Newer cars with very good headlights

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
1st gen saturns (91-95)...don't yellow...


How was this? I have noticed that also: the lenses always appear crystal clear, like glass, but they're plastic! Must have used quality materials or coatings back then.

 

[SubLGT]

Originally Posted By: WItucker
After reading G-Mans post about his new Entourage's great headlights I got to wonder if there's a list somewhere of newer cars that have great headlights ? I'm looking for a new or fairly new car that's less than $30,000 usd that has great headlights. Any ideas ?


This car is >>$30K. The new Mercedes Benz CLS with these full LED headlamps.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I think the CLS-550 is more than $80K base, with some options it can be as high as $100K

 

[rpn453]

I don't know what the new ones are like, but I really like the headlights on my '04 Mazda3. The brights are especially impressive.

Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
Dodge cars like the Nitro, Calibre and Ram have the absolute worst lighting of any new car in the past 5 years...its really bad, so bad I was reluctant to drive with it at night on the rentals I had.


My buddy's Ram headlights are terrible. The brights are probably less effective than the low beams on my Mazda3.

 

[sciphi]

The Fit's headlights are quite good, once they were adjusted from aiming 20 feet ahead of the car. The cutoff is nice and sharp, and the beam throw is quite good. Strangely enough, the foglights are very good in inclement weather.

The Buick's headlights needed lots of help. The beam pattern is okay now that there are more powerful bulbs in there.

 

[Hokiefyd]

The main head lamps on our '05 Acura MDX are not great. They're projectors, but the beam throw is not very wide. I'm also not impressed with the lamp output. I literally took the Sylvania H11 XVs out of my Camry and put them in the Acura, and it's not good. The Camry's head lamps are probably the best I've ever owned, so I wanted to see how much of that was the bulb, and how much was the lamp itself. It's apparently all lamp.

The Acura's head lamp lenses are slightly hazed. That will be remedied soon. I think this is a good candidate for an HID swap. I've seen photos of other 04-06 MDXes with HID swaps in the stock projectors and the cutoff is actually quite good, with excellent light distribution. Almost like the projector was designed for HIDs from the get-go, but retrofitted with an H11 base. The squirrel spotters are there, but very dim (unlike those in my Camry, which would not make for a good HID retrofit).

By contrast, the fog lamps on this MDX are quite good. Probably the best fog lamps I've seen. It seems like I can see BESIDE the vehicle at night, the beam pattern is so wide. It's also rather low to the ground, and upward light control is very good. I've had my wife drive it behind me at night and there's no glare from the fog lamps at all. In fact, I can clearly see all the reflector facets and bulb shield in my rearview mirror, which means the light isn't glaring in my eyes (I can look straight at the lamp and see all the details).

As it stands, even with the H11 XVs in the projectors, you almost have to drive with the fog lamps on to supplement the main beams. That will change soon.

 

[JDD]

For main stream cars (non-european expensive cars which all have good ligting), I like my 2010 Mazda 3 lights are fabulous. One of the reasons I actually bought the car.

 

[Drew2000]

My 2011 Mustang has fantastic HID factory projectors. They have the shutter for hi/lo beam. Very sharp cut-off on low beam and far reaching high's with a intense white light. Little sticker in the housing says "VALEO-Made in Belgium"

 

[GMBoy]

Well, I am VERY impressed with my '08 Cadillac CTS headlights. I do have the optional HID headlamps that follow the road. When I turn the wheel, the lights turn too so it illuminates exactly where you're going. Even slight corrections on the highway, you can see the lights turn a little. Very neat. The headlamp washers that come with it are stupid, however. These lights are also very white and natural looking and shine far down the road w/o blinding other drivers.

My Sierra Denali pickup has the projector beam lights and they are pretty good as well. It is a 2006. Lighting has come a long way in all cars. When I drive my 1987 Buick GN I can hardly see LOL! Those old sealed beams are no match for the newer lighting systems.

 

[G-MAN]

Originally Posted By: GMBoy
Well, I am VERY impressed with my '08 Cadillac CTS headlights. I do have the optional HID headlamps that follow the road. When I turn the wheel, the lights turn too so it illuminates exactly where you're going. Even slight corrections on the highway, you can see the lights turn a little. Very neat. The headlamp washers that come with it are stupid, however. These lights are also very white and natural looking and shine far down the road w/o blinding other drivers.


The first time you drive in snow you won't think those washers are stupid. HID produces almost zero heat so the lenses don't get warm enough to keep snow/ice from building up on them the way halogen lamps do. The washers come in real handy in that situation.

 

[97prizm]

Some of the best new cars with the best HID headlights are as following, BMW M3, Acura TSX, TL, I do believe the rx-8 with a modification. The best projector brands are as following Best to worse. ZKW (found in E46 M3) Then stanley/koito, Bosch/ Hella/ then valeo at the bottom.

 

[G-MAN]

Originally Posted By: 97prizm

Some of the best new cars with the best HID headlights are as following, BMW M3, Acura TSX, TL, I do believe the rx-8 with a modification. The best projector brands are as following Best to worse. ZKW (found in E46 M3) Then stanley/koito, Bosch/ Hella/ then valeo at the bottom.


What makes Valeo worse? I had Valeo HID projectors in my 300M and they were outstanding lights. Nice sharp cutoff with a very broad and even beam with no holes or hot spots.

 

[Hokiefyd]

And how do you know who manufacturers the actual projectors? Is there a code in the DOT label on the lens or something?

 

[Drew2000]

Originally Posted By: 97prizm

Some of the best new cars with the best HID headlights are as following, BMW M3, Acura TSX, TL, I do believe the rx-8 with a modification. The best projector brands are as following Best to worse. ZKW (found in E46 M3) Then stanley/koito, Bosch/ Hella/ then valeo at the bottom.


Source?

 

[cchase]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
I prefer glass. Actually, a good H4 sealed beam in a good pattern like cibie is most excellent. A great option for any car that takes 5 3/4 or 7" round lights.


Agreed. The H4's on our 1982 320i easily outshine any new car I've been in and have a much more useful beam pattern than most new cars I've driven.

 

[rslifkin]

I agree that old school glass, while it may not look as bright, or be as "white", can definitely put down a lot of useful glass when set right. My next upgrade for the Jeep are the ECE spec glass headlight housing that take H4s, rather than the [censored] stock plastic lens 9004 setup.

 

[97prizm]

My sources come from Hid planet You have to be a member to see the forums, so I;ll see if I can log on and attach a page that explains the differences. Valeo projectors tend to be "frosted" to reduce sharpness but this cuts down on the amount of usable light. I added a link here to show members what I mean. Valeo HID projector This link shows a BMW E36 M3 With ECE ZKW HID projectors BMW E36 HID
Ok the third link shows courtesy of the retrofit source some of the differences between the projector brands, explaining beam cutoff etc. Retrofit source HID projectors To those that want to know where the info is stamped many if not all projectors have the manufacturer stamped on the inside mounting bracket. There are a few really cool individuals on the hidplanet website that have anywhere from 2,3 up to 10 plus projector sets. There are many comparison pics of the differences between them. If any of you also hear of people mentioning FX-35 "R" projectors, they swapped the original lenses out for Subaru STI-R projector lenses. ANy other q's PM me or just ask. I'm always happy to share,
Malcolm

 

[bobbob]

Love the HID's on my Chrysler Hemi, but the '09 Subaru Legacy
has a dangerous cutoff!

 

[DaveL]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
The Fit's headlights are quite good, once they were adjusted from aiming 20 feet ahead of the car. The cutoff is nice and sharp, and the beam throw is quite good. Strangely enough, the foglights are very good in inclement weather.


Same for my 2010 Insight. A very slight adjustment upwards (still legal - passed inspection- and I have not been flashed) changed the headlights from marginal to excellent.

 

[Drew2000]

Originally Posted By: 97prizm

My sources come from Hid planet You have to be a member to see the forums, so I;ll see if I can log on and attach a page that explains the differences. Valeo projectors tend to be "frosted" to reduce sharpness but this cuts down on the amount of usable light......
Malcolm


Interesting...(FWIW, you don't have to be a member just to read the HID planet stuff)...But, for a $500 option on the Mustang, the D3S Valeo's are just fine, bright with a good cut-off. (It's not a $75k luxury car)

I don't think that most folks are interested in getting that involved in possibly expensive and comlicated "botique" HID retrofits though. Rather spend my $$ on suspension and vehicle dynamics upgrades, but to each their own.