The video clip is good and I don't disagree on HIDs are not designed for a halogen housing. This can be easily explained that the latest/higher end HID equipped vehicles are using projector lens. However, some current and earlier models (i.e., Toyota Avalon, Nissan Altima, Last generation Lexus RX, GS, and LS, Last generation Acura TL, etc) are still using the halogen housing for HID. How do the factory vehicles get away with this? Answer: >>> A carefully adjusted light beam<<<
The "older" HID units used in vehicles that came with HID as an option but used a reflector instead of a projector still use a HID designed housing. I say "older" because these days more and more manufactures are realizing the advatanges of HID projector technology has over HID reflector technology. But back to my point about why those older generation vehicles had HID in their reflectors. Those relfectors you see are actually HID designed units
. They differ from the conventional halogen units even though most wouldn't see it to the naked eye. The reflector is designed to only allow the top portion of the reflector (the portion that throws beam on the road) versus allowing the bottom portion to reflect (which produces beam above the cutoff). Those systems are referred to as D2R housings as those use D2R bulbs (they are just D2S bulbs with a glare coating going around the bulb and also a different notch on the seat of the bulb).
I explain it here in my HID newbie crash course
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What is the difference between D2R and D2S?
The main difference is the U-shaped masking on the D2R that blocks out unpredictable light in certain directions. Also, the
base has different notches. Name of base is P32-d2 for D2S and P32-d3 for D2R. D2R was developed so that Mercedes could still use their reflector based headlights in the mid 1990s. They did not want use projectors like BMW. A glare box inside the headlight could have been used to accomplish a straight line, but a mask painted on the bulb was cheaper to make and had better precision. Other (near) luxury cars (Lexus, Infinity and Acura) followed Mercedes and equipped their cars with D2R bulbs in reflector based headlamps. Using a D2R in anything else than a OEM HID headlight designed for the D2R bulb makes no sense. It will only reduce output. Some HID kits comes with D2R bulbs. Some amateur kit designers will even claim that D2R genrally reduces glare in a retrofit. This is nonsense. The D2R bulb masking is around 3-4 a'clock and 8-9 o'clock when bulb is in right position. Those are not the (only) sectors that creates glare.
As an example, here is the data on Philips 2 versions:
D2S: 3200lm, 4250K, 91lm/W, 35W
D2R: 2800lm, 4150K, 80lm/W, 35W
Above from left, D2R and D2S. Note that Philips does not make blue painted HID bulbs. The appearant blue color is just background.
The HID kit illuminates better than conventional halogen and it needs to be re-aligned after the installation so the light is not offensive to the on-coming traffic.
But doing so is also counterproductive because you're now limiting how far your lights shine if you have to aim them down. So yeah, you gained some outpout by going HID but you lost some performance in distance and even distribution of light.
I just want to mention that I'm not trying to knock on your HID kit. I've been doing HID for over 10 years and have come to realize people will be set in their ways. However this is usually because they are uninformed and don't know the truth of the matter. Everyone has to start somewhere so I don't expect people to understand or know everything there is to know. But i'm here to help you guys in lighting by getting the facts out and helping inform you all. I hope all here can keep an open mind
