Are Xenons or Gas Discharge headlights any good?
Discussion
I is curious. I have a Seat Leon with these headlights, and whilst they look 'cool' and modern when in use, I really wouldn't say they make the difference between night and day as far as vision is concerned when using them.
I recently drove an old XR3, the type that used a pair of spotlights as the mainbeam, and i firmly believe that they were superior to the lights on my Leon. Furthermore, I have just had my first experience of working on these as a mechanic, and bloody hell, what a game. http://www.pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Have no doubt about it peeps, some people are going to be paying a bloody fortune to have 'a bulb changed'. It seems that the bulbs in fact are almost never the problem when a lamp goes down, but either way, bulb or component, they're bloody expensive. It's gonna cost our customer £75+ our markup for a used ballast unit, plus £80 for 2 hours labour.
In fact we have spent hours and hours on the job (whilst learning about them ourselves). Bare minimum it should be an hour to remove/replace the front of the car, an hour testing the lamps/researching th'internet, an hour on the phone and an hour to fetch the new ballast unit from Walsall.
I still believe though that a pair of Halfords cheapest spotlights would throw out more light, and a halogen bulb should be able to be changed in minutes, for a few quid, even if this had to be done every couple of years or so. I am really struggling to accept that these lights are an move forward in technology.
What do we think? Are the xenons on high-end cars really superior and worth the expense, or what?
I recently drove an old XR3, the type that used a pair of spotlights as the mainbeam, and i firmly believe that they were superior to the lights on my Leon. Furthermore, I have just had my first experience of working on these as a mechanic, and bloody hell, what a game. http://www.pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Have no doubt about it peeps, some people are going to be paying a bloody fortune to have 'a bulb changed'. It seems that the bulbs in fact are almost never the problem when a lamp goes down, but either way, bulb or component, they're bloody expensive. It's gonna cost our customer £75+ our markup for a used ballast unit, plus £80 for 2 hours labour.
In fact we have spent hours and hours on the job (whilst learning about them ourselves). Bare minimum it should be an hour to remove/replace the front of the car, an hour testing the lamps/researching th'internet, an hour on the phone and an hour to fetch the new ballast unit from Walsall.
I still believe though that a pair of Halfords cheapest spotlights would throw out more light, and a halogen bulb should be able to be changed in minutes, for a few quid, even if this had to be done every couple of years or so. I am really struggling to accept that these lights are an move forward in technology.
What do we think? Are the xenons on high-end cars really superior and worth the expense, or what?
Regarding the accessibility of the headlight, it very much depends upon the car. I can access the ballast units and bulbs on my 5 series (E39) easily from the engine bay and can even remove the complete light unit in under 5 minutes if required 4 bolts only). A friend is considering fitting xenon lights to his recently acquired 3 series (E90); however it seems bulbs and ballasts are accessed by removing the plastic liner beneath the front arches and the whole thing is a lot more inaccessible.
As for the output, yes I much prefer them to halogen lights as it's a cleaner, whiter and sharper beam.
As for the output, yes I much prefer them to halogen lights as it's a cleaner, whiter and sharper beam.
Edited by 58warren on Tuesday 2nd March 23:14
Entirely depends on the design of the headlight and reflector. My Omega has Xenons and they are very poor, but I have also had Omegas with halogens that were equally crap. Poor headlight design so no matter what bulb you put in its going to be rubbish.
Compare with my Wifes MK4 golf with halogens. Probably the best headlight throw, clarity etc of any car I have ever driven (and I've had a lot!) .
Compare with my Wifes MK4 golf with halogens. Probably the best headlight throw, clarity etc of any car I have ever driven (and I've had a lot!) .
Edited by bigdods on Tuesday 2nd March 23:31
58warren said:
A friend is considering fitting xenon lights to his recently acquired 3 series (E90);
This might be of interest to him, though it is dated 2006.http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/hidheadla...
I was reccomemded Osram Nightbreakers Xenon bulbs and they are certainly better than the normal xenons , having said that the internal design and condition of the headlamp is paramount , I previously used the old model Skoda Superb - WORST headlamps I ever experienced even with Xenons in (nearly as bad as standard mini/early cortina sealed units) , I was upgraded to the newer model last March which has probably the best lamps I have ever experienced , so good I have to lower them a little on main beam (not full) as people flash me thinking I have full beam on... I can't help it if the're that good guys , sorry !
As has been said, it's a lot about the design of the light. I had an Accord with gas discharge which had excellent headlights. We currently have a Citroen C1 that also has pretty good, very basic bulb headlights.
As for access, it depends entirely on the car and where the packaging priorities are in the design. It might be that VAG like to feed work to their dealers by making non-warranty bulb changes rather cash rich.
As for access, it depends entirely on the car and where the packaging priorities are in the design. It might be that VAG like to feed work to their dealers by making non-warranty bulb changes rather cash rich.
Used to have a 306 GTi6 and no matter what bulbs I put in it, it was still pish.
309 GTi with 100/80w bulbs from Halfords was great.
Have had a set of HiD lights fitted to my S60 and so far so good, although would like to upgrade the main beams now as they seem so yellow by comparison but would need to cut my hand in half for it to fit in to get at the bulbs.
I'm into rallying and do the Tour of Mull where two of the three legs are run in dark and when I say dark I mean dark, not a light anywhere for ten miles and the Gas Discharge lamp pods are the dog's danglies a lot better than anything Hella/KC/Cibie/Lightforce have managed with Halogens.
309 GTi with 100/80w bulbs from Halfords was great.
Have had a set of HiD lights fitted to my S60 and so far so good, although would like to upgrade the main beams now as they seem so yellow by comparison but would need to cut my hand in half for it to fit in to get at the bulbs.
I'm into rallying and do the Tour of Mull where two of the three legs are run in dark and when I say dark I mean dark, not a light anywhere for ten miles and the Gas Discharge lamp pods are the dog's danglies a lot better than anything Hella/KC/Cibie/Lightforce have managed with Halogens.
Put simply YES!!
I have an E91 3series with halogen lights and they are nothing short of useless on an unlit country road, after coming from my previous 3 cars having xenons.
With this in mind I am just finishing buying all the parts to retrofit OEM xenon headlights to the car, at a considerable expense.
I've chosen this route and doing the swap properly rather than throwing in an HID drop in kit to the original headlights
I have an E91 3series with halogen lights and they are nothing short of useless on an unlit country road, after coming from my previous 3 cars having xenons.
With this in mind I am just finishing buying all the parts to retrofit OEM xenon headlights to the car, at a considerable expense.
I've chosen this route and doing the swap properly rather than throwing in an HID drop in kit to the original headlights
I had Bi-xenons on my E46 330d, and they were amazing, driving down country lanes etc, you really noticed the difference.
Compare that to a MK4 Golf I had with normal headlights, and they are awful, Ive never driven a car before with such bad visible distance at night.
At the moment Im driving a Mondeo ST, and although standard headlights, I honestly think they are quite good.
I guess alot of it is down to headlight design, and even where the headlights are mounted on the car, and height from the ground?
Compare that to a MK4 Golf I had with normal headlights, and they are awful, Ive never driven a car before with such bad visible distance at night.
At the moment Im driving a Mondeo ST, and although standard headlights, I honestly think they are quite good.
I guess alot of it is down to headlight design, and even where the headlights are mounted on the car, and height from the ground?
I've got them but OK they're bright as f
k etc but I really don't see the point. I used to go hooning down country roads playing at being a rally driver in my yoof in my Ford Fiesta and I never had any trouble whatsoever seeing where I was going.
People drivig a modern car today who say they can't see using standard headlights maybe ought to get their eyes tested.
More overcomplex crap. I'll put them in the same bin as electrically adjustable seats, soft close doors etc
They do look cool when they switch on though
k etc but I really don't see the point. I used to go hooning down country roads playing at being a rally driver in my yoof in my Ford Fiesta and I never had any trouble whatsoever seeing where I was going.People drivig a modern car today who say they can't see using standard headlights maybe ought to get their eyes tested.
More overcomplex crap. I'll put them in the same bin as electrically adjustable seats, soft close doors etc
They do look cool when they switch on though
Orb the Impaler said:
People drivig a modern car today who say they can't see using standard headlights maybe ought to get their eyes tested.
Some standard headlights are truely dismal, though. Mk1 Clio, Vectra C and Corsa C all have dangerously bad headlights. The old square shape Rover 200/400, the Mondeo, and Mk1 Laguna all have (literally) brilliant headlights.Gassing Station | General Gassing [Archive] | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff