Are xenon bulbs really worth it?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(azzieo @ Aug 10 2006, 06:59 PM) [snapback]301186[/snapback]</div>

Thay are awesome! On the back roads, they light up the road and everything on the side- the deer put sunglasses on when we drive by.

 

Wait wait wait. Are you talking about HID?

If you are then i'd agree with the post above. The thing is that you don't really 'feel' that they're brighter until you get an oncoming Prius with HIDs drive at you. They you'll truly understand it. A good example of this is the new BMW's that come with HID's. Alternatively if you live near a freeway check out the oncoming cars from time to time. Chance has it you'll see one that is noticeably 'brighter' than the rest. That will be the HIDs...


But as i said at first I didn't really notice any difference. That is until i switched out the bulbs from my 2000 Infiniti I30 with 'Xenon' Non-HID bulbs which claimed were brighter than factory... Yuck now i feel blind in comparison when i'm driving my Prius in the dark.

 

I have tried those bulbs in the past. It's just a halogen bulb with a blue coating.
You loose brightness and colors at night are poor.

 

Those after market “xenon†bulbs are just a bunch of hype designed to suck money out of posers' pockets. The only way they get away with calling them “xenon†is because they included small amounts of xenon gas. BUT that xenon gas does absolutely NOTHING for the quality of light.

A true Hight Intensity Discharge xenon light uses an arc to excite the gas. No true HID xenon lamp has a filament.
http://www.motorcycleproject.com/motorcycl.../cows-blue.html


You are better off just getting the 20 percent brighter halogens.

And yes, the HIDs are awesome! I will never go back.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Aug 10 2006, 08:43 PM) [snapback]301213[/snapback]</div>

In theater, they are called "lamps" and the glass is the "envelope". A capsule is the thing on the end of a lav microphone (attached to a body pack).