HID headlamp questions.

[hilore]

Just curious,

I have an 05 Package #3(BI). According to the sell
brochure, HID headlamps with auto-leveling is part
of a package. Only packge 4 & 6 have them.

Am just abit confused. If I don't have HID headlamp,
what kind of headlamp do I have? What's the different
between the HID headlamp and what I got?

--Hilore

[flareak]

you have normal halogen headlights

i'm not sure i can explain the difference of how they work, but HID lights are lights that have a color close to white and its brighter and it travels farther.

[IsrAmeriPrius]

How Stuff Works

[Charles Suitt]

<_< As I understand the HID headlights...

They are "arc lights." High voltage discharges across points producing the blue-white light. HID = High Intensity Discharge. Since the light is extremely bright, A Prius with HID headlights has a "levelling" system which responds to the weight distribution in the car to adjust the headlights vertical positioning to avoid blinding oncoming drivers. The upper horizontal "cutoff" of the light beam is very sharp and clean. Some Prius drivers have reported being "flashed" by oncoming drivers due to the intensity of their HID headlights. There have been reports of HID headlight systems being stolen since they can be modified to produce a stun gun.

OT but related: In my youth, my dad was a movie theater manager and I enjoyed visiting the projection booth. The light source in the projectors was "arc lights" operating on very high DC voltage discharging between two carbon contacts.

As for me, I have Halogen which are plenty bright for my needs, and I have avoided the added mechanical complexity of the levelling system. FYI: Section 8 of your Owner's Manual "DO-IT-YOURSELF MAINTENANCE" briefly comments on the HID headlights (p.303 in the 2004 Manual), mentioning that 20,000 Volts is generated momentarily when the HID lights turn on.

[JaviNOS]

Originally Posted by hilore

Just curious,

I have an 05 Package #3(BI). According to the sell
brochure, HID headlamps with auto-leveling is part
of a package. Only packge 4 & 6 have them.

Am just abit confused. If I don't have HID headlamp,
what kind of headlamp do I have? What's the different
between the HID headlamp and what I got?

--Hilore

Well... in a few words it projects more light (whiter depending on the temperature code) using less energy.

My 2004 did not include this so... I just went on and added the mod... You can get aftermarket HID kits for the Prius @ ebay or any speedshop. The bulb size is H4 and you should get the Hi/Low combination as the Prius uses the same bulb for Hi and Low beam... If you dont you wont have a Hi beam only a low beam.

As for visibility... It is notable right away... as soon as you turn them on at night. Yes it does blind oncomming traffic if you dont point them down since neither your packege nor mine have the autoleveling... It gives the car another look and you can also see better at night and avoid unexpected things because you see more clearly

[subarutoo]

The easiest way to tell HID or not, is that if you have factory fog lights then, you have HID. They come together as an option.

[Bill Merchant]

Another way of knowing if you have HID headlamps is if there are yellow "High Voltage" warning labels on the black plastic cowl under the hood. If you have HID lamps, there's a sticker on the black plastic near the lamps.

[Boo]

Notwithstanding that the original post was from 2005, I'm adding my 2 cents anyway:

A better way to get HID-like brightness out of halogens is to get brighter, but legal, halogens like Sylvania/Osram Silverstars (but they only lasted a year for Tideland Prius, but they were always on because of Canada's daytime running lights requirements), or better yet, Philips X-Treme Power which are 80% brighter than the OEM halogens (but we don't have any data yet on how long they last ... Tideland Prius, usbseawolf2000 and I only recently put them on on our Prii). The Philips X-Treme Power bulbs cost around 2 for $47.