What are xenon headlights?
#1
What are xenon headlights?
I just bought and '04 Audi A4 and it has "xenon" headlights.
They're just pure white not that HID blue.
So what is that? Is it just a special halogen bulb or if one blows do I need some special bulbs?
They're just pure white not that HID blue.
So what is that? Is it just a special halogen bulb or if one blows do I need some special bulbs?
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xenon = HID
STOCK HID are 4300K; which is WHITE as daylight. I'm not sure where you get the "blue" from. maybe you're thinking about a higher kelvin HID you see on another cars? BTW, when you see the blue from other cars with STOCK HID, it's just the color from the cutoff, not the bulb.
HIDplanet.com
STOCK HID are 4300K; which is WHITE as daylight. I'm not sure where you get the "blue" from. maybe you're thinking about a higher kelvin HID you see on another cars? BTW, when you see the blue from other cars with STOCK HID, it's just the color from the cutoff, not the bulb.
HIDplanet.com
#5
Re: (NrG)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NrG »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">xenon = HID
STOCK HID are 4300K; which is WHITE as daylight. I'm not sure where you get the "blue" from. maybe you're thinking about a higher kelvin HID you see on another cars? BTW, when you see the blue from other cars with STOCK HID, it's just the color from the cutoff, not the bulb.
HIDplanet.com</TD></TR></TABLE>
Yea some like Mercedes have a blueish HID look to their lights when you look at the car, not the light on the road I mean.
My roomate just tried explainging it to me. Something about how mine are HID but their like 4300 so they're just white but if they're like in the 8000 they look kinda blueish and then 12000's kinda purplish.
I just know that if a bulb blows it's gunna cost me 150 bucks.
STOCK HID are 4300K; which is WHITE as daylight. I'm not sure where you get the "blue" from. maybe you're thinking about a higher kelvin HID you see on another cars? BTW, when you see the blue from other cars with STOCK HID, it's just the color from the cutoff, not the bulb.
HIDplanet.com</TD></TR></TABLE>
Yea some like Mercedes have a blueish HID look to their lights when you look at the car, not the light on the road I mean.
My roomate just tried explainging it to me. Something about how mine are HID but their like 4300 so they're just white but if they're like in the 8000 they look kinda blueish and then 12000's kinda purplish.
I just know that if a bulb blows it's gunna cost me 150 bucks.
#6
Re: (Stockton)
ok first of all, all 2004 a4's have HID systems as standard equipment. Xenon and HID (high intensity discharge) are one and the same thing, it's just many 'halogen' bulb manufacturers (ie, apc, nokia) use the 'xenon' wording to try and make people believe they actually contain some kind of 'special gas' which gives them a higher temp rating (more blue/purplish).
however, real xenon/HID systems consist of a pair of very high voltage ballasts to power the hid capsules. Odds are your car has Valeo projectors (as I think that's what all the a4's came with) with 4300k osram xenon/hid bulbs. Perhaps they just 'appear' white because they haven't colorshifted yet...maybe the bulbs have been replaced recently before you bought the car...but all real hid bulbs 'colorshift'/increase kelvin rating after about the first 150 hours of use. That is why an hid bulb will appear yellowish/white when new, and after awhile, will start to turn more blue'ish...because it'll shift from 4300k to more like 5000k and beyond. And you should be noticing a lot of blue/purple color when looking at the 'cutoff' of your beam pattern. This should be noticable if you're about 20 feet away from the front of your car and place your head about level to your headlights...you'll see the flicker effect.
however, real xenon/HID systems consist of a pair of very high voltage ballasts to power the hid capsules. Odds are your car has Valeo projectors (as I think that's what all the a4's came with) with 4300k osram xenon/hid bulbs. Perhaps they just 'appear' white because they haven't colorshifted yet...maybe the bulbs have been replaced recently before you bought the car...but all real hid bulbs 'colorshift'/increase kelvin rating after about the first 150 hours of use. That is why an hid bulb will appear yellowish/white when new, and after awhile, will start to turn more blue'ish...because it'll shift from 4300k to more like 5000k and beyond. And you should be noticing a lot of blue/purple color when looking at the 'cutoff' of your beam pattern. This should be noticable if you're about 20 feet away from the front of your car and place your head about level to your headlights...you'll see the flicker effect.
#7
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Re: (Stockton)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Stockton »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Yea some like Mercedes have a blueish HID look to their lights when you look at the car, not the light on the road I mean.
My roomate just tried explainging it to me. Something about how mine are HID but their like 4300 so they're just white but if they're like in the 8000 they look kinda blueish and then 12000's kinda purplish.
I just know that if a bulb blows it's gunna cost me 150 bucks.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
get your eyes check. or those car owners changed to 6000k bulbs.
bulbs are around 30 bucks each NEW. my s2k retro has a very purple cutoff, everyone that i drive infront of thinks i have 12000K HID.
not my pic or cutoff:
Yea some like Mercedes have a blueish HID look to their lights when you look at the car, not the light on the road I mean.
My roomate just tried explainging it to me. Something about how mine are HID but their like 4300 so they're just white but if they're like in the 8000 they look kinda blueish and then 12000's kinda purplish.
I just know that if a bulb blows it's gunna cost me 150 bucks.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
get your eyes check. or those car owners changed to 6000k bulbs.
bulbs are around 30 bucks each NEW. my s2k retro has a very purple cutoff, everyone that i drive infront of thinks i have 12000K HID.
not my pic or cutoff:
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#8
Re: (NrG)
Xenon lights (no matter the color temp) = an arc of electricity through an inert gas (xenon).
Other lights (halogen) = a traditional filiment
Xenon = HID = gas discharge = metal halide
/thread
Other lights (halogen) = a traditional filiment
Xenon = HID = gas discharge = metal halide
/thread
#9
Re: (Stockton)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Stockton »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Yea some like Mercedes have a blueish HID look to their lights when you look at the car, not the light on the road I mean.</TD></TR></TABLE>
MB, BMW, Audi, Acura, Infiniti, Lexus, Cadillac, etc, they all use 4300K and it's the bright white with a hint of purple/blue glow, depending on the angle you look a the headlights. But it outputs pure white bright light.
A "blue" outputed light, like the color below, is aftermarket 6000K - 8000K and IMO looks extremely gay as fawk in cars on the road. Not to mention it's more of a distraction when the cars with those 6000K/8000K blue hids or the 12000K madd purple hids are driving behind you or next to you. The entire ground lights up in blue or purple. On a 4300K system, the ground lights up bright white, as it should.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Stockton »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> </TD></TR></TABLE>
That color graph is pretty off on hue and they just made it look like that as an extreme to give buyers an idea of what the light may look like in their car.
Yea some like Mercedes have a blueish HID look to their lights when you look at the car, not the light on the road I mean.</TD></TR></TABLE>
MB, BMW, Audi, Acura, Infiniti, Lexus, Cadillac, etc, they all use 4300K and it's the bright white with a hint of purple/blue glow, depending on the angle you look a the headlights. But it outputs pure white bright light.
A "blue" outputed light, like the color below, is aftermarket 6000K - 8000K and IMO looks extremely gay as fawk in cars on the road. Not to mention it's more of a distraction when the cars with those 6000K/8000K blue hids or the 12000K madd purple hids are driving behind you or next to you. The entire ground lights up in blue or purple. On a 4300K system, the ground lights up bright white, as it should.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Stockton »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> </TD></TR></TABLE>
That color graph is pretty off on hue and they just made it look like that as an extreme to give buyers an idea of what the light may look like in their car.
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Re: (Stockton)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Stockton »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I just know that if a bulb blows it's gunna cost me 150 bucks.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
When one bulb burns out you are suppose to change both of them because of the color difference between the new one and the old one so it would actually be closer to 300$ if 1 bulb goes out. Good thing is that these bulbs are suppose to last much longer than conventional halogen bulbs.
I just know that if a bulb blows it's gunna cost me 150 bucks.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
When one bulb burns out you are suppose to change both of them because of the color difference between the new one and the old one so it would actually be closer to 300$ if 1 bulb goes out. Good thing is that these bulbs are suppose to last much longer than conventional halogen bulbs.
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Re: (Lan)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Lan »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Baller.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Shot caller.
Shot caller.
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Re: (Stockton)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Stockton »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Yea some like Mercedes have a blueish HID look to their lights when you look at the car, not the light on the road I mean.
My roomate just tried explainging it to me. Something about how mine are HID but their like 4300 so they're just white but if they're like in the 8000 they look kinda blueish and then 12000's kinda purplish.
I just know that if a bulb blows it's gunna cost me 150 bucks.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
That is fron the projector housing refracting the light, from head on it appears blue/purple, but the light output is still pure white. You will only see that color at the cut-off band on the way
HIDplanet.com for all your HID questions
Yea some like Mercedes have a blueish HID look to their lights when you look at the car, not the light on the road I mean.
My roomate just tried explainging it to me. Something about how mine are HID but their like 4300 so they're just white but if they're like in the 8000 they look kinda blueish and then 12000's kinda purplish.
I just know that if a bulb blows it's gunna cost me 150 bucks.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
That is fron the projector housing refracting the light, from head on it appears blue/purple, but the light output is still pure white. You will only see that color at the cut-off band on the way
HIDplanet.com for all your HID questions
#16
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Re: (Tokyosmash!)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tokyosmash! »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Bi-Xenon > HID's with halogen secondarys.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Stage III 50w ballast with Philips 50W bulbs & 5,000+ lumens ftw. I swear my e33 HID retro is not pleasing me lately but the stage III kit is a tad bit pricey.
BTW Stockton you can play around with the 'shield' in your housing and so-called washer mods to get that bluish/purplish tint from the distance. Light of course in front of you will be white.
Stage III 50w ballast with Philips 50W bulbs & 5,000+ lumens ftw. I swear my e33 HID retro is not pleasing me lately but the stage III kit is a tad bit pricey.
BTW Stockton you can play around with the 'shield' in your housing and so-called washer mods to get that bluish/purplish tint from the distance. Light of course in front of you will be white.
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Re: (Carlo)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Carlo »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Shot caller.</TD></TR></TABLE>
20" blades.
Shot caller.</TD></TR></TABLE>
20" blades.
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Re: (john cutter)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Lan »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Baller.</TD></TR></TABLE>
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Carlo »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Shot caller.</TD></TR></TABLE>
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Lan »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">20" blades.</TD></TR></TABLE>
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by john cutter »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">On the impala.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Great success!
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Carlo »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Shot caller.</TD></TR></TABLE>
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Lan »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">20" blades.</TD></TR></TABLE>
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by john cutter »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">On the impala.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Great success!
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Re: (Mr. Furley)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mr. Furley »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I got some actual gas in my butt.</TD></TR></TABLE>
me too
burger king ftl
me too
burger king ftl
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Re: (Tokyosmash!)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tokyosmash! »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Bi-Xenon > HID's with halogen secondarys.</TD></TR></TABLE>