Why use headlight bulbs with higher K value?

[buelldozer]

So one of my Phillips bulbs burned out. They were 35W 4300K bulbs so I thought I'd try something different. I ordered a pair of 5000K bulbs from HID-Warehouse and put them in. Here's a picture with the Phillips on the left (drivers) and HID Warehouse on the right (Passenger) .

https://i.imgur.com/9VbabyA.jpg

After this picture I replaced the drivers side with a 5000K bulb as well.

I drove the car last night and I'm really disappointed with these 5000K lights, disappointed enough that I'm about to order up another set of Phillips @ 4300K.

Why do other people do this? What makes the 5000K temperature somehow "better" than the stock 4300K?

Edit: Also, how in the world can people not see the difference between 4300K and 5000K, it's easy noticeable even in my crappy part daylight picture!

[JMG]

People do it because the cooler (bluer) 5000k lights look closer to white and are synonymous with HID or LED lighting, which has a more "refined" and modern look. The problem with halogen lights is that the cooler you go, the less lumens you have, so your old 4300K lights are actually doing it's job of lighting the road better. Personally, I like the cooler look, but not at the expense of performance. If someone wants the HID/LED look, they should get HIDs/LEDs.

[buelldozer]

Well I guess that answers the question. I'm going to order another set of Phillips Extreme Visions @ 4300K and put these things back in their box on a shelf.

[Chris@EPL]

4300k is the same as Sunlight. And anything higher than 4300k is decreasing in output/lumens. The 4300k it the top of the curve for output.

[Demringstho864]

I have 6000k and I love them

[jfo]

As noted by JMG, 4300 to 4500K will give you the best lighting performance, with a warmer(less blue) light. To me , all that matters with headlights is getting the the best visibility possible and the OEM colour temp is optimized to do that. I don't think the white or blue colour looks better at all, and I actually find them annoying.

[adamazing]

Everything above is true. Once you start going up in kelvin temp, you sacrifice lumens.

However, don't forget that you have a burn-in time with new bulbs too. You usually need a few hours of illumination before they start to settle into their normal operating range and color.

[Davidx1994]

I replaced my oem bulbs with Osram CBI.

They're pricey, but worth it! Much brighter than stock, they are whiter, and will get cooler as they burn in.


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