Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
I have been observing factory installed HID headlamps for some time now and have noted a few things that have brought me to the conclusion that they are really not that great as most people believe them to be.
I absolutely love the factory HIDs on my TL. I'm so spoiled, can't stand to drive a car with normal Halogens. I'm always checking to see if the lights are on
Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
1) In anything but perfectly clear weather they are actually worse than normal halogens. The output color they project seems to reflect more and more the worse weather gets (rain, snow, sleet, fog etc) I have driven side by side with my halogens and the light splash before me was slightly brighter than the HIDs in these conditions. As well the brighter ouput seems to work against HIDs also in these types of not so clear conditions.
Mine are better in fog and rain than Halogens. They cut right though fog, I can use my brights if need be without glare.
Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
2) The cut off design differences between good halogens and HIDs is getting smaller and smaller. Side by side in traffic, the differences in cutoff are noticable but not so mentionable. The HIDs have the full intensity right up to the upper edge of the cutoff, while my 09 Corolla halogens seem to lose a bit of intensity before sharp cutoff. To me this can actually work against HIDs. (See below)
Not really as long as they're aimed right and cover the entire area. Mine also has Halogen fog lights next to the HIDs which throw a lot more light out to the sides if need be.
Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
3) The start up time of HIDs from full off to full intensity is noticeable. Not so with Halogens.
The start up time on mine is no more than 1 second, if that.
Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
4) From an oncoming car standpoint HIDs are absolutely terrible. The wierd blue hue and then rainbow weirdness as they pass is very unsettling. Also the sharp off/on effect of an HID equipped car can be like a strobe light on an uneven road. This can be very distracting and pretty dangerous to someone who didn't know how to cope with it.
The HIDs when aimed properly with a factory lens have less glare than a comprable Halogen. No comparison there. There are certain circumstances where the HIDs can be blinding on very large bumps but it's rare.
Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
The poseurs who install anything other that factory temperature (which should be lowered to 3500-4000K IMO) are only making fools of themselves, and they do it to be seen as opposed to actually being able to see- as we all know HID kits in halogen housings are a complete joke...and a bad one at that. The only plus side to HIDs would be the intensity of the low beams on a clear night vs a good set of halogens. Other than that, I prefer halogens.
I agree that anyone who goes with something other than the factory temperature is an idiot. They produce more glare, don't throw out as much light, and depth perception is worse. The other thing that gets me is the cheap HID conversion kits that use the factory lens. I just had a Civic in front of me the other day at a redlight that was [censored] me off. He had his old lenses with an aftermarket HID conversion (purple of course) and it was like I was looking into the sun.