zimmer26

You can't see your own *** either but you still don't want it to inflict pain upon others, right?

revstriker

There's no doubt that xenons are a greater technology, and produce better light. However, I have never been in a situation where my "standard" Hal lights were not enough. I'm sure as time goes by, more and more vehicles will come with this standard, and the cost will go down. For now, I just can' t justify spending that much money for headlights.

young

ha, i knew it! ok, you're right. :p

Mapman

Check out this link:

Daniel Stern Lighting

I realize that the 25 and under demographic probably won't get anything out of it, but this guy does know his automotive illumination.

tommy

Let me ask a dumb question: when you get aftermarket hids, do you lose your bright lights? I think that I read that somewhere. If so, that makes driving in Jersey dangerous, as the state is so congested, and flashing your high beams is one of the few responses left to the defensive driver (ie, me!).

Also, being the beamee, instead of the beamer, I am not particularly fond of getting hid lights in my eyes. My eyes are pretty sensitive, and I'm not a big fan of them coming at me. Therefore, for my benefit, I think that you should all not get them.

Lynn

That's not a dumb question. In some headlight systems, they use dual filament bulbs. If those are converted to HID's, there is no high beam. Our cars have separate bulbs for the high beams, so converting the low beams to HID's does not effect the high beams. And as I recently learned here, bi-level HID"s have both beams.

ThemisN

Im happy to hear that on both points MB-BOB.

I will continue to buy xenons for the technology that they are, as you state, and I would hope that there aren't many mercedes owners, esp on this board, that buy them for the looks or any o of the other reasons you have said. Maybe one day they'll wake up and appreciate what technological advancements and money have afforded them.

vadim

MB-BOB,

BTW, how come you didn't include in your poll the option "Need HID 'cause they throw more light on the road"? You seem to be quite biased, no?

I still don't understand HID opponents' points of view - the light output of a typical HID system (stock or aftermarket) is up to 300% that of a halogen bulb...

There can't be too much illumination at night - it still falls far short of daylight.

It's about safety, after all - your own and others'... Last August I had to do a full emergency braking, pedal to the floor - to avoid squishing a f****ng opossum who decided to cross the street, in a very calm manner, the ******* stayed totally non-plussed and proceeded with the same speed ) Wish I had HIDs then - could have avoided having all loose objects inside the car stuck to the windshield

young

oh, yeah. the early generation xenons didn't have self-leveling so that they would often blind people. the current generations of xenons (incl. mine) are self-leveling and meet european standards of anti-glare - that is, they meet stringent requirements so that they are not a danger.

aborwick

I find that the xenon lamps on my C320 give me far superior night vision than the Halogans on my 1992 M-B 190 or my wife's 1997 Subaru Outback. Age may have something to do with it; at 57 years old I have found that my night vision has deteriorated. The xenons even cut down on oncoming glare.

Pete

zimmer26,

Maybe you should've bought the Hyundai and spared us all the annoying and ill-informed tirade(s).

I don't recall anyone mentioning that they bought (or plan to buy) HIDs to "get chicks." That's a rather moronic statement, which apparently indicates a lack of understanding of their purpose.

There are practical advantages to having HID headlights, as others have already stated (i.e., there is better road visibility, to you, and other drivers see you more easily). I personally don't find cars with HIDs to be too bright, when oncoming, either.

As someone mentioned earlier, to upgrade to Xenons, on a BMW (3-Series), it's $700, which is roughly what aftermarket ones cost. I don't think that's overpriced, particularly considering the benefit that I'd noticed, on the few occasions that I'd driven with them.

If you don't think they're worth the money, fine. They weren't available on your car, in the first place, so don't worry about it. I, on the other hand, would have purchased them, if available, after having driven multiple cars with them.

-Pete