I have original xenon light bulbs in my 2004 car. Why? They just haven't failed.

I always thought they are quite good, until now.

I just bought a brand new Mini Copper with LED's as my second car.

Blimey! My Mini's LED lights made my Porsche lights look like halogens! They are seriously brighter.

Do our bi-xenon lamps age and lose brightens? Should I replace the bulbs? Some say xenon's lose brightness with age then again some say they don't. Did anyone replaced the bulbs and can shed some light on real-world findings? Is there a notable difference?

I just can't believe that car light technology leapt ahead that far?

Also, I thought LED's are less bright than Xenon's and slot between Xenon's and halogen's brightness wise?

Thanks.

 

They definitely age and lose brightness. I've read a few conflicting cases but general thought seems to be they start diminishing after 5 years and are shouldn't go much longer then 10.

Time to replace them (it's been on my list to do)


My wife's MDX has LED's, those things are brighter then any HID i've been around.

 

old tech.......we used to swap bulbs out on the e46 m3, even the projectors to the acura TSX ones (way better).

its not so much age of the unit but age of the tech....

you can not compare a light made in 2001-05 to something made in 2015+

 

Tech yes, but HID's diminish output overtime.....

 

yes HID bulbs lose their lumens output over time/use, our projectors are still considered goodstuff...the 'RS6' projector.
There are a number of 'performance' bulbs available to further improve output
Make sure you play with the height/aim settings as well

 

Requires a long T handle allen key doesn't it? I really need to do this on my car.

 

Hmm, I have the same bulbs we use in a Subaru I retrofitted. I'll have to line them up and see if they're much brighter, mine have likely never been replaced either!

 

I had my headlamps retrofitted 3 years ago with evo-xr projectors, zkw-r clear lens and Osram Xenarc CBI's. The light out put is simply amazing. The light cutoff looks very sharp and has the perfect color flikr. Retrofitsource.com did the retrofit for me. I never ended up getting them adjusted pefectly though so my cutoff is slightly odd. I should reconsider aligning them though, But remember having a hard time.

here is my original thread

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...it-source.html

 

You sure do need an extra long Allen key! I found these on Griot's after trying every local tool vendor. Wera brand. Regular "long" set shown for comparison. The Wera one is just long enough.

 

The problem with the aim adjustment is that you can fail MOT test wher I live. Every time I pass my car's technical exam they wheel height adjuster trolley in front of my lamps. If it's set too high it's a fail.

 

Just came across this. Wondering if it's true?

Yes. They output less light and colorshift as they age.

0 hours = 3200 lumens (100%)
200 hours = 2880 lumens (90%)
1000 hours = 2560 lumens (80%)
1500 hours = 2400 lumens (75%)
2000 hours = 2240 lumens (70%)

Hm. In Slovenia where I live daylight lights are compulsory, so I must have 10,000 hours of usage on my bulbs. Ha ha ha.

I think time to be scientific about it so, I will change the bulbs and report back real-world findings.

Any idea what bulbs to get? OEM or something else? Ive been told that the aftermarkets don't last as long. True? Anyone knows the best type?

 

Ok... interesting. Clearly there is a difference.

http://robbiekhan.co.uk/root/photos/.../XenonSwap.gif

 

It seems change is a must.

 

I was going to give the Osram Nightbreaker's a try at somepoint https://www.theretrofitsource.com/co...htbreaker.html...and yes a long t-handle or similar, its way in there...

 

Interesting, they list a 2K lifespan on those bulbs. $175 isn't too bad if the light output is good and you aren't blinding others. I truly hate that so many lights these days blind me and that so many appear to drive around with high beams activated!

Cool blue intense by Osram look nearly as good IMO.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...3MXf13qLAgDbGQ