Best alternative bulbs to HIDS? need recomendations !

[speedvision3]

Hi im looking for good bulbs for my low beams on my 2012 mazda 3

I want to stick to halogen bulbs for my low beams.
I have herd the Putco Ion Spark white look like 4000K Hid . Any recomendations?
I need something either white or bluish(6000k) look that will give off alot more light then my stock low beams . I used the putco 6000k in my truck and they didnt not work well very pore light

[FLIPDADY]

Hi im looking for good bulbs for my low beams on my 2012 mazda 3

I want to stick to halogen bulbs for my low beams.
I have herd the Putco Ion Spark white look like 4000K Hid . Any recomendations?
I need something either white or bluish(6000k) look that will give off alot more light then my stock low beams . I used the putco 6000k in my truck and they didnt not work well very pore light
You want better light output HID's are the only way to go. A lot of those bulb only alternatives will give you the look but not the same lighting.

[McGuyver_3]

HID's the only way to go. The kits will almost be the same price as the bulbs that you will be replacing.

[greyseason]

also, look in the for sale section of the forum. I got my HID kit used for $35

[silverstarmazda]

why wouldnt you want hid's? if you absolutely have to have halogen bulbs with an improved light output, you might need to run a higher wattage bulb. i HIGHLY dont recommend this because they get intensely hot and would burn/melt something.

[Noisy Crow]

The best halogen bulbs are HIRs:
http://store.candlepower.com/hirlighting.html

They don't come in fancy light-reducing shades of blue, but they do throw more light than any other halogen bulb.

[speedvision3]

what would a Hid kit cost me shipped to sudbury ontario and do they have any probly on the new ones ? aka flickering one headlight issue cutting out?

[McGuyver_3]

To be honest HID problems can come to anyone wether it be factory or aftermarket. Even your halogen lights could fail at any given time. Those are the joys of owning a car. As for pricing, a member further up posted he had a kit, or talk to one of our sponsors. They would be happy to help you out

[silverstarmazda]

not to mention there are probably local shops that can help you too. you know, if you cant find help here

[Simon99]

what would a Hid kit cost me shipped to sudbury ontario and do they have any probly on the new ones ? aka flickering one headlight issue cutting out?

If I can recommend a website, try umnitza.com. I've ordered HID's for headlight, fog lights, Orion V2 angels eyes and all around led and they never disappointed. Plus they offer good prices and best of all (for me) not ******* customs fees. I'm not working for them, just a really happy customer.

[Carnage]

Honestly as someone who tried every halogen bulb so I didn't need to get HID's... get HID's.

The install is super easy, even if you use a harness. It's literally all plug and play. And you just can't compare the two.

[Carnage]

what would a Hid kit cost me shipped to sudbury ontario and do they have any probly on the new ones ? aka flickering one headlight issue cutting out?

I had flickering on one side. I went back and got the better ballasts and I haven't had an issue since. You get what you pay for...

[speedvision3]

hey has anyone tried out the nokya arctic white 7000k h11 bulbs was just curious on the light output compared to stock and how much they look like Hids? thanks

[silverstarmazda]

i use nokya bulbs and i would say theyre pretty good. light output is good but they tent to be a bit hotter than oem. but not hot enough to cause problems... make sure you use stage 1

[speedvision3]

ok so are they alot brighter then stock ? could you upload a pic and do they look alot like HIDS?






i use nokya bulbs and i would say theyre pretty good. light output is good but they tent to be a bit hotter than oem. but not hot enough to cause problems... make sure you use stage 1

[silverstarmazda]

ok so are they alot brighter then stock ? could you upload a pic and do they look alot like HIDS?

they dont give as much light output as hid's. thats why hid's costs what they do. theyre a bit brighter than oem in my experience. but not by much. they are white and not yellowish.

[Default User]

Hi im looking for good bulbs for my low beams on my 2012 mazda 3

I want to stick to halogen bulbs for my low beams.
I have herd the Putco Ion Spark white look like 4000K Hid . Any recomendations?
I need something either white or bluish(6000k) look that will give off alot more light then my stock low beams . I used the putco 6000k in my truck and they didnt not work well very pore light

I have the Putco's in my GMC and I like them. The "whiter" output looks better than stock IMO.

My reason for going Halogen over HID's is simple - I dont want anything to void my warranty.
I've heard of peoples cheap HID kits melting housings, smoking from ballasts, and even catching on fire.

The output on HID's is definitely way better than the halogens, but lets face it - in the city even 90% of the time, it isnt necessary

OP - just remember a "blue" output COULD cause police trouble if it is too obvious.
However, according to the sales desk - it is more like the Eurlolite / Nokya color temp output

[speedvision3]

Ok heres my thing i want my lights to be a whiteish blue like the 6000K hid but im not sure if i should go with putco blue cuz they sucked or nokya arctic white 7000k stage 1 ? any advice

[Default User]

Ok heres my thing i want my lights to be a whiteish blue like the 6000K hid but im not sure if i should go with putco blue cuz they sucked or nokya arctic white 7000k stage 1 ? any advice


Putco Nitro Blue
http://www.putco.com/utilities/ImageResize.ashx?CustomerId=df7c8831-21ce-4474-89ce-4dd0c103679b&ImagePath=/html/images/library/239007NB-RT.jpg&Width=550

Putco Ion Spark White
http://www.putco.com/utilities/ImageResize.ashx?CustomerId=df7c8831-21ce-4474-89ce-4dd0c103679b&ImagePath=/html/images/library/230880SW-RT.jpg&Width=550

[Default User]

found some pics of the Ion whites on my GMC

Ignore the fugly orange parking lights

Putco Ion Spark White
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/17/ymajyduj.jpg

Putco Whites for low beams and OEM fog light bulbs
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/17/eqejyvu3.jpg

Output on a brown garage door
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/17/ybevuqu8.jpg

running as DRL's
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/17/e7uze3ah.jpg

[McGuyver_3]

My reason for going Halogen over HID's is simple - I dont want anything to void my warranty.
I've heard of peoples cheap HID kits melting housings, smoking from ballasts, and even catching on fire.


Don't take this the wrong way but your reason is rather stupid. If you go in for a check engine light and have HID's they are not going to void your warranty. If you go to the dealer claiming that your drivers headlight is not as bright as your passenger headlight and you have HId's and they find the bulb was not installed properly causing the bulb to be on a downwards angle preventing light from going through the projector properly granted this will be warranty denied. The only way that your headlights will "melt" is if the bulb is improperly installed and starts melting away the inside of the housing. The plastic that melts will cause a mist inside the headlights. Sadly to say these xenon look alike bulbs because they run hotter are more likely to cause the melting/fog more then anything else. Because the bulbs draw more power thy will need a beefier headlight connector. Knock on wood I ran 4 years on my 05 with HIDs without any issues. So far I have never seen a ballast smoke before but there is a first for everything.

Another perfect example mazda had a recal on all 10 and up gt headlights because the oem drl bulb was running to hot and produced fog inside the headlights. Even with their "fix" this problem continues

[silverstarmazda]

im swapping over my 8000k for 4300k bulbs. ill then try again with re adjusting my lens

[Default User]

Don't take this the wrong way but your reason is rather stupid. If you go in for a check engine light and have HID's they are not going to void your warranty. If you go to the dealer claiming that your drivers headlight is not as bright as your passenger headlight and you have HId's and they find the bulb was not installed properly causing the bulb to be on a downwards angle preventing light from going through the projector properly granted this will be warranty denied. The only way that your headlights will "melt" is if the bulb is improperly installed and starts melting away the inside of the housing. The plastic that melts will cause a mist inside the headlights. Sadly to say these xenon look alike bulbs because they run hotter are more likely to cause the melting/fog more then anything else. Because the bulbs draw more power thy will need a beefier headlight connector. Knock on wood I ran 4 years on my 05 with HIDs without any issues. So far I have never seen a ballast smoke before but there is a first for everything.

Another perfect example mazda had a recal on all 10 and up gt headlights because the oem drl bulb was running to hot and produced fog inside the headlights. Even with their "fix" this problem continues

no offence taken.

But after spending $35K on a new vehicle - you really try to avoid doing anything that might back fire later.

And as for the warranty issue - I meant more towards anything "headlight related". If anything shorts out (typical with cheap HID kits) or heaven forbid a small engine fire (extreme, I know) happens, and it is determined the cause is because of the HIDs - then yes, they will void warranty.

And I can't remember which member it was (or the exact details) - but their HID kit basically started smoking so bad it got inside the cabin.

Plus - HTA does state that any modifications to your headlamps is illegal. (Although almost never enforced).

[McGuyver_3]

Granted yes a 35k investment is a lot but you are still taking a chance with your look alike bulbs. If oem bulbs like in mazdas case are capable of burning then so is everything. At my dealer for example a customer came in with his bulb warning indicator on. Ok no big deal written up warranty, we look at it and first thing we notice the bulbs are aftermarket look alike xenon. So because bulbs were aftermarket we quoted cx new oem bulbs so we could solve his problem. We put them in and the bulb out warning was still on. We made sure nofurther aftermarket bulbs were installed and nothing was out, which they weren't. So we scanned it and found faults in the bulb monitoring module. Did checks according to scanner and found the module was fried. Customer got quoted for a new module, labour and programming of module. Warranty denied because of the xenon look alike bulbs that customer had installed. The bulbs were rated for 55W but still ran hotter. Just because you are using halogen doesn't mean you are safe

As for "cheap" HID kits, I have a few 35$ kits from china and knock on wood they get used every day for over a year close to 2 now without issues. They are 35W kits and I use them as fogs for DRL"s on 2 cars and headlights in 2 other cars. Knock on wood I haven't had any issues



no offence taken.

But after spending $35K on a new vehicle - you really try to avoid doing anything that might back fire later.

And as for the warranty issue - I meant more towards anything "headlight related". If anything shorts out (typical with cheap HID kits) or heaven forbid a small engine fire (extreme, I know) happens, and it is determined the cause is because of the HIDs - then yes, they will void warranty.

And I can't remember which member it was (or the exact details) - but their HID kit basically started smoking so bad it got inside the cabin.

Plus - HTA does state that any modifications to your headlamps is illegal. (Although almost never enforced).

[Default User]

I agree

But the chances of an aftermarket 35w halogen bulb overheating is slim - when compared to an aftermarket HID kit that has several components that could malfunction, and / or have user install issues.

Just thought I should also add - I've had an HID kit installed in both my old 3 and my Lancer with little or no issues. However, I've always had an uneasy feeling every time I read or hear about HID malfunction issues.

I'm not saying I will not be putting an HID kit on my GMC - but that would be down the road - when warranty is done.

[silverstarmazda]

usually issues with cheap hids come from the supplier not labling the products properly. so sometimes you get mixed wattage products.

[RedRaptor]

When I was young, beautiful and not so smart, I used to spend a lot of my hard earned money on "HID" like bulbs. PIAAs, Silverstars, Eurolite.

They are a waste of time. "HID" like bulbs burn much hotter and will not last as long as a standard halogen bulbs.

For me, either invest in Factory/OEM HIDs (if available as an option) or spend the money to get a good quality kit (Morimoto from TRS).

Anything else is uncivilized.

PS. I purchased my Philips Polarian 4100K HID kit in November of 2004 for $600 USD. As of December 2012, I have not had one problem with the bulbs or ballast. The only thing that has given out is one of the relays on the wire harness.

Don't be fooled. You get what you pay for.

[McGuyver_3]

35W halogen bulbs as headlights? You would be completely blind at night you would need minimum 55W as that's what headlights run at factory brightness. The hid kits you can get 35 or 55. Personally always stuck with 35. My personal opinion just invest in a good HID kit and you will be set. I gave you 2 legit cases of not being off well with halogen. I can't do any more. We both gave our opinions and that's what matters



I agree

But the chances of an aftermarket 35w halogen bulb overheating is slim - when compared to an aftermarket HID kit that has several components that could malfunction, and / or have user install issues.

Just thought I should also add - I've had an HID kit installed in both my old 3 and my Lancer with little or no issues. However, I've always had an uneasy feeling every time I read or hear about HID malfunction issues.

I'm not saying I will not be putting an HID kit on my GMC - but that would be down the road - when warranty is done.