When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Yeah I got my good ole science mixed up with the wavelengths. Red is long and blue is short. That said, the rest of the stuff I wrote holds up. Notice how the international standard for signal and tail lights is amber and red? Not an accident. Both are easier to see at night and can be seen further away.
4300° Kelvin Temperature OEM 35W HID color has an approximately 3200 Lumen output. This color is the OEM color in HID equipped vehicles and is often called 'Pure White'. It is the color temperature with the most light output. The light appears fairly white, and has slight yellowish hue when reflected off the road surface, which is identical to all OEM HID equipped vehicles. This color is ideal for night driving and the need for the best visibility.
6000° Kelvin Temperature 35W HID color has an approximately 2800 Lumen output. This color is often called 'Diamond White' or 'Crystal White'. As noted, this color produces approximately 12% less light output (compared to the 4300° Kelvin Temperature OEM light). This color emits a pure white light with a slight tint of blue, and is less effective (compared to the 4300° Kelvin Temperature light) for visibility.
As noted, as the light color moves more into the blue spectrum the lumen (brightness) output drops...and the color also becomes less effective for visibility.
Neither red, nor amber is easier to see than the other colors of the rainbow.
The human eye is actually most sensitive to green!
See the diagram below:
Neither does red, nor does amber colored light, travel any further in space than the other colors of visible light.
Back in 1868, the world's very first gas powered traffic lights outside London parliament used red and green, because back then, the factories tended to use red to mean stop, while green was used to mean go - red was thought to be the color of blood and danger, while green was thought to be a calming color.
Scientifically, when red light enters a denser medium like a glass prism, red light does bend the least, while violet light bends the most, hence the phenomenon of dispersion where white light passing through a glass prism is broken up into its individual colors.
Thus, red does have the lowest angle of diffraction, while violet has the greatest angle of diffraction. See the diagram below.
However, this wasn't the real reason why red was chosen for stop, while green chosen to mean go.
Last edited by peteharvey; Jul 24, 2015 at 04:25 AM.
does everything in here have to turn out to a pissing contest?
You sound like an expert on "blackening out".
If someone made a broad blanket statement that PlastiDip was grossly inferior to vinyl wrap, what would you say?
Likewise, if someone falsely educates the public, that higher color temperatures have higher lumen brightness output, or that red and amber are easier to see at night, then is it in the public interest to point out that the human eye is actually most sensitive to green?
Back in 2005, a Lexus dealer first introduced me to what he called "Bluetooth" door locking and ignition.
No physical key is required to be inserted into a keyhole.
For the past 10 years, I kept calling this system a Bluetooth entry and ignition etc; no one ever said anything to me about calling it Bluetooth entry.
Then, SWLS pointed out recently that it is only wireless, and not exactly Bluetooth; Bluetooth is a special type of wireless, but there is no evidence that Lexus' keyless entry uses Bluetooth technology.
I'm really glad someone pointed this out.
It's silly for me to call it Bluetooth, when it is only wireless.
sup Pete, I hear what you are saying, def dont want bad info out there, thing is this is a topic that has over 3 thousand posts over every single manufacturer related forum having to do with cars around the web. The OP was not trying to find out what the science was behind any of this, he already installed the lights.
Everyone goes and posts all these amazing super informative links they found on the web like it helps...it doesnt...
It's not meant to be a pissing contest, but we need to provide accurate information. When someone posts something and then tries to stick by something that we all know is absolutely not true, then those of us who do know the correct information need to put that accurate information out there. Otherwise the forum isn't a reliable source of information for its members.
The poster we were replying to said repeatedly that as color temperature rises lights get brighter and have higher lumen output. That is wrong information, and members looking to upgrade their lighting deserve the correct information.
Lesson is... when provided with proof that something you thought was right WAS in fact wrong, just kindly step back and accept you were wrong. OR alternatively, provide contradictory evidence of merit. Don't dig in.
Question for the lighting gurus (hopefully one that won't start a debate):
I've been reading that most HID bulbs are between 4300 - 5000k. Some people are even saying that anything above 4300k is illegal.
My question is how can a 4300k bulb look yellow on one car, but then on like a Mercedes, Audi, Acura, or BMW it looks deep blue? Are the OEM HID's on these cars higher than 5000k?
Question for the lighting gurus (hopefully one that won't start a debate):
I've been reading that most HID bulbs are between 4300 - 5000k. Some people are even saying that anything above 4300k is illegal.
My question is how can a 4300k bulb look yellow on one car, but then on like a Mercedes, Audi, Acura, or BMW it looks deep blue? Are the OEM HID's on these cars higher than 5000k?
Technically, 4100-4300k is the only DOT approved HID color temp. So technically higher are "not legal". Now, higher color temp LED headlights are legal...so its a grey area.
As to why some cars look bluer, it all has to do with how the projectors are designed. German cars tend to have projector designs that have sharp cutoffs, and those cutoffs create that twinkling blue/purple look to them.
LED headlights also have a color temp closer to 5000-5500K just by their nature.
...
LED headlights also have a color temp closer to 5000-5500K just by their nature.
Because LED's are naturally cooler, they must add a phosphor coat on the LED dome to make the tints more neutral, ie warmer, hence the Zebralight flashlight at 6300K has a maximum output of 1100 lumens, while the neutral tinted 4400K has a max output slightly diminished to 1020 lumens due to the extra phosphor coat needed to make the cool tint warmer.
Both are easier to see at night and can be seen further away.
