Leaving Xenon headlights on

[twoods]

Is there any downside to leaving the Xenons on all the time when driving instead of on Auto.

I love the look of having them on.

I'm assuming the only downside would be that they would burn out faster than normal - how much faster?

What is the life of these xenons.

[a4toronto]

HID's lives are not measured by their time being on, it's more measured by the number of times they've been fired up. so many short trips are worse than one long trip with them on.

[jdmkidd]

they take less power during the overall trip but take more the first time you turn them on.

[jm1]

I bought my car in Oct 2000 and always turn them on the HID/Xeon headlights because it looks so much better than the daytime running lights. Last winter, they started looking pink rather than white (which happens with HIDs rather than just "burning out") and I replaced them this spring, so they started turning pink after more than 6 years of almost daily driving, which--for me--was a bit less than 100,000 kilometres.

If I had only turned them on at night, they would likely last longer than the car itself.

[VorteC]

I really hated the DRL colour on my TSX so I used the HID's all the time.. then time came when I decided to get better H1 DRL's.. I'm using PIAAs and they are blue, they look sick with a silver car. But HID bulbs (depending on which bulb type) aren't really expensive.. if you use HID's all the time, then they'll go sooner but it's still gonna be at least like 2 or 3 years, and replacing them is only about $100 for OEM bulbs.

[darren9]

Blue DRLs are illegal.

[McLaren]

I leave mine in the off position and not on Auto as I don't like them being turned on when im in the garage or going through tunnels etc.

[Jeff-TheBiz]

My fogs are HID and I have them set up as my DRLs.

[kleptodathief]

thing is if u turn on ur HIDs in the daytime...ur brake lites will b red and thats bad for drivers bhind u :confused: i do like the flickering of new bimmers and lexus HIDs ... course if u Honduh, u can retro a HID setup to look like these

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/exrcoupe/S2KJDMRetro/NightShots/IMG_4221.jpg

not my car, its the TAC admin/founders 5th gen accord sedan

[DJ_Peanuts22]

^

That is how it's SUPPOSED to be done! Not like those dumbtastic ricers who install cheaply made aftermarket HID kits in halogen housings that blind everyone else on the road with their massive amounts of glare.

That's a nice retrofit, what projectors, ballasts and bulbs did he use?

[Asad_A203]

I also like to put my Xenons on versus the DRLs. I am looking at getting some 06 projector bi xenons for my G35 when they go out. My current Xenons are in a whitest hue but I really like the hue from my BMW instead.

[VorteC]

Blue DRLs are illegal.
yeah well so is j-walking and people still do it lol.

oh well, my drl's look good, serve their purpsoe, and aren't blinding anyone.

[mau108]

if you like the color of hids you might wanna try these

http://www.hoen-usa.com/plus.htm

[kleptodathief]

dj: his parts/specs

Here's the final setup details.

JDM Stanley Blackhousing headlights
JDM Stanley corners
JDM Stanley bumper lights
"Fugen" grill
AP1 S2K projectors
Custom painted E46 Bixenon shrouds - body colour trimmed
Hella Gen3 ballasts
Philips 85122+ 4300K bulbs
Nokya 3000K H1 for the highbeam/drl

ya its one sick retro!

[KL]

if you like the color of hids you might wanna try these

http://www.hoen-usa.com/plus.htm

80W bulbs? That's going to eventually do a nasty number on the electrical contacts that switches the lights on/off, be it the contacts in the headlight switch or the relay.......

How do I know? I did that years ago on a CRX, the arcing from the over-current every time I turn the lights on and off erroded the contacts in the headlight switch in the stalk to the point it didn't work one night.......

[Asad_A203]

Is there any downside to leaving the Xenons on all the time when driving instead of on Auto.

I love the look of having them on.

I'm assuming the only downside would be that they would burn out faster than normal - how much faster?

What is the life of these xenons.

Dude, xenons bulbs are frickin expensive. Better to leave them off until night driving. I hate turning on my xenons at night for a 5 min drive, sure they look nice, but I don't need the headlights to do that, haha. My DRLs are just my foglamps so no ugly yellow headlights for me.

[VorteC]

Dude, xenons bulbs are frickin expensive. Better to leave them off until night driving. I hate turning on my xenons at night for a 5 min drive, sure they look nice, but I don't need the headlights to do that, haha. My DRLs are just my foglamps so no ugly yellow headlights for me.

common dude, bulbs aren't that expensive.. they're like $100 for a pair of OEM's.. and they are replaced every few years.

[mau108]

there are also aftermarket in different colors too ;) factory I believe is 4300k for acura's (probably the most optimal for light output) but I've seen people stick in 6k's look nice but light output is just not the same.

[kleptodathief]

6k and up bulbs will give u that 'ricer' blue or purplish color but of course the higher u go up the LESS lite output on the ground...u pick ur poison! :twisted:

also aftermarket hid kits almost always give out mad glare! as opposed to retro fitted ones

[VorteC]

6k and up bulbs will give u that 'ricer' blue or purplish color but of course the higher u go up the LESS lite output on the ground...u pick ur poison! :twisted:

also aftermarket hid kits almost always give out mad glare! as opposed to retro fitted ones

it's stupid to get bright HID kits if you don't have projectors lol.


as for the aftermarkets,

I believe 4300-5000K output around 3200 lumens.. (D2S/R) while 6000K you get about 2900lumens; so it's not thaatt bad, but after that.. it looks all ****** and ricey and the driver can't see what they're driving into..

[Asad_A203]

common dude, bulbs aren't that expensive.. they're like $100 for a pair of OEM's.. and they are replaced every few years.

Well I would rather spend cash on getting something else than HIDs, I will keep my HIDs until they burn out, and get some projectors for my car. When I got the car I used to love turning them on. UNTIL I saw every car with them on and blinding you from every angle. After a while they lose there appeal, and I definately don't need that extra clarity in a perfectly lit day.

[2k4accord]

You can buy used HID bulbs from this forum, (http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/) which can be cheaper than most STEAlership. Most of the time used mean they were ripped in broken headlights from car been into accident.
That forum is a basic place with lot of information if you want to retrofit your cars with HID lights.

Also, try ebay but make sure they are OEM bulbs not those fake bulbs.