HID driving lights?

[SEREvince]

Anyone running HID driving lights? Why/ why not?

I found a good deal. I don't really need them, but I do plan on adding driving lights, so why pass on a good deal?

http://www.warn.com/truck/lights/hid_light.shtml

Any advantages, drawbacks to HID? I "read somewhere" that HID lights produce much more light at a given wattage with a much lower current draw than traditional lighting.

Thoughts?

Thanks

Vince

 

[adventureduo]

We are running a pair of VisionX 6500 HID's on our landcruiser. Absolutely without a doubt we love them. They blow away our HELLA's up on our rack and our OEM hi-beam lighting which both are pretty bright. Once we run with the HID's for a little while, shut them off, it feels as if we are running with no lights at all!!

Here's a few pics.. sorry, no night shots.
http://rides.webshots.com/album/558220640xHtOwW?vhost=rides

The Vision X line is one of the most affordable HID on the market. Also one nice thing about them too is that the ballast is internal so no need to find a separate place to mount the ballast. Many desert racers use them.

http://www.visionxoffroad.com/products/hid/

If you have the extra bank to spend on them.. then i say go for it. You'll love them.

EDIT: Yes you are correct about HID's drawing less power. Our HELLA's are 55watts and the VisionX lights are 35watts.

 

[ckkone]

Awesome lights but...this thread is useless without prices....

 

[adventureduo]

Awesome lights but...this thread is useless without prices....

Google?

http://www.google.com/products?q=Vision+X+6500+HID&hl=en&safe=off&um=1&sa=X&oi=froogle&ct=title

I got mine for $375 each after shopping around a bit.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Once we run with the HID's for a little while, shut them off, it feels as if we are running with no lights at all!!

Just to raise a point, this is a real problem. You need to be aware of the color balance and relatively brightness of lighting. More is better for racing, not necessarily for average people. Too much light or a harsh color will ruin your night vision and this is going to be obvious when you are looking away from the lit area, like at the side of the road or something. It also can be an issue for eye fatigue, particularly the color. Just some things to think about. This isn't necessarily uniquely HID, but HID lights commonly have these issues.

 

[hoser]

A few other advantages of HID is the bulb life is much, much longer. There is no filament to come loose either. The peripheral lighting is much better if equipped with projector lenses. The efficiency is awesome, 35 watt HID's get you 3200 lumens of output vs 55 watt halogens with 1000-1600 lumens.

The biggest disadvantage of HID lights is its color rendering. I have HID headlamps and it is clearly brighter but all colors look slightly "bland." Overall, I'll take the HID's over Halogens but in the future, when they can make the Halogen lights more efficient and with more light output, I will be switching back.

There is some good information from Daniel Stern.

 

[SEREvince]

Awesome lights but...this thread is useless without prices....

The guy is offering them for $300. Yes that's for the pair and all wiring, switches etc.

Like I said, I don't need them but that is cheaper than a nice set of non HID driving lights.

Now the next question: How hard is it to paint chrome? Those things are way too bling for my truck! I'd need to put them in the dryer for a while with a bunch of rocks before they'd really match but I figured just painting them black will be good enough.