xenon lamps in prius ????

[plnf]

Hi guys another time, your friend from Poland, does the new prius got the xenon lamps (option?) ?

THX

[jdub96]

Depending on the option package that you choose they come with HID headlamps.

[lillucas]

yes, it gets xenon lamps as an option inside packages

i think package 7 comes with that

[jdub96]

Xenon and HID are two completly different types of lights.

Xenon head-lights are those new bright blue lights we see on the road. Heating of a filament results in a small part of visible light (classic light-bulbs). Heating of a gas results in a narrow range of visible light. Make a spark in the xenon gas and you have a xenon light.

HID (High Intensity Discharge) can be explained here:

http://www.hidkits.com/faqs.htm

[lillucas]

looks like the Prius has both then

[jdub96]

I can't find anything about Xenon Headlights, but on the toyota website is talks about the HID headlights in option package #s 7 & 9.

Prius Options

[lillucas]

i think they really are the same

[jdub96]

I am not trying to argue, but trust me they aren't the same.

The lights that are on the new BMWs, Audis and such are HID.

The lights that people put on there riced out Civics and such are Xenon.

The technology it totally different and so are the light bulbs themselves.

This is a HID light:




And this is a Xenon light:

[lillucas]

i believe the one's fitted onto civics and such are just bright whites that you can get for like 20 dollars

if audi uses HID, then xenon and HID are the same because i have 4 Audis and its called xenon on there

[lillucas]

i dont really know, do you have a site that compares the difference?

[filbertman]

jdub is correct.

Halogen = standard car headlight
Halogen/Xenon = bright white/cool blue/HID-looking headlights on hondas (like mine) for $20
HID = fancy BMWs, Audi's, Lexii, Acuras...

When HID technology came to cars, that is the same time that halogen/xenon technology came to cars. and since xenon is designed for HID-look (higher temp/kelvin light) there is a lot of confusion.

HID does NOT equal XENON. A lot of people think they are the same, but it is b/c the term xenon has been using incorrectly for years.

read:
http://www.coolbulbs.com/faq.asp

excerpt talking about cool white/xenon halogen lights:

Our Nokya Arctic White bulbs produce about 5000°K and our Arctic Purple bulbs are about 7000°K the difference is huge.

This increase was achieved two ways, first these bulbs use a more tightly wound spiral filament made of finer wire in a precise mixture of halogen and xenon gasses that is under much higher pressure than a normal halogen bulb. The presence of xenon gas under high pressure provides an increased rate of halogen regeneration resulting in a very intense light. Depending on the design, a 55-watt version of this type of bulb can produce the equivalent output to an 85-watt or higher standard halogen bulb but without the amperage draw and heat of the standard 85 watt bulb. These new high output bulbs are becoming increasingly popular because they offer amazing output at relatively low amperage draws and heat generation.

The other important technology at work here is the tinted glass. A "High Intensity White" coating. This coating has a pale bluish tint to the glass to filter out the yellow spectrum light producing a light that simulates the ultra white color temperature of H.I.D. lamps

[filbertman]

also... it's quite possible that the PRIUS does have xenon lights as well... these would be the standard halogen lights used on high beams. usually HID is not used in high beam b/c of the "warm-up" time associated with HID, making instant-on and quick flashing difficult (and not good for the long term life of the HID). So it's quite possible that the prius uses HID for main headlights and halogen/xenon for high beams. Also, HIDs run cooler and use less electricity than halogen/xenons... so HIDs would make more sense for the Prius.

[jdub96]

Originally Posted by filbertman

also... it's quite possible that the PRIUS does have xenon lights as well... these would be the standard halogen lights used on high beams. usually HID is not used in high beam b/c of the "warm-up" time associated with HID, making instant-on and quick flashing difficult (and not good for the long term life of the HID). So it's quite possible that the prius uses HID for main headlights and halogen/xenon for high beams. Also, HIDs run cooler and use less electricity than halogen/xenons... so HIDs would make more sense for the Prius.

Thank you for bringing a 3rd party into this.
That is quite possible, and if that's the case I stand somewhat corrected.
Depending on what option you choose you could have HIDs or not as I stated above and quite possibly the standard option is Xenon, the only Prius' I have seen had the HIDs.

[lillucas]

mmm.. i hear they are self-leveling HID that turn on and off automatically

[filbertman]

i hate automatic lights. self-leveling is cool. But in my STi, I can pivot them myself from inside the car!