there used to be a thread hoping for bi-xenons....

anyways, it seems that almost all 04 models are coming with a bi-xe. option. itd be great to see the rx-8 with bi's.
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HONDA CIVIC (THIRD GENERATION) HISTORY (http://www.honda-wiki.org/wiki/Honda_Civic_(third_generation))

ok, dumb girl question- what's a bi-xenon, and how does it differ from a regular xenon bulb?

Thats not a dumb question. I have no idea either.

What is bi-xenon lighting?

Unlike conventional halogen bulbs, which use a glowing filament and reflectors to direct the spread of light, xenon lighting uses a bright, white gas-discharge lamp. Xenon lights work on alternating current (AC) while halogen bulbs are powered by the battery's DC current. To provide the xenon lights with AC, an electronic ballast (starter module), with a high-voltage start-up, transforms the normal voltage into AC. This provides significantly more power for lighting.

Until relatively recently, only low-beam xenon light systems have been on the market. They used a combination of xenon lighting with its projector modules for low-beam work and halogen bulbs with reflectors for high-beam situations, simply because the xenon projector modules just weren't big enough to work effectively on high beam.

OOOHHHHH ok thanks for the explaination

yes, but now, they are being used for both lowbeams and highbeams.
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TELSTAR (http://www.ford-wiki.com/wiki/Ford_Telstar)

I personally hope the Xenons will be low beam only.
........... I run some 100w halogens as my high beams, and I will miss them if I have Xenon hi-beams !!
(If you where in Alberta, and you flashed me ' you have your HIGHS on, Ahole' last night, you will be one at the opthalmologist today whining that you 'I can't see colors anymore!!!')
``````Oh, NOW I'm an ahole...

if they are self-leveling, that wont happen.
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Honda xl600r (http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Honda_XL600R)

According to the RX8 website (select Design then Lights) the Xenon is low beam only.

But I'm sure that those who still think they are getting the 6-CD standard in the US will receive the bi-xenons at the same time. :p

BLAHAHAHHAHAHA, that kinda sucks, in a way, its like they are already starting out behind...
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MARIJUANA VAPORIZERS (http://weedvaporizers.info/)

I am looking for the standard power version which should come with a 192HP man 5-gear transmission here. One really sad thing is that Xenon will NOT be available at all in this version no matter which fit (renesis, revolution or so) you buy. This is a really sad thing, I even have Xenon in my Skoda Octavia 1,8T (the Audi engine) right now and I don't want to miss it. Also, I cannot imagine HOW THIS will be looking??? So, this one will have normal H4 lights.....
:(

Originally posted by P00Man
if they are self-leveling, that wont happen. Unfortunately, I've never read anything indicating the HIDs in the RX-8 are self-leveling, so I suspect they're just fixed like the HIDs in the S2000...

Originally posted by BillK
Unfortunately, I've never read anything indicating the HIDs in the RX-8 are self-leveling, so I suspect they're just fixed like the HIDs in the S2000...

Straight from the RX-8 "Specification Deck" -

"Automatic headlamp leveling" is indicated as a Package option. Alot of countries are now requiring that if a car has Xenon HIDs that it has to have self-leveling. so if you get a package that has the Xenon HIDs (all of the packages do, only the base model does not) you will get the auto level with them.

Originally posted by IGOZMZM
"Automatic headlamp leveling" is indicated as a Package option. Alot of countries are now requiring that if a car has Xenon HIDs that it has to have self-leveling. so if you get a package that has the Xenon HIDs (all of the packages do, only the base model does not) you will get the auto level with them.
Thanks for the clarification. As you state many countries do require HIDs to be self-leveling, but the U.S. is not one of them, so for example the HIDs on the S2000 are self-leveling in Europe but not in the States...

For Canadian clarification purposes, the Xenon HIDs are only available on the GT model and YES they are auto leveling. :D

Originally posted by gettingan8
Until relatively recently, only low-beam xenon light systems have been on the market. They used a combination of xenon lighting with its projector modules for low-beam work and halogen bulbs with reflectors for high-beam situations, simply because the xenon projector modules just weren't big enough to work effectively on high beam.

Close, but not quite - the problem with high beam xenon lights is that, unlike regular incandescant halogen lights, xenon lights aren't "instant-on". They take a couple of seconds to reach full brightness. This is fine for a low beam, but not for a high beam light, which has to be instantly bright. The recent high beam xenon implementations don't use a separate xenon light system, but actually use a shutter/reflector arrangement to direct light from the low beam xenon through a different lens arrangement without the low beam cutoff. Have a close look at the bi-xenons on the Audi and VW cars to see this.

Regards,
Gordon

Originally posted by Gord96BRG
The recent high beam xenon implementations don't use a separate xenon light system, but actually use a shutter/reflector arrangement to direct light from the low beam xenon through a different lens arrangement without the low beam cutoff.A friend of mine who has been shopping for a new Boxster, tells me that the latest version of that car takes a third approach - when you switch from low to high beam, regular halogen high beam lamps are illuminated, but at the same time, the xenon low beams are angled upwards from their dipped position. He says it's a tad disconcerting at first, to see the intense white beams bobbing up and down as you switch from low to high and back.

Originally posted by eccles
He says it's a tad disconcerting at first, to see the intense white beams bobbing up and down as you switch from low to high and back.

...actually, i think i kind of like that "panning" up and down effect, to have the light beams sweep up and down seems (to me) to have a "buffer" effect, so you aren't going to miss anything through the transition... i dunno... just seems spiffy to me :)

hmmmmmmmmmmmm i wonder if that can be done in the rx-8 aftermarket...
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The extreme vaporizer (http://vaporizer.org)

The headlamps on my TT do that. When they first come on, they pan up and then down. Also, when cold they appear as more of a blue color, then as they warm up they turn a bright white. Pretty cool stuff... :)

The panning up and down you see when you turn on the lights is the auto-leveling doing its initial calibration on startup. The autolevel on audis (and I assume other cars) is a neat feature and makes a HUGE difference in Xenons being acceptable lights IMO.

The non-leveling S2000 xenons are dangerous IMO, they direct WAY too much light directly into an oposing drivers eyes if the conditions are at all out of skew from flat level ground.

High beams? I almost forgot I had them. Conditions around here make high's only useful maybe 30 seconds a week.

On the other hand - daytime running lights are a big help.
Side street drivers, pedestrians, kids & critters see me coming.