HID Are HID's Xenon?

[Naresh]

Hi can someone tell me if the HID headlamps on the EX are in fact conventional Xenon's? I was asking because I've seen many on the road and the light colour is very close to the Xenon's on my TT, and they have the washer jets which are required for Xenon headlights.

Apologies incase this question has already been asked before!

P.S. 2 days left before I collect my EX with glass roof, leather and 18" Storms!!!

[adamski]

Hi

Yep - what most people refer to as Xenon headlights are in fact High intensity discharge headlights.

but on the civic hid is only on "normal" headlights - main beam still uses standard lights whereas on a BMW and maybe audi you get HID on both lamps

[amronno]

Originally Posted by adamski

Hi

Yep - what most people refer to as Xenon headlights are in fact High intensity discharge headlights.

but on the civic hid is only on "normal" headlights - main beam still uses standard lights whereas on a BMW and maybe audi you get HID on both lamps

True! When I bought my 1.8i executive I thought both lamps had that kind of "bulbs". So I was a little disappointed when I discovered it was only the dipped headlights that really had that blueish glow.
But the HID's are expensive car lamps, so I guess it boils down to a price/cost issue on cars in this size/ price range!

[FWH]

Yes, some cars (not the Civic) have Bi-Xenon which is also Xenon on main beam.

HID and Xenon are two names used for the same thing.
Never heard the term HID over here though.

[ric type r]

Just fitted HID to main beam, they are phenomenal. Thank god for spellcheck.

[illegalhunter]

xeons are the muts , why cant we get them in the R . I upgraded my bulbs massive difference

[Nick7]

HID = High Intensity Discharge
Xenon = gas HID's are filled with

Although it's proper name is HID's, people tend to call them Xenons.

[jenny29]

HI

I think HID use a really high power discharge to light them and are different to Xenon's. I've been told that to retrofit HID systems is not actual legal although many people produce kits to do just that. I can find the link if anyone is interested?

Mind you I've only just found that lot out so am probably not best qualified to answer here, in short I was told Xenon uses a Xenon gas mix rather than just halogen to produce a better brighter light. Well worth the upgrade specially with winter round the corner.

Three places I looked to order my xenons from were

http://www.autobulbsonline.co.uk

which had a smaller range but better prices. Arrived in a day no problems

http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk

these guys had a bigger range but were more expensive even if I took the forum discount off the price.

http://www.halfords.co.uk

more expensive and did not stock what I wanted

p.s. what did the 18" storms look like?????????????????

Can anyone point me to somewhere I can get some adhesive pads to stick a number plate on with?

[FWH]

Originally Posted by jenny29

HI

I think HID use a really high power discharge to light them and are different to Xenon's.

No. The same thing. The explanation above regarding gas name etc is correct.

[Koen]

Originally Posted by Nick7

HID = High Intensity Discharge
Xenon = gas HID's are filled with

Although it's proper name is HID's, people tend to call them Xenons.

Halogen lamps are called halogen lamps. Neon lights are called neon lights...
What's wrong with "Xenon-lights"?

K.

[Bog]

Originally Posted by jenny29

.....I was told Xenon uses a Xenon gas mix rather than just halogen to produce a better brighter light. Well worth the upgrade specially with winter round the corner.

Three places I looked to order my xenons from were

Osram Night Breaker NightBreaker Philips Xtreme Power 80% 90% AutoBulbsOnline ......

They are not true xenon/HID's, they are just standard bulbs filled with xenon gas to give a slightly whiter/brighter light.

Below is a extract from Wikipedia dinining exactly what HID/Xenon's are.....

HID stands for high-intensity discharge, the technical term for the electric arc that produces the light. Automotive HID lamps are commonly called 'xenon headlamps', because of the xenon gas used in the lamps. The xenon gas allows the lamps to produce minimally adequate amounts of light immediately upon startup and speed the warmup time. If argon were used instead, as is commonly done in street and other stationary HID lamps, it would take several minutes for the lamps to reach their full output. HID headlamps use a small, purpose-designed metal halide lamp which produces more light than ordinary tungsten and tungsten-halogen bulbs. The light from HID headlamps has a distinct bluish tint when compared with tungsten-filament headlamps. The high intensity of the arc comes from metallic salts that are vapourised within the arc chamber.
HID headlamp bulbs produce between 2,800 and 3,500 lumens from between 35 and 38 watts of electrical power, while halogen filament headlamp bulbs produce between 700 and 2,100 lumens from between 40 and 72 watts at 12.8 V Because of the increased amounts of light available from HID bulbs, HID headlamps producing a given beam pattern can be made smaller than halogen headlamps producing a comparable beam pattern. Alternatively, the larger size can be retained, in which case the Xenon headlamp can produce a more robust beam pattern.
HID headlamp bulbs do not run on low-voltage DC current, so they require a ballast with either an internal or external ignitor. The ballast controls the current to the bulb. When the headlamps are switched on, the ignitor provides rapidly pulsed current at several thousand volts to initiate the arc between the electrodes within the bulb. Once the arc is started, its heat begins to vapourise the metallic salts within the arc chamber, and the ballast gradually transitions from startup operation to arc-maintenance operation. Once the arc is completely stabilised, the ballast provides 85 V in conventional D1 and D2 systems, or 42 V with Mercury-free D3 and D4 systems.

Despite marketing claims to the contrary, HID headlamps' light output is not similar to daylight. The spectral power distribution (SPD) of an automotive HID headlamp is discontinuous, while the SPD of a filament lamp, like that of the sun, is a continuous curve.
The arc within an HID headlamp bulb generates considerable short-wave ultraviolet (UV) light, but none of it escapes the bulb. A UV-absorbing hard glass shield is incorporated around the bulb's arc tube. This is important to prevent degradation of UV-sensitive components and materials in headlamps, such as polycarbonate lenses and reflector hardcoats. The lamps do emit considerable near-UV light.

European vehicles equipped with HID headlamps are required by ECE regulation 48 also to be equipped with headlamp lens cleaning systems and automatic beam levelling control. Both of these measures are intended to reduce the tendency for high-output headlamps to cause high levels of glare to other road users.

HID headlamp bulb types D1R, D1S, D2R, D2S and 9500 contain the toxic heavy metal mercury. The disposal of mercury-containing vehicle parts is increasingly regulated throughout the world, for example under US EPA regulations. Newer HID bulb designs D3R, D3S, D4R, and D4S contain no mercury, but are not electrically or physically compatible with headlamps designed for previous bulb types.

The arc light source in an HID headlamp is fundamentally different from the filament light source used in tungsten/halogen headlamps. For that reason, HID-specific optics are used to collect and distribute the light. Installing HID bulbs in headlamps designed to take filament bulbs results in improperly-focused beam patterns and excessive glare, and is therefore illegal in almost all countries.

[MoOriginal]

Originally Posted by jenny29

HI

I think HID use a really high power discharge to light them and are different to Xenon's. I've been told that to retrofit HID systems is not actual legal although many people produce kits to do just that. I can find the link if anyone is interested?

Mind you I've only just found that lot out so am probably not best qualified to answer here, in short I was told Xenon uses a Xenon gas mix rather than just halogen to produce a better brighter light. Well worth the upgrade specially with winter round the corner.

Three places I looked to order my xenons from were

Osram Night Breaker NightBreaker Philips Xtreme Power 80% 90% AutoBulbsOnline

which had a smaller range but better prices. Arrived in a day no problems

http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk

these guys had a bigger range but were more expensive even if I took the forum discount off the price.

Halfords for satellite navigation, bikes, car audio, car maintenance, car styling and outdoor leisure

more expensive and did not stock what I wanted

p.s. what did the 18" storms look like?????????????????

Can anyone point me to somewhere I can get some adhesive pads to stick a number plate on with?

Question - did you replace your running lights [position1] at same time and what did you get if you did
??