Does anyone know if the S2000 has Standard HID or Auxiliary HID. The auxiliary run at 5400K which is the same as daylight. The standards are a little cooler. Also does anyone have a problem with the distance the low beams allow you to see? I would like to be able to see much further down the road than my low beams allow. Do I need to adjust my lights? At normal driving speeds I feel like I have to keep constant look and ready to hit my brakes because I can't see far enough down the road.

 

Don't adjust your lights, if you do you will blind oncoming traffic and make a lot of enemies at night. I don't have a problem with the low beams at night, maybe you should have your professionally checked for alignment.

 

I can't remember the exact figure off the top of my head, but I believe that the S2000's low beams burn in the ~4000K range. BTW, I thought it was illegal for a street driven car in the US to have anything above this ~4000K range? I could be wrong though.

 

I believe it is 4300 and some other manufacturers use the ones that are higher then 4300, like 5400.

 

I don't have any gripes about how far the low beams allow me to see. I drive with my headlights on all the time and can see the light reflecting off good quality reflective road signs even during mid-day with the sun out in full force (rare here in western Washington). Try driving a non-HID car as a comparison. My 94' Corsica has good quality aftermarket auxillary driving lights (PIAA 1100x) and PIAA superwhite bulbs replacing the OE bulbs in the headlights. They can't even compete with S2000's lights, even when I have the aux lights and regular headlights on together. The S2000's HID lights are so bright, I can see the future!

 

I was along side a friends 03 Lancer EVO VIII comparing the HID lights on both of our cars.. his lights (they have a manual adjustment for light height) was about 6" higher at 20 ft than my S2K's.. makes me think that OUR lights need to be adjusted higher...

 

Our suspension is also much tighter which causes the car to rock, thus when hitting bumps, oncoming traffic think you are flashing them. Also, some people already think that we have out highs on when we don't.

 

-The S2000 uses Phillips bulbs rated at ~4300K (shifts to bluer gradually as the bulbs age)
-BMWs source from OSRAM-Sylvania and their bulbs are rated a little lower on the color scale (~4100K)
-Adjust them how you like; just use a little common sense

Here's a good site for those interested in learning a lil' more about HIDs and who uses what:
http://faq.auto.light.tripod.com/car-oem-hid.htm

 

the HIDs on our cars are very good. I have absolutely no trouble seeing.

maybe they are pointed low because they are projector lamps and thus easier to blind oncoming traffic? just a thought.

 

My theories are that:

#1 The car is very low to the ground to begin with, and the beams don't point up, rather they go out in a very flat pattern. What they illuminate is VERY bright, but somewhat low.

#2 Unlike halogen lights, there is a "hard" line between where the lights shine, and where they don't. With halogens, they're bright in the middle, but then there is a fade off where you can see a fairly large area around the center illumination. With the brights on in the S2000, you get the same fade off effect, but with just low beams, and a rising road, it can be unsettling to see that black line past which there no illumination at all.

That's my story and I'm sticken to it!