| Author |
Message |
    
F.J. (Rovercon)
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 27, 2002 - 11:37 pm: | 
|
I was wondering if anyone is using Xenon headlights on their Discos? I saw someone selling some on ebay for around $18 for two bulbs and I thought that it may be a good thing on the trails since they are supposed to be brighter than the normal hollogen ones.
Any comments? |
Neal Glessner (Nealg)
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 27, 2002 - 11:48 pm: |
|
I got a set a and put them in. Haven't used them yet. Keep an Eye out for my update. |
Blake Luse (Muddyrover)
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 27, 2002 - 11:49 pm: |
|
i had some on my blazer that i used to have and i thought they were worse than factory
the light looks kewler more bluish and when you look into the headlight during the day when the lights are off it makes the reflectors in your light reflect blue making it look as if your lights were blue but that is cool
as far as the actual performance of the light is concerned they really suck i had dim and bright xenons in there and i could barely see at night on the road unless street lights were on
IMHO don't get them
invest in some hella's or piaa's for extra light because these will only make you sorry you purchased them
i know i was |
Neal Glessner (Nealg)
| | Posted on Thursday, March 28, 2002 - 12:17 am: |
|
I got mixed reviews when I posted the same question. I figured no big deal-$20. Search here for some other strings on topic. I got the white bulbs not the blue ones. I also had bad experienc with the blue ones. |
Craig M. Highland (Shortbus)
| | Posted on Thursday, March 28, 2002 - 12:55 am: |
|
../17/241.html"#444444"> |
michael burt (Mikeyb)
| | Posted on Thursday, March 28, 2002 - 01:40 am: |
|
i had an audi that had zenon HID's and they were the greatest, but it was a $500 option. any replacement bulb worth $20 bucks would make me doubt it's real value. if they make a replacement light system that was HID, then i would buy them in a heatbeat, but $20 bulbs, i doubt they work the same. |
marty amedeo (Marty)
| | Posted on Thursday, March 28, 2002 - 07:24 am: |
|
I use the Xenon bulbs with E-code headlamps on my 97 Disco with no problems. The light is greatly improved and I'm very happy with them.
Marty |
JEEPETR
| | Posted on Thursday, March 28, 2002 - 07:56 am: |
|
Michael,
You can get True HID Conversions for your stock headlamp housing, but keep in mind you will loose your high beam, as the Discovery uses a Dual Filament H4 bulb. Try www.hid4less.com, or www.autoindulgence.com/realhid.htm. Either will supply you with a kit consisting of HID capsules with H4 Bases, and ballast and wiring kits.
One caution. Some say that these kits, while true HID, do not do a very good job of lighting, and cause unnecessary irritation to oncoming drivers. The reason is that the headlamp assemblies, and lenses were not designed to work with the lighting capsules. The H4 bulb�s filament runs from side to side within the bulb, not lengthwise as the electrical arc does within the HID Capsule. Providing well controlled light is a function of perfectly placing the light source within the reflector/lens assembly. If you don�t, then you scatter more of the light produced than you put controlled on the road. This is the biggest drawback to consider in my opinion. I even considered wiring up auxiliary lights to the high beam circuit to combat the loss of High Beam, but was turned away by the fact that these kits do not provide good control of the light source.
As for the �HID� halogen bulbs, they are a joke. Some actually have some Xenon gas component within the bulb, which helps to brighten the output ever so slightly. Most are simply bulbs with a Blue tint to �Color� the light to look like HID. These bulbs only reduce the output of light, and really, really suck in bad weather. My Advice, FWIW, buy European Code Headlamp assemblies (Under $100 a pair), a good High Performance Wiring Loom ($85 from IPF) and Good Halogen Bulbs (80w low, 100, 130 watt high) and you will love your headlamps.
~Scott T.
'95 D-90 (JEEPETR)
'96 Discovery (5-Speed) |
todd
| | Posted on Thursday, March 28, 2002 - 08:24 am: |
|
what is so great about the E-code assemblies?
Todd |
Bill Bettridge (Billb)
| | Posted on Thursday, March 28, 2002 - 08:37 am: |
|
The "E" code headlamps are the Eurpoean spec and have much fewer diffraction lines cut into the lense compared to a DOT lamp. The result is a beam which projects much further ahead and is not so diffused to the sides.
Bill |
Leslie N. Bright (Leslie)
| | Posted on Thursday, March 28, 2002 - 08:42 am: |
|
Also, there is a different cut-off... while allowing brighter light on the road, the cut-off keeps the brighter light from being as bright up off the road, in the face of oncoming drivers.
E-code is better than DOT, just not legal since it isn't DOT. But, who's gonna know??
-L |
michael burt (Mikeyb)
| | Posted on Thursday, March 28, 2002 - 11:52 am: |
|
Hey Scott,
i agree that light placement is key...the audi focused the light so well that you could see the "edge" of the light on the road. i loved them while i drove the car and missed them after i sold it. there were only a few motorists that flashed their lights at me while coming down the road in the audi and (living in poser car dallas) i have never personally had a problem approaching a bmw, mercedes, or audi with them on...
but i have wondered if a sport ute's (i dont think i have noticed bmw's sport utility van at night yet)taller headlamp height would place more light on the rearview mirror of autos in front of you. and i agree that getting true xenon HID is much more than just bulbs.
it is an upgrade i will follow, but i don't think i will make any changes until it is better spec'ed for the disco. the halogens work fine and if you are in such need for brighter lights on the highway, then maybe you should slow down...or buy a bmw.
mike |
Todd Phenneger
| | Posted on Friday, March 29, 2002 - 10:53 pm: |
|
I have two question and a few comments.
1) Where can you get E-Code lamps for a Discovery and how much are they for a set.
2) HAs anyone run 80/100 watt bulbs in a stock housing US discovery? (YES, mine are relayed with 10ga wire going to them :-)
As for Xenon lights. Its a very mis-used term. A good friend and I have done much research and experimentation on this subject. Trying MANY different bulbs. Our conclusions have held true for both Stock wattage drop in replacements and High wattage H4's on relayed systems and E-code lenses.
Basically, buy nice bulbs with a good gas and NO coatings. What I mean is, get bulbs with either Xenon or Krypton Gas in them. Both are from the Halogens gas family but have even better properties than Halogen. THey keep the filiment cooler which makes it last longer and also makes for a brighter and whiter light. Krypton bulbs are fairly new but seem to work every bit as well as Xenon if not better.
Part 2 of this is to get clear bulbs. ANY coating will take away light just like a tint job on windows. And it tints the light (usually blue) which is bad for night vision. While real HID lamps appear blue to oncoming drivers they are not actually blue, they are a very bright white with a very high color temperature. So buy clear bulbs.
The last thing is to buy European of German if you can. THe Korean made bulbs most definately seem to blow sooner and often times dont give quite as good of a beam pattern.
Our Favorite is NARVA. I'm running NARVA 100/130w H4's in my Audi and LOVE them. Better beam pattern than with my Hella Bulbs and they are slightly brighter.
YMMV, take this with a grain of salt but we have dont a LOT of research. Hope that helps someone.
l8r
Todd Phenneger |
OffRoadDisco
| | Posted on Friday, March 29, 2002 - 11:09 pm: |
|
For $18 a bulb these are not Xenons. Expect to pay over $800 for true Xenons with the ballasts. |
Craig Kobayashi (Koby)
| | Posted on Saturday, March 30, 2002 - 12:01 am: |
|
Todd, where'd you buy your NARVA bulbs? |
marty amedeo (Marty)
| | Posted on Saturday, March 30, 2002 - 08:34 am: |
|
I got my E-code lamps with Narva H-4's from Performance Unlimited www.puma-access.com |
David Dryden (David914)
| | Posted on Saturday, March 30, 2002 - 09:28 am: |
|
I haven't got E-codes for our Disco (yet), but I run them on our other cars and love 'em. One caveat though. If you live in a state that does vehicle inspections, there's a good chance that you'll get busted for not having DOT lights come inspection time. They look for two things; one is the letters "DOT" embossed on the glass, and the other is the three "alignment nubs" that are molded in on the front of the glass. I've gotten busted a couple of times while getting my inspection, so once a year I swap headlights and get my inspection, then come home and swap them back. It's a pain, but at least I'm sure that I won't get a rejection sticker out of it. |
PerroneFord
| | Posted on Saturday, March 30, 2002 - 10:00 am: |
|
The Hella Vision Plus are DOT and supposedly have the same light pattern as an E-Code and are priced similarly. I'd look into those if I were you.
-P |
Paul T. Schram (Paulschram)
| | Posted on Saturday, March 30, 2002 - 09:28 pm: |
|
Todd:
Xenon and Krypton and Noble gases, not Halogens. They may fluoresce, but at lower voltages and itensities.
Paul |
|
Closed: New threads not accepted on this page