I guess I'll be the contrarian here. I got the Sport package, but not because of the HID lights. After having driven with them for a while, I don't see any great advantage to them from a performance standpoint. There are tradeoffs. Lots of light, but what bothers me is the sharp cutoff. Or course, that's necessary to keep from blinding other motorists not only because of the increased intensity but also because the color spectrum produced by HID tends to be annoying or even painful to some people. From my view as a driver, the cutoff is disturbing because of the huge difference between the lighted zone which is lit up like crazy, and then suddenly past the cutoff there's almost no light at all. Truth be told, I think I prefer the older headlights which might not have as much raw light, but the transition from hotspot to total darkness is more gradual. There are times driving in hilly and twisty roads that the HID cutoff is way too close to the car. With halogens you'd still have some light further out. Thank God for the halogen high-beams.

The application where I do appreciate HID right now is on my bicycle light. This is where the efficiency becomes a big bonus; you can get a whole lot of light and still have a reasonably sized battery power it for a good long time. And, the glare effect actually works to the advantage of a cyclist, as it gets the attention of motorists who normally wouldn't notice you. It's not blinding to motorists though, since for bikes we're talking about a 10 watt lamp.

I think a lot of people mistake "whiter" or even bluer light with performance or quality. It does leave a visual impression, but not necessarily a better one from a driving standpoint. Halogen systems can be excellent and if I didn't want the other features of the sports package I wouldn't hesistate to forego it because of the headlamp option.

 

I can see how the sharp cutoff takes some getting used to. However, on flat land, the lighted areas gets lighted significantly more making it easier to see any objects and obsticles in the way. Also, the side of the car also gets lighted which helps detecting any misc. objects in the shrubs, etc when in the hill. Although when ascending on a hill, it may be a slight problem before approaching an incline, it's not too big of a problem, just takes some getting used to I guess.

 

HID's are truly amazing. My parents even have them on their MACH Audio Edition Focus ZTS.

They light everything much clearer. Besides, if you ever get rid of your RX-8 don't you think that they next perspective buyer would want them. I know that if they were an option on a car that I was thinking of buying and this perspective car didn't have them I'd be out. The sport package makes the car. It changes EVERYTHING.

 

i woul dnever buy a car again without the HID's. the brightness is awesome. i also love the wide field you can see. im still amazed how much i can see side to side.

 

I'm with the pro-HID crowd. Even my passengers comment on how great they are from behind the windshield.

When I picked up my RX-8 I brought a friend along to drive my old car home. His first comment was how much easier my HID's made it for him to see the road when following me. I'm doing a public service by illuminating the road for drivers behind me!

In four months I've never been "flashed" by an oncoming vehicle. The cutoff is just low enough so you don't blind people. I live in hilly CT and it hasn't bothered me at all. I virtually never use the high beams any more. Like StewC625 said, they don't illuminate any further, just higher.

 

I'd do the HID thing from here on out. Also, the DSC gives me a good peice of mind when I lend the car out to people.

 

I wanted the HID lights but decided to go with a BASE 6spd RX8 and I think the lights ARE GREAT...HID might be better, but the standard lights are in NO WAY bad...actually, they are VERY good in my opinion.