I've noticed on my 09 c2 that the stock bi xenon is quite yellow in color. Are there any reputable aftermarket bulbs that i can switch out to achieve more whiter/blue color? thanks

 

There was a thread on the 997tt forum . A lot of guys liked the Hoen bulbs . Mine are still stock but I don't drive much at night with this car. Link here. https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...bulb-mods.html

 

any suggestions for replacement of stock hid bulbs to an aftermarket hid bulbs with whiter/blue hue? thanks

 

OEM uses Philips or Osram. both are great bulbs.

 

http://www.hidconcept.com/Bulbs-Philip-ult.html

OEM is 4300K i believe. 5000k D2S will get u the white u want. or 6000k is u want blue-ish.

 

or try www.plasmagarage.com I've had good luck with 3 orders from them to date. In my experience 6000K will offer the best in visibility & color. Anything higher in Kelvin rating effects the visibility and brightness and is too blue/purple. [The new V10 R8 utilizes 6000K LED low/high beams.]

 

The Turbo boys had some issues there so it's wise to be careful.
I fired off a mail to Plasmagarage.

On a 996 & 996Turbo I had done the change-out on D2S to 6000K, the H3 fogs to 5000K, and also the little H6W41 running lights.

Looking for confirmation all are same on 997.2

 

I would only suggest swapping the bulbs out for Philips Ultinons, about 5800k 'true' vs. the 6k they advertise them at. OEM supplier, great quality.

Im asuming the 09's use the same D2S as 08.

 

Lower temp light (4300K) is preferable to bluer (500-6000K) light. Bluer light kills one's natural night vision sensitivity (as the eye sensitivity peaks in the green) and lateral shadows become darker and harder to see. This is particularly critical to spot people or deer on the sides.

Bluer light is a bad thing (for the driver) and worse for the oncoming vehicles. If PAG uses 4300K they again show that they know their stuff.

 

So .... has BMW come up with a 'safer' blue ?
Seems their headlamps must be 6000 or higher, out of the box.

 

There is no 'safe' blue. Blue light does indeed make the illuminated area very bright. But it kills peripheral vision. You choose.

Yes, BMW's HIDs are very blue and very annoying to oncoming traffic.

 

Every oem HID bulb in the US will throw down 4100-4300k on a meter, only way to get a DOT stamp on them.

The bluer look you see is from the optics of the projector lamp, they can make the light look bluer or more purple from certain angles even if using the same bulb as Porsche, Mercedes etc.*

The thing with aftermarket bulbs is they get carried away with the kelvin rating, 8k, 10k, you name it, I would bet all of them do not even get close to the ratings if you busted out the Minolta color meter and tested.

Take 4 different ebay 6k bulbs and all will measure differently.

* an active auto leveling system will also amplify this blueness.

 

Annoying? .... I kinda like em .... but people call me annoying, so I guess it makes sence.

 

any way to increase the HID wattage, say with 55w P2S bulbs and maybe uprated ballasts? thoughts?

 

Im sure its doable (50w) with a ballast / bulb swap but preferably you want to find a ballast that fits / mounts in the factory location. But a 50w actually are a touch more yellow than the 35w stockers but the lighting improvement is huge.