03lights

[jdjim]

Been checking the forums about lighting. Couple questions i cant find answers on. first. sounds like the sylivania bulbs are the way to go but wondering why are some autos have the blueish tint bulbs? i like the looks of that, or does it take away from the lighting? what kind of bulbs are they? i also read something about a quad headlight mod. is there a kit for this or is it just connecting relays to power up both low and high when in high position?
second. how about leds for the tail lights? any thoughts.
also read somethings about the clicking noise from the engine, i also have that. sounds like it could be the fan. what happens when the fan goes out? I wouldnt be so concerned if it locks up, would just kill mileage untile fixed, but if it wont pull enough air could cause heating problems in summer. Thanks in advance..

[balboasdelight]

Originally Posted by jdjim

why are some autos have the blueish tint bulbs? i like the looks of that, or does it take away from the lighting? what kind of bulbs are they?

Recent models of high-end cars come with High Intensity Discharge (HID) lights. These differ from normal headlamp bulbs, in that they comprise two electrodes with Xenon gas between them. When the electrodes are energized, a plasma (sort of like a standing arc) extends through the xenon gas. HID bulbs are sometimes (erroneously) referred to as xenon bulbs due to the gas. HID bulbs have a very large luminence, or light output. Unfortunately, they tend to be in the blue end of the visible spectrum; bulb lamps have more red and orange components in the light. HID bulbs are very expensive.

As always, the aftermarket is ready, willing, and able to part fools from their money. Many manufacturers have long put small amounts of xenon gas in the bulbs, to extend filiment life. Those are now marketed as "xenon bulbs." That term is meaningless. If the bulb does not produce light by creating a plasma discharge in xenon gas, it is not a HID bulb, and calling it "xenon," even if it really has some xenon in it, is pure marketing. The gas does absolutely nothing to enhance the light-generating capability of the bulb.

The other con is to just make headlights more blue. If the HID lights are blue-ish, then blue is cool, right? Wrong. Human visual acuity is the lowest in the blue end of the spectrum. Running blue headlights just because they are blue can actually decrease your visibility. It also blinds everybody else on the road. Red light (at the opposite end of the spectrum from blue) preserves night vision -- blue destroys it. Some manufacturers put blue filters over the lights to achieve the blue tint, which means you're getting less actual light out of the bulb, due to the filtering, AND it's the light is in the worst possible spectrum for human night vision: doubly bad. It's bad enough to pay extra for hype that carries no extra performance -- when you pay extra for blue bulbs, you're buying LESS performance!

HID bulbs produce more light than standard bulbs. If you have a need for increased lighting, and don't care about blinding other drivers, shell out the bucks and get HID bulbs. Otherwise, steer clear of the current fad in aftermarket headlights. Whether advertised as "blue" or "xenon" or "high-output" or by color temperature or whatever, they're not only a waste of money over a standard headlight bulb, they detrimentally affect your night vision.

In (non-HID) headlights, blue is not cool.

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