Factory HID headlights!

[mpt]

No need to mark the before / after

 

[cinergi]

I can say after having had them for a while, I'm so happy i have them. Now I can actually drive next to someone else on the highway and have the brighter set of headlights. Driving on dark back roads is so much better.

 

[Dragon]

I would need them as well. The problem is the price, for me it's way too high for an upgrade. The standard headlights are a safety issue and Tesla should not charge so much for the xenon.
With the standard lights I try not to guide much in the dark. In my region there are many narrow roads with 180° degree turns. In such a turn I ABSOLUTELY DON'T SEE where I'm going and risk to hit the guard rails.

 

[Lancelac]

If you don't like the price, have them installed aftermarket. Cost me $350 parts and labor. There is nothing about the Tesla version that stands out above aftermarket.

 

[strider]

Or if you are a little bit mechanical <$100 by following this thread: Xenon HID upgrade

 

[Dragon]

I think in europe you can't simply do that, the xenon lights have to be approved or what I know...

 

[vfx]

If you don't like the price, have them installed aftermarket. Cost me $350 parts and labor. There is nothing about the Tesla version that stands out above aftermarket.

Lance, is that the work owners are doing here? Xenon HID upgrade or something else? Bulbs only? Tesla parts?

 

[dpeilow]

I think in europe you can't simply do that, the xenon lights have to be approved or what I know...

You can do it if the headlights are projector lens.

 

[cinergi]

Or if you are a little bit mechanical <$100 by following this thread: Xenon HID upgrade

I did that, too ... Tesla's implementation produces much better results. The DIY version will definitely improve things, but not nearly as much as Tesla's upgrade.

 

[Doug_G]

We had good weather and dry roads today, so I just had to take the Roadster out of storage mode and try my brand-new HIDs!

Some observations:

1. Nice and bright! There's a road near my office that I had been avoiding at night because visibility was so bad. Not any more! I swear the lights are brighter than my G37's HIDs.
2. I noticed a small klunk when switching to high beams. There's a good reason for that. Not only do the regular incandescent high beam lamps light up, but the HID lamps themselves pivot upwards!
3. A curiosity: the DC-to-DC converters in the light buzz gently for about 10 seconds when you power them up.
4. Each lamp module has two small "breather" patches, presumably something like Goretex, to let them breath and eliminate fogging without getting dirt inside. I did notice a little bit of fog in the lamps at lunchtime, but it cleared out. I'll put that down to it being their first time out.

I'm really glad I got them. :love:

Started snowing when we were half-way home; fortunately I got home before the roads got too slippery (no snow tires). I guess it's staying in the garage for a bit. :cursing:

 

[mpt]

They are shuttered? That's significant for me as I have the HID high beams that take a while to reach full brightness.

 

[Doug_G]

They are shuttered? That's significant for me as I have the HID high beams that take a while to reach full brightness.

Yes, they most certainly are.

 

[S-2000 Roadster]

They are shuttered? That's significant for me as I have the HID high beams that take a while to reach full brightness.

Aren't most high beams incandescent rather than HID? I don't have the HID upgrade yet, but in my S-2000 only the normal lights are HID and the high beams are standard "yellow" lights. I assume that the normal delay of HID technology makes them unsuitable for high beams. Nothing says they can't mix technologies since there is a separate element for each.

 

[Doug_G]

Aren't most high beams incandescent rather than HID? I don't have the HID upgrade yet, but in my S-2000 only the normal lights are HID and the high beams are standard "yellow" lights. I assume that the normal delay of HID technology makes them unsuitable for high beams. Nothing says they can't mix technologies since there is a separate element for each.

The Roadster has both.

The original Roadster light modules had separate incandescent low and high beam lights.

The new light modules have shuttered HID lights, which replace the original low-beams. They mechanically switch between low and high aiming. The incandescent high beam lights are also still there. So when you turn on the high beams, the HID low beams lift their shutters and effectively aim higher, AND the incandescent high beam lights turn on.

 

[mpt]

Xenons can be warmed up so quickly on electronic controllers theae days that some manufacturers use shuttered Xenons for all lighting. The ActiveE's a good example, the bulbs take a fraction of a second to light to about 75% then a second to get the rest of the way.

I converted my high beams to xenon but they take 10 seconds to reach maximum output. If I added the factory Xenons I'd still keep my extra Xenons as they're just so powerful and I do drive on unlit streets most days at this time of year.

 

[strider]

The fact that HIDs are slow to warm up is why many manufacturers either use a shutter on the low beams and/or incandescent high beams. You can't do a "flash to pass" by turning HIDs on and off. My Corvette (and now my Roadster) did not have a shutter and just had incandescent high beams.