My 2010 GTI with HID's? Very distinct cut off and a low beam pattern that surely no one finds obnoxious. But it you look at the most obnoxious headlights I know of (my wife's TSX mains) they are JDM beams with a cutoff plate to meet US regs as of 2005. I would only say that about projector lenses per se. What's the concern they'll fail sooner? Of course they will, but so will halogens! Modified by Ryephile at 4:39 PM 1-10-2010 When they're pointed right at you they'll be crazy bright for sure because the total output is focused in a smaller space. As an observer in another car, you shouldn't see HID's as very bright at all when you're off-axis of them. I'm sure there's a lighting expert here on the forums that can explain in more detail, but while HID's may only have slightly more lumen output, their beam pattern is typically focused tighter than halogens diffuse lenses. I'd expect the VW bulbs to be less expensive than the ones in Bentley's, for example.

Typically HID bulbs are about $100-200/each for OEM, however that varies depending on manufacturer. $700 for a pair on our Mk6 cars)Īs to brightness, I would hope they'd be brighter - they always seem to be quite intense/bright as viewed on other vehicles, and that's what everyone raves about. Obviously the downsides are cost and added system complexity with electrical ballasts, leveling/turning servos and washer systems, but all that adds to the luxury and technological attraction of the HIDs.ĭo you know if typically the bulb unit can be replaced for less than the entire lamp assembly? (i.e. *A bit less of a objective plus, but HID's offer that technology fun factor, entertaining turn-on sequence, and closer-to daylight color temperature HID's are an arc lamp with much less opportunity for lamp failure and provide many times the service life. Halogens still use a filiment to produce light, and those filaments over time wear out and fail. The power consumption difference can make a marginal improvement in fuel economy but also puts less stress on the wiring and alternator. Halogens are typically 55W for separate low and high beams, meaning you're consuming 110W when both are on. *Less power consumption: HID's are typically 35W the bi-xenon's in the VW MkVI only use one lamp for low and high beam, so the power consumption is always only 35W. That said, there are a couple significant advantages to HID lighting:

Nowadays halogens generally have better lenses and have good lighting patterns to the pavement. The optics play a big part in the light pattern and in the past halogen lights offered significantly less than ideal optics. HID's aren't necessarily supposed to be brighter.

Hid vs halogen headlights