SuperWhite Headlights

Fellow RidgelineManiacs:

This is posted in response to Ridgeline2006, who requested info about my SuperWhite headlights and foglamps. Of course, it is important to drive courteously (although not slowly) and I always dim my lights when overtaking or approaching other vehicles. I have had people during impromptu car gatherings ask me how my high beams seem to be brighter than their HIDs. Fortunately, this question has not been asked of me by any law enforcement officials....

The H4s (headlights) say Superwhite on them -- they are GP Thunder Plasma lamps, 7500K quartz glass and may not be 100% legal for the street since they are 12volt 100W high/90W low. The bulbs themselves are blue in color but the beam is exceptionally white. They are outrageously bright -- when you flip on the high beams it is like putting on rubber gloves and throwing the 10,000 volt Frankenstein-type copper paddle switches torching-up a pair of those old antiaircraft searchlights -- without any freaking exaggeration, those big green highway signs over one mile away reflect back so brightly that it hurts your eyes at night (this is at a range that with low beams you can't even see if the signs are there). The low beams have less wattage than the stock high beams, but seem to me to illuminate better because of the white color and appear brighter from the driver's seat. I really prefer lights like this as it is virtually impossible to overdrive the high beams on a clear night. My typical cruising speed using maximal electronic and laser countermeasures is between 80 and 90 in the Ridgeline and faster in the Jag (10 years - no tickets, knock on wood). I have to admit that once I put my foot into the Jag when I was zipping up Rt 95 in Maine which was eerily devoid of other cars -- I am doing 149mph and although I still wasn't outdriving the highbeams (covering the mile and a half in a bit over 30 seconds) and despite the fact that even at that speed the car was sticking to the road like I was driving on flypaper, I had one of those bad nighttime thoughts about a moose gallivanting onto the highway (in which case they immediately stop to think about why the ground feels hard under all 4 hooves - big dumb moose "duh") and although I would take out its legs at considerable expense to the sheet metal being pretty much low enough to go under it otherwise and would be 33 yards beyond it in the 0.45 seconds it would take to drop (yes, I did the math), I couldn't turn it into a pretty picture by any stretch of the imagination and figured that I was simply traveling too g-d fast in the dark when you have to occasionally share the road with creatures of the night. Phew. How is that for a world-class run-on sentence?

I also don't believe in spending a lot for headlight bulbs, so I buy them on EBay and always buy two pairs at a time so I have extras on hand when one blows and to save on shipping. Two pairs will cost you roughly $42 delivered (about $10 per bulb, which as cheap as you will buy decent halogen bulbs at a local autoparts store. A link for these is here (and I think that this is the same person I bought mine from -- very fast delivery and good service):
eBay Motors: 100W Honda Civic 92~03 7500K H4/9003 Xenon Quartz Bulbs (item 8076908652 end time Jun-25-06 20:15:41 PDT) (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/100W-Honda-Civic-92-03-7500K-H4-9003-Xenon-Quartz-Bulbs_W0QQitemZ8076908652QQihZ019QQcategoryZ33710Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

The H11 (OE Ridgeline foglights) are Texon "Blue White" 8000K HID 12V 80watt bulbs. They look blue, but shine bright white and match the bulbs above almost perfectly. These are also very bright and I usually drive with my low beams on plus the fogs, which lights up everything in front and on the sides and close to the vehicle. Once you drive with headlights like this at night you will think that the way you used to drive with stock bulbs was like trying to light your way with a candle in your right hand and feeling the road with your left. Again, I buy them cheap on EBay and they will cost you about $34 for two pairs delivered, or a bit over $8 a bulb -- a good deal in my book! A link for these is here although I don't think that I bought mine from this particular vendor:
eBay Motors: H11 Blue White Xenon HID Light Bulbs 8000K (item 140000313150 end time Jun-27-06 19:42:29 PDT) (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/H11-Blue-White-Xenon-HID-Light-Bulbs-8000K_W0QQitemZ140000313150QQihZ004QQcategoryZ3647 6QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Trust me on this one -- the cost to purchase and install a set of the H11's and the H4's above will only be about $38, and you will not buy anything that cheap for your Ridgeline that will make such a profound difference in your driving experience.

Hope you could get through the stream of consciousness stuff. I have also thrown in a picture of the offending coupe....

Joe M

Fellow RidgelineManiacs:

I have had people during impromptu car gatherings ask me how my high beams seem to be brighter than their HIDs.

Are you not aware that other people use the same highways, people who will be blinded by your illegal headlights? I hope you do not cause any accidents with your very Inconsiderate actions.

Go Gators!!!!!

I do wanna say your Ridge looks great! Like others I do not care to be blinded by the light. How about you try a :cool: COOL experiment! Install a large mirror in front of your headlights and drive at night with the headlights reflecting into your face. If you can drive 50 miles like that & not feel any discomfort, I'll apologize to you.

I was looking at your pics and your signature and noticed that you can't read your license plate. Is that due to your "anti everything" license plate covers or photoshop? Also, are you having any wire melting problems running the 90/100 watt bulbs? I'm going to get flamed for this but I like your lighting mod. I couldn't do it around here but I like it none the less. The local police would be all over me in a second. I have 2 sets of Hella driving lights but don't turn them on unless I'm way out in the country. They are so bright, they make it look like day light for about 100 yards in front of you. The local PD has already warned me not to turn them on even though they weren't on when I was told not to turn them on. (If that makes sense. Sort of a lighting pre emptive strike.)

Louisville Slugger auxilliary dimmer switch. 100% effective. Ask for it by name.:eek:

Okay, Class, Now Pay Attention!

If you read and think at the same time, you will note that I said that I always dim my high beams whenever there is another vehicle around (...approaching or overtaking...). My low beams have less wattage than the stock high beams but appear brighter to me from the driver's seat because of the whiter color. When I am driving with my low beams and foglights on at night, I virtually never have an approaching vehicle flash their high beams at me as occurs when people think your headlights are so bright that they must be high beams.

My suggestion is that although you may have a legitimate beef about some driver's actions, it is somewhat misplaced here and should be reserved for those who are blinding you and should be performed in a manner contemporaneous with the insult -- i.e., go try the Louisville Slugger dimmer at the time that it occurs. I guess the only caveat is that a Louisville Slugger doesn't hold a candle to a Colt Mk IV Series 80 E.

The plate cover is a fresnel diffuser for radar, laser, and light and is visible from directly ahead (I did remove the plate numbers for the photo). After being black anodized, I have a friend in the defense industry apply a stealth coating to the billet grilles which either absorbs or deflects radar and laser waves.

Have fun driving!

Joe

Get over yourself, Doc. Need to get your ego-emmissions checked. Let me guess, your line is "Because mine is only yay-long." I thought foglights when no fog was reserved for Bimmer drivers. :rolleyes:

I doubt you'll have the 100/90 watt bulbs for long. They'll soon melt the bulb base and housing if they don't burn up the wires first. I've seen it many times.

Okay, Class, Now Pay Attention!

My low beams have less wattage than the stock high beams but appear brighter to me from the driver's seat [I]because of the whiter color.

Joe

I am sure you know (because you are a docter) that the white light looks brighter because of the glare the white light light causes. I am sure you also know (for the same reason) that this glare factor is multiplied many times for someone who has cateracts (that includes most people over 50 who have some degree of cateracts).

Inconsideration is a major factor in road rage. But I guess if you are just bothering the over 50 set you are not too worried about road rage. No, wait, as your post indicated you are aware of hand guns which are a great equalizer.

Go Gators!!!!!

great info on the bulbs, however how much is your ridge lowered? and who did it and what if any complications have you had lowering it? How much lower is it?

Blinded by the light

Glare from those chic blue HID headlights has many drivers seeing red. Here’s why some lights can be a problem and what you can do.

Blinded by the light (http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/maintenance-accessories/hid-headlights-403/overview/index.htm)

Odds are, you love high-intensity discharge (HID) headlights if they’re on your vehicle. Lighting tests we’ve begun as part of our vehicle evaluations show that low-beam HID lights flood the roadway with a wider, brighter, more uniform light than regular halogens. But drivers on the receiving end of that light describe it in less-than-glowing terms.

Say Doc,

As you say you are an emergency room MD, why would you need stealth anything? You should have MD plates or stickers?

Just bought some xtreme vision H4 6500k 65/55 watt for my ridge.Bought them on Ebay for about 18.00 with shipping. Haven't received them yet but will post some pics when I install them.

edit
Just came today suposed to be 65/55 but package says 100/90w.

I currently owne a HYUNDAI SANTA FE (wife's SUV) and have HID's on both top and bottom lights and not once have had a complaint over 1.5 years since i have, of course i did this work myself ,and i made sure that it was done properly to avoid getting incoming traffic Pissed. As a matter of fact one night from a friends party i got pulled over by a STATE TROOPER for speeding and not once the officer mentioned anything about my HID's
So being the fact that this does not bother anybody i will go ahead and do the same for my RIDGELINE of course i will use proper materials to avoid harming people's eyes.:cool:

so many whining friggan pansies on this website.

so many whining friggan pansies on this website.

Hehe,

One day you'll see...

_____:cool:_____

Okay, Class, Now Pay Attention!

If you read and think at the same time, you will note that I said that I always dim my high beams whenever there is another vehicle around (...approaching or overtaking...). My low beams have less wattage than the stock high beams but appear brighter to me from the driver's seat because of the whiter color.


Well, you may be a doctor, but you're not very good at math. 90 (your low beam wattage) is NOT less than 60 (OEM high beam wattage) in any of the 50 states (or in any school that teaches math). The OEM bulbs are rated at 60 watts for high beams and 55 watts for low beams, so your statement is completely false.

Yes, your headlights are illegal, no, you haven't been caught, and no, I do not want to hear that your headlights have not caused any accidents. You, as a doctor, should know the implications of exposing the eye to sudden shifts from dark to light and how it can affect the ability of the driver to maintain control of their vehicle and keep it in their lane (and not plow head-on into you).

I guess the upside is that if you do cause an accident, at least there will be a doctor on scene to initiate treatment (although I would prefer to have a paramedic providing my care on the side of the road, rather than a doctor, but that's another argument for another time).

[/rant] ;)

so many whining friggan pansies on this website.
Pansies? Are we gonna have a thread in flowers now?... gardening is cool, but I know nothing about flowers... wanna teach us Streetwerks? Thanks

:eek: .......