Why are Xenon/HID options so expensive?

||What exactly is it that makes these so expensive an upgrade/option ||exactly? It's got to be more than a simple bulb swap no?

A high-voltage transformer is required, much like one for a neon sign I suspect

Rex in Fort Worth

On some cars, the option includes the bulb element, wiring harness and power pack. Also some carmakers include them with other expensive luxury options.

they can cost quite a bit to replace like the ones on the 02-03 Maxima.

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Exactly. The optics are completely different, so the whole bulb/reflector/lens has to be an engineered system in order to work correctly. And the electronics needed to operate an HID capsule aren't as cheap as they should be, given that they're pretty basic and the demand is now high.

Real HID systems use different housings,capsules and power supply than standard halogen bulbs. The Superblue /Xenon /Bright White bulbs that you can buy over the counter and simply replace the factory bulb are a joke, they are NOT HID and cannot be. An HID unit actually works like a carbon arc light from the older movie days or the arc from a welder. Inside the bulb is actually two electrodes that allow an arc across them using the high voltage provided by the power pack. That arc is what provides the actual light. A complete kit to replace lights in a standard vehicle will run you over 700.00 or so. BUT in most cases those kits are not legal in the US since they use European code lenses and optic guides.

Who was the genius who came up with different lighting standards in US anyway? Euro standard provides for more light towards side of the road, and in my personal experience is much better at illuminating the road and avoiding blinding other drivers. When driving in US many cars will try to blind you, not so in Europe.

Sorry for the slight off-topic ;)

Peter

Actually it's not "different" it's "older." The US standards are still based on the ones used to allow the introduction of sealed beams in 1940 (I think?) and while lighting technology has marched on over the years, and some aspects have been changed (allowing replaceable bulb/permanent reflector assemblies again, different formats, etc.) the beam pattern still remains roughly the same. The Yurrupeons have adpoted a much more sensible and modern beam pattern, while here it's only legal for motorcycle use for some unfathomable reason.

nate

Daniel, I was across an intersection from a BMW, both of us stopped at a light the other day and left HID headlamp on the BMW seemed to be "pulsating" brighter...dimmer...brighter...dimmer... I'm assuming that the arc was not stable or was swirling in the class arc tube (envelope). Is that a problem with HID type of lamps. I hadn't noticed that before though.

Sounds like a faulty ballast or a soon-to-be-dead Xenon bulb. Either could be the cause or the symptom of the other!

DS

Not correct. Both standards still allow headlamp beam performance that was state-of-the-art five decades ago or more. It is a common but incorrect notion that all European headlamps are better than all US headlamps. There's room in both standards for good and bad headlamps -- the ways in which they tend towards badness differ. North America being a "price driven market" (translation, US automakers and US branches of international makers are run by MBAsshole beancounters instead of engineers) we tend to get a lot of headlamps that are towards the sloppy end of the scale.

It would be a simple matter to lop the allowances for shitty headlamps out of BOTH standards and push the remaining ends together to form one really good international standard, but there are enough interests and paychecks and egos at stake that instead we've had 25 years of regulatory tailchasing and idiotic claims that harmonization is an "elusive and difficult goal".

DS