| Author |
Message |
    
Neal Glessner (Nealg)
| | Posted on Sunday, February 17, 2002 - 11:07 pm: | 
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I just blew a headlight bulb and was thinking about replacing with Xenon bulbs. I saw some on ebay? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/awcgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1804731270
Are these for real? What do they mean "white look"?
Are there better alternatives? |
Disco Dad
| | Posted on Monday, February 18, 2002 - 12:37 am: |
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I have a set of HID PIAA replacement bulbs, Clear clean bright light. No night driving problems. These burn cooler and draw less amps than the cheepie halogens
I was a bit skeptical at first, but worth every penny I spent on them. Same ones on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1804583763&r=0&t=0 |
jay caragay (Jcaragay)
| | Posted on Monday, February 18, 2002 - 01:25 am: |
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I have to wonder about those PIAA's. My brother tried them and they didn't last very long, plus their HID spec is questionable. Those housings that are true HIDs go for hundreds of dollars with different power supplies, so I don't know if replacement bulbs can be the same.
As for myself, I went with Sylvania Cool Blue replacement bulbs for my D1. I just wanted to get that bluish look to hang with the import racers...
It works decently and only cost about $30. |
Neal Glessner (Nealg)
| | Posted on Monday, February 18, 2002 - 02:40 am: |
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Jay,
It's funny you mentioned blue bulbs. They are the reason why I posted my question. (I'm being cautious)
I was on a road trip in a friend's pontiac that had blue bulbs. I liked them until we got in the fog. The blue light tinted the lines on the road. What was usually a white line became light blue and it made it hard to see where you were going in the fog. We ended up replaceing the old bulbs in the rain on the side of the road. I hope you have better ones that we had. |
chrisvonc
| | Posted on Monday, February 18, 2002 - 07:36 am: |
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I had a set of the PIAA's as well. They lasted less than a year. Very bright though. I almost never needed to use the high beams. The downside is that I made a lot of people unhappy on the highways at night. Got lots of flashing and not the good kind.
Chris von C. |
Dean Brown (Deanbrown3d)
| | Posted on Monday, February 18, 2002 - 07:56 am: |
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Neal,
There are 2 types of xenon light:
1) Halogen bulbs pressurized with xenon gas so that the filament does not 'boil off' so fast and can therefore run hotter / whiter / brighter. The glass is thicker on the expensive ones. I have the 80/80W versions made by piaa and they are good. Mine also have a bluish glass to give them a better more fancy look, but its not like real HID.
2) Real discharge (HID) bulbs that don't have any filament, only an empty-looking quartze tube filled with xenon gas. These types give you the hugely intense blue look of some expensive cars like the Benzes. They generally have a special power supply that ups to 1000's of volts, and cost approx $500 per bulb. They can't just replace the existing bulbs directly.
3) Pep boys and KMart sell normal halogens with blue glass for $10-15. These are what you want if you just want the fancy blue look. I had them for a while, but wanted more brightness, so I changed them for the piaas.
Dean |
gp (Garrett)
| | Posted on Monday, February 18, 2002 - 08:03 am: |
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i have the bulbs mentioned above in deans comments in #1. (mine are not the PIAA's) got them on ebay over a year ago and have been very happy with them. i thought they were kinda 'hoaky' at first, but what i like most is the true white color of the light. they are certainly brighter too and supposidly last longer.
there are some on ebay that have a year + warranty on them as well. and for $25 or so i would certainly buy them again. |
Tad
| | Posted on Monday, February 18, 2002 - 08:05 am: |
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We (I) bought a set of the "blue bulbs" from e-bay as well. Put them in Margie's Disco and like them well enough. That is except in falling snow where they seem too white. We haven't had fog in a while, but that season is coming soon.
So I guess I'm 50/50 on them.
Tad |
Disco Dad
| | Posted on Monday, February 18, 2002 - 11:33 am: |
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Well i hope my PIAA last more than a year, It was making on coming traffic a bit mad but I turned down the beam angel a bit. These work great in the snow and fog. As for being a true HID the specs have lived up to the market claims. I had the Sylvanias not even close to the clarity and power. When you kick in the High Beams don�t be oncoming traffic, it makes the mountain passes nice to drive at night. I have not noticed it harming the plastic housing at all. |
Mel A.
| | Posted on Monday, February 18, 2002 - 07:37 pm: |
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I know Sylvania makes a enire headlamp replacement kit consisting of HID lights with self leveling for a lot of trucks/cars. I'm not sure if they sell one for the Disco. Both of my parents cars have factory Hella HID's and they are great in all weather conditions. Especially in the fog, the beam diverges and cuts right through the fog. |
Craig M. Highland (Shortbus)
| | Posted on Monday, February 18, 2002 - 08:04 pm: |
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This should clear it up:
http://www.hids4less.com/faq.htm
Only problem is that there is no dualbeam HID yet. I've spoke with the above company a few times in the last year about a dualbeam HID that is still in the works, but nothing yet. If someone is looking for fancy look-a-like replacement bulbs, don't get any color tint to them. Colored headlight bulbs lose about 20-30% of their output compared to a 'white' bulb.
FWIW-
Craig |
Neal Glessner (Nealg)
| | Posted on Monday, February 18, 2002 - 09:16 pm: |
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Thanks! I ordered a set. I'll post my results. |
Dean Brown (Deanbrown3d)
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2002 - 08:19 am: |
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Neal did you go for the stage 1 or 2? Aren't you bothered by loosing the high-beams?
In summary, for those interested, the real HID conversion is $550 for 2 headlights and they only have low beams - highs are disabled. Bulbs plug in and the balast bolts on anywhere nearby.
Dean |
Neal Glessner (Nealg)
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2002 - 12:26 pm: |
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I ordered the ones in my above ebay link. (the cheapies) I should have high and low beams. |
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