you can instantly tell xenon-equipped cars on the road b/c the lights are so blue & intense... but i've always wondered, does anyone have hard numbers data for xenon vs halogens?? is the actual lumens difference in actual illumination smaller than we think, and we're "wow'ed" by the xenons and perceive they are much brighter because of the blue xenon light??

 

i remember reading somewhere that the light produced by hid's is close to natural sunlight which is optimal for the human eye.

 

HID's do come in different color temperatures. There is much more than the 'impression of brightness' going on (which is still a plus).

They are also available in different wattages. My impression is typical modern 35 watt projector HID's output as much or more than 100W halogens (e.g. PIAA bulb). HID's need to be directly a little differently than halogens (seems a sharper cut-off required to not blind other drivers).

Look for HID retrofit threads (not S2000's obviously) and many will show you their before/after beams, either against a wall or at night on a road. Big difference.

 

Most HID bulbs in cars today have 3200 lumens of output at 4100 kelvin temp.

Regular halogen lowbeam bulbs are around 1200 lumens (not sure about the kelvin temp)

http://faqlight.carpassion.info/retro-vs-oem.htm
http://faqlight.carpassion.info/hl-hid-bulbs.htm

 

Driving around my Contour with regular halogen headlights I keep getting the feeling that my lights aren't even on and feel like I can't see! I miss my HID's, is it April yet?

 

I love HID's minus one thing. Cutoffs. With all projector style headlights equipped with HID lights the cutoffs are too sharp. It gets kinda gnarly when driving on a dark undulated road.

 

but without the cut off

nobody from on coming traffic can see a thing

maybe make a aux light when people need to read road sign in the dark or something

 

i think it also matters how how the reflector or projector is putting out the beam

if its designed for a certain bulb, better to stick to that

retrofit is the best way to go if upgrading to HID