[s-cars] HID lights group buy - $185/set delivered

[Taka Mizutani]

JR-
The 2800 lumens that OEM HID lighting produces cannot be matched by any
of the stock wattage halogen bulbs.

Furthermore, HID lighting tends to have a much more even light distribution,
eliminating hot spots and the like, much much better illumination of the
road.

$185 is an absolute bargain, although Daniel Stern strongly states that HID
conversion kits are inappropriate due to the difference in focal point
between a
conventional filament bulbs and the HID arc. See www.danielsternlighting.comfor
details in his "tech" section.

I would pay much more than $185 for HID if I didn't have it in my car and it
was
available. Fortunately, two out of four have HID- I would retrofit the HID
from the
New Beetle Convertible at a cost of $1400+ if I were driving the car daily
still.
I can't retrofit HID into the Miata due to the installation constraints and
the lack
of a decent setup for this particular lighting system. I would retrofit HID
into the
Miata if someone made a purpose-built 7" round replacement with a clear
lens,
free-form HID-specific reflector and complementary ballast mount for the
back of
the lens. The closest I would be able to get is to gut a Hella Rallye 4000
lamp and
use them as headlamps, but the beam pattern is all wrong.

Maybe that's just me, but I value lighting a lot, along with good brakes,
good tires
and good seats.

Nighttime is much darker in some places- if you've been to northern Vermont,
you'd
see what dark is all about and then have to worry about moose? I'd have a
light rack
on my cars if I lived there.

Taka

On 12/7/05, JR <audiurs4 at mailforce.net> wrote:
>
> I must be missing something about these headlights.  Is it just for
> looks or is nighttime darker in some places than others?  Am I the only
> person who finds $185 replacement headlights for headlights that already
> work, odd?  If you just have extra money laying around I have a large
> red bridge in San Francisco for sale.  :-P
>
> JR