Posted on 02/09/2011 9:06:49 AM PST by Atlas Sneezed
This chat thread is to divert an off-topic issue from the Ashley Turton car fire death news thread.
You started this thread because you believe Xenon lights are the blame in the recent crash on another thread?
Sounds to me like you are searching for a soapbox of others who also hate Xenons.
I think Xenons are like gun control, I think everyone should have them.
You probably again started this thread because you believe these lights are “Killers”
Oh grow up, that is so lame.
I have a pickup that has halogen lamps. They are bright too, but I have the sense to flip to low beam when I see oncoming traffic or come up on another vehicle from behind.
I drive on a very dark road, and the worst thing is having a car come over a hill crest with lights that look like the sun at noon in summer. I also drive with the driving / fog lamps when I’m on a well lit freeway.
Those Xenon lamps are blinding during daylight hours. There are plenty of idiots who don’t have a clue what that little blue idiot light on the dash means, or too busy doing something other than driving.
Yes, I thought about that after I hit post. It was halogen lamps that melted the plastic reflectors.
LOL
In any case, to continue on this thread, I HATE DOT headlights! E-code (European) headlights or HIDs, almost anything is better than standard US DOT headlights!
US DOT headlights, with their ca. 1928 beam pattern are awful to begin with, and that's brand-new, right out of the box. After a few years, when the plastic covers get clouded and pitted and the reflectors oxidize, they're about as illuminating as candlelight. The E-code (halogen) headlights used in Europe and the rest-of-the-world have a cutoff beam pattern designed not to blind oncoming drivers and throw light to the right of the car. They're many times better than DOT lights.
HID xenon headlights have been sold in the US for 18 years and people have been complaining about them for 18 years. As the price falls, they're becoming standard or optional equipment on more and more cars, and not just on luxury brands. For 2011, the "Touring Elite" model of the Honda Odyssey minivan is equipped with HID headlights as standard equipment.
In a few years it's likely that almost all cars will be sold in the US with HID or LED headlights.
If these are the super-bright blue ones that blind me every time I drive by them, I blame them for many accidents.
I literally have to place my hand between their beams and my eyes, which is dangerous.
Overall there is arguably idiots who deliberately abuse the installation of these, and I absolutely agree they are to blame and should be ticketed.
They are the Homer Simpsons that believe in using a gun to put out a house lamp.
And yes the DOT laws about headlights are terribly archaic.
Currrently though the next phase will be LED headlights, I am working on a super headlight using several rows of 20 watt LED emitters, custom bikes have them as to some high end European cars. Supposedly these lights should last over 10 years.
HID Xenons can last over 4000 hours, Halogens only 800, less if they are of higher wattage.
Thats why many warehouses use HID lamps.
And here in Alaska we are using LED streetlights now.
You got a lot of irrational hate on this thread. What I think you and others aren’t realizing is that the lights that are blinding you aren’t factory HID (commonly referred to as “Xenon”) installations. Factory HIDs are mounted in projector housings with specific cutoffs that keep light from shining above the road surface to the left of centerline. They come with an auto-leveling system that raises and lowers the cutoff to keep the light below oncoming traffic at all times. They’re also not blue, they’re a very pure white. (They can look “bluer” next to a standard halogen headlight bulb, because the light halogens emit is on the yellow side of white, but seen on their own factory HIDs just look white.)
But some people put aftermarket HID conversion kits into their cars, either to get the “look” of expensive headlights or because they want to see better. Putting an HID bulb in a lens designed to project halogen light won’t work properly because of the orientation of the light-generating elements, so in these aftermarket installations you’re putting out more light than the headlamp was designed for, and you’re putting it in the wrong places (like the eyes of oncoming traffic). People generally don’t bother installing the auto-leveling systems either, so if there’s extra weight in the back seat or the trunk the lights aim even more into other drivers’ eyes.
What’s worse is that some people saw that the pure white HIDs looked “bluer” than yellowish halogens, and thought that more blue must equal more light. So they started making aftermarket HIDs in higher color temperatures. This actually does make the light blue, which is a terrible color for glare and for night vision, and also puts out less absolute light, so the headlights are both more glaring and less effective at helping the driver see the road.
Some people don’t even bother with the HID kits, and just get replacement halogen bulbs that have blue coatings to try and “look like” HIDs. These put out less light than normal halogen bulbs (because the blue filter blocks some) and what’s left is blue, which is both glaring and poor for night vision. Probably less glaring than aftermarket HIDs, but still annoying due to the color. These also have nothing to do with proper HID installations.
It’s possible to properly convert a car from halogen to HID headlights, but it will typically involve getting the complete factory HID headlamp system and auto-leveling sensors from the dealer, or doing a great deal of work to properly install projectors in the existing headlamp assemblies. Most people just stick in the bulbs and connect ballasts, which gives the poor results above and is probably illegal (although not really watched for by cops) in every state.
Sorry for the rant. There are a lot of myths and misinformation about HID headlamps, even among normally quite rational people, as evidenced on this thread.
Thank you for a better and more detailed explanation.
Its a transition phase the last ten years as far as headlights go here in America.
I’m surprised we havn’t seen really old diehards staying loyal to acetylene lamps!
I love my auto dimming drivers side and inside rearview mirror, they darken when bright light hits them, hopefully in a few years it will be standard as will auto leveling AND auto aiming lights such as when cornering.
I would never deliberately aim my high beams at someone, I made that mistake one dark night on a Houston TX freeway, and the idiot locked up his brakes and I hit him, he was drunk of course.
We do have pretty good drivers etiquette here in Alaska, many State Troopers use un-marked cars, and they WILL pull you over if you abuse using high beams or dangerously bright low beams.
do headlight nukers really help the driver?
my understanding is...
old style headlamps, in a properly aimed system...
the hot spot is maxed out.
new style, the extra light goes to
the side, where you may or may not need it,
or even unhelpful,
and/or,
mis-aimed to help the driver
Xenon lights are night time status symbols.
ML/NJ
You're welcome; too bad it doesn't look like anyone but you will read it, as shown by the three posts below yours :-p
As a professional truck driver who gets tired of being blinded from the aftermarket ill adjusted lights in my mirrors, I hate them. They are nothing more than a glaringly bright sign that tells the world, “Look at me I’m an inconsiderate asshat”
Xenon headlights are like a nice ass on an ugly woman.
Looks great from behind but hard to look at.
Sheesh. Those blue lights also have high beams. You do that to people, and you’ll be getting bright high beam blues. If you thought you were blind before....just wait! Not too smart!
“Xenon lights are night time status symbols.”
Oh for pete’s sake. That’s honestly ridiculous. Some cars have them. They COME with them. That’s how you buy the car.
For anyone who is bothered by oncoming xenons, take note of which makes have lights that particularly annoy you, and which don’t.
After you observe for a while you will realize, as I have, that the offenders will almost always be Japanese makes or Cadillacs.
The newer BMW X5s have adaptive headlights that illuminate bends by adjusting the swiveling bi-xenon headlights as soon as the driver turns the steering wheel.
The four lamp Bi - Xenon systems on some cars (BMW for example) use beam deflection on one pair of HID Xenon lamps for main and high beams. The second pair of lamps contain standard halogen bulbs for the headlamp flash function, they are not used in normal running. HID lamps take a few seconds to reach full output and their service life is seriously reduced by flashing on and off, for these reasons they are not currently used for any flash function.
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