HIDs vs. Halogens

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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 06:04 PM
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HIDs vs. Halogens

Ok for class we got a choice of picking a controversial issue in the world to write a paper on. I chose my issue as stated above HIDs vs. Halogens. I found a couple links to sites that have written about the controversy of them being to bright and hurting people's eyes and how some still believe that halogen is the best way to go.

Here is the link to the USAToday article I found:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...6-07-xenon.htm

Here is the link to the other article I found:
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Should...F-a01073868388

I was just wondering if you guys could give your feedback on some being too bright and others being fine and also maybe even from a halogen prospective. Any feedback on this would help. Since most of us on this site drive an A for Acura I'm trying to get an A for excellent paper.
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 06:13 PM
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They are bright, but they only distract if you're one of the idiots who stare straight into them. Good luck trying to convey that in your paper
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 06:18 PM
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As a strong believer in HID's I wouldn't buy a car that had them or I could add them to with a plug and play kit. Yes they are bright, but so are halogens if you stare directly at them, the trick, as said above, is to not stare at the bright light! It's called "raccoon mentality," while seemingly clever at first blush they are easily distracted by bright or shiny objects, it seems too many humans suffer this same affliction.
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 06:22 PM
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Hid ftw
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 06:28 PM
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Originally Posted by Moog-Type-S
Hid ftw
That's your paper right there!

If Miller can get away with one second ads, this is more then sufficient for a school paper.
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 06:32 PM
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Shit even my mazda has HIDs
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 06:41 PM
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HID's in a proper projector housing or Proper HID bulbs in a reflector housing are great they won't hurt your eyes if you don't stare into them and as well they provide phenomial light output using less energy.

The downside to it is that HID's are expensive versus halogen bulbs...
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 06:45 PM
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I wont own another car without them.
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 07:46 PM
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Some ppl just piss me off complaining, and thier jealous too. I hate when ppl complain like baby's, maybe if they didn't stare directly at them, cuz thier so amazed how nice the light looks, this glare crap wont happen. But once in a while, when ppl are driving really slow at night, i flash them haa, thier whole car lights up, then they drive faster
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 08:00 PM
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HID's FTW, why wouldn't you want to put brighter lights on your car. If not aimed and not in a proper projector housing as stated above, they can produce a lot of glare. Aslong as they are used properly they are a great addition or feature to any car.

If you think it's too bright or there's too much glare go take out your bulbs and stick a fucking candle in your headlghts, if not, get with the technology and go get some HID's.
/paper
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 08:01 PM
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It feels weird driving without them after you've been used to HIDs for a while. All my cars will have them from now on
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 08:02 PM
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Thanks for the quick reply everyone, but think about it like this. When you are driving there is always at least someone with headlights way to bright. Around where I live a new thing that has come about is driving with the high-beams on. Also what about the people that have 10,000+K HIDs in their cars. I don't stare at the light when I drive because my eyes are bad enough as it is, but sometimes when I drive I pass a car and I know that it is obnoxious and way to bright. it is even worse when the cars don't have their headlights aimed right because that can play a factor as well.
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 08:04 PM
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Originally Posted by TLin401
Thanks for the quick reply everyone, but think about it like this. When you are driving there is always at least someone with headlights way to bright. Around where I live a new thing that has come about is driving with the high-beams on. Also what about the people that have 10,000+K HIDs in their cars. I don't stare at the light when I drive because my eyes are bad enough as it is, but sometimes when I drive I pass a car and I know that it is obnoxious and way to bright. it is even worse when the cars don't have their headlights aimed right because that can play a factor as well.
10000k+ HIDs are less bright than 4300k bulbs. The brightest color temperature is 4300k. Go either higher or lower, and you lose light output.
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 08:05 PM
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By the way, HID retrofits can be a big problem. Putting these bulbs in reflector housings that don't have cutoffs can, and many times will, shine the bright light in the eyes of oncoming traffic. It's especially bad for trucks, which have higher headlights and can blind people more easily. You should talk about that
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 08:10 PM
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or you could talk about the only reason people talk about headlights being aimed inproperly with HID's is because they produce enough light to blind, or make it hard for other drivers to see. But some how it's more acceptable to have someone driving around with inproperly aimed halogens because it doesn't bother many ppl because of their lower light output, but they are defeating the whole purpose of having headlights, which is to illuminate the road and make it easier for the driver to see.... that may have come out wrong but you can probably see where i am going with this
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 08:30 PM
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Originally Posted by TommySalami
10000k+ HIDs are less bright than 4300k bulbs. The brightest color temperature is 4300k. Go either higher or lower, and you lose light output.
What I mean is when you are driving toward a car with 10,000+K headlight you can immediately see them. That light just draws attention and draws eyes of drivings to it. I know that the higher the temperature the less light output it put out, but even though it may not look as bright from behind the wheel going towards it makes it look like there is a lot of light coming out of it; thus blinding some drivers.

Originally Posted by mitch14
or you could talk about the only reason people talk about headlights being aimed inproperly with HID's is because they produce enough light to blind, or make it hard for other drivers to see. But some how it's more acceptable to have someone driving around with inproperly aimed halogens because it doesn't bother many ppl because of their lower light output, but they are defeating the whole purpose of having headlights, which is to illuminate the road and make it easier for the driver to see.... that may have come out wrong but you can probably see where i am going with this
I completely understood that with only one time having to read it.
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 08:34 PM
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Originally Posted by TommySalami
It feels weird driving without them after you've been used to HIDs for a while. All my cars will have them from now on
My last 3 cars have had HID's and it is a feature I won't do with out. A few months ago a couple of my friends got a little too drunk at dinner, so I drove them home and since they picked me up they told me to just take their vehicle home, I could not believe how shitty the lights were, there vehicle is a 2008!
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 08:38 PM
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Originally Posted by 1killercls
Shit even my mazda has HIDs
I think that was one of the features that sold me.
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 08:42 PM
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Originally Posted by iTimmy
My last 3 cars have had HID's and it is a feature I won't do with out. A few months ago a couple of my friends got a little too drunk at dinner, so I drove them home and since they picked me up they told me to just take their vehicle home, I could not believe how shitty the lights were, there vehicle is a 2008!
Once you drive HID, it's hard to go back. When I had my GS, I bought a little 4 cyl camry to drive to work. I hated driving that thing at night, the lighting made a HUGE difference, especially if you're out on rural roads.
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 08:43 PM
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Originally Posted by iTimmy
My last 3 cars have had HID's and it is a feature I won't do with out. A few months ago a couple of my friends got a little too drunk at dinner, so I drove them home and since they picked me up they told me to just take their vehicle home, I could not believe how shitty the lights were, there vehicle is a 2008!
I noticed that too when I drove my girlfriend's car for the first time when we got together. Her lights were terrible and I had to upgrade them immediately to satisfy my needs. Now her car has a bunch of mods done to it and I even joined another forum.

I guess all in all HIDs are the way to go, but still how do you all feel about cars with headlight that are to bright to be on the road again 10,000+K do you feel distracted at all when you see them at first?
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 08:45 PM
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There is no comparison. HID at 4300k outperforms any halogen bulb. They produce a brighter light. Projector "vs" non projector makes a difference as well.
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 08:47 PM
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HID ftw
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 08:57 PM
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The biggest controversy for HIDs is PnP HID kits for non-HID cars. Cars that were built with an OEM HID headlight have a cut off beam so the light isn't projected every which way. Same goes for non-HID projector headlights. Companies spend a lot of time and money to make sure that their headlights are DOT approved throughout the US.

Then the saying goes as some people have pointed out already. Why the hell would you stare directly at PnP kits and OEM setups? The driver is just setting themselves up for failure. High beaming an oncoming driver with HIDs will most likely make that driver high beam the douche to become blinded even more. :ghey:
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 09:59 PM
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oh yeah, those purple HIDs look hideous

and 99% of those people who have them are douchebags
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 10:33 PM
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Pink HId's you mean?? Pink ones are horrible
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 10:48 PM
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yeah all those green, purple, pink...... what the gay seriously
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 11:06 PM
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i seriously want to slap the shit out of a girl that drives a g35 with fucking pink headlights. they're so fcking annoying!!!
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 11:22 PM
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^ is she hot though?
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 11:40 PM
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no shes a fugly asian beast who probably uses the pink eyes to grab attention. Then when you see her manly face you turn away and RUN.
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Old Feb 10, 2009 | 05:54 AM
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A good halogen bulb is a small step up from a normal headlight.

HID's (true xenon gas) are a huge step above halogen bulbs.

HID projector beams are even better than the bulb alone. I will now want projectors only on all future cars (unless something better comes out). Here's why:

The ability of a light source to direct it's light is dependent on its housing. The better this is, the better the light dispersion. i have an Odyssey minivan, and put some good halogen bulbs in, and it helped. The light was a nice white to a hint of blue.

My Saber had HID's, and they were great. Especially during heavy rain, or when the roads were wet, I still had good vision.

My Subaru has the HID projection system. The light is excellent and directed exactly where its needed. This is even better than the HID solo setup.
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Old Feb 10, 2009 | 07:01 AM
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I had HIDs in my 02 Maxima, have projector HIDs in my Murano and standard halogens (Silverstars) in my AV6....meh! I don't particularly miss the HIDs when driving the Accord nor do I think any lesser of the car because it lacks it.

Sidenote: My son bought an aftermarket set for me to install in my Accord. I promptly returned it to him because, I really don't miss it much. (OR maybe I just don't miss being a potential HID theft victim. )
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Old Feb 10, 2009 | 08:53 AM
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The only reasons HID's are not US standard is because of the asshats who messed it up for the rest of us, with blue coated fake bulbs who can't aim them right & glare & blind other drivers pissing people off who then complained to the gov.
Combine that with a lack of real knowledge & research on the tech of HID lighting.
It amazes me how screwed up the US is on the tech front.
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Old Feb 10, 2009 | 09:10 AM
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The only people who complain about HID lights are the ones who don't have them
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Old Feb 10, 2009 | 09:14 AM
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Originally Posted by TLin401
Thanks for the quick reply everyone, but think about it like this. When you are driving there is always at least someone with headlights way to bright. Around where I live a new thing that has come about is driving with the high-beams on. Also what about the people that have 10,000+K HIDs in their cars. I don't stare at the light when I drive because my eyes are bad enough as it is, but sometimes when I drive I pass a car and I know that it is obnoxious and way to bright. it is even worse when the cars don't have their headlights aimed right because that can play a factor as well.
Trust me that's not a new thing at all.

The big problems with headlights, any headlights, is when they are not aimed correctly. Since pretty much all trucks and large Suv's do not have them aimed correctly, the problem is extremely common. There is a law about how far in front of your car the headlight light should hit the road. It can be measured by parking your car (forget the exact numbers) 5' from a wall and drawing a line 2' up the wall. Your headlights should be aimed at that line. However most people don't do it, inspection stations don't check it, and all this headlight madness is the result.
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Old Feb 10, 2009 | 09:21 AM
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Originally Posted by spdy0001
The only people who complain about HID lights are the ones who don't have them
That is a very true statement
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Old Feb 10, 2009 | 09:22 AM
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Since most of us on this site drive an A for Acura I'm trying to get an A for excellent paper.


and i won't own another car without HIDs as well.
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Old Feb 10, 2009 | 09:33 AM
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Originally Posted by fuzzy02CLS
The only reasons HID's are not US standard is because of the asshats who messed it up for the rest of us, with blue coated fake bulbs who can't aim them right & glare & blind other drivers pissing people off who then complained to the gov.
Combine that with a lack of real knowledge & research on the tech of HID lighting.
It amazes me how screwed up the US is on the tech front.
Agreed. There is alot of idiots in Toronto with aftermarket ones. God, I am going to buying a gun just shot them out!
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Old Feb 10, 2009 | 10:00 AM
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I liked my truck with 85w halogens in it. Other people on the other hand didnt
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Old Feb 10, 2009 | 10:03 AM
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HIDs as long as it stays below 8000k
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Old Feb 10, 2009 | 10:19 AM
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Originally Posted by F23A4
I had HIDs in my 02 Maxima, have projector HIDs in my Murano and standard halogens (Silverstars) in my AV6....meh! I don't particularly miss the HIDs when driving the Accord nor do I think any lesser of the car because it lacks it.

Sidenote: My son bought an aftermarket set for me to install in my Accord. I promptly returned it to him because, I really don't miss it much. (OR maybe I just don't miss being a potential HID theft victim. )
weird.........
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