HID light info?

[sirhk100]

I know some of you have to have converted a current halogen light over to HID for off-road use... I'm looking to do this on a dirt bike light but am not expecting it to be much different then a 4 wheel vehicle. What wattage did you guys use? All the ones I've seen are just 35W kits that claim to be 3 times brighter then a 55W halogen. Is this what you guys are using or does someone make an even brighter one? My bike is putting out about 100W of power so that's what I've got to work with. Is there such a thing as too bright?

I've heard that the hella and phillips brand stuff tends to be the most reliable and capable of off-road abuse. My light is a H1 bulb if that matters at all. Could I litterally just get one of those retrofit kits for a car that uses H1 bulbs and that would work okay? I've got another friend that may be willing to split a set with me so that's a good option...

Anyways, just a tutorial on HID for idiots would be bitchin!!! I've heard a lot of people expressing interest in converting their Hella Hologen offroad lights to HID so this info may be good for other people as well.

Seve or any other Baja bike racers... I've already got the light and everything, any suggestions or opinions on HID conversion specific to bikes other then talk to baja designs?

Khris

[Mikey]

Call PCI and talk to Jimmy or Biscuit. They do HID conversions on the side. They have all the info.

[Ryan_P]

First of, ALL HID bulbs are 35 watts, and you won't need more light, because of the starter on the HID ballast it creates a brighter light and by not using a filament to burn out or rattle loose you will have a greater chance of an HID lamp to start together after the abuse.

As far as the retro fit kit. What light do you have on there already? Do you have a Hella, PIAA, or that type of light or is it a stock light on a bike/quad?

Ryan

[sirhk100]

Cool, thanks for the tip, I'll try to get in touch with one of them in the next couple days...

[Aflac]

Baja desings makes a kit also you can call ricki stater they do that stuff

[sirhk100]

LOL, yeah but have you seen Baja Designs prices??? I've built a system nicer then what they offer for a little more then 1/3 of the cost. Even once I get up to HID I'll be maybe a little over 1/2 of what BD quoted to set me up!!!!

I've talked with Ricky Stator a few times before I purchased this setup and after doing a lot of research on this stuff I kind of had a bad taste in my mouth about his stuff at least for my bike. Now if you have a Banshee, he's the only one to go to!!!

I'll give PCI a call when I'm actually ready to spend the money and see what they say...

Khris

[klaus]

keep us updated please

[sirhk100]

No problem, my camera's in the shop right now for a cleanup job, I'll get some photos of the system I have on my bike and for sure let you guys know what it ends up taking to get my current lamp converted over to HID. I'm shooting for first or 2nd weekend of May. I want to have it setup for some night time fun at the MORE race...

Just a FYI, my lamp uses a H1 bulb which is pretty common. I've been searching ebay and I can easily pick up a pair of H1 HID ballast/bulb setup for about $250. Not sure on brands though. I've heard Hella and Phillips are the best/most reliable setups out there. I only need one for my bike but depending on how good my setup works I've got a friend that's willing to split that cost. My concern is if those 35W street bulbs are the same as say the 35W bulb Hella's webpage says they're using in their bad boy light that you see on all the bling bling trucks and buggies...

I've attached the setup I have, not litterally mine on my bike but the same thing... And like I said, it's not a baja designs unit... It's similar though!!!

Khris

[partybarge_pilot]

I have made 2 lights with 150W bulbs. 1 has an integrated 3.5" reflector like a lazerstar and the other fits in a H4 housing. The problem is getting the ballasts made. Both bulbs put out aproxamatly 4X the lumens of a standard HID bulb. You can stack normal 35W ballasts but this is a little cumbersome.......

[klaus]

there is tons of hid conversation info out there when you google it....
One site I like: http://hid.vg/

[sirhk100]

Excellent page!!! Thanks a ton for that link...

[therail]

i have seen it done on a banshee by a guy out of san diego. after briefly chatting with him, it seemed like a lot of work. he needed a new HO stator, and had to wire in a battery. the good part was that since the HID's were more efficient he can run 4 of them. 2 on the frame, 2 on the bar. he said it turns night at glamis pretty much into day. i can talk to him later and get more detailed info if youd like.

[sirhk100]

I've already got the stator, flywheel, rectifier and battery. That's not a problem and well, I just bit the bullet and bought an entire HID. I'll post photos if interested next week once it's installed. Yeah, I'm hoping to light up Glamis too!!! Night time Doubles outta send me to the hospital fast!!!

[sirhk100]

After doing TONS of reading and research it started sounding like 99% of lens for a halogen light are designed for a different focal length and bulb then what the current "common" HID bulbs position and put out. As I understand it you can put the HID in a halogen lamp and get the "hid" look along with some increased performance but it won't be nearly the potential of a true HID lamp with a matched HID bulb... Soooooo here's what I ended up with!!! HID kicks ass!!! This one light is brighter then high beams on the old exploder with a pair of 6" 120W PIAA pencil beams.

For info...
http://www.dezertrangers.com/cgi-bin/ib/ikonboard.cgi?;act=ST;f=20;t=20941