xenon headlights
 

Do all Rx-8 packages include the xenon headlights? If not, is there a way by looking at the headlight during daylight whether or not they are xenons?

Thanks.

not all 8's have xenon. Mine are xenon, but i'm not sure what the other lights look like so I can't comment on unique features.

All the ones they show on the US or Canadian web site are Xenon headlights. I have never seen the base halogen lights.

see here:
http://www.mvlc.info/tech/xenon_faq.html#Q5

I have xenon on my rx-8 MT and the easiest way I can tell is the bluish white color, and that it takes a few seconds to light up and change color.

Bodi

easy, the halogen's do not come standard with the fog lights. Looking at the color cannot always be accurate, I have the base model with halogens and I installed silverstar headlight bulbs. In the daylight they are very hard to tell apart.

Basically if it is a base model 8 it will not have the xenon's.

^exactly, the base model doesn't have them, but the sport, Touring, and Grand Touring do. If it's got fog lights, it's got xenons.

yup .. i was talking about the stock model only.

"If it's got fog lights, it's got xenons."

If that's true, that's all I need to know. Thanks.

I have the base model with Xenon's and Fog Lights. Added aftermarkert Xenon's and Mazda OEM fogs.

For a while I had the fogs with halogens, so I guess there's an exception to every rule.

You may ask why didn't I just get the Sport model in the first place? I had no choice - my wife bought the 8 as a 2004 Xmas gift. Can't really complain about that.... :wiggle:

for North American market RX-8's, this is true, assuming the car is completely stock, of course :D:

another more 'surefire' way to verify is to see if the car comes with DSC/TCS, look for the DSC/TCS button on the lower left of the steering wheel, if the car has it, then it has xenons.

lol. That doesn't count though - you added the fogs yourself :P

And yeah, that's for North American 8s. Other regions may have different options. I just pointed out the fogs because it's easier to spot than DSC. Though the DSC is probably the better one to look for, since you can't just add it.

So if you're looking at used cars, double check and look for DSC.

A great way to tell if they are Xenons is to position your eyes directly in front of the projector low beam with the lights off. Then, have a friend turn the lights on. If you feel a searing pain in your eyes and you lose your ability to see anything but blue for several hours, then yes, you have xenons.

ha ha ...

All kidding aside, the xenon lights are really easy to tell - they are bluish white in color, and when you turn them on, instantly click on, versus how regular filament bulbs sort of fade on/fade off over a 1/2 second - these instantly produce light that is initially very blue, and then as heat comes into the units, they get brighter and whiter. Also, when Xenons turn on, you perceive sort of a flash as they switch on, followed by a lower blue light that then gets brighter and whiter over the next several seconds.

Do you know how xenon lights actually work? It's quite amazing actually. Regular bulbs use a filament that is heated by passing electrical current through it - most halogens run at 12 volts, and the filament has high electrical resistance. The resistance causes the filament metal to glow, and hence, give off light. Halogen lights are filled with halogen gas under pressure, therefore, the special filaments in them can be heated to a higher/hotter temp and glow whiter and brighter.

Xenon/High Intensity Discharge lamps work on an entirely different principal - they throw an electrical arc between a pair of electrodes (yes, just light lightning), and carefully regulate the voltage to the bulb to maintain the arc. To "strike" the arc (establish the arc) you have to throw a huge voltage across the electrodes - most Xenon lights have a large capacitor (voltage storage device) that stores around 10,000 volts - this "discharges" into the bulb, where the 10,000 volts establishes the arc. Once the arc is struck, the bulb's regulator takes over and modulates the voltage way down to give the lamp an moment to heat up, then advances the power to the design operting output and temperature. They are amazing devices.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question387.htm

Also, the MVLC web site (motor vehicle lighting council) has this copy under "how do I know if my vehicle has HID lights ("Xenons"):

How do I know my vehicle is equipped with an Xenon system?

Xenon headlamps are easily recognizable because of their brilliant bluish white appearance versus a more yellowish appearance of standard halogen systems.

Headlights equipped with Xenon put more light on the road than standard halogen systems.

Xenon systems "flash" blue and change color during the first few seconds of startup.

The outer lens of a headlamp is required to be marked with the light source used. If your car is equipped with an Xenon system, the markings “D1S”, “D1R”, “D2S” or “D2R” (depending on type of lamp design), should be displayed on the lens.

The letters "DOT" should also appear on the lens to indicate compliance to the U.S. Department of Transportation regulations.

If the car has TSC/DSC you have HID.

does anyone kno the default color temp of the 8's xenons?

~4-6k iirc. cant remember if the japanese imports had 4k or the euro imports had 6k.

I'm sure you can change the headlights if they aren't.

i thought in 04 the base had halagens...maybe not anymore though. I remember my first car shopping experiance one of the items on my list was flip up head lights...when i bought my 8 i wanted xenon....needless to say i am happy

^04 base model does come w/ only halogens, you have to get 'sport pkg' and above to get HID

For those wanting more info on the 8 HID headlights. Just use the search function and type headlight bulb and youll find tons.

Yup. I got a 04 base model with halogens. Just got some Piaa lights look good but still not the hid look I'm after. I'll be getting hid lamps and lights soon :evil_laug

im planning on getting the piaa 6600k d2s bulbs but i dont know what the default hid bulbs color temp is...i dont want to buy it just to find out it has the same color temp

I think the stockers are 4400K

Stock HID is ~3000k

For whatever reason, Mazda must have skimped on the HID light housings, because we have the same ones as the S2K and its light pattern is far brighter than ours. There is a pic on here that compares the two and its definitely noticeable.

I have the base model so I'm currently running the halogen lights. I might be interested in retrofitting HIDs, but only if they give me HID high beams. Anyone know if that's possible? I'm not interested in HID low beams; I even wouldn't mind if I kept the halogen lows, but got HID highs. Also, I do know that I lose my ability to flash my lights, but I'm willing to live with that.