Bi-Xenon Headlights

ipodrocker

hi all Im planning to buy a new car and trying to decide whether xenon light are worth the extra on the car (its the new Golf)

What are the pros and cons of getting them instead of staying with the standard lights?

Thanks!

Anan1

Pros: You'll see a lot more.

Cons: You'll pay more.

veetwin

As above plus you won't see alot of that money back when you go to sell or trade in. Personally on a Golf I would spend the money on other extras.

listermint

Definitely get them. They are one of the only worthwhile extras TBH.

Mine has them and they are awesome

b318isp

Out of curiosity, how much are they?

I had them on an Omega and I have them on my current bimmer, and they are really superb.

ipodrocker

b318isp wrote: »

Out of curiosity, how much are they?

I had them on an Omega and I have them on my current bimmer, and they are really superb.

as an extra there are 1,562 euro

veetwin

listermint wrote: »

Definitely get them. They are one of the only worthwhile extras TBH.

They are if you put up alot of miles at night on rural roads. If you don't maybe not so much. Personally I would gain almost nothing from xenons because I don't do that sort of mileage but maybe the OP would.

Tabnabs

I had them on the last car and they were excellent. Just beware that if you have a small tip and damage one or both, it will not be cheap to replace them. Having said that, I'd love to have them on the current car.

b318isp

Mad money to be honest. You must be paying for the change in loom/headlights to take them, as the suspension sensor/ballasts/lamps wouldn't be that dear. Perhaps you could negotiate this?

It BeeMee

They came as standard on my car. The salesman told me beforehand it was like driving in daylight, which I dismissed as the usual salesman guff. But it really is as close to daylight as you can get.

listermint

Still believe they are worth it. Cant put a price on seeing the road as well with Xenons. Standard bulbs are just no comparison what so ever.

Cash is king

listermint wrote: »

Still believe they are worth it. Cant put a price on seeing the road as well with Xenons. Standard bulbs are just no comparison what so ever.

Very true I have them too and they are fantastic, I would never have a car again without them.

sebastianlieken

ipodrocker wrote: »

as an extra there are 1,562 euro

WOOOOOOOOOWWWW.... holy space-barnicales batman! that's alot of bloody money for xenons!!! No way would I tick that box!

you could buy like three good laptops for that money! .... or like one basic mac book.

alexmcred

Have them on my car purchased as an extra and can honestly say I feel I'd be lost without them. Had to drive a car with standard headlights one night and it was then that I fully understood how poor halogen headlights are in comparison I would equate it to candles versus flood lights

Cash is king

sebastianlieken wrote: »

WOOOOOOOOOWWWW.... holy space-barnicales batman! that's alot of bloody money for xenons!!! No way would I tick that box!

you could buy like three good laptops for that money! .... or like one basic mac book.

Lol a laptop isn't very useful for night time driving!

listermint

Cash is king wrote: »

Lol a laptop isn't very useful for night time driving!

no no but, three laptops are. You can turn them on and strap them to the front for illumination.

Although 1 Mac book with retina display is equivalent to Xenons i believe.

Never had them but been in cars with them and to be honest while they are good there's no way I'd pay that sort of money for them and I would regularly drive some very dark back roads. I'd rather make do with normal lights and save the money or spend it on another extra like an upgraded media pack or something like that.

Anan1

Jayson Nutty Zombie wrote: »

I'd rather make do with normal lights and save the money or spend it on another extra like an upgraded media pack or something like that.

This is a car, not a sitting room. I'll pick being able to see well over having music every time.

whomitconcerns

to agree with a lot of posters..I drive dark back roads in Wicklow a lot of weekends and they really cannot be beaten. However city driving (which i do during the week) they make little or no difference. So it really depends on what you will be doing

Anan1

Anan1 wrote: »

This is a car, not a sitting room. I'll pick being able to see well over having music every time.

But you can see fine with normal lights, we have all managed this long and normal lights are much better now than they were also.

Personally there are a lot of things I'd rather spend 1500 euro on that Xenons. Be it an improved media pack or nicer wheels for the car or just something else altogether. To be honest they would need to be at most 500 euro or even less for me to consider them if I was specing up a new car (depending on what I was spending on the car I suppose, though if I was spending big I'd imagine they would be standard)

listermint

Jayson Nutty Zombie wrote: »

But you can see fine with normal lights, we have all managed this long and normal lights are much better now than they were also.

Personally there are a lot of things I'd rather spend 1500 euro on that Xenons. Be it an improved media pack or nicer wheels for the car or just something else altogether. To be honest they would need to be at most 500 euro or even less for me to consider them if I was specing up a new car (depending on what I was spending on the car I suppose, though if I was spending big I'd imagine they would be standard)

You value looks over safety it would appear.

If you havent actually driven a car with them, its hard enough to comment tbh.

bazzachazza

Had them on last two cars don't have them on current on and I miss them big time especially full beam current halogens are like holding a candle out the window trying to see my way.

listermint

listermint wrote: »

You value looks over safety it would appear.

If you havent actually driven a car with them, its hard enough to comment tbh.

I have driven a car a number of times with them, it was an after market kit but professionally fitted and yes they were very good I just don't know if they make enough of a difference to spend big money on them.

Its not like normal properly working lights don't give good illumination of the road. You are not going to see the impossible with them, you might see something clearer but you would still have seen it with normal lights which are working and correctly aligned etc imo.

Look I'm not saying they are not very good, just personally I dont think they offer enough of a difference to spend that sort of money on. Now if they were around the 500 euro mark then they may be getting into a worth it territory.

listermint

Jayson Nutty Zombie wrote: »

I have driven a car a number of times with them, it was an after market kit but professionally fitted and yes they were very good I just don't know if they make enough of a difference to spend big money on them.

Its not like normal properly working lights don't give good illumination of the road. You are not going to see the impossible with them, you might see something clearer but you would still have seen it with normal lights which are working and correctly aligned etc imo.

Look I'm not saying they are not very good, just personally I dont think they offer enough of a difference to spend that sort of money on. Now if they were around the 500 euro mark then they may be getting into a worth it territory.

Would you consider airbags are 500 or 1500 option. if they were an option for instance.


Excuse the pun but the illumination difference is night and day. And after market HIDs dont compare.

166man

Anan1 wrote: »

This is a car, not a sitting room. I'll pick being able to see well over having music every time.

You( or I) can see perfectly fine without Xenons on the darkest of roads. Yes the Xenons are very impressive but they are not worth that kind of money when compared with standard halogen bulbs. Over €1.5k for them is ludicrous IMO.

sean1141

Jayson Nutty Zombie wrote: »

I have driven a car a number of times with them, it was an after market kit but professionally fitted and yes they were very good I just don't know if they make enough of a difference to spend big money on them.

Its not like normal properly working lights don't give good illumination of the road. You are not going to see the impossible with them, you might see something clearer but you would still have seen it with normal lights which are working and correctly aligned etc imo.

Look I'm not saying they are not very good, just personally I dont think they offer enough of a difference to spend that sort of money on. Now if they were around the 500 euro mark then they may be getting into a worth it territory.

I had projectors fitted with a good hid kit in my leon. When I changed to the mondeo with factory xenons I couldnt believe the differance. Factory ones were so much brighter and crisper lines.

I think its when you get use to xenons its hard to go back. They are ideal if you do a lot of night time driving on rural roads other than that I wouldnt think they are worth 1500 if you never had them before..

LLU

I've driven a Skoda a couple of years old which had them and would have to say I was fairly impressed by them - the dips had a razor sharp cutoff at knee level so there was no light scatter which would dazzle oncoming drivers, and gave a very nicely distributed beam everywhere it was needed.
But in my wildest dreams I would not consider them to be a grand and a half better than a good set of halogens. Personally I wouldn't throw more than €500 at them. And keep in mind that they are shockingly expensive to fix if anything goes wrong with them.
What about front fog lights, are they an option? I find that a well focused set of front fog lights are a great aid to driving on wet or narrow roads, again provided they have a sharp enough cutoff to avoid dazzling oncoming drivers.

gallag

All hid kits do is blind other motorists, hate them.

b318isp

LLU wrote: »

What about front fog lights, are they an option? I find that a well focused set of front fog lights are a great aid to driving on wet or narrow roads, again provided they have a sharp enough cutoff to avoid dazzling oncoming drivers.

Focused? Cut-off? They are low range light diffusers only for use in very foggy conditions - completely different to HIDs?

ION08

veetwin wrote: »

As above plus you won't see alot of that money back when you go to sell or trade in. Personally on a Golf I would spend the money on other extras.

I would disagree. I would see a used car with factory optioned xenons as much more desirable as one with gammy yellow halogens from the 80's.

It will make the car look a lot more modern an fresh, and i'm pretty sure that if you go for xenons, LED DRL's will come as standard.

Not to mentioned better visibility and blah blah blah.

abit off topic, but the new style Audi DRL's (like on the new A6) look amazing and really set the car off, or even MAKE the car.

Ive come across a few brand spanking new A6's wothout Xenons and, as a result, without the funky DRL's - It makes the car look piss poor, bragin spec and the driver like a bit of a tight git.

Same goes for BMW's, particularly new 5 series, with standard halogens instead of OEM Xenons & Halo's :cool:

I know in some markets, xenons are standard fare and you cant option your car without them.

Matt Simis

Is there a cheaper Xenon upgrade for just the low beams? I suspect a lot of those that replied were referring to Xenon low beams which are usually paired with Halogen high beams. This is the config of the vast majority of "Xenon" cars on the road.

Bi-Xenon lights have Xenons on both low and high beams, while they are better:

- There is a 200-500ms lag when turning them on to flash to pass etc.
- Xenon low beams combined with good Halogen high beams generally work out fine, you would have to be seriously fast to really benefit Xenon high beams (aside from the colour temp uniformity when having both bulbs lit).


My Phaeton had Bi-Xenons, impressive but it was standard on that model, I wouldnt have paid out EUR1500 to upgrade over standard Xenons (if thats whats going on here).

whomitconcerns

ION08 wrote: »

abit off topic, but the new style Audi DRL's (like on the new A6) look amazing and really set the car off, or even MAKE the car.

i luv my A6 DRLs from a useful perspective and also as they look kick ass

ION08

Also, Since standard Halogens, there have been lighting advancements like Xenons, then bettered by Full LED headlights (again Audi), and in the near future Laser beam headlights (BMW) ......

Would you really want to be driving a "new generation" car with "lighting technology" from a few generation/decades ago?

listermint

listermint wrote: »

Would you consider airbags are 500 or 1500 option. if they were an option for instance.


Excuse the pun but the illumination difference is night and day. And after market HIDs dont compare.

You cant make that comparison. You either have an airbag or you don't. You still have perfectly sufficient lights with normal Halogen bulbs.

Are you trying to argue that people who use normal Halogen lights are a danger on the roads?

MuppetCheck

I've ordered Bi-xenons on my new car. Previous car had them, current one doesn't. They are worth every penny of the asking price if you value safety.

I personally would never buy a car without them again. For anyone that does any sort of out of town driving I would urge them to seriously consider them.

ION08

MuppetCheck wrote: »

I've ordered Bi-xenons on my new car. Previous car had them, current one doesn't. They are worth every penny of the asking price if you value safety.

I personally would never buy a car without them again. For anyone that does any sort of out of town driving I would urge them to seriously consider them.

Safety reasons aside, if youre buying any new, remotely decent car I would view Xenons/BiXenons as a MUST HAVE option. Just like Air Con / Climate Control instead of 90's style manual twisty heater controls :rolleyes:

alexmcred

I see the new Leon can be ordered with LED headlights now

b318isp

ION08 wrote: »

Safety reasons aside, if youre buying any new, remotely decent car I would view Xenons/BiXenons as a MUST HAVE option. Just like Air Con / Climate Control instead of 90's style manual twisty heater controls :rolleyes:

True. We bought a secondhand Ford Galaxy Ghia with every mod-con, except HIDs. Why they were not fitted beats me, a real disappointment too for the top-of-the-range model.

ipodrocker

im very tempted to get the Bi-Xenon with the golf its whether I really see their value, as in previous posts I do a mixture of city driving and country roads driving. So far the feeling is you see the benefit of the headlights on the country roads and longer drives where the roads are not as lite up?

Matt Simis

ipodrocker wrote: »

im very tempted to get the Bi-Xenon with the golf its whether I really see their value, as in previous posts I do a mixture of city driving and country roads driving. So far the feeling is you see the benefit of the headlights on the country roads and longer drives where the roads are not as lite up?

Isnt that obvious... do you really have difficulty seeing things in lit up urban areas...?

R.O.R

Matt Simis wrote: »

Is there a cheaper Xenon upgrade for just the low beams? I suspect a lot of those that replied were referring to Xenon low beams which are usually paired with Halogen high beams. This is the config of the vast majority of "Xenon" cars on the road.

Bi-Xenon lights have Xenons on both low and high beams, while they are better:

- There is a 200-500ms lag when turning them on to flash to pass etc.
- Xenon low beams combined with good Halogen high beams generally work out fine, you would have to be seriously fast to really benefit Xenon high beams (aside from the colour temp uniformity when having both bulbs lit).


My Phaeton had Bi-Xenons, impressive but it was standard on that model, I wouldnt have paid out EUR1500 to upgrade over standard Xenons (if thats whats going on here).

Option on the Golf is:
BI-XENON HEADLAMPS & CORNERING LIGHT INCL. LED SEPARATE DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS - €1,546
Bi-Xenon headlights for low beam and high beam. Dynamic headlight range adjustment with static
and dynamic cornering light. Warning light for washer fluid level. Headlight washer system.
LED separate daytime running lights

Would be Halogen lights as standard.


For what it's worth, the Legacy I had for a few days in Jan had Xenon's. They are very nice, but for the Drogheda - Dublin - Drogheda journeys that I did, they didn't give that much extra light to warrant a €1500 upgrade. Might be different if it was all back roads in the middle of the night, but for Motorway/N Road driving (even at 04.00 in the morning) they weren't that much better than standard halogens.

ipodrocker

R.O.R wrote: »

For what it's worth, the Legacy I had for a few days in Jan had Xenon's. They are very nice, but for the Drogheda - Dublin - Drogheda journeys that I did, they didn't give that much extra light to warrant a €1500 upgrade. Might be different if it was all back roads in the middle of the night, but for Motorway/N Road driving (even at 04.00 in the morning) they weren't that much better than standard halogens.

thats the information i wanted to know as I wouldnt drive the back roads too much only the odd time a few times a month, think i will spend my cash on other extras instead!

ghogie91

Only practical extra I would definitely pay for!

langdang

alexmcred wrote: »

I see the new Leon can be ordered with LED headlights now

Actual LEDs replacing the dipped, and/or full beams, or little LED fairy lights around the lamp? Link please! I'd wager that LED full/dipped beams are currently more expensive than HID.

whomitconcerns

:D...definitely worth it for this alone

MuppetCheck

langdang wrote: »

Actual LEDs replacing the dipped, and/or full beams, or little LED fairy lights around the lamp? Link please! I'd wager that LED full/dipped beams are currently more expensive than HID.

I think LED dipped and full beams. Standard on the FR model which is actually very good value to begin with considering the other spec and engine.

MuppetCheck

Sometimes Xenon options often have additional functionality from the lighting depending on conditions. The option I went for changes the direction of the light based on certain circumstances so you are often getting more than just better lighting too.

Blazer

Its always easier to resell a car with xenons etc..especially on a golf etc..
every wanted car over in the bmw forums they always have xenon's second only to leather interior.
Then again the bmw lights are shíte..at least on the e60's.

langdang

MuppetCheck wrote: »

I think LED dipped and full beams. Standard on the FR model which is actually very good value to begin with considering the other spec and engine.

I'm impressed. From what little info I can gather on a 2g signal on a phone, they also seem cheaper than HID. Where's the catch, why aren't more cars fitted with LED full/dips? Must look into this a bit more.

MuppetCheck

langdang wrote: »

I'm impressed. From what little info I can gather on a 2g signal on a phone, they also seem cheaper than HID. Where's the catch, why aren't more cars fitted with LED full/dips? Must look into this a bit more.

I'd imagine they are costly to replace. If one LED gives up you might well have to replace the entire unit. Hopefully not though.

74merc

1500 euro for Bi-xenons is crazy, they're a 785 GBP option in the UK and even at that, I didn't spec them on my wife's Golf. I would definitely look for them in a secondhand car, so will make the car easier to sell. A much cheaper option would be to swap the standard halogen bulbs for something like Osram Nightbreakers or the like.