Factory HID headlights!

[dsm363]

New housing I assume?

Yeah. Whole unit is taken out and replaced. There's an issue that when you turn the lights on, they flicker on and off a few times but this has something to do with transitioning from the 12V battery to the Roadster's main pack (I believe that's what the tech told me). Anyway, whatever the issue, they're working on a fix with a new firmware.

 

[7racer]

did they fix the fogging issue with these also?

 

[dsm363]

did they fix the fogging issue with these also?

They had fixed them on my original head lights (after it was delivered with the issue still there) but it looks like they have. No issue with fogging on the new ones.

 

[Warrenbonz]

After living with the new lights for a few weeks I am very pleased with them.
Below is a repost from the other Xenon/HID thread.

Had my Xenon headlights installed by my Tesla Ranger this week and am very pleased with the improvement.
Where the original headlights only seemed to light up 2 small areas a short distance in front of the car (kind of reminds me of my moped's headlight when I was 13),the Xenons provide a more all encompassing light. The light is whiter and carries out farther than the old headlights. My impression is that the lights on my Lexus GS450H better by a noticeable margin ie: brighter and light up a longer distance down the road, however in the few hours of night time driving I have done so far with the new Xenons in the Roadster I feel that they do the job. My Roadster is away for the next week getting audio and other upgrades so I can't take any pictures at night but when I get her back I would be happy to post some if anyone is interested. Unfortunately I didn't think to take any pictures with the old headlights for comparison until it was too late. Here are some pictures of the swap. If you look close you can see that the new lights have some grooves under the outer bulb. It's subtle but I think it looks kind of cool. Other than that the lights appear to be the same. I believe my Ranger said that the outer bulb sits back a bit further than the original.
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[Jaff]

I drove home from the office last night...first chance to drive in the dark with the new HID kit installed...WOW!!!

DSM's pictures are an accurate depiction of the HID's intensity...the visibility is significantly better whilst driving and the car looks much better from the outside...the HID's give the Roadster (in the dark) that "look" that it "means business!"

The daytime collateral benefit is the absence of any fogging inside the lamp housings...I'm very please with the outcome...big thanks to Eli & Mark!!! :smile::smile::smile:

 

[strider]

Warrenbonz, one thing to keep in mind is that the Roadster is REALLY low to the ground. This will have a dramatic effect on how far the lights can shine without blinding other drivers. In a taller car the lights can project a further distance yet still be angled down. But I love my aftermarket HID bulbs. No flickering at all.

 

[augkuo]

Here's a pic of the beam spread at night with the new HID lights -

 

[DrComputer]

Hmm... that seems like way too short of a throw distance.

 

[dsm363]

Hmm... that seems like way too short of a throw distance.

It doesn't kind of look that way in the picture but it's easily twice as far as the old headlights. I'm glad I got the upgrade.

 

[DisneylandIsHome]

We got the new HID lights a few days ago. All I can say is OMG! What an improvement. It's nice to actually see where we are going at night. Well worth the wait and cost.

 

[mpt]

Here's a pic of the beam spread at night with the new HID lights

They look like my aftermarket jobs after I adjusted the height. IMO the originals are pointed down as they have '1x' light output, divided across the small region illuminated they have an impact. Raise them up and you'd be dividing a feeble light across a very wide area. The xenon's are 3-5x so can be raised up. The difference for me is that I can see the sides of the road far sooner now hence driving is more relaxed.

I think that you could tweak the height up a bit further on the factory ones too; you're still close to the ground. The MINI E dazzles oncoming drivers more than the Tesla and it has fancy self-leveling units; they're designed to make sure that no matter the load in the car or the angle of the road they'll still dazzle oncoming drivers.

 

[Botbldr45]

Headlight Upgrade

Just got them yesterday and drove my favorite 200kw/m country road down by the river that parallels US RT 50 outside of Annapolis. Since i drive the road all the time I can definately say the new lights are much brighter than the old ones. Now those stupid deer that can't hear me can at least see me!!http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/images/smilies/cool.gif

Good upgrade and great if you drive dark windy country roads.

 

[JoshG]

Got mine installed on Friday and agree with the others. Big improvement and much needed. Hard to quantify but it's a big, though not "Wow!"-inducing, improvement. Very easy to notice the difference but still well below the light my MB HIDs put out, particularly the high beams.

 

[cinergi]

Just got mine done. About to go for a drive. The good news? I took some manual photos before and will take some photos after (using the same shutter & aperture settings) which should help folks "see" the difference here.

 

[cinergi]

Just got mine done. About to go for a drive. The good news? I took some manual photos before and will take some photos after (using the same shutter & aperture settings) which should help folks "see" the difference here.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

New high beams (forgot to take pic of old high beams):

 

[cinergi]

 

[dsm363]

Amazing, isn't it? How at least the 2.5 Roadsters didn't come with this already is amazing but glad they're offering it after the fact.

 

[TEG]

Before:

After:

...

Wow!, you can't even see the blue car in the left space in the before picture. Those old lights must have really sucked!
(Sorry, couldn't resist) :tongue:

 

[bonnie]

Thanks for the before/after pics. I need to take my car in for annual service in the next month - I'm definitely adding this upgrade. Thanks!

 

[NigelM]

Ditto....just waiting for my scheduled date, maybe next week.