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Old 31-Dec-2011, 17:32
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DSC Member Shazaam! Shazaam! is offline
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HID High Beam Conversion

Here's a picture comparison of my 55W low beam and my 35W HID high beam using the same exposure.



The basic limitation on a HID conversion is that there are no HID arc capsules that have a transverse (side-to-side) arc path. They're all front-to-back.




This picture shows a H1 bulb on the left with the ruler's top edge passing through the center of the wound filament. On the right is the HID arc capsule with the ruler's top edge passing through its center. Note that in order to place the HID arc center correctly at the focal plane of the headlight reflector, the distance from the base (near the lower edge of the ruler) is the same distance as for the H1.

So you can only convert an H1 bulb (or an H4 high/low bulb.) Otherwise the light pattern is all screwed-up because the arc isn't placed at the focal point. The superbike low beam is a H3 projector-type unit so it can't be converted.

The problem is that a H3 bulb has a transverse (left-to-right) filament that sits at the focal plane of the optics. If you move the filament out of the lens focal plane it screws-up the light pattern creating hot spots and glare to oncoming traffic. So, if you put a HID front-to-back arc in the low beam fixture, the major part of the arc that runs forward and behind the focal plane cannot be focused and the light pattern is nonsensical for good night vision and preventing glare to oncoming traffic.
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