Hey everyone. I have 6000K HIDs in my headlights and I decided I wanted to go with 8000K to get a tint of blue in the light. Long story short, I have an HID kit already installed so when I order the replacement bulbs, how do I install them? Is it literally just plugging them into the powering harness and twisting them into the housing hole? Also, what is the best way to get to the headlight when I replace them?
I'll have to defer to someone who has an '09 chime in on getting at the bulbs (for my '05, it works best to take off the front bumper to remove the headlights, IMHO). Once it's off, though, you just swap the bulbs.
For what it's worth, and I say all the following with the disclaimer that it's your car - do what you want, 8000K will be
significantly dimmer than 6000K and is illegal to run on a public road driven vehicle. In all actuality, even 6000K is illegal and significantly dimmer than the OEM standard at 4300K. The limit of allowable blue light in a headlight is roughly around 5800K, and that's even dependent on where the light falls on the color spectrum.
For some related factoids, here's the difference in light output from the OEM 4300K HID bulbs to a 9000K bulb:
http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?29086-Everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-HID-bulbs
"IF" their information is correct, the GE Super Blue Xensation 53580 is 9000K and has roughly 2300 lumens. That's 2/3 the output of the OEM 4300K at 3400. I would figure a 8000K setup to be a little brighter than the 9000K setup because you're not filtering out as much of the yellow light, so probably around 2500-2800 lumens.
Again, it's your car. Do what you want. Know that it's not road-legal, though.
