[Bobbo]

This question is regarding switching front 98' S70's headlights to HID lights. (Not Blinkers.) I have previously purchased other bulbs from company like PIAA and Razo for my Volvo however those bulbs on my car only last for 3 month and it gets burnt out. While the same bulb on other car last for 3 to 4 yrs. HID lights is a pretty steep investment for light bulbs (600 dollar a pair.) What I am wondering is has anyone installed them yet, also you have problems with it burning out?

 

[[email protected]]

I haven't done it, so I couldn't comment on that. I have found a source at <A HREF="http://www.xenonshop.com" TARGET=_blank>http://www.xenonshop.com</A> but I am personally concerned about blinding other drivers if I did the install. The original headlight housing in your 70 and my 850 were not set up for these bulbs originally and may not control the beam enough to be safe. The other issue is that many HID equipped cars have auto leveling devices to further prevent the blinding of oncoming drivers.<P>The bulbs you used are not true HIDs. I think they are just blue tinted bulbs. Changing to HIDs has more involved than just simply changing the bulbs.<P>I did notice that the site above seems to think that low beams, high beams and fog lights can all be made into HIDs. For this reason, I am giving more thought to performing an HID conversion to my foglights as they are much lower and much less likely to cause problems.<P>Another factor you have to consider is that with the HIDs replacing your low beams, you coudl be ticketed or have your car fail to pass inspection wiht those lights as they may be too bright given the factors listed above. With HID foglights, it would simply be a matter of turning the foglights off, as they are not necessary equipment, where low beams are necessary equipment.

 

[Bobbo]

I guess my question is "Why do these aftermarket bulbs (non-HID) last a lot shorter than the stock Philips bulbs?" Will the HID has a shorter life time too because it's install on the s70? I know the headlight is a problem in the '98 S70 because a lot of customers take their car in for that and the blinkers. <P>As for blinding incoming traffic isn't there a level adjuster for the housing? (I know they have it for the s70) Maybe you can lower the level. As for ticketing I don't think I need to worry about that; I live in Los Angeles, every other civics/integras here have HID conversion kits that blinds me each time they pass by. Thanks for your help.

 

[turboale]

The "HID" civic lights are as George said. Just the same as the Philips lights that you had before, just with a blue tint on them to make the light look whiter (blue is closer to white). The Xenon system is a whole different idea. It uses an electrode and Xenon gas and rips the molecules apart and they snap back together... and creating energy, and in turn making light. This is why Xenon lights a, use a lot less electricity and make less heat while producing much more light, and b, have a longer life span than conventional coil bulbs. When you pay 600 for a pair of lights, you are not just getting a bulb. There is a lot more that you have to buy initially when you convert your car to the real HID. As for the blinding... Ive seen a picture of the bulbs that the xenon shop uses, and i noticed that the glass bulb part is a lot longer than regular bulbs. I read on the Audiworld forum that there was a guy who did the conversion, and hated it. There was light going everywhere. He even switched back to the regular bulbs while his european projectors came in. They were fine after he put the projectors in. The only problem we have is.... we have no euro projectors. Here is a picture of the kit<BR> <IMG SRC="http://www.xenonshop.com/images/electrical.jpg"> <BR>You might want to contact xenonshop and ask them about the wandering light situation. They have a service that you can send them the housing, and they will upgrade it for you. I don't know if this includes a test to see how badly the light wanders/correction if it does, but its worth a try.<P>Best of luck!<BR>

 

[[email protected]]

One reason your headlights could be failing repeatedly is the additional use due to your Volvo's daytime running lights (DRLs). You can disable these via a small adjustment screw on your headlight switch (at least it is this way on my 850).<P>If you make the switch to Xenons, you are going to want to disable the DRLs anyway because I think you'll have probs trying to run them at a lower percentage of power like the DRLs do when they are on.<P>One reason the bulbs you speak of could be failing even more is that I think they are made with a tinted coating, which will insulate the heat on them more and in turn make them blow more quickly. Your DRLs would just be exacerbating the situation.

 

[S.R.]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by [email protected]:<BR><B><BR>One reason the bulbs you speak of could be failing even more is that I think they are made with a tinted coating, which will insulate the heat on them more and in turn make them blow more quickly. Your DRLs would just be exacerbating the situation.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I think this is the main reason, and another thing is that I have heard that Volvo did not do a very good job with the wiring harnesses on the last S70/V70 series.<P>As far as real Xenon HID goes, you might be able to aim the headlights lower so that you don't blind oncoming traffic.<P>Check out Overboost.Com, there is a picture at the bottom of the page showing a conversion.<P><B><A HREF="http://www.overboost.com/story.asp?id=328" TARGET=_blank>The Great Headlight Test</A></B><P>-Drew<p>[This message has been edited by InDy (edited 05-03-2001).]