hms I thought it would have been the opposite since HID is much brigher.
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hms I thought it would have been the opposite since HID is much brigher.
If the BMW/Audi/Lexus is on a slope, yeah. But I find the Euro's lights are excessively bright even on flat ground. The other cars dont bother me on flat ground at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jazzle
I wander if there is a way to adjust the auto leveler :o
there should be a way to adjust the alignment of the headlights
they should be aimed so that if you're on level ground, and parked 25 feet away from a wall, the lower part of the cut off is 3" lower than the center of the projector in the headlight.(Go to car, measure height of projector, go to wall 25 feet away, and draw a line 3" lower than the height of the projector).
The beam should slope down at a 10-15 degree angle from the car.
There are no cars that I know of that use HIDs for only high beam use. The quick on off use of high beams causes the ballasts to burn out quickly. Most cars with bixenon projectors also have a halogen light for flash to pass functions. The normal hid high beam uses a moving shield inside the projector... it doesn't do anything with the bulb. If you try to flash your high beams without the low beams on, the halogen bulbs used come in to play.
Yep that's right, HID's headlights and ballasts can get burnt if you turn them on and off quickly. So Halogens are still better for high beam unless its a bi-xenon with movable shield or movable HID bulb setup.
The reason why HID's can be used as low beam is because it 'most usually' sits in a projector housing which means its light beam spread angle is controlled within a certain area (onto the ground), so that that patch is brightly lit but outsire that area it doesn't produce glare onto the opposite traffic.
I agree with LXRY of course because as I've mentioned somewhere else, I always get high-beamed by oncoming traffic. Like him I always highbeam the others back to let them know they're mistaken - which I didn't want to do at the beginning but on average I get flashed once every night so you could imagine the severity of the problem.
And I also get blinded by oncoming or behind-me Euro Luxuries as well... Other cars that blind me on a flat road include BMW X5, Chrysler 300C, but its no worst than Euro Lux. Non-HID cars that glare me include BA Ford Falcons, any 4WDs, DC5 integras with their lights changed to some other bulb/HID, and the random utility truck with upgraded lights.
What is wrong with the Euro HIDs? Glare. Lack of light intensity for HID. Saw an Alfa 159 next to me its lights were much brighter than mine. Drove next to my friend's E46 330ci just tonight and it looks like my lights weren't even on.
I'm not saying the Euro HID's are not bright - they're brighter than halogen for sure, but I'm just saying that for an HID equipped car, it has potential to have better vision.... hmmm..
yup, ive noticed that the Euro's HID is very very bright, even when directly compared to a new BMW 5 Series, its a lot brighter.
Got someone else to drive my car for me last night(curious), drove another car next to it and behind it(not oncoming), had to have a look for myself....was I impressed lol, my euro was lighting up the way for both of us, I even turned off my lights lol. damn they bright....
Any of you do much country driving? How do you find the Lux lights on the open road?
CIGXM..... I'm in the country.....Open roads, I dont even use the high beams anymore, lol, thats how good they are.
Regardless of what hid set up you have, you'll get used to the light output, and other lights will seem brighter. If you were the driver of the e46(which really have very mediocre hid set ups), you would feel the same thing pulling up next to an accord euro. Has to do with your eyes getting used to the light your putting out, etc. You really see the difference in light output when you can compare the light output side by side, not behind the wheel of one car. The accord euro projetors are actually very nice set ups.
As for the glare from other hid equipped cars... the 300c is known for coming with horribly aimed projectors from the factory. They always seem to be pointed way to high. I bet if you saw another car sitting side by side that uses the same projectors(a lot of car, especially among the german/american cars, use the same projectors) you wouldn't get the same glare. Stuff like the x5 is obvious... the vehicle is 10 feet off the ground, of course you're gonna get more glare.
Can someone with a euro with hids park your car 25 feet from a wall, and measure where the cut off is relative to the height of the projectors? I wonder if they're aimed properly.
HID's hardly ever bother me, maybe because I've got tints..
Quote:
Originally Posted by saxman
Get used to the light output? What are you on about? I noticed this the first day I've owned the Euro Accord.
As for being a driver in the E46 330Ci, yes I've done that numerous times as a comparison and the lights are more brighter and slightly yellower on the road.
The 300c - yes you're right I think they're pointed a bit too high from factory. Perhaps its because that car sits a bit high. May be with the Euro, its because the headlights sit a bit further up than usual as well? Just cannot explain the glare.
One can indulge away in the theories Saxman but seriously, in real life, yes the EURO's HID lights are brighter than the usual lights - that I don't disagree with :) But I know it when I saw my HID's aren't as bright as some. Actually some of the new mercedes HID head lights aren't that bright either. So aren't the RX-8s - now that this topic has been brought up and I keep comparing them!
When you're behind the wheel, your eyes get used to the output... like walking into a dark room after being outside in the sun... I would be willing to bet that if you pulled up next to another accord euro, you'd be trying to figure out why his hids were so much brighter than yours.
Having compared the projector output side by side, I can tell you that the euro projectors output a lot more light than the e46 ones.
Most of the mercedes lights use the E55 projectors, which are about the worst bixenons available.
I'll agree the euro projectors aren't the best out there, but they certainly top the e46 units. Also depends on where you're comparing the brightness of the lights. Directly in front of the car? 500 feet away? To the sides? etc The fact that you say the 330 lights were brighter and yellower suggests that your euro bulbs have colorshifted. The euro and the 330 use the same color temp bulbs, and as they colorshift, they will move towards the blue side of the color spectrum, and lose some intensity in light.