Hey guys,
Just wondering if anyone has put halogen or what ever the blueish tint lights on there thirdgen?
If so do you have the partnumber?
there going on a 92 firebird
im thinking the fog lights only but im not sure, Depends if they look dorkey or not.
thanks
Craig

 

Yes.
No.
O.K.
Yes, they do.
You're welcome.
Vader

 

Blue Headlight Bulbs

You probably have seen blue tinted headlights coming toward you. The only "blue" headlamps that are legal are HID/MH (High Intensity Discharge/Metal Halide) headlamps, which do not use a tinted incandescent bulb. Instead they have an encapsulated electric arc discharge tube, just like the old mercury-vapor street lamps, warehouse lights, and sports field lighting. European headlamps use the same three technologies as US headlamps, i.e. tungsten, halogen, or HID. (Europeans just have much better lighting standards.) The only permissible colors for front end vehicle lighting in North America and most European countries are clear (white) and yellow (No country requires yellow any more - most countries allow yellow but prefer clear.) In no case are blue-tinted bulbs used in any European O.E.M. headlamp.

Read the text of both Canadian Vehicle Safety Standard #108 and #108.1, and U.S. Department of Transportation FMVSS108. These are the headlamp specifications for highway use in Canada and the United States. Both specifications clearly state that the only permissible color for headlamps is clear. Now you're probably wondering why HID headlamps, which have a bluish appearance, are legal. It's because they're not actually blue, they just appear more blue than halogen lamps. The lamp envelope is clear quartz glass. The output is higher in blue and blue-green wavelengths (just like the older mercury-vapor street lamps), but this is specifically noted and approved in CMVSS108 and 108.1, and US/DOT FMVSS108). A halogen or tungsten bulb that emits blue light is deemed a blue light, and is illegal on anything but emergency vehicles in Europe, the US, and Canada. The blue-tinted halogen bulbs are unsafe, ineffective, and illegal.

Retailers of these replacement "blue" bulbs try to feed you stories regarding the bulbs' use in Europe, so it seems that they do not know what they are talking about regarding vehicle headlamp regulations and applications in any country. These blue bulbs are not safe and are not legal. They may make your car look "cool" to you, but they make you look uneducated to the rest of us. Take the blue-tinted bulbs out and install proper clear lamps.

Here is some technical information to help clarify the issue. You should show this to the retailer who is selling those illegal phony-blue bulbs you bought:

High-Intensity Discharge (HID/MV, Xenon-quenched) lamps are coming as standard equipment in some cars. They are not currently available as retrofit items. It is amazing that people are trying to sell the "benefits" of these lamps. Claims run from the plausible but not-quite-true "They're brighter!", to the completely implausible "See three times farther!", to the absurd. The fact is that the main advantage of these lamps is lower power consumption than normal lamps to generate the same relative light output. Current production HID headlamps consume about 42W each instead of the standard low-beam halogen headlamps at 45-55W each.

While the HID system is designed to last the life of the car, components are expensive. The arc power supply is a sacrificial item - if you're in a collision, it shuts itself down by shorting the output permanently so as not to shock rescue workers and/or start fires with the 250+ volt arc tube supply.

Beyond the cost, there is another disadvantage to these lamps: The light they produce is very high in blue and green wavelengths (near ultraviolet) . This is hailed by the marketeers as "producing light similar to natural sunlight", and it makes the light "appear" brighter to the human eye, which is a nice bonus in dry weather.

Sadly for those ignorant BMW, Benz, and other drivers, these blue and green wavelengths reflect most readily off of airborne particles and water droplets (dust, rain, fog, snow) which means that with the HID lamps, back glare in inclement weather is greatly increased. This is much less of a problem with European-specification lamps, in which the low beam pattern is required to have a sharp cutoff with very little above-horizontal light. Unfortunately, the US DOT continues to demand inferior lights with lower output and a much less distinct cutoff. There is lots of stray light above the cutoff on all lamps on cars sold in the USA, which increases this back glare effect. This leaves domestic Lincoln drivers the real victims - most of which are old people who need every advantage they can get while driving in marginal conditions.

In Canada, both ECE (European) and DOT (USA) headlamps are permissible, so the degree of this back glare effect is widely varied (also present in DOT halogen/incandescent lamps).

As a result or recognizing the glare problem (and apparent ignorance of DOT), some vehicle manufacturers offer replacement headlamp housings designed for European export (Chevrolet, for one) which are glass instead of the DOT plastic. These have significantly improved optics and low-beam cutoff patterns, and will tolerate higher-wattage lamps without melting. High-beam output is quite impressive. These can be costly, however. For example, export glass composite headlamps for a 1991-96 Caprice are $140.00 each, and do not include new lamp capsules. They accept the standard 9004 halogen lamp capsules and their replacements, as discussed later.

The important thing to remember is that both ECE and DOT headlamp specifications have very strict limits on headlamp intensity. HID lamps are not granted exemption from these limits, so claiming that they're "brighter" simply is not true. The foot-candle at distance measurements must be within federal specifications. ECE and DOT standards do not address light output wavelength - yet.

Some retailers have begun selling halogen bulbs dipped in blue "coating" (paint or dye) of one description or another, usually including the name "Xenon", and describing them as being "just like the HID lamps in Mercedes". Nothing could be further from the truth, with the possible exception of a xenon quench gas in the halogen envelope. These coated bulbs are not approved by any regulatory agency anywhere in the world and decrease the performance of your headlamps. Wagner, Sylvania, Osram and Philips Lighting have pursuing legal action against the marketers of these painted-blue bulbs, not only because some of them have been using those company's trade names illegally (by painting their xenon-filled lamps and re-marketing) but also because these reputable companies understandably wish to distance themselves from this kind of Beavis-and-Butthead product. Product managers and lamp engineers at each of these companies all were aghast at the concept of these bulbs. You would be well advised to be afraid, too.

If you want brighter light, try the higher wattage xenon-quenched H-4 lamps available from Wagner. They have a clear envelope, are legal in North America, and do produce whiter light than lamps filled with more conventional halide gasses. The Wagner part number for the 9004 lamp replacement is BP9004BL. While not HID blue/green, these are xenon gas-filled lamps and output greater usable light at 65/85W.

If you still want to look like you're related to the Clintons, buy the capsules and power supply from your local Ford dealer and make a true, legal HID conversion. Be prepared to have all kinds of electrical noise problems on everything from your car stereo to the PCM, ECM, Theft-Loc, Pass-Key, remote locks and starters, and other systems. You could completely disassemble the front end to install the required shielded wiring, but then you would have gone through all of that to have inferior lighting.

If HIDs are so superior, why are ALL aircraft (private, commercial, and military) avoiding their use for landing lights, where 2-mile visibility is critical? Just like white-faced instruments and red isntrument lights, people think it's high tech only because they don't know any better.

 

i seriously started looking into making my own conversion about 4 or 5 months ago..... after some basic research i concluded that not only was it not worth the time and money, but it wouldnt work as well as i wanted...


ive sence switched to some better high output bulbs, and ran some nice thick wires from the batt to relays to the lights.... the old light wires now just trigger the relays.... i then aimed my headlights properly.....

now my lights are bright, i can see better with my lows now then my highs before, and im not blinding anyone.. plus everything was less the $50 including gas to go to and from the store.....


if you get headlights, see if you can get them in a 2 pack... you can save a few dollars that way.

 

Thanks Vader and Mr dude, thats the info I was looking for. This is why this site is so good, you just saved me some money, and like I thought before, prolley some embarsement.

thanks again
Craig