What is DRL (Daytime Running Lights)?
What does DRL mean?
Daytime running lights. If a vehicle has DRL, the main intension is that as long as the engine is running, lights will come on automatically.
Where is DRL usage mandatory?
Canada and forty other countries under ECE regulations. Not required in the US, which means that some vehicles has and some don’t, which worsens the safety standpoint. ECE regulations also require parking and tail lights to be operational. Canada has not adapted that portion.
What are the pros of DRL usage?
Studies showing that collision rates decreases.
Oncoming traffic will see you better.
What are the cons of DRL usage?
Continue reading »
HID/Xenon Technology
HID xenon bulbs are quite a recent development in automotive lighting technology. The HID stands for High Intensity Discharge, which refers to the unique way in which the bulbs produce their light. Unlike ordinary halogen headlight bulbs, HID xenon bulbs do not contain a conventional metal filament, so in order to ignite the xenon gas and metal halide within the glass bulb a very high voltage spark is needed which is delivered by two electrodes.
The high voltage that is used to generate the spark is around 20,000 volts, which is considerably higher than a car’s normal 12 volt supply and so a metal box, called a ballast unit, is fitted to help boost the voltage. Once the spark has been generated and the bulb is illuminated the voltage drops down to a steady 85 volts.
The xenon gas belongs to the group of elements known as the noble gases, and is held within a single sealed glass tube above the base of the bulb. When ignited the xenon helps to produce a light that is 300% brighter than halogen, and because the light is also much whiter it more closely resembles natural daylight.
Do I Need a Wiring Harness?
HID conversion kit will include a complete wiring harness that will literally plug directly into your OEM headlight harness via proper mating connectors. The harness provided will include upgraded fuses and relays to ensure that the ballasts always receive a constant 12V. Powering ballasts directly from the OEM headlight harness can cause your HID lights to flicker on occasion due to the fact that the power supplied from the OE headlight harness can fluctuate.
Halogen bulbs can accomodate this voltage drop as the light will just dim. HID lights cannot; as a result, they will flicker thus resulting in premature failure. Unlike many HID conversion kits on the market, our HID kit will use a dual harness set up that will provide each ballast its own fuse and relay. Should a fuse/relay ever fail only one side will be effected vs both lights going out.
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Whats a HID Cutoff Line?
The projector headlights have projector lens that create a cut off line of light. This HID cutoff line allows projector lens to put as much light on the road without jeopardizing the safety of on coming traffic. All the light output is below the cut off which is below oncoming traffics eyes, making for a safe trip. Have you even try to drive by a HID equipped projector car and notice how you get a blue “flicker” but the light output is white? This effect actually is the color along the cutoff. The projector lens bend the light creating a blue line above the cutoff making it appear blue; however the bulbs are NOT blue like 8000 HID Kit.
The reason that the projector lens create cutoff pattern is because we want to avoid putting too much light to the upcoming traffic; therefore, there are different cutoff pattern for left hand drive and right hand drive countries. We will show the appropriate cutoff pattern for left hand drive and right hand drive below, if you are US or Canadian drivers, you should use the DOT cutoff pattern (the ECE LHD pattern is for European Left Hand Drive countries); if you are located in European countries that are left hand drive, please refer to the ECE LHD cutoff line pattern, if you are located in European countries that are right hand drive, please refer to the ECE RHD cutoff line pattern.
Colour Temperature Misconceptions
A common misconception on HID lights is the meaning of the kelvin rates, most people think going to a higher rate will give them a brighter bulb when actually it refers to the color temperature of the light that is being emitted.
For instance a lot of customers ordering the 30000k bulbs believe that its the brightest option for them, when actually its something non related to brightness , Higher color temperatures (5,000 K or more) are called cool colors (blueish white); lower color temperatures (2,700–3,000 K) are called warm colors (yellowish white through red).
The Best HID kits range from 3000k a yellow tone to 8000k a blue tone, it really depends on the preference of the costumer whether the costumer would like something similar to a halogen bulb, or wants a different look.
Remember the HID headlamp light sources (bulbs) offer substantially greater luminance and luminous flux than halogen bulbs — about 3000 lumen’s and 90 mcd/m2 versus 1400 lumen’s and 30 mcd/m2, no matter what color temperature you chose.
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What Is a Xenon/HID Light?
Xenon gas might sound like an otherworldly substance, but it’s found right here in the earth’s atmosphere. You can see it in hospitals, airports, theaters and highways. Xenon lights for personal use, most commonly in automobile headlights, are still a pricey option and remain far outnumbered by the more commonly used halogen bulbs. As technologies improve, the energy savings and visibility improvement offered by xenon lights could someday make them the lights of choice for drivers.
About Xenon
Xenon is a colorless, odorless gas that occurs naturally in trace amounts of the earth’s atmosphere. It is the 54th element on the periodic table, with the symbol Xe, and is one of six elemental gases known as the noble gases. The noble gases–which also include helium, neon, argon, krypton and radon–all are stable and nonreactive elements because of their chemical structure. Xenon is a heavy gas, and breathing it in causes the voice to lower in pitch, much like the light helium raises the voice’s pitch. While xenon itself is non-toxic, it can cause anesthesia and suffocation when inhaled.
HID Bulbs vs Halogen Bulbs
If you are looking to replace your current halogen bulb headlights with the bright HID Xenon Bulb headlights that you often see on new luxury type vehicles, hopefully this will help you understand the difference between HID bulbs and Halogen bulbs
What is HID ?
HID, High Intensity Discharge, (also known as Xenon) refers to lighting technology that relies on an electrical charge to ignite xenon gas in sealed bulbs, similar to the lightning phenomenon in the sky. HID lighting does not have a filament but instead creates light by igniting an electrical discharge between two electrodes in an air tight tiny quartz capsule filled with xenon gas. HID lighting are also called Xenon lighting, referring to the gas inside the bulb.
Are HID Kits Right For Your Car?
HID stands for High Intensity Discharger and HID kits are used for upgrading a vehicle’s headlights. Some of the benefits of this modification include low power consumption and a better intensity of light. Many companies have recognized the worth of HID lights and therefore these lights are part of almost all new car and truck models. However, if you have an old car and would like to improve its performance then installing an HID conversion kit can prove to be a great modification. Buying these kits from a reputable car parts manufacturer is a good option to avoid legal issues and other reliability problems.
It has been found that HID lights produce up to 3 times more light than simple halogen bulbs which are factory installed. Furthermore, they require only 35 Watt power as compared to 55 Watt required by halogen bulbs. The technology used in these types of headlights is somewhat different and the functionality is optimized to bring about a positive change to your car’s performance. Reliable manufacturers provide waterproof and shockproof HID kits to their customers that can last for many years to come. Many people want to install these kits as they are not only cost effective but are also very easy to install.
Sometimes Aftermark HID Bulbs are better then OEM Bulbs
I recently purchased XenonDepot’s new Xtreme 5000K HID bulbs for my 2007 IS350 and finally got to install them this past weekend. I wanted to post a review for a two reasons: 1) they’re brand new (just recently added to the website) and I think very few if any CL members have them yet, and 2) I know there’s a demand out there for a 5000K bulb as an alternative to the stock bulbs.
When I bought the car, I didn’t really like the stock bulbs; the look and color was a little too dull and yellowish. The dullness I perceived could have been influenced by the fact that these bulbs had been on the car for 4 years and 60k miles, and so they could have been showing some wear in quality and color of output. I wanted to swap them out, so I started looking on CL and it seemed in every thread I read on the subject, the unanimous recommendation was 6000K bulbs. I saw pictures of them and even in person and while they looked good in some applications, they were too blue for my personal taste.
Don’t Get Left Behind With Halogen Bulbs!
The same basic sealed-beam incandescent-bulb headlights that illuminated the road in front of the Ford Model T in 1908 were standard equipment for many vehicles until the early 1990s. These headlights were simple, and they served the automotive industry well for half a century. Fifteen years ago, lighting technology took a leap forward with the invention of “high-intensity discharge” (HID) automotive headlights. In North America, they first appeared on the 1991 BMW 7 Series. Today, as costs decrease, HID headlights are becoming available on at least some models from nearly every major manufacturer.