HID's and 'the shutter' - are they willing partners?

[dangme55]

I apologize if you are reading this a second time. The first time I posted it the reply section of a thread I had started regarding the correct headlamp bulbs for the RT. (I am a real noob two weeks)

I thought I would repost it to a wider audience in hopes someone can shed some light on the issue. (pun intended) -


In my previous post on this forum I asked about the headlamps in the 2013 RTS. Even though riding at night is an 'unnatural act' as all the grip disappears from the road ( same thing happens in flying darkness destroys the 'lift' in the air) occasionally I ride at night. Since the days are getting shorter I would like as much light as possible. New bulbs are a very inexpensive upgrade.

I was going to do the EBAY HID shufle but there is a lot of negative comments about HID's in a non-HID reflector so I looked more.

After all my research I found that 9011 HIR bulbs have about 50% more lumens than a standard hb3/9005. From all the scare tactics about glare and light scatter from HID's without an HID compatible reflector I decided that would not be a good option. Laying a $grand$ out for the BRP HID retro which contains new reflectors (I presume with correct optics for HID's) was not something I want to do right now. Looks like a simple mod to make a 9011 (ostensibly exactly the same as an hb3/9005 except for 1 tab on the base) fit in an hb3 hole so I am leaning that way.

Then I stumbled across some more 'research' in regard to HID's. (More research is likened to Confucian saying: 'Man who has watch knows what time it is. Man who has two watches is never sure.')

Hang on there is a question in here somewhere.

What I found out is that the operative difference between a low beam and a high beam bulb is that the low beam has a shield or hat to keep some of the light from scattering and a high beam does not. Therefore the 9005 high beam on a reflector (Spyder) would be essentially like an HID bulb. Meaning no cap/shield whatever you want to call it.

So here is the question(s): The Spyder uses the high beam bulb and a mechanical shutter to mask the 9005/HB3 beam to 'low' beam rather than two wattages or a 2/2 low high beam setup correct?

If so - then HID bulb would be affected by the shutter in the same way? That is not spewing glare all over like an HID in a standard low beam reflector. The pattern would be cutoff as necessary to keep the pattern low when the shutter is activated and moves down (up)?

Has anyone patterned their HID conversion (non BRP) to see if the shutter does indeed give a proper 'cut off' pattern.

Sorry but I am an 'incurable tinkering dweeb' when it comes to things mechanical.

Thanks in advance!

 

[MarkLawson]

I recently upgraded using the XenonDepot HID kit (9005 with 5000k color) on my 2010 RT. While I have not given nearly as much thought as you, I found that everything works as advertised. I have not made any long distance rides since putting them in, so cannot speak to any issues with the reflector's exposure to the newer technology, as I have noticed none to this point. As far as the high/low beam shutter is concerned, it works exactly the same. The only difference seems to be the amount of usable light produced is significantly increase, although the lighting pattern is the same. I know 'Phil' installed his in 2010 & has had no problems with them. Phil hooked his directly to the existing headlight circuits, while I went ahead and used the supplied relays to power my lights. I am not nearly as knowledgeable as Phil on these things, so decided to go the more cautious route to reduce the likelihood of unintended consequences.


I don't know if this helps you or not. Good luck!

 

[dangme55]

Mark -thanks for the info

Thanks for the info. Seems to indicate that the shutter is not opaque but maybe like 'sunglasses.' When you say the light is the same do you mean road coverage or looking at the light standing in front?

I live up in Jefferson so we may cross paths some day. 'Is everybody still somebody in Snellville?' LOL have not heard that motto for a while.

 

[MarkLawson]

Thanks for the info. Seems to indicate that the shutter is not opaque but maybe like 'sunglasses.' When you say the light is the same do you mean road coverage or looking at the light standing in front?

I live up in Jefferson so we may cross paths some day. 'Is everybody still somebody in Snellville?' LOL have not heard that motto for a while.

The light pattern is the same, but the coverage has increased because the light output is greater. In other words, the distance the light illuminates the roadway and objects is further. I have noticed, for instance, that my fog lights now add little to the usable light from the driver's perspective. They now have a very unattractive yellowish color in comparison, so I normally don't have them on, where before I always had them on. I did get the free LED bulbs for the fog lights XenonDepot offered with my HID headlight kit, but have found that my hands are too large to get into the area needed to replace them. I'll either have to get someone with smallhands to do it or remove the frunk to getat them, which I really need to do for other reasons anyway. I'll get to them eventually.