What is the difference....

[my05lincls8]

between the HID headlight assembly and the stock halogen headlight assembly for the 03-06 Lincoln LS besides the ballast, bulbs, etc.

 

[pektel]

That, my friend, is the big question. No one has been able to tell. It could be something as minute as the angles, to properly project the HID light.

 

[my05lincls8]

Thanks for responding. I had a HID kit installed on my LS and I notice one distinct difference. The light outut fills the entire reflector on my LS where as on LS's with the factory HID installed, it appear to only fill 1/2 the bowl/reflector. Any meaning to that?

 

[owlman]

There's probably some difference in the reflector, or how far in/out the bulb sits. But I'm not sure.

 

[n8bachelor]

I have examined the two different reflectors (without dismantling the headlights) and can confirm differences in the reflector patterns. This past summer when George, Dave, and I met at Petit Jean Mt. I was able to visually compare an 04 with factory HID (GWL's beautiful LSE) side-by-side to my 04 with halogen reflectors. I took some close up pics but there was a lot of glare so it was kinda hard to see. I can post them if desired.

Basically what it comes down to is that the HID housings are designed around the "bulb", as are the halogens. But the light is cast differently, then reflected differently to produce similar illumination on the road (focus and distribution, not intensity).