the lens has less to do with being "HID Compatible" than the reflector bowl design. some reflector bowls are more forgiving to HID replacement than others.
Constantly getting brighted with HID conversion kit
- Thread starter 13CX5GS
- Start date
the lens has less to do with being "HID Compatible" than the reflector bowl design. some reflector bowls are more forgiving to HID replacement than others.
Not exactly. The reflector on the HID compatable lens is the same as those that are HID only. I have taken apart the HID lenses and HID compatable lens apart and looked at the reflector, and the HID compatable lens has the same HID cutoff in the reflector design where the non-HID reflector is shaped different and usually does not have the cutoff at the top.
Just out of curiosity, because I have never heard of a factory OEM certified HID & Halogen lens/reflector set. Who is it that labeled the housing or lens "HID Compatible"? When you say you took it apart are you talking about the whole assembly? It sounds like you are saying that the assembly is HID Compatible, the lens is just one of at least 3 main parts of that. Can you clarify?
Yes, I had one of the HID compatable assemblies apart (the plastic lens does come loose if you heat it up) and compared that one to the HID unit for the same vehicle. This was done in a dealer service tech class I took last year. I asked the question of the difference because the HID compatable lenses are available, both in aftermarket and OEM. I wanted to see the difference in the class, rather than just being told by the instructor, and manual that it is compatable. I had brought in a couple lenses I had and the instructor had his own. We compared each one to see what the difference was.
The reflector is the same shape and design on the HID/HID compatable units, which on the HID units, is shaped where the top has a cutoff and the reflector design of it requires the light to be at a narrow projection. The non HID lens has a wider light beam. On my car, the MZ3, I notice the beam of the light is at a narrow beam, and it is an HID compatable lens.
This is also seen with other manufactures headlight lens housing where they state the lens is HID compatable as well. Hyundai states the Sonata from 2006 is HID compatable, and also the Azera, Equus, Genesis also has the compatable lens housings.
The part that makes me curious is the movement of the light source. With an H11 lamp (Stock halogen in our CX-5), the filament starts at 25-27mm (Depending on which standard you read) and extends forward only(4.5mm), when a D4S(stock HID on our vehicle) the arc is centered at 25mm and extends both forward and backward (Not as far forward, 4.2mm total). Take the Mag light example and how the beam changes from a small amount of movement (reflector moves in relation to light source). I suppose if you overly restricted the Halogen at the image plane cut off you could compensate for the difference between the two lamps, and I guess they could save some money doing that by not making two different assemblies, but that would assume that they expect a lot of people to make the change otherwise why handicap an already weaker light source? (the comparison gets even more wild when the light source is transverse instead of axial - as in the 9004 lamp).
One other illustration would be the difference in Low/High beam in a 9007 lamp. Both axial filaments are within 1-2 mm of each other yet project very different light patterns on the road when illuminated.
I wonder if any of this helps the OP, but I think it is interesting nonetheless.
13CX5GS, Can you post a picture of a before and after or maybe put one halogen back in and take a picture of the difference?
One other illustration would be the difference in Low/High beam in a 9007 lamp. Both axial filaments are within 1-2 mm of each other yet project very different light patterns on the road when illuminated.
I wonder if any of this helps the OP, but I think it is interesting nonetheless.
13CX5GS, Can you post a picture of a before and after or maybe put one halogen back in and take a picture of the difference?
I think it is important that a manufacturer can claim their lens is HID compatable, and it can be, depending on bowl reflector design. I was told this by the manufacturer, and wanted some proof it was different, and not just talk.
Getting pulled over if the HID's are in a non-full HID lens is high. Some cops are fairly strict when it comes to this issue, particularly state troopers, but if you can proove that the HID compatable lens is on the car and designed for the HID bulb, you should be able to get it dropped.
I agree, after comparing with the stock, it wasn't that bad. One thing I noticed when swapping in the old one, was the HID was a little lose in the housing where the stock was a solid fit. I took the red rubber grommet off the stock and put carefully on the HID one and it fit a lot better. I haven't driven on the highway(95% of me getting brighted) since changing the grommet, but maybe that has helped as well. The pic with the HID and stock has the grommet that came with the HID, the pic with both HID has the stock light grommet.
Suddueth13
Member
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- 2011 Mazda 2 Sport, 1987 Mazda RX-7 Turbo II
Let's get a couple of things straight here. Firstly, NO manufacturer has or will ever label any of their Halogen light assemblies as "HID compatible" because they are not. Secondly, I will reiterate the fact that the LENS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. Plus the lenses are not plastic, they are glass on projector assemblies. They are plastic on the headlight assembly itself. Exactly which lens are you referring?
Now onto the reflectors. As you can see, posted twice, the reflector bowls are in fact different between halogen and HID. Even in reflector HID setups the reflectors are different according to the light source. I would love to see any source or proof to your statements.
13CX5GS, there's noticeably more bleed off above the cutoff compared to the halogen. Shoot another picture with the the new grommets and lets see how it changes!
Yes, manufacturers do, and have labelled their headlight lens assemblies as HID compatable; I know about 6 who do; direct from service training I have had from each manufacturer; Mazda being one of them. The assembly includes the reflector bowl. Hyundai. Kia, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Infiniti all claim they have HID compatable headlight lens assemblies; mostly to reduce costs when the vehicle has the HID and regular bulb configurations based on specific model and options.
The information I receive is directly from technical service trainings dealer techs must attend, and I have questioned why they claim the headlight lens assembly is HID compatable, because I need to know that information when I have customers in my shop for legal issues, if they had installed a HID kit in an assembly in a HID compatable assembly, and were to get a citation for headlight beam issues. \
If a person were to receive a citation for improper headlight beam in a car with HID compatable lens assemblies installed; having that notation that the lens assembly is HID compatable, with the HID bulb in use, having such information results in a dismissal of that citation. IF the lens assembly is designed for regular bulb design and beam, (non-HID) and a HID bulb is used, that citation would result in a guilty charge.
Suddueth13
Member
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- 2011 Mazda 2 Sport, 1987 Mazda RX-7 Turbo II
Find me some proof. I want to see a label on a HALOGEN ONLY headlamp assembly or somewhere in manufacturer literature where it states that a halogen assembly is compatible with a High Intensity Discharge light system. Reflector HID setups from the factory are still different than their halogen counterparts. We've pointed out how different the projector set ups are already. Oh and it's illegal for any type of HID kit to be put in headlamps, whether they be designed for HID or not, if it did not originally come with it. Even proper retrofits are deemed illegal.
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- 23 CX-5 Premium
I want to try this to raise my lights a little. Would I turn the nut clockwise or counter?
It has been quite a while since anyone has commented on aftermarket HID's. For those of you that have them how are they working out, more specifically are you getting "brighted"? If you adjusted them, how many turns down? I am considering getting them but not if I risk getting a ticket or worse yet causing an accident and getting cited.
