Help with choosing HID (xenon lamps)

[kez]

here is a Kelvin colour chart for HID lamps, which may help anyone thinking of replacing there existing failed/dimmed lamps

it is also advisable to buy a quality lamp to ensure there longitivity at maintaning there optimum brightness and is measured by the CRI index

colour temperatures are available from 3000k up to 12,000k, although it is strongly recommend choosing a colour temperature from 4300k to 6000k since the light emitted at this 'K' is the closest you get to achieving daylight colour (6000k and higher may/will be illegal in your area).

Colour Temp (K)	Colour Description:
3000k	Yellow light (suitable for fog lights)
4300k	White light with tinges of yellow.
5000K:	PURE WHITE LIGHT.
6000K:	White light with tinges of blue
8000K:	Distinct blue color light
10000K:	Bluish-green light
12000K:	Bluish-purplish light.

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Below are close ups of actual lamps which will give a clear indication to how bright they are compared to the average manufacturer fitted lamp of 4300k

[kez]

manufacturer fitted 4300k

[kez]

upgrade to manufacturer fitted 4300k lamp

[kez]

may or may not be legal depending on your country/area check local laws

[kez]

illegal for road use

[kez]

illegal for road use

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illegal for road use

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and the lowest of them all suitable fog light upgrade

[kez]

To finish it is important to take into account the different manufacturing processes of each manufacturer which could give a slight colour difference at the same K value, and in general the better quality of the lamp will produce a higher level of lumens over longer period of time (CRI index)