I was wonderig how people like the active headlights that turn with the steering...

 

I seem to be the first one to vote...


Actually, I like the way it moves... but if I could switch on/off, it will be better.

 

I didn't really notice the active headlights in action during my extended test drive a couple of weekends ago. I guess that could be a good thing if they weren't a distraction. However, I do wonder why Acura put bi-xenons in the TL but not in the RL... I did notice a difference between the high-beam halogens on the RL and the high-beam xeons and halogens on my Passat W8, as well as the A6 3.2's I have test driven. Just a small nit picky thing since I did end up putting a deposit down on a NBP/Parchment RL

 

they are cool.

as larry said though, I have no clue why they chose bi-xenon in TL but not RL. sillyness

 

Wow, I was so sure the RL would have that feature, since the TL has it, that I never even bothered checking to see if it did have bi-xenons.

 

You can switch it off -- that's what the "AFS Off" switch on the dash is for....

 

Gitch is right, you can turn off the AFS is you prefer.

The RL has single xenons for regular beams. The high beam is halogen, I believe, so that it can come on immediately for a "flash to pass". Xenon would not work so well for this as it takes almost a second to achieve full brightness. It seems to work quite nice. I am not sure how the TL bi-xenons accomodates this.

 

I think it works the same for the TL, except the TL has a reflector to share the xenon to high beam while also being supplemented by a halogen high beam bulb..

 

I can't vote. I never drove a car with it... I have a TSX.

I'm just curious, because my next car might be the RX400h and it also has that feature.

 

Gitch & legendguy, thanks... I'm sure the stupid car dealer forgot to tell me it could be shut off.



slo007, thanks for making this POLL.

 

i have the TL and when i flash they flash in an instant, no delay at all. the way the xenons work on the car is, they have a filter in front of the bulb that direct the light down and a little less bright then the high beams would be. when you turn on ur high beams the filter shoots up and the light is directed upwards and brighter then the low beams. if you dont beleive me try this. turn on the head lights of a TL or any bi-xenon head lights and stand near the lights while someone turns on the high beams and you can actualy hear the filter shoot up. you might even hear it when you are sitting in the car.

 

This got me thinking when I was in traffic behind a new 5-Series...it doesn't have LED rear lights, yet the 3-Series does.

 

I think the AFS feature is nice to have.

As for the high beams, I prefer having non-xenon high beams since xenons provide bright, focused light, but halogens provide bright, scattered light, which I think is more important for the highs to allow greater visibility. Plus, with two different spectrums of light being displayed, you see different things.

 

FWIW, as I mentioned in my earlier post, my Passat W8 has bi-xenons with halogens. When I have the high beams on, the xenons are unrestricted and the halogens are on. The light switch also has a position to turn off the halogens and just use the xenons for the high beams. You can't turn off the xenons and just use the halogens, but I personally don't see a reason to do so.

I would like to have bi-xenons on the RL, but it's not a deal breaker for me since it has so many other features.

 

Just curious...does the RL's swiveling headlights have anything to do with it not having bi-xenons? I.e., does having the one prevent the other from being in place?

 

I don't think so, since the '05 A6 offers AFH with bi-xenons. I'm thinking it was a cost issue on Acura's part, but who knows...

 

I believe there is a relationship to the daytime running light setup, as the high beam halogen is used for the DRL. From what I've seen, Xenons aren't used for DRL, so requires a different configuration.

 

Hi Gitch -

Are you saying the Xenons aren't used for DRL on any car, or just on the RL? They are used as DRL on my W8, which means they're basically always on, so they are also used in conjunction with the halogens for flash-to-pass. I don't see why Acura couldn't have done something similar. I'm looking past it though, as I'm still planning on driving my new RL home some time this week.

 

There's probably many ways to skin this cat (xenon-halogen combinations). The RL way seems to work just fine and gives excellent visibility, good high-beam response and good fog light positioning. My only wish is that the headlight "auto" position would not cause the headlight reminder to "ding-ding" when you get out of the car with the lights on. I would suggest that Acura reprogram this feature in future models since the lights will be shutting off shortly on their own anyway.

 

Excellent point! It should be that way in all Acura vehicles...

 

Didn't you read the manual?

 

ok, ok ok, stop it...... i own a TL.... WE DO NOT HAVE BI-XENONS!

whew, just had to get that out... now, as i repeat, we do not have bi-xenons.... its the same headlight, there is a mechanism that shoot the beam up.....

ONE XENON....... I REPEAT ONLY ONE

thank you

 

correct me if iam wrong, bi xenon means that one xenon bulb is for low beam and high beam. so there are two lights in one which makes it a bi xenon headlight.

 

You are correct, it has nothing to do with 2 seperate lights on each side.

As an aside there are indeed many ways to accomplish light on a car, the 3 series (except the M3) uses AFS like headlights, it is a Bi-xenon system with a single bulb and a masking shutter, they also have a halogen light beside them which is used as the DRL and stalk flash (to pass etc). I perfer this to using Xenons for DRLs since the bulbs are quite expensive and halogens probably do just as good of a job in this application.

Vandy

 

In the Audi A8, LED lights are used for the DRLs, as they last longer and they don't sap much power. But of course, that's a car whose base price starts in the 70Ks, so you can't compare it with the RL.

 

the TL also uses that masking shutter thing to change from low to high beams. if you listen what you turn on the high beams you can hear them.

 

Correct all single bulb Bi-xenon systems use this.

Vandy

 

Very few cars actually have 2 xenon bulbs. I only know of the Maserati Quattroporte using 2 xenon bulbs for each of its 2 headlight clusters (most cars have one xenon, one halogen).

 

...Bi means two, and Bi-Xenon refers to two lights in one unit. Both low beam and high beam are Xenon lights. There is really only one filament inside the bulb projector unit but it is used for both high and low beams. To switch from one to the other, a mechanical shutter is moved electrically to its raised position to focus the light through the lens for low beam and the shutter is lowered to focus the light for high beam. Rather than move the shutter when the driver wants to "flash the high beams to pass" as they do in many European countries, there is an additional bulb that provides the brief flash of light.

Part of the better illumination provided by the Bi-Xenon system is because both low and high beam use the Xenon bulb. Most Xenon systems have only low beam and use a conventional halogen bulb for high beam. Xenon bulbs provide twice as much illumination as a halogen bulb but with only 1/3 the power consumption...

 

check out this $452,500 supercar.
and its a mercedes SLR mclaren. i wonder why they did that

i quote from the web site "Bi-Xenon High Intensity Discharge low-beam headlamps with automatic level control, halogen high beams, clear high-impact polycarbonate lenses, and heated headlamp washers."

wierd that it says bi-xenon and has halogen high beams


http://www.mbusa.com/brand/container...R&class=05_SLR

 

After having the RL for 2 weeks now, I agree with this point. But I think I have to take it one step further...I think I prefer the halogens for low beams too. (Heresy!) I have to use my high beams way more with the Xenon lows. Ok, maybe this is fodder for a separate thread.

 

I thought the RL comes with halogen DRLs? If so, can't you use it at night alongside the low beam xenon?

 

It does have halogen DRLs. I don't know if you can use them with the low beam xenons. Does anybody know? I do have the DRLs set to on if that matters.

 

DRLs are designed to shut off when the regular headlights come on. So no, you can't do it.

 

That's way too much money for a car. If it flew to the moon and back, I'd buy it. But to drive around town...

 

you wouldnt be saying that if you had the money for it.

 

No, BMW's with active headlights are all bi-xenon.

BMW's use the xenon bulbs for DRL's. Good thing they're covered under warranty because they'll no doubt burn out quickly. By default, DRL's are inactive on BMW's. The customer can request to have them activated. Volvo uses a seperate halogen lamp that goes where the normal high beam lamp goes on bi-xenon cars.

 

If the low beams were halogen instead of Xenon, would they even bother with the active headlights? I'm thinking the active headlights are used only because of the directional nature of the Xenons. I'm still not digging the Xenons.

 

I LOve those active headlights!!! I wish i have them on My CL

 

I like them