Xenon lights - worth cost?

formercabra

I am looking at an A4 with Xenon lights.

Do they give better visibility than halogens, they certainly look brighter when approaching.

Do the bulbs have a longer/shorter lifespan than halogens.

I assume they are more expensive to replace any idea how much more.

GTE

They should last a long time unless you crash and damage them.

If you have ever seen electricity jump from one piece of metal to another, that is the same principle that they work on.

Electricity jumps from one part to the other and the xenon gas lights up. There is no physical filament to break.

So unless you drive on really rough roads they should last a very long time.

My dads first xenon went last month. Its a 04 car. A low three figured sum to replace. I cant remember. 100 - 250 euro, very very rough pricing. But they do last much longer.

Matt Simis

Had to replace one on the Phaeton when I had it. Due to the fact an old Xenon bulb and new one look "different" (hue wise), I had to get 2, EUR160 each.

The one broke after 4.5yrs as the headlamp assembly wasnt tightened down by the garage who did work on the car before I owned it. The constant vibrations eventually screwed the bulb up.

OEM Xenons are excellent, after market Xenons tend to look like poo.

nogoodnamesleft

I fitted Osrams Nightbreaker bulbs to my Passat to improve visibility at nighttime its was only a marginal improvement and the bulbs burnt out within 6months.

I fitted an aftermarket HID kit to mine and I have to say its a huge improvement. I wrote a how to in the motor tech fourm as well as comparsion pics before and after the upgrade:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055860560

Most of the boy racer gang go for blue looking lights (6000k +) better off sticking with 4300 or 5000k. Suits only projector headlight lenses and make sure they are focused if you choose to go down this route.

Retrofitting OEM was a non runner as it required wiring back into the ECU, self levellers on the headlights and sensors on the suspension.

E39MSport

Matt Simis wrote: »

Had to replace one on the Phaeton when I had it. Due to the fact an old Xenon bulb and new one look "different" (hue wise), I had to get 2, EUR160 each.

The one broke after 4.5yrs as the headlamp assembly wasnt tightened down by the garage who did work on the car before I owned it. The constant vibrations eventually screwed the bulb up.

OEM Xenons are excellent, after market Xenons tend to look like poo.

The front of my Amazon and Starlet are covered in relatively expensive aftermarket poo and I love'm. Did it for the visibility as factory output on the cruiser especially is terrible. Both passed NCT. Won't be touching the 8er.

Matt Simis

E39MSport wrote: »

Won't be touching the 8er.

I put Osram's in the 8er. So far none blew out (got them cheapish on ebay anyway, so have spares). The 8 has quite good output anyhow IMO, given it has the popups and the grille lights and my 21w parking light mod.
I think HIDs in older cars usually look a bit naff, imagine a '68 Mustang with "blue" Xenons? :eek:

nogoodnamesleft wrote: »

I fitted an aftermarket HID kit to mine and I have to say its a huge improvement. I wrote a how to in the motor tech fourm as well as comparsion pics before and after the upgrade:

You did a pretty good job in fairness. Does it look blue at all in person though? You photo still has a blue hue, but that could be the photo.

L-M

Matt Simis wrote: »

I think HIDs in older cars usually look a bit naff, imagine a '68 Mustang with "blue" Xenons? :eek:

+100, very bad idea in older cars, they just don't suit.

I put HID's into the Golf and I love them, I wouldn't go back. Great light off them, they were off ebay for around 60euro, in over a year now and I use them all day and night, never a bother!

One thing though, if you put them in get them focused straight away. They're horribly bright and you can easily blind blind people(worse than full beams)... I speak from experience and an angry truck driver

djimi

I used to drive dark back roads a lot and the HIDs in my ITR are so much better than any car Ive ever driven before; its like daylight even in the middle of a pitch dark bog!

yop

Limerick man wrote: »

+100, very bad idea in older cars, they just don't suit.

I put HID's into the Golf and I love them, I wouldn't go back. Great light off them, they were off ebay for around 60euro, in over a year now and I use them all day and night, never a bother!

One thing though, if you put them in get them focused straight away. They're horribly bright and you can easily blind blind people(worse than full beams)... I speak from experience and an angry truck driver

Did you just get the HID kit and install yourself?

I will be doing a lot of mileage in my bus and was used to my last 2 cars having Xenons and I found them a lot better down here on this kak roads through Roscommon and Mayo.

Is it a case of whipping out the normal bulbs and house and putting in these?

Thanks

L-M

yop wrote: »

Did you just get the HID kit and install yourself?

I will be doing a lot of mileage in my bus and was used to my last 2 cars having Xenons and I found them a lot better down here on this kak roads through Roscommon and Mayo.

Is it a case of whipping out the normal bulbs and house and putting in these?

Thanks

In simple words, no.

There's an extra box that comes with them (can't remember the name of it), so you've to place that somewhere, there's one for each bulb. You've to wire them up then. In the Golf I'd to drill a bigger hole into the plastic bulb cover to fit them in as well.

yop

Ok so not a straight forward change over then in reality.

You talking about 2 hours?

L-M

yop wrote: »

Ok so not a straight forward change over then in reality.

You talking about 2 hours?

Not really, depends on the tools and your own knowledge, the car etc. I'd say without fiddling, and if everything was there you'd have them done in under an hour!

yop

Limerick man wrote: »

Not really, depends on the tools and your own knowledge, the car etc. I'd say without fiddling, and if everything was there you'd have them done in under an hour!

Aye, thanks for that. Only have the car 2 weeks so not much change to do much looking at it but I must have a check first.

Can you remember what seller you purchased off on eBay?

Thanks very much

L-M

yop wrote: »

Aye, thanks for that. Only have the car 2 weeks so not much change to do much looking at it but I must have a check first.

Can you remember what seller you purchased off on eBay?

Thanks very much

I bought them off a friend who bought them in bulk off a lad, I'll find out off him this evening and let you know, although I think he stopped buying them due to people not paying up.

I'm sure if you bought a HID kit off any reputable seller you'd get the same jobby.

R.O.R

formercabra wrote: »

I am looking at an A4 with Xenon lights.

Do they give better visibility than halogens, they certainly look brighter when approaching.

Do the bulbs have a longer/shorter lifespan than halogens.

I assume they are more expensive to replace any idea how much more.

Is it the new model A4, or an older one?

If it's the new model, it's worth getting the Xenon's for the LED day running lights as it sets the car off, and makes it stand out as one of the higher spec models.

If it's one of the older models, they'd be nice to have but personally I wouldn't pay extra for them.

shamwari

The big issue I see with Xenon headlamps is that they require very high internal voltages to operate, and therefore have a internal power supply to provide this voltage, and this has the potential to cause problems.

If there was a blast of back-EMF or a spike due to failure of that power supply, that spike could easily damage other electronic other modules in the car. A friend of mine who performs electronic diagnostics told me recently that he was aware of a case of a BMW one series which died as a result of such a thing happening. Several expensive boxes needed to be replaced as a result and the ensuing bill was most eye-watering indeed Another was the case of a man who lost his job, and could NCT his car because a Xenon was blown and he couldn't afford the four figure sum to have it replaced. He subsequently sold the car for half nothing.

Seperately, my wifes pal recently bought hereself a Qashqai and the Xenon headlamp on it was wrecked in when someone pranged into her in a supermarket carpark. Nissan quoted somewhere around €600 plus for a replacement part.

slimjimmc

Limerick man wrote: »

In simple words, no.

There's an extra box that comes with them (can't remember the name of it), so you've to place that somewhere, there's one for each bulb. You've to wire them up then. In the Golf I'd to drill a bigger hole into the plastic bulb cover to fit them in as well.

It's called a ballast and it converts the car's 12V DC power supply into a higher voltage AC power supply of the correct waveform shape to run the HID bulb.

rebel.ranter

I have them in one car & it is definitely better from a visibility point of view. Pain in the ass when other drivers flash you at night. Mine are the OEM variety.

high horse

I have oem xenon headlights in my car and will definately try to avoid them with my next car. Recently the control unit for the passenger side headlight broke and replacing it (plus the damaged bulb) cost about 700 euro :eek:. Yes they do give off better light than halogen bulbs but the difference doesn't justify the price imo

JHMEG

rebel.ranter wrote: »

I have them in one car & it is definitely better from a visibility point of view. Pain in the ass when other drivers flash you at night. Mine are the OEM variety.

You probably need to get them checked for alignment, focus, etc.

9 out of 10 aftermarket hids are a PITA, but by the same token so are 1 out of 10 OEM hids usually due to faulty self-levelling mecahnisms. I passed a 5 series yesterday evening and the hids were facing the sky.

bazzachazza

I got them in my A6. The light produced at night is better and more focused on the area lit.

Only problem I have with the Audi set up is they have Halogen bulbs beside them and there only use is for flashing other drivers where as the Volvo I had before used both Xenon and Halogen, when you put on the High beams at night difference is close to an extra 50 % light from the Volvo.

The head lamp washers are useless they are there for show only they are required under European law but are not effective on anything other than liquid muck or dirty water. I believe the old Volvo wiper system used to work effectively but not for long before they got damaged.

The LED's look great but not everyone is a fan. They will become more common next year as all new cars will have to have DRL's.

Esel

Limerick man wrote: »

They're horribly bright and you can easily blind blind people.....

How is this possible, LM?

nogoodnamesleft

Matt Simis wrote: »

I put Osram's in the 8er. So far none blew out (got them cheapish on ebay anyway, so have spares). The 8 has quite good output anyhow IMO, given it has the popups and the grille lights and my 21w parking light mod.
I think HIDs in older cars usually look a bit naff, imagine a '68 Mustang with "blue" Xenons? :eek:

You did a pretty good job in fairness. Does it look blue at all in person though? You photo still has a blue hue, but that could be the photo.

Nope they are fairly white. When you 1st turn on the lights they look a bit blue but they take about 20 sec or so to come up to temperature and one up to temp it emitts a white light.

BTW I loved the look of your old Phaeton couldnt justify having a 5 litre V10 Diesel thou

ArphaRima

I literally wouldnt buy a car that did not have Xenons!

I specced them on my old car (a '08 Audi TT) and I loved them. Any time I was driving in a car without them I couldnt believe how poor the light was. Halogens are obsolete.

When looking for my next car I removed any car without xenons from the list, regardless of the rest of the spec sheet.

Personally I wouldnt dream of retrofitting them to any car, and would stick with the OEM ones. They're expensive but worth the cost.

tossy

fluffer wrote: »

I literally wouldnt buy a car that did not have Xenons!

I specced them on my old car (a '08 Audi TT) and I loved them. Any time I was driving in a car without them I couldnt believe how poor the light was. Halogens are obsolete.

When looking for my next car I removed any car without xenons from the list, regardless of the rest of the spec sheet.

Personally I wouldnt dream of retrofitting them to any car, and would stick with the OEM ones. They're expensive but worth the cost.

I'd have no problem retro fitting OEM units,i was going to do it on my old golf but sold it prior to doing it.My Bora has xenons from the factory and i'd find it hard to do without them in the future.

ArphaRima

Fair enough. Retrofitting the entire OEM kit as per manufacturer spec would be no problem. I'm talking about the kits that all the boy racers have that spray high intensity blue light in a massive arc into everybodies eyes at night.

dr.fuzzenstein

I remember when my first car (1979 VW Transporter) had these for headlight bulbs:



Once drove for half an hour with my full lights on into oncoming traffic.
The oncoming traffic also didn't notice, since no one flashed me.
Going from those to halogens was a no brainer and the cost difference was marginal.
Dunno if I'd spend hundreds to upgrade my Focus to Xenon and then risk having to spend hundreds again if a bulb blows.
Not sure if the claimed gains in light are worth spending over a grand for and potentially have my car electronics fried.
Newer and shinier isn't always better.

shamwari

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Newer and shinier isn't always better.

Well said, and ne'er a truer word spoken. Older might look naff and unfashionable, but at least it's fixable if it goes wrong, and without emptying the bank in the process.

opinion guy

I think the audi lights really complete the look of the car. Thou today I had an a5 following me with DRL's on one side and a normal bulb on the other - it was really weird looking and kinda puzzling as to why someone would do that to their car.

Gumbo

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Dunno if I'd spend hundreds to upgrade my Focus to Xenon and then risk having to spend hundreds again if a bulb blows.
Not sure if the claimed gains in light are worth spending over a grand for and potentially have my car electronics fried.
Newer and shinier isn't always better.

a Xenon bulb replacement is only like 30-50e give or take.
here are the exact bulb that BMW use in their Xenon system and a pair is only 75 dollars - http://www.khoalty.com/Hids.html

ive never had to replace a xenon bulb in my lifetime of owning cars with OEM xenon, in fairness though ive only gone 4 years of driving with OEM Xenon.

opinion guy wrote: »

I think the audi lights really complete the look of the car. Thou today I had an a5 following me with DRL's on one side and a normal bulb on the other - it was really weird looking and kinda puzzling as to why someone would do that to their car.

probably a broken bulb there or a badly fitted aftermarket kit. IIRC the A5's come with DRL's as standard so they would of most definately been there just why they were not working is another story.

opinion guy

kceire wrote: »

probably a broken bulb there or a badly fitted aftermarket kit. IIRC the A5's come with DRL's as standard so they would of most definately been there just why they were not working is another story.

Dunno. The DRl\s looked standard with the sort of S shaped layout. The other side looked like someone fitted a the cheapest halogen they could find. Nasty.


OP are you thinking of getting the Xenon package or the Audi adaptive lights package which is even more expensive? Adaptive lights being the ones that turn into the corner when you turn the steering wheel. I imagine this could be useful on country roads on shltty rainy winter's days like today.....in errr July....

crossy

Definitly change they are well worth it

Shane732

I'd definitely say there worth it. When I was buying my current car I didn't have xenon's on the list of musts (or even really on the list of would like to have) as I didn't think they really made a huge difference.

The car I found and eventually bought had Xenon's on them. I bought the car because it had all the extras I wanted - the xenons were just an added extra.

I must admit I love them now and would find it very hard to go back to normal lights after running the Xenon's. The only problem I had was that the BMW 3 series parks don't match the colour of the Xenons at all so I had to change my angel eyes.

I'd say go for them though I suppose if you're buying new there's probably plenty of extras that you'll get more out of for the same price as the Xenons.

crossy

I didnt buy a conversion kit. I just bought the bulb and the bulb holder and re-wired the lights. Once you have a headlight wire and a dim light wire you can just wire them in

ArphaRima

crossy wrote: »

I didnt buy a conversion kit. I just bought the bulb and the bulb holder and re-wired the lights. Once you have a headlight wire and a dim light wire you can just wire them in

Right. So where in this setup is the auto-levelling feature to stop you blinding oncoming traffic at night?

My car and my previous car had auto-levelling in the OEM kit, along with headlight washers that cleaned every third time the windscreen washer was used.
There are legal requirements to use xenon in many countries so I hear.

Gumbo

Shane732 wrote: »

The only problem I had was that the BMW 3 series parks don't match the colour of the Xenons at all so I had to change my angel eyes.

thats the worst part of the Anget Eye system, the halogen look of them. where Audi has the DRL's that are LED so they match the Xenon light, as you have done, the best thing to do is upgrade the Angel Eye bulb to an LED type. Any pictures of your set up?

crossy wrote: »

I didnt buy a conversion kit. I just bought the bulb and the bulb holder and re-wired the lights. Once you have a headlight wire and a dim light wire you can just wire them in

sounds crap to be honest. how did you get the power for the Xenon gas to ignite without a ballast?

me thinks you just put in "xenon type" standard bulbs.

crossy

The car I put them in is an opel omega and the headlight unit has a leveling unit in it anyway from day one so it tilts where the bulb was put in.

Anan1

crossy wrote: »

The car I put them in is an opel omega and the headlight unit has a leveling unit in it anyway from day one so it tilts where the bulb was put in.

What year is the car? AFAIK, all Omegas had HID as standard from around 2000. I'm wondering whether you removed the (presumably) D2S bulbs and holders and replaced them with aftermarket bulbs and holders, using the existing ballasts.

_Kaiser_

I got an aftermarket kit fitted to my Passat and, as others said, the difference in light output is huge, especially along the verges of dark country roads.

I never get flashed for them either so either I'm a genius at levelling them, or the whole "self-levelling" thing is another EU rule for the sake of it.

I WOULD rather have the original setup, but I don't think it's even possible to retrofit them in the Passat.. sure they can't even manage front fogs without new wiring looms, brackets, surrounds etc

Gumbo

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

I got an aftermarket kit fitted to my Passat and, as others said, the difference in light output is huge, especially along the verges of dark country roads.

I never get flashed for them either so either I'm a genius at levelling them, or the whole "self-levelling" thing is another EU rule for the sake of it.

I WOULD rather have the original setup, but I don't think it's even possible to retrofit them in the Passat.. sure they can't even manage front fogs without new wiring looms, brackets, surrounds etc

doesnt the Passat have projector headlights as standard, and hence the xenon conversion suits it ok, thats why nobody flashes you. (assuming their projectors)

Tropheus

The self levelling is to ensure the xenons are adjusted correctly no matter what weight is being carried in the rear of the car. On most other cars, this adjustment is done manually, but because xenons are more dazzling to oncoming traffic, they have to have automatic levelling when factory installed.

Stick a couple of adults in the back of your Passat a a couple of heavy suitcases in the boot and you will most likely be dazzling oncoming traffic if the headlights aren't adjusted downwards.

The headlight washers are a requirement as snow or ice on the lenses can scatter the light from xenons. Not really necessary in Ireland.

L-M

slimjimmc wrote: »

It's called a ballast and it converts the car's 12V DC power supply into a higher voltage AC power supply of the correct waveform shape to run the HID bulb.

Thanks! I couldn't think of it!

esel wrote: »

How is this possible, LM?

They're just THAT bright :P :P:o

vectra

Waiting for my new Octavis vRS and am thinking of fitting a set of Xenons.
Any idea as to what kit to get?
Not sure what bulbs are in it.
If I was to do Heads and dims do i need 2 kits?
One last thing.
I have been told if I were ever getting a set to make sure the bulbs are metal based as the plastic ones can melt

Gumbo

vectra wrote: »

Waiting for my new Octavis vRS and am thinking of fitting a set of Xenons.
Any idea as to what kit to get?
Not sure what bulbs are in it.
If I was to do Heads and dims do i need 2 kits?
One last thing.
I have been told if I were ever getting a set to make sure the bulbs are metal based as the plastic ones can melt

the VRS has projector lens so you should be good to go.
you will most probably need a H7 HID kit and i would stick with 4300k to 500k max, some 6000k kits are ok, but its hit and miss wether you get a really blue one or more white. 4300 is OEM xenon colour.

to do both, yes you need two kits, one for you headlights and one for you main beam (fogs/flashers).

never heard of the plastic/metal thing before.

R.O.R

vectra wrote: »

Waiting for my new Octavis vRS and am thinking of fitting a set of Xenons.
Any idea as to what kit to get?
Not sure what bulbs are in it.
If I was to do Heads and dims do i need 2 kits?
One last thing.
I have been told if I were ever getting a set to make sure the bulbs are metal based as the plastic ones can melt

You do know that factory Xenon's are only €305! on the vRS?

I don't know how much retro kits are, but I would have thought they are over €305.

Might be time to add it to your order as there are still 7 weeks until it goes to build.

Gumbo

R.O.R wrote: »

You do know that factory Xenon's are only €305! on the vRS?

I don't know how much retro kits are, but I would have thought they are over €305.

Might be time to add it to your order as there are still 7 weeks until it goes to build.

you can pick up a retro fit kit for anout 60euro! add in the time to fit them......maybe 30 minutes, thats it!

although if factoru xenons are only 305e i would buy them without a doubt! they would be an option ticked before i even clicked for leather or a few others, xenons along with bluetooth are my first option pics where applicable!

R.O.R

kceire wrote: »

you can pick up a retro fit kit for anout 60euro! add in the time to fit them......maybe 30 minutes, thats it!

although if factoru xenons are only 305e i would buy them without a doubt! they would be an option ticked before i even clicked for leather or a few others, xenons along with bluetooth are my first option pics where applicable!

Didn't realise retro kits were so cheap.

Wonder why it's €1,000 + on most cars for Xenon's?

Gumbo

R.O.R wrote: »

Didn't realise retro kits were so cheap.

Wonder why it's €1,000 + on most cars for Xenon's?

i know, car makers should bring the price of them down big time, there was a time that the cost of production would of been high, but it costs alot less to make them now.

if they were a cheaper option, then im sure most people would spec them. i think if i was buying brand new and xenon were 500e i would spec them, on BMW they were 2k at one stage!

my mate went to spec them on a focus a few years ago when he was buying new and it was a 2500e option.

vectra

R.O.R wrote: »

You do know that factory Xenon's are only €305! on the vRS?

:eek:

Didn't realize that.
When I read through the options list I saw the following

Xenon headlamps with AFS [PK9] € 1,070

Ellipsoidal lens Xenon bulb headlights

Headlight control active and automatic

High pressure headlight cleaners

R.O.R

vectra wrote: »

:eek:

Didn't realize that.
When I read through the options list I saw the following

Hmmmmm........

Carzone is listing them at €1,070 and checking back it seems the €305 came from a driver rather than Skoda.

Might have to double check that

vectra

R.O.R wrote: »

Hmmmmm........

Carzone is listing them at €1,070 and checking back it seems the €305 came from a driver rather than Skoda.

Might have to double check that

I sent Sharon an email there after you posted the price to check
Will report back :cool: