tempted to change the halogens in my '08 hoe to HID.

I've been looking at these for a while and they seem pretty good - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Xenon...spagenameZWDVW

But, which color/amount[?] would look the best? I'm hoping 12000k would look good since they're the color of the Escalade HID's, but I'm not too sure.


Anyways, if you have any pics or suggestions please post them! Thanks!

73shark

Found this so you might want to reconsider 12000 K HIDs.
[ul][*]Kelvin is a measure of colour temperature and NOT the actual lighting power or output[*]It is generally accepted that the best Kelvin rating for optimal human night vision is between 3800 and 5500 K[*]All our 35 W HID kits run at 4100 K , and our 50W Racing kits are available at 4000 TO 5500 K[*]Anything over 5750 K and human vision and depth perception is significantly reduced[*]Anything over 6000 K and the actual lighting output/power reduces exponentially[*]Many companies claim to offer 8000- 12000 K Bulbs ...if this were true the headlight would shine DARK BLUE TO EVEN DARKER PURPLE !! [/ul]
From what I've read previously, 4300K is about the whitest, brightness, and gives the most distance.

in2pro

Shark I thought you had HID's also? thought I had read it in one of the post, maybe its the LED tails I'm thunking of...

EvansBlue

Yes, Marc is right about the HIDs. Any above 5000k and they are just plain annoying to drive with. My HIDs are 5000k and when I turn them on without previosly warming them up, they are about 8000k and then when they warm up they get down to 5000k and I definately agree that the Bluer they are the harder they are to see by. I would consider 10kK if I were using them for a show, but just driving, 5kK seem to have a slight color and you can still retain your ability to see.
Its not so much your ability to see that is compromised with the high k-rating. Its the glare. the Blue color makes it hard to distinguish detail at speed because its the hardest color for the human brain to process.

1hot650r

I have 8000k in my headlights and 6000k in my foglights. I get the perfect amount of light and its not too blue. The visibility at night is awesome as well and i have no complaints about them at night.

73shark

Like all mods, what Kelvin you get is a personal choice. The hard fact is the 4100K to 4300K are the whitest and provide the best illumination down the road. It's kind of like driving with your fog lites on, people will notice. Same with the higher K HIDs. So get what you want and feel comfortable with.

PabloGreystone

I have Xetronic digital HID lights and they work great and they are 4300K and they are superbright with a hint of blue. I went with 4300K because I think that I am less likely to get hasseled over having illegal lights, the tahoe is a premium suv like the escalade or denali and that is the color that comes in factory HID lights. Imho you are asking to get pulled over with the dark blue/purple lights they look completly aftermarket and really stand out on the open road compared to halagen or stock HID.

Paul

EvansBlue

Good point. I went with 5000k on my Blazer, and they are very blue on startup, but once they warm up (1-2 secs) they are very white. I didn't want anything that would give an excuse for a cop to pull me over.

Slammed

cool thread I have been contemplating hid for awile and I am going with 6000 from this guy on the tahoe forums www.higherlevelauto.com

73shark

Let us know how it works out. Pics too.