Hid vs xenon vs halogen how to#
Hid vs xenon vs halogen install#
Hid vs xenon vs halogen drivers#
Hid vs xenon vs halogen driver#
Hid vs xenon vs halogen upgrade#

Besides the stock set up is actually very good - if you're outdriving the lights you really are going too fast, IMHO.

I've been tempted to try 100W H7 high beams, but don't want to risk the LCM transistors or heat distortion in the headlight assy. Nobody ever played High Beam Chicken with those lights for more than a second :rofl: However high beam with 4 halogens at 100W each was better than BMW Hella high beam. The Hella HID low beams in my 530 are far better than any halogen set up I've ever driven or seen, which includes a 4 light set up with H4 90/100 Cibie Z-Beam lows in my Volvos in the 1980s. closer to the eye's maximum sensitivity, do not hold water. So arguments that halogen is a better colour temp, i.e. And note that the the definition of a lumen includes correction for the eye's varying sensitivity by wavelength (colour temp). So it's no surprise that HID wins the visibility race. An H7 generates ~1,500 lumens a D2S HID bulb ~3,200 lumens. HID definitely provide better visibity down the road than halogens.

Hid vs xenon vs halogen drivers#

Too many drivers only think about what they see.

Hid vs xenon vs halogen driver#

Also, the occasional driver may be running a 50W ballast with their HID or 100W halogens, which are not DOT street legal.

Hid vs xenon vs halogen how to#

Many probably have their headlamps set improperly since the vast majority of drivers have no clue as to how to adjust anything on their car. When I need distance, I fire up the high beams.Ģ. For me, it's lighting quality, not distance. I find the whiter HID beam gives much greater definition than the yellower halogen beam, improving overall visibility. My beams are now set a little lower and this no longer happens. On the original low beam height setting, other drivers would flash me on occasion. I do not see farther, but I do see better with HID. My current e39 has the OEM HID headlamp system. I found the VisionPlus to offer the best blend of light output and durability. While I tried various 'HID like' halogen bulbs, I found the actual light output to be reduced and the beam shape in cheaper bulbs to be terrible. My previous e39 had standard halogens (I had used Sylvania SilverStars, Philips VisionPlus bulbs, etc.). I am not annoyed by cars with xenon projector lights unless they've been poorly aimed (can say the same for cars with badly aimed halogens, for that matter). Early Priuses also had xenons in reflector housings and they too tend to be annoying (the newer models use projectors and are not a problem at all).

They're even worse when behind I really appreciate the auto-dimming rearview mirror in my e39 for exactly this reason, and wish my Subaru was similarly equipped. Annoying and dangerous but I think that's what some of the truck drivers want. I meet lots of those jacked-up trucks with HID kits in their old reflector housings.

Hid vs xenon vs halogen install#

If you want to be completely 'stock BMW' with your future xenon headlights, you'd need to install all the self-leveling hardware, but my guess is hardly anyone has ever done that.Īlthough some drivers with facelift halogen-projector units eventually install xenon bulbs in their projector housings, I've read that the halogen optics are not optimal for xenons (but I have no firsthand experience). Some of the better ones are equipped with clear lenses while the stock projector lenses on BMWs and other German makes tend to have Fresnel surfaces that diffuse the beam.

Hid vs xenon vs halogen upgrade#

If I were going to upgrade my headlights (again), I'd go straight to the facelifts with quality clear-lens bi-xenons and 50w ballasts burning 4300K or 5000K bulbs.īallast quality matters - cheap stuff can't be expected to give bright output.īulb color temp matters - 4100-4300K has the most light 5000K is considered to be the whitest light, and past that (6000K and up) the spectrum shifts further blue and looks cool to some but actually puts less light on the road. Bi-xenon projectors in facelift housings are the current rage. The facelift xenons apparently have a better, sharper beam pattern with less glare (no reflector bowl behind them). Upgrade from 35w to 50w ballasts and then they are significantly brighter. Those xenon units were optional on pre-facelift 528s. The pre-facelift optional xenon headlights (low beam is a Hella xenon projector surrounded by a reflector bowl) like you see on older M5s are not that significantly brighter than a pre-facelift halogen with a good, bright bulb (4100-4300k Osrams).