Bi-Xenon....any good?

[Will22]

As you may know I'm looking for an S8 but some of the cars that I see for sale don't have Bi-Xenon lights.

I was wondering if they are worth it or not? To me I think that they don't look that good so is it possible to change them for a pair of light that aren't, is it just a straight swoop or am I stupid to think of doing so?

Thanks for the help.

[Chris_B]

They might look a bit strange, but the extra light of Xenon full-beams is very nice to have available. I'd keep them and live with the looks.

[Ska]

I've acyually gone the other way: I'm updated my A8 with an Aftermarket HID kit, I think Xenons are a must on these cars as the normal halogens have light out put. Having said that I know what you mean about the Bi- Xenon light clusters looking a bit Odd, Personally I would go for the extra light output trust me you'll be glad; Theres an issue with the amount of current draw from bith types of light Xenons being around 35w rated and H1 halogens around 55w so you'll draw more current from the same harness + theres bits like the balast, igniters and beam pattern to think about. I'm going to fit my HID's in this weekend and I'll post some picis to show the difference

[ronmcl]

Yes, the standard lights are pretty poor - especially on dipped beam. I've just fitted replacement bulbs from Halfords that claim to be 50% brighter and with a better pattern. They are conventional looking bulbs, but are filled with Xenon gas rather than Halogen - as opposed to the full Xenon set-up that I think you guys are referring to.

The difference is termendous. I'm sure it's still not as good as the full kit, but at £13 per bulb it's a lot cheaper and simpler. Btw Halfords have a 2 for 1 deal on these bulbs at the moment. I've forgotton the name, but they come in gold coloured boxes.

I suspect these Halfords bulbs are simply re-branded Philips 'VisionPlus'. See link below.

Philips VisionPlus

[Ska]

I think will22 is referring to the High voltage High intesity discharge light clusters that look clear

... but are those bulbs from Halfords really that good?

[AnArtist1]

I agree, my A8 sport I changed the bulbs to the brighter Philips bulbs and there was a very impressive, big difference.

My S8 has the Xenon Plus system which is exceptional. But in wet weather, some white road markings and certain signs seem not to illuminate as they should!!! V strange!!

The LED side lights from 'ultraleds.co.uk' (now they have a bulb that can hack the voltage) are excellent, people can see you coming and they match the Xenons for colour.

Hope this helps.

Pub? is ThaT thE houR, .. wOt PUb!!!

[Will22]

Sorry I wasn't very clear about what I ment. I thought that all S8's had Xenon light.

The lights that I was asking about were the ones pictured in the post by ska. I think they look funny and in my mind take away from the look of the front of the car.

My A8 had Xenon lights but I also put a HID kit on the head/full beam lights. I got the kit from Vagparts for about £250 The light from the car was great to say the least.

When I get my S8 and if it has the Bi-Xenon lights then I might change them to single xenon lights like I had on my A8 and use the kit that I have on my Saab(H7) Is it a simple swoop because if they needed to be messed around with I don't think I'll bother and will just leave them as they are.

[IT_S8]

I had a 2001 4.2 A8 with Bi-Xenons and they were fantastic. Clear & white. By Bi-Xenons, we are talking about Xenon on both dipped beam and main beam, as apposed to Xenons which is just on dipped bean, and regfualr bulbs for main beam - I was fairly sure that certainly around 1999/2000 (maybe ever newer) on the newer post facelift S8's that they came with Xenons as standard, but Bi-xenon wasn't even an option (bizarrely).... The Bi xenons are defo the ones to have. I have a pre face lift S8 now, and they wern't even available on that year, which is gutting.

My second comment is on retro fitting - I'm 99.9% sure that it is a UK legal requirement that xenon lights have both head lamp wash, and auto light level adjustment, to ensure that the bright light they generate does not dazzle other drivers. This is why you cannot get Xenons on their own on any car, and the small print always includes headlamp wash and auto level adjust...... This could be make retro fit tricky, if not illegal ??....

[Will22]

Yes but the S8 that I will buy will have Xenon lights as I'm looking for 00-02 so it will already have wash and so on. Just wanted to know if it was an easy swoop from Bi-Xenon to Xenon ie. would the plugs be the same on both?

[Ska]

Right Done It! Fitted the HID's (for show purposes only- of course )

And then there was light! and bucket loads of the stuff with a nice tasteful bluey, but not chavy!, effect.

I can actually see where I'm going now

Forget all the banter about these units and just buy a set. It doesn't take long to fit and you will be shocked at the difference(though us A8 owners will have a ball trying to find somewhere to mount the ballast/igniter unit. I left the 5w white/blue bulbs in there and against the HID projectors thay look yellow So note to myself get some LED bulbs. The kit I went for was the 8000K one. These will put an end to collecting phesants and wildlife along the A40 at 5am Higly reccomended I'll post some pics once my nieghbour has downloaded the picis from her digicam (my ones broken...OK mines just sh1t )

Oh and if any one asks I've got a bottle of evian to chuck over the bonnet to keep 'em clean

[stevebower]

Re Ska's pic, & to help Will22, I think that you show the Xenon setup with 'normal' halogen main, i.e. Not Bi-Xenon. The main is the larger round 'spot', the smaller being the sidelight. This is what I have on my 2002 S8.

I fitted the Halfords bulbs when I got the car, so don't know what the originals were like. Seems quite good, alyhough I have a peculiar beem pattern (see here: http://www.tyresmoke.net/ubbthreads/show...rue#Post710201)

Steve

[spencerbruntlett]

Has anyone fitted higher wattage bulbs, there are lots of 80W - 100W options out there but always concerned my wiring looms going to melt

I'm going for either this or the Philips vison plus for dipped and main.

Thoughts?

[Ska]

Don't think your harness will melt because everything is always designed with safety factor upon safety factor. You might want to keep an eye out on the headlamp rubber seals and the deterioration of the reflector

[spencerbruntlett]

Yeah in theory the fuse should blow before cables melt, have run 100w in previous cars without problem and they make a big improvement.

Would be good to know someone that had already done it without incident though.

[stevebower]

Re Ska's pic again - I think I dropped a bit of a 'bulb' - the Elsawin manuals DO call this the Bi-Xenon. I was confused, because the "Bi-Xenon" has an ordinary H7 main beam (er, as does the non-Bi-Xenon which it calls 'Gas Discharge'. Go figure!). Guess that the lights are the only thing bright about me ;-) Can ITS8 illuminate this discussion about light unit designations? Spence1234 also has a different type on his (see gallery)

Anyway, thats what I have and the beams are OK, aside from the strange beam pattern (see other post).

Steve

[nikw]

Spence, I run 100W Philips main beam bulbs and have done so for over a year (same bulbs) without incident. Combined with my HID dips I can always see where I'm going!

Steve, there are various terms currently used to refer to HID lights including 'xenons' (now somewhat tarnished by incandescent bulbs filled with xenon), 'HIDs' (High Intensity Discharge), 'gas discharge', 'high intensity', and so on.

All work in the same way, which is to pass high voltage electricity through a noble gas (usually xenon) which excites electrons in the gas. These electrons are thrown off in the form of photons, or light particles. The gas therefore appears to glow very brightly and can be used as a source of illumination.

As for 'bi-xenons', I believe this term is used to refer to headlights which use HID technology for both dipped and main beam. HID lights should not be switched on and off frequently (don't know why!) so bi-xenons usually work either by means of a reflector moving to switch the beam pattern from dipped to main, or in the case of the VW Lupo a shutter closes blocking the light from the main beam units. In both cases the 'bulbs' remains on constantly rather than switching on and off as demanded by the driver.

BTW, can anyone suggest why switching HIDs on and off repeatedly shortens their life? I'd guess it's something to do with the striking process

[spencerbruntlett]

Thanks for the details of the 100w bulbs, I will get some ordered )

[stevebower]

Thanks for the info - I thought that Elsa was confusing the issue. Anyone a pic of Audi A8 D2 Bi-Xenon so I know what to look for?

Re on/off switching, I think it may be because the lamps take a few secs to warm up - not ideal when you need light, fast!

Steve

[Paul]

[ QUOTE ]

BTW, can anyone suggest why switching HIDs on and off repeatedly shortens their life? I'd guess it's something to do with the striking process

[/ QUOTE ]

not sure its so much about shortening life, its the strike up /warm up time to come to full colour thats the main issue with "main beam" use.

Bixenon as you say are just a shutter infront of the bulb that moves to change the beam, it really is cheap and cheerful doorbell technology. Energise a coil, bolt inside coil moves taking arm its attached to with it, moving shutter in process.

You get a halogen bulb with it for the main beam "flash" function.

as the xenon would not strike and or come to colour quick enough to facilitate a flash other wise.

switching them on and off could i guess shorten their life, as on strike up they use more current (upto 16 amps) to do so and then drop to a lower consumtion when arc is fully established.

However a warm xenon , will strike easier than a cold one, and take less current doing so.

[Ska]

Here's how HID's look

Damned yellow side lights

[fudge]

The car HID technology is the same as that now used in video projectors. The projector bulbs have a life which varies between about 2000 hours and 4000. In the case of projectors you can extend the life on some by running the discharge bulb at a lower light output. However, my understanding is that the life is mainly affected by the startup process which consists (as NikW suggests) by striking an arc between 2 electrodes in a quartz envelope (bulb) filled with xenon gas. Each time the bulb 'strikes' to start up, the electrodes wear away by a small amount in a similar way to a spark plug wearing. This results in the electrode gap gradually increasing until, eventually, the arc will no longer 'strike'. The electrodes also wear when the arc has been struck and the bulb is on but very much more slowly. In addition, the light output takes some time (1 to 5) seconds to build up in brilliance hence, as already suggested too slow to effectively flash anyone. Apart from the problem of not being able to flash people, putting HIDs in the main beam would drastically reduce the bulb life as in ordinary driving we are constantly switching the main beams on and off to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic - this would quickly wear the electrodes in the bulb. Hence the use of a shutter in bi-xenons so the bulb can be left on.

[Paul]

Ska, im not familiar with the S8 fitment, but try and

pick up some blue vision side lights.

The w5w fit ive had in the past have the best colour match to oem xenons ive seen (about 4100K) from a halogen bulb.

Im also consideing PIAA Tera 1W LED's instead. Pics ive seen are impressive but they are very expensive .

[Will22]

I use the PIAA LED bulbs, not sure what the name of them is but they have two leds in each bulb, very white colour. The first time I used them was in my Golf that had Xenon lights. Didn't even set off the bulb failure thingy. Could not recomend them enough and I have the same set for 4 years now and I recon that I have driven around 100,000 miles in that time with my lights on for 85% of the time. I think I payed £20 for them so the cost isn't too bad when you think of it that way.

Only problem with them was when I fitted them to the Golf I found out that they will only work when turned one way as opposed to the standard bulbs that will work either way. The bad thing was that to change the bulbs on the Golf you had to remove the lights, to remove the lights you have to remove the bumper.....I put everything back on the car before I checked to see what the bulbs looked like and the drivers side wasn't working. Jesus was I pissed off or what.

[Ska]

Thnaks for the side light tips guys

But believe it or not those are blue vision side lights

I geuss I'll be trying out the PIAA LEDs, with life like that £20 isn't too bad at all; Fit and forget style

[nikw]

I also have blue vision side lights and noticed that the blue coating loses its colour over time - compare new ones with a set you've used for a year.

I've also tried LED sidelights but was so disappointed with the output that I took them back for a refund. Will22, how bright are your PIAA LEDS? Anywhere near as bright as standard bulbs?