[V8] HID's for V8

[too many quattros]

HID is High Intensity Discharge.  basically, it is a controlled burn inside
a glass capsule.  HIR is a Toshiba (or was it GE??) patented technology that
uses a special coating to alter the IR output of the light to cause a
hotter, whiter burn inside the bulb.  the coating is basically clear and the
bulbs, from experience, ARE AMAZING.  the Kelvin rating is down about 900+/-
from the perfect 4250-4300 of the the sun and a proper HID bulb.  There is
another company, i think phillips that uses a similar, but less sofisticated
technologies to the HIR one, that is 90% of the HIR bulb.  name slips me
right now, but i do have them in my BMW and they too are stunning bulbs.  i
can find the name when i have more time if anyone wants to know.

ROGER, you are a good guy, but i have to admit, I TOTALLY disagree with you
in saying you put more power in a DOT light and all u get is a horrid,
bright light.  My ford E350 with composite headlamps has 90/130 relayed
bulbs (narva).  yes, the cut off is not E code, but those lights are
STUNNING.  REALLY, REALLY good.  almost as good as any e-code i have ever
installed.  If there were euros available for it, i would not upgrade.  they
are that good.  my v8q, pre E code days had a similar deal.  Relayed, high
quality, high power bulbs.  No probs at all.  In fact, my euro highs are
only marginally better then my DOT highs were.  the list goes on and on.
for every audi i have ever owned that had DOT lenses, they were good, if not
great relayed and quality high power bulbs.  the one exception was a modern
chevy truck.  BAD, really bad.  so bad i bought a Xenarc kit for it.  now,
it is fine.  anyway, i think a lot of it has to do with the starting quality
of the lights.  for work, i rent a lot of cars.  i can attest to the fact
that DOT lights have come a long way.  Even a shitty malibu has reasonable
lights now adays.  if i was forced to own one, mine would be relayed with
high power bulbs (assuming i felt the housings could handle the heat)!






Shayne

PARTING:  1972 Mercedes Benz 280 SE 4.5
PARTING:  1986 Audi 4000 CS quattro


> I was under the impression that HID used a xenon gas and a special bulb,
> not just super-hot halogen bulbs.  Don't they call that HIR or
> something?  Or is HID just a generic term?
> 
> ~Scott S.
> 
> Ron Wainwright wrote:
> 
>> HIDS use less power to through more light.
>> 
>> Ron
>> 
>> --- Roger Woodbury <rmwoodbury at roadrunner.com> wrote:
>> 
>>  
>> 
>>> I confess that I haven't been faithfully reading all
>>> of the posts in this
>>> most current thread, but I wanted to pose a question
>>> regarding the
>>> retrofitting of V8 headlights with HID equipment.
>>> 
>>> What is going to be gained, I wonder?  Won't it
>>> depend entirely on which
>>> headlight assembly is being used?  If you install
>>> (somehow) a much more
>>> powerful light source inside a regular USDOT
>>> headlight shell, it seems to me
>>> that all you will get is a much brighter terrible
>>> headlight.  
>>> 
>>> If the headlight is a European shell, then HID stuff
>>> will be, what, brighter
>>> than 130 watt halogen H4 plus, say a 100 H3?  Why?
>>> Aside from being totally
>>> obnoxious to that totally obnoxious Ford F250 driver
>>> who won't dip...or
>>> maybe that incredibly stupid broad in the Subaru
>>> Forrester who has her fog
>>> lights on and high beams on all the time by
>>> definition, I doubt that the
>>> light "throw" is any better nor has any better beam
>>> pattern.
>>> 
>>> The problem with US DOT headlights is the beam
>>> pattern that is in the lens
>>> primarily.  Poor focus, poor light distribution and
>>> little differentiation
>>> between high and low beam aside from the difference
>>> in aiming of the high
>>> beam filament.
>>> 
>>> I was reading the Maine DOT vehicle inspection
>>> procedure manual yesterday,
>>> and I can see how it will become impossible for a
>>> TYPE 44 Audi to pass
>>> inspection at some point just due to the fact that
>>> the car is an older Audi.
>>> IF the inspection station ever gets around to
>>> actually looking at the
>>> headlights in my car, it will an automatic
>>> rejection.  
>>> 
>>> Roger