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I'm thinking about getting HID for the RSX due to the poor stock light output. Currently the lights are H1 OEM bulbs, and before you say, "Just get some Silver Stars and call it a day", be aware they last about 5-6 months in RSX's. :(
I'm leaning toward the 4300K color temp as that seems to be the output of most OEM HID assemblies, providing good clean white light.
What temp would you go with? And why?
I put some Silverstar Ultras in the truck and have been pleased with the light output... I'm not a big fan of putting HID bulbs in a headlight assembly that wasn't designed for them. They tend to spray the light around instead of putting it down on the right part of the road.
If the car already has projection bulbs HIDs can work, but not with regular headlights.
All of the Silverstar or other bulbs that I have tried are nice for output, but only last 6 months in my car.
My gut feeling is all "bright-as-hell" bulbs will have a short lifespan. Every one I've tried has lasted around 6 months, and this goes back to the early 90's in a variety of cars. I finally stopped throwing money away by buying good quality name brand bulbs, making sure the wiring was in good shape, and usually replacing in pairs (although when I have a single used one on the shelf I will use that one up).
Sylvania XL's or whatever they are called from Wal-Mart last about 2 years in my car and the light output is acceptable.
Silver Stars lasted 2+ years in my old '90 Integra, but from what I am hearing they only last 6 months at best in the RSX's. Other people I have talked to say the Piaa's and Raybrigs last up to a year, but can be hard to get and cost quite a bit more.
The RSX has reflector lights, not projectors. That being said, they do have a decent cutoff, similar to projectors, and have very large glare shields. I have seen some HID retrofited headlights and the glare seems to be minimal provided the bulbs are aimed well.
The HID's that come on the Japanese RSX are also reflectors and not projectors. The main difference seems to be that they cut off toward the left as opposed to the right like they do for the US version. Getting JDM light asseblies can be a very costly endevour as they go for about $1600 fo a good clean set and no less than $1100 for a set with broken mounting tabs. Also they are very rare in the US, but I'm not looking for JDM flair, I want headlights I can actually see and drive with.
Danny has 6000k's on his RSX, as do most of the Houston guys. The set I raffled off at the meet are 5000k, the guy that won them had 12000k previously, lol. He posted pics of them installed and the light output is pretty good. I would go with the 5000k over the 6000k, as they are a little more "white". FWIW, the S2000 lights are 4300k (if you remember what mine looked like, lol).
Check out the lighting section of CRSX too, Retro Solutions has a 10% off coupon posted ;) They also come with the X-clips for free.
Depends on the kit I guess. My friend's 6k on his '07 Civic are really white. However, the glare is the worse I've seen and we've all been in front of lifted trucks etc.
The guy that sells the kit I'm thinking of getting does a lot of headlight work on RSX's. He even retrofits projectors into the stock housings. Here is his website
I forgot to say this earlier... Go with the Digital 55w kit, the 35w kits aren't as bright and the colors tend to be off.