Well I finally got around to playing with the 08 HID setup. They utilize the retracting shield over the bulb. The plastic housings are very large for this. I can not tell what the color temperature is, it could be as low as 3000k as it is very yellow, presumably to mimic the fog lights. It has a few horizontal facets recessed to help focus the bulb to reduce upward glare, but the reflector is not all that different then a stock halogen unit. I won't be a work late enough for a nighttime drive, but will post a couple pics up. From dead on they still seem to put out a bit of glare, even in daytime. It could be 4300K, but typically OEM units in that range (ala Nissan) still seem much whiter in daytime.

 

First pic is the close up, arrow points to retracting shield(forward into block) for high-beams. 2nd with the fogs late daytime, 3rd next to my 6000k bulb conversion.

 

so you are saying that little sheild retracts when you want high beams to allow more light..instead of a seperate filiment affair like halogens?
is it an instantanious retraction or kinda slow?

 

Its instantaneous. The sleeve retracts forward into the housing. Sounds exactly like the little solenoid thunk mine make when they flip upward for hi-beams. Most OEM hids have halogen high-beams, including all BMW products. I have never seen the dual-element HID setup anywhere outside of stangmods, which seems incredibly overcomplicated with 4 ballasts. Will have to drive with them at night Monday(we close at 7:30 on Saturdays), but look to have a relatively low Kelvin rating. They kinda look like super-halogens. Around 4000k is actually the highest light output of all temperatures. No blue 'styling', but probably a very good light output. You do loose the lower part of the 'halo' of the newer headlights that you see when looking down at the car normally.

I'll have to see if it looks like that half-lit reflector at night from a distance. Mine look like two perfectly round blue blinding orbs of get-the-hell-out-of-my-way.

 

I drove a vert home the other night. They were definitely whiter/bluer than the fogs. They do have a slight blue tint to them at night...The Ambient lighting is pretty cool too.

 

interesting very interesting

 

It may be 4300k. I look at some angles and you can see blueish light and white-yellow in others. The typical OEM Hella projectors simply glow one color since there are no facets. It will probably clean up to one color better when it's dark out. Makes my 6k hid's look like 8k though I would say 4300 as Ford would only go with someone like sylvania or phillips for OEM goods and they only make 4300 or 6k bulbs. My SVTF Euro used 4300k hella projector cell units(they make virtually every non-asian oem HID projector unit).

 

Kev,

The band of yellow is normal in 4300k HIDs. Something to do with the salts in the gas mixture. The factory reflector HID's on my daily driver has a band of yellow light at the top as well as my wife's factory projector HID's (also at the top). You can really see it on the BMW projectors when the light shines on a garage door or wall.

Any closeups of your kit on your '07? How's the glare with the '07's not having the bulb shield anymore?

 

So Kevin, do you think the factory HID's are worth the $465 that I'm going to pay for them?

I hope they are, but I think it's too late to change the order now since my car is supposed to be made next week.......

Anyways, thanks for the pics!

 

I haven't played in the dark with them yet, but typically hid lighting is always better then halogen-regardless of any 'tests' that have been performed, driving a car with HID lighting is just flat out better. I have to admit I do like the 'blue' tint to my retrofit as a style element as well, but I intended to delete the fogs from day one. If you keep them, the headlights definitely can not carry too heavy a blue tint as the driving lights would look silly, and hid fogs seem rather extreme to other drivers with no noticeable enhanced light output. Either way, the Mustang definitely needs more lighting power then the stock headlights afford. If it were an option when I ordered, I definitely would of gotten them.

 

HIDs have no filaments... it's light arc.

 

HIDs look better than halogens mainly because of the color temperature. The whiter color temperature improves visual "acuity" or rather, is easier to interpret by the brain/eye. Most projector HIDs and projector halogens throw out quite a lot of light, so what's "better" is relative when comparing modern lighting designs (900-1000+ lumens, HIDs or halogens, take your pick).

I am not impressed by the OEM 08 Stang HIDs. Ford could have used a projector low-beam HID with a halogen project high-beam inside of the housing. The solenoids are nifty and allow you to use the same housing for aesthetics, but you don't want the solenoid to fail, which is why LED headlights are absolutely superior.

 

OK, thanks for the reply Kevin!

 

Interesting.. I'm not familiar with HID's. Are the bulbs on the OEM HID's removeable/replaceable? Are they standardized? Will I be able to find an aftermarket higher output and/or 6000K HID bulb while still using the factory solenoid-retracting-shield?

 

Kelvin ratings are 'backwards'. A higher number does not equal a higher light output. As the K rating increases, the tint of the bulb gets more blue. The blue tint tends to not go out as far and the glare to other drivers increases. A 10000k bulb will look very blue(almost purple), have a lot of glare(regardless of the reflector/projector style), and have reduced overall light output. As the number goes lower, the light gets more yellow and light output also will technically increase, but not be as effective do to our perception of color. It is generally accepted that 4300k puts out the purest white light, produces the least ambient glare, and is the basis for 95% of OEM applications. The bulbs can last the life of a car, but replacements are available. I am sure you could replace the bulbs with a 6000k replacement, but they would probably cost a few hundred dollars.

Hids are also a complete system using balast/starter units. There is no such thing as a HID bulb without them. Anyone selling $15 bulbs claiming HID/true Xenon performance is full of it. You can not get HID lighting with a factory halogen bulb socket.

 

There was a big thread on them called 'got hids on the 05' in exterior appearance, mostly associated with people using the kit I have. Glare is up there for other drivers, but the bluish light is more of a 'flash glare', and simillar to factory reflector-housing hids on the older-style TL. I have noticed newer MB's and Escalades that have even more glare then my setup. Someone driving with halogen brights on tends to hang in my vision much longer then even the somewhat 'annoying' brightness from mine(or even some halogen trucks like F150's that are notoriously bright). I used to worry about it when I first got them put in. Without the bulb shield, glare is about the same, but the hot point-of-light of course is a little brighter, but mostly thats an issue if someone is staring at them 'checking them out' rather then when driving.

http://forums.bradbarnett.net/showth...highlight=hids

 

I think the look the huge metal tongue protruding from the bottom of the round headlight looks a bit odd and detracts from the overall look of the headlight...but I guess to each his own...I would also imagine that the need for the fog driving lights on in conjuction with the normal lights is obsolete...

 

Saleen HIDs have had that "huge metal tongue" for years. Not a problem IMHO visually.

Foglights are NOT obsolete... I went and added HID lighting to my fogs as well! It *really* brightens up the road now!

 

Love them!

Ordering on my 08!

 

The main reason I got hids in the first place was to dump the fogs. Now its twice as powerful as all four stock lights.