Thoughts on HIDS/Xenons?

[Atty]

I hate this topic.

Mainly because I didn't get HIDs/Xenons in my car. I would have had to go with the navigation or super premium leather package that had needless features I didn't want.

Must resist urge to retrofit. Its just headlights!

 

[BassBomb]

You're right I didn't even consider HID in Halogen Projector housing.... I would put that above Halogen Projector w/ Halogen bulb, assuming squirrel finders don't blind too much and the bowls don't melt from the hotter bulbs

 

[thescreensavers]

HIDS ftw, I personally like 6ks not a drop higher, they are white with a touch of blue, not at all near that you would think its a cop. They look good. I also like 5k.

 

[SparkyJJO]

I have retrofitted lights in my 99 Camaro. Love them. Running Morimoto bixenon projectors and 5000k 35W HID.

I want to smash people who throw HIDs in their stock halogen headlights however.

 

[vshah]

If I'm interpreting you both right, I think you're agreeing. As do I.

His lowest ranking is HID in a halogen housing that ISN'T projector- so it's not made for HID's, nor is it the optimal style of halogen housing to use for a cheap conversion.

OEM HID's should be projectors in most all cases. Some older OEM's did not use projectors, and they work okay, not great; but much better than if they were in a 'reflector' (non-projector) housing meant for halogens.

Im aware of the blue (...ricer) halogens, as well as the supposedly white halogens. However, I did not know the bit about factory HID's looking more blue from a distance...is that related to what Zivic was getting at with the bit about flickering?

the blue appears right at the cutoff. the further away you are, the larger range of angles relative to the headlight this cutoff will occupy, and so the greater chance that they will look blue to you. the flickering is also that range passing through your vision, say as the car with hids goes over a bump, going from white to blue to white again.


also note that from above the cutoff, HIDs don't really look that bright. but if the oncoming car goes over a bump, WHAM, they're shining right in your face for a split second. that's another source of the "flicker"

i've never seen crappy ballasts lead to flicker. i have however seen them fail to ignite, take a really long time to warm up, or just cut out once the bulb is already illuminated.

 

[phucheneh]

Explanation understood.

However, I know I've still seen cars sitting still (when I'm sitting still) with lights that look akin to a faulty fluorescent bulb/ballast (the flicker). I know in the case of fluorescent, the ballast is AC and responsible for (iirc) changing frequency, whereas HID's basically just use a DC transformer...so I'm not comparing the two, just trying to equate what I physically see with something well-known.

Then again, I've seen flickery halogens, too. Perhaps what I've observed are POS's with blue 'fake HID' bulbs and the halogen flicker issue (usually related to charging system problems).

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I have OEM projector HIDs on both my cars, and one of them (the car I bought first, though it is newer) has adaptive headlights that turn with the front wheels. I have driven with HIDs for about 4 1/2 years. Personally I find them a huge benefit, to the point that I would be hesitant to buy a car without them. The visibility is just much better IMO. The adaptive headlights help greatly as well, not surprisingly.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

I have OEM projector HIDs on both my cars, and one of them (the car I bought first, though it is newer) has adaptive headlights that turn with the front wheels. I have driven with HIDs for about 4 1/2 years. Personally I find them a huge benefit, to the point that I would be hesitant to buy a car without them. The visibility is just much better IMO. The adaptive headlights help greatly as well, not surprisingly.

BMW Xenon + Adaptive lights = How did I live without this? It's like a wall of light that moves with your car.

 

[Ferzerp]

I have OEM projector HIDs on both my cars, and one of them (the car I bought first, though it is newer) has adaptive headlights that turn with the front wheels. I have driven with HIDs for about 4 1/2 years. Personally I find them a huge benefit, to the point that I would be hesitant to buy a car without them. The visibility is just much better IMO. The adaptive headlights help greatly as well, not surprisingly.

When I have to drive at night with a rental, I feel blind now because they're plain halogen lamps.

 

[KIAman]

I own one car with oem Xenon and one with Halogens. From personal experience, the Xenon lights provide better light at low and high beams than Halogens. Not only that, I drive the same set of roads with both cars and I can say that the Xenons reflect all the road markers and reflectors 2x better than the Halogens.

The strange thing is that Halogens work better in semi-dark situations, like sunset or sunrise while the Xenon output is pretty much invisible.

 

[evident]

I'm about to start a morimoto mh1 retrofit in my accord this weekend. i picked up an extra pair of oem headlights and the HID's from theretrofitsource.com . can't wait to get these installed on my car and get rid of my crappy halogens. Its one of the only thing I can't stand about my car. This will be a great ~$400 upgrade for my car if I can build it correctly! ill try and post pics of the cutoff when its done

 

[mmntech]

They can blind other drivers IMO. Take from that what you will. I don't think they should be street legal.

 

[imagoon]

They can blind other drivers IMO. Take from that what you will. I don't think they should be street legal.

What part of them? Do you mean the idiots that mount them in halogen housings?

HID lamps in a proper projector designed for them has no more glare than halogens in proper halogen housings.

 

[Eureka]

First off, HIDs in reflectors aren't significantly brighter than some extremely bright halogens or off-road lights. Secondly, HIDs in projectors are much brighter on the road, but even better for other drivers because of the cut-offs.

 

[iamwiz82]

BMW Xenon + Adaptive lights = How did I live without this? It's like a wall of light that moves with your car.

Adaptive headlights are really great. You grow accustomed to them very quickly.

 

[phucheneh]

First off, HIDs in reflectors aren't significantly brighter than some extremely bright halogens or off-road lights. Secondly, HIDs in projectors are much brighter on the road, but even better for other drivers because of the cut-offs.

The cut-off (horizontal line where the light just stops) is from the projector housing, not the HID bulb.