I had an '05 Odyssey with factory lights that were far superior to those of any vehicle I've ever had. Being a bit of a fanatic about night vision, it was one of the few vehicles I've had that I did not put after market lights in.

My '05 S2K is totally at the other end of the scale. For a high performance vehicle like ours, you would think that the lighting standard would be at least as good as that for a family van!

Although I wouldn't swear to it, I think that the Odyssey had a halogen lamp for low beam, and HID for high beam. the halogen shone down the road further without blinding on coming traffic, and the HID had incredible range on high beam.

I would love to see an improvement here, cause it sure doesn't make sense to me to have second class lighting on an otherwise awesome vehicle........

 

i can't speak to the Odyssey, but i can say i have been really impressed with the s2000's head lamps. i came from a car with straight halogen's but the HIDs were real champs to me.

 

 

Yea, the S2k has some of the best HID setups across any vehicle. My ONLY complaint is that they're not bi-xenon (low and hi beam) HID.

-Matt

 

I think the S2k has some of the best forward illumination out there.

 

What you're not used to is the "cut-off line" that comes with HID lights. It provides outstanding vision but if there is anything about that "line" at night, it will be tough to see. However, Ive never once had a problem on back country roads if I just turn my brights on. For city driving at night, they're second to none IMO.

-Matt

 

i like the s2k lights the way it is... the high beam being non-hid lets me flash the idiots on the road...

 

You can't have HIDs as brights only because they need to be instant-on types, and HIDs take a sec to warm up.

Most likely the minivan's headlights are farther off the ground, so maybe they seem brighter.

 

I thought this when I first got the car, I think it's just because the car is low to the ground.?

 

No, read my other post. An HID light has a VERY sharp "cut-off" line per se. Whether or not a car is high or low to the ground doesnt make a difference as it's all relative because the seating position is in line with the ride height of the car. A regular non-HID headlight doesnt have as sharp of a cut-off line because it is not a projector type system, it's a reflection type system. This makes the light scatter in more directions, thus lighting up more of the road. However, while that may sound better, an HID system uses less energy and produces brighter light than a conventional headlight system.

-Matt