Why different Bulbs (noob alert)

[Pogs]

How come I see different type headlight bulbs when referring to HID. I thought it was supposed to be a 9003 bulb but I see other gen 1s with H4 bulbs, D2S bulbs, and other types. Could someone explain this to me...
Thanks

[Mr_Chunkz]

Pogs
Different cars use different sized bulbs. With your specific 3 examples, a Generation 1.5 Solara will use 2 bulbs in each headlight. 1 bulb specifically designed for low beam, 1 bulb specifically designed for high beam. If you notice in a generation 1 solara, there is only 1 bulb. That bulb is h4 and it has 2 Filaments in each bulb, 1 to handle high 1 to handle low. A d2s bulb is generally used for factory "projector" headlight housings. Now on a factory gen 1 or gen 1.5 solara, there is typically what is called a "reflector" style headlight housing. Reflectors use a huge reflective shield that sit in the front of the bulb to glare the bulb to the back of the housing ( basically where all that chrome is ) to reflect a beam out. Cheap and lightweight, for sure, but also a very inconsistent or "blob like" light pattern. The alternative to this reflector is called a projector housing which uses a huge glass lens, rather like a huge contact lens, to shape the light which comes out. Also, a projector will have a shield inside and behind the projector headlight glass itself that will literally cut off half of the beam, so when you look at a projector beam it is really even light output and has a flat "box like" cut off. D2S and D2R bulbs are designed to fit inside of these projectors, depending on which one the factory used.

The moral of the story is
Find out what your application needs, size-wise
And dont try and switch in and out different sizes.

[Mr_Chunkz]

I Hope that helped and didnt add to the confusion.

[Pogs]

No that helped more then you could know. So I am assuming the 9003 bulb would only be a single filament and not have a high beam, just a single low beam.? Is this correct or no. So I understand the different types of bulbs now, and just to double check if one of my bulbs broke I would just replace it with a H4 bulb, correct.

[Mr_Chunkz]

No that helped more then you could know. So I am assuming the 9003 bulb would only be a single filament and not have a high beam, just a single low beam.? Is this correct or no. So I understand the different types of bulbs now, and just to double check if one of my bulbs broke I would just replace it with a H4 bulb, correct.

correct, a 9003 is a single filament
if youve got a gen1 solara you need an h4 dual filament. The bad thing is H4 Dual Xenon ( high xenon + low xenon ) HID Kits arent cheap, as there are 2 ballasts which link into each bulb. I had that for a while, I can honestly say it wasnt worth it. Are you planning on doing an HID conversion?

[Pogs]

Yes, but if I do go through the pathway of HID I dont think I will really care about high beams... Won't the low beam HIDs be sufficient for everyday driving.

[Mr_Chunkz]

Yes, but if I do go through the pathway of HID I dont think I will really care about high beams... Won't the low beam HIDs be sufficient for everyday driving.

absolutely.