whiteboyslo
FNG
I'm pretty sure the Hella HIP line is NOT a HID, just a fancier halogen bulb. You should be fine.
Mike
HID upgrade.
- Thread starter turbo elk
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I'm pretty sure the Hella HIP line is NOT a HID, just a fancier halogen bulb. You should be fine.
Mike
Nut Tree
Registered User
That's exactly what I thought. It says "Halogen Headlamp" on the box, but being a newbie I just wasn't sure. Thank you for the input. that's what makes this a great forum!
If it says "Halogen", it definitely isn't an HID...HID's are generally xenon arc lamps and are completely different animals. There are (flagrantly illegal) xenon bulbs designed to replace halogen bulbs in their original housings, but since HID xenon's have a light arc that behaves considerably differently from the tungsten elements you see in halogen bulbs, if they're put through a reflector/lens that's designed for halogen bulbs, the light comes out far differently...putting quite a bit of light immediately in front of you, making it look like they're working better, but not projecting light further out towards the ground where you actually need it, and angling far too much light up so that it's blinding other drivers...
X2
In case anybody is interested, HID stands for High-Intensity Discharge. They are also called discharge lamps. They produce light by arcing current through an inert gas (in this case xenon) as opposed to halogen lamps which are simply a normal incandescent lamp which produces light by forcing current through a tiny wire (filament) to produce light and heat. The only difference between halogen and incandescent lamps is that halogen has a small amount of a halogen gas in the chamber which allows for the filament to achieve higher temperatures (and thus brighter light) without undue stress on the filament.
HID lamps are much more efficient, brighter, and personally I find that the white ones are much more pleasant of a light to work in as opposed to the nasty yellow light incandescent and halogens give off. That being said, don't use them in our trucks or any other car without the proper projector housing.
Don't true HID bulbs need a ballast for them to work? In other words, they are not just a bulb, they are a bulb, and a power supply box to drive them. I work on street lighting all the time, and they have sodium, metal halide, mercury, all which need a ballast to drive them.
Nut Tree
Registered User
There we go. I did not know the difference and now I do. Thanks guys, I appreciate and respect the expertise. I'll stick with my original plan of new OEM-style headlight housings on the bay with these 55/65w Hella bulbs and the LMC relay harness. I'm not looking to simulate daytime and I definitely don't want to be one of those guys that blinds other drivers with no regard for safety. Just lookin' for a little brighter cleaner light more on par with late model vehicles.
yARIC008
Drives really slow
Unless your light bulbs came with a ballast then they are not HID. Also, you'd probably notice the higher price tag of probably around $150 - $200...
Nut Tree
Registered User
Ok, I think these were $15 each. I'm in Orlando too. We need to get together, drink a beer and talk about old trucks 
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