ouch! brighter automotive halogens!

[decepticobra]

seems like in recent years there is this sort of trend to have brighter halogens on your vehicle than the majority of other drivers.

some of these halogens are factory-installed on certain vehicles by their respective manufacturers. these cars are then driven and owned by folks who can afford cars twice the price of what your car cost cause they make 3 times the amount of money you do.

and they like to be showy with their: audi, bmw, saab, infiniti, acccccccura, etc.

whats wrong with good ole yellow tinged halogens? they are tried and true. tested countless of times by a wide array of both domestic and foreign automobile manufacturers for safety and durability.

why the need for these new-age blue-tinged halogens? or the ones that are bright-white?

and im just mentioning the factory-issued ones. i havent even delved into the kinds that can be personally modded to be pink, purple, green (these are usually the smaller halogens that rest lower than the headlights themself, closer to the ground)

mums the word, and word of the day,..err..night is: "im cooler than you are cause my halogens are a different color tone than yours are"

"na na na na naaaa-na"

for the record, i have good old traditional yellow-tinged halogens for my headlights, and my car doesnt even have the smaller halogens below my headlights.

[kevinpate]

you use lights? How ya gonna scare people or keep urban myths alive if you use lights?

[bandnerd]

I totally feel the pain from those blue halogens...My eyes are kind of light-sensitive, anyway (driving through the Bob Howard automall literally hurts me) and I usually have to put up a hand to block them.

[Easy180]

seems like in recent years there is this sort of trend to have brighter halogens on your vehicle than the majority of other drivers.

some of these halogens are factory-installed on certain vehicles by their respective manufacturers. these cars are then driven and owned by folks who can afford cars twice the price of what your car cost cause they make 3 times the amount of money you do.

and they like to be showy with their: audi, bmw, saab, infiniti, acccccccura, etc.

whats wrong with good ole yellow tinged halogens? they are tried and true. tested countless of times by a wide array of both domestic and foreign automobile manufacturers for safety and durability.

why the need for these new-age blue-tinged halogens? or the ones that are bright-white?

and im just mentioning the factory-issued ones. i havent even delved into the kinds that can be personally modded to be pink, purple, green (these are usually the smaller halogens that rest lower than the headlights themself, closer to the ground)

mums the word, and word of the day,..err..night is: "im cooler than you are cause my halogens are a different color tone than yours are"

"na na na na naaaa-na"

for the record, i have good old traditional yellow-tinged halogens for my headlights, and my car doesnt even have the smaller halogens below my headlights.

Really not that impressive anymore since they are now on many of the not so premium vehicles....Have them on both of our vehicles and they do make a pretty good difference at night

[venture]

I'm there with those who dislike the blue headlights or HIDs. I know there was a big push by the DOT a few years ago to get them banned, but I think it was only for refits to cars that didn't come with them.

[bluedogok]

We don't used yellow tinted headlights in this country, France is one that does with halogen bulbs behind yellow lenses. The halogens on lmst cars are in the white spectrum but closer to yellow but you can find whiter bulbs (higher color temperature) with more wattage, the USDOT regs are for a 55W low beam and 60W high beam where most European countries have 55/100W reg. The old incandescent style bulbs that were used predominantly before halogens do have a much yellower hue to them and cannot get into the color temperature range.

As venture stated, they are a different technology and not halogens. I have a BMW with a hybrid xenon/halogen headlight system, the low beams are xenon projectors and the high beams are halogen with a reflector, the later models have gone to a xenon or HID for both. The factory xenon/HID systems are required by the USDOT to have "self-leveling" devices, that is the beam elevation is at a specific height and they "self-level" if you have more load in the trunk and the rear end sags so they won't be aimed high. I can tell you from experience that the xenon headlights are much better from the drivers perspective if you have them. I have changed my wife's Escape to the Sylvania Silverstar halogen bulbs because it is easier to see what's out there with the whiter headlights, especially when trying to watch for deer out in the Hill Country.

I have seen some good and many bad aftermarket replacements plus seem people change out the systems to higher color temps which makes them much harsher to others.

Here is a link with some info on the systems and color temps.

[OKCTalker]

I have factory-installed HIDs on my car and an HID light on my bicycle for night rides. I use them to see, not make a fashion statement.

[jbrown84]

Probably needs to be moved out of the Metro Area Talk forum...

[MikeLucky]

I'm rolling PHAT with my factory HID's.....







BTW, they really do increase visibility at night.... I'm just sayin'

[metro]

Probably needs to be moved out of the Metro Area Talk forum...

Seriously. metro area talk, really? you people do realize there are other sections to this website?

[westsidesooner]

I'm rolling PHAT with my factory HID's.....



BTW, they really do increase visibility at night.... I'm just sayin'

They might increase visibility......but for who? Try this, after dark tonight go outside and shine a bright fllashlight in your friends eyes. I'll bet you see him/her pretty well. Now ask them if they can see you while still shining the light in their eyes. As someone who has problems with glare...especially at night the new headlights are a pain in the ass. Are you really safer if you temporarily blind a driver coming towards you. I'm just sayin

[flips]

They are not just on luxury autos anymore. I have the HID halo lights on my new Camaro. I just got them because they came with the RS package. I hardly ever drive it, but when I do at night, wow. The visibility is awesome. I've even had a couple of people tell me that they love they way they look when I was coming up behind them.

[decepticobra]

They might increase visibility......but for who? Try this, after dark tonight go outside and shine a bright fllashlight in your friends eyes. I'll bet you see him/her pretty well. Now ask them if they can see you while still shining the light in their eyes. As someone who has problems with glare...especially at night the new headlights are a pain in the ass. Are you really safer if you temporarily blind a driver coming towards you. I'm just sayin

Yes! My point is clearly reverberated, and for that shining... (no pun intended) ...example, I think I owe westsidesooner a beer.

cars have been rolling down american roads for well over 50 years now, and human eyesight remains largely unchanged by the great divine creator.(pick one: Jesus, Allah, Budda, etc) So why does the auto industry feel the need for brighter headlights?

Now, for the ultimate question...(drumroll)

Does that damn cop really need a flashlight that bright? ...geeezz!

Vacation on the sun, anyone?

[bluedogok]

People griped about halogens when they first came into use replacing the old sealed beam incandescent headlights in the early 80's, a basic halogen can be blinding if you look directly at it at night. As we get older having them for our own headlights is a very nice thing to have. Yes, some people put way too powerful ones in some of the aftermarket units.

What I think is ridiculous are the big trucks with their headlights so high that they are right at eye level for most people, should those be banned as well?

[decepticobra]

People griped about halogens when they first came into use replacing the old sealed beam incandescent headlights in the early 80's, a basic halogen can be blinding if you look directly at it at night. As we get older having them for our own headlights is a very nice thing to have. Yes, some people put way too powerful ones in some of the aftermarket units.

What I think is ridiculous are the big trucks with their headlights so high that they are right at eye level for most people, should those be banned as well?

No. Lets not attack commericial truck drivers. they work tidiously to deliver the goods to the places we shop and dine at and always take for granted to be there regardless of inclement weather.

Besides, they need their bright headlights. Theres a stark constrast in weights when comparing a vehicle of 2 tons versus a vehicle of about 25 tons-give or take.

[bluedogok]

I am not talking about "those" trucks, I am talking about the large 4x4 pickups that are all jacked up elevating the headlights well above where they are supposed to be per USDOT regs. They were annoying when I drove an F-150 and it's even worse in my car, my wife's Escape or on the motorcycle. We all need bright lights but most that appear "too bright" are in need of adjustment...or they need to figure out what that blue headlight icon on their dash means.