What is the advantage of HID over halogen?

Robert,
If you want your lighting to cover more area, I’d add more lights.
Driving lights, mounted high, will get aimed out farther than your brights and therefore illuminate all the area ( brights plus driving lights )
PLUS your lighting is now selectable ; dims, dims with fogs, brights, brights with driving…you get to pick.
With your emergency light bar already up there, it should be a snap to add driving lights too.

I’ve noticed that different people react to different colors of lighting.
The HID is a diferent color than halogen and I prefer the halogens myself. ( I also do not like LED flashlights. It seems that I can not see as much overall . )

I used 500w light to work on my snowblower. Nice heat effect

I’ve bought a couple of those LED work lights now and man are they bright.

Nice info on constantly turning the HID off and on. I’m going to have to do some reprogramming on our remotes. Every time I open the car door the lights go on. Lock the door and the lights go on. Start up in the garage and the lights go on, then go off when I drive out. So on off on off, all the time and it drives me nuts.

One trick with HID's - do not flash them at drivers, and don't enable the automatic headlights. Blinking on and off over a short period of time shortens their life significantly. If you turn them on, leave them on.

Not sure if it’s just mine, but my headlights stay on when I turn on my brights. It kind of reminds me of my old Chevelle’s setup where it had 4 lights on when you hit the bright switch.

On my 86 Riv I wanted all four lights on on high beam so I rewired the relay to turn them all on. I quickly found out that this overloaded the circuit and tripped the breaker. It was a nice try anyway.

"With your emergency light bar already up there, it should be a snap to add driving lights too."
Shortly after the police department donated the light bar, I added two lights which wig-wag with the headlights. They can also be turned on independently to help see deer. Unfortunately, each is 100-Watts which can blind other drivers. On the road where most needed I cannot often keep them on due to oncoming traffic.

@bscar2: My HID lamps stay on with the high beams too–The high beams are 2 halogen lamps that supplement the HID lamps. However, if you have the fog lamps on, they will turn off when you engage the high beams, presumably to avoid blinding oncoming traffic, though I don’t see the point since you’re already blinding them with your high beams anyway.

Not sure if it's just mine, but my headlights stay on when I turn on my brights.

I should clarify - I meant don’t flash them at drivers during the day when your headlights aren’t on. My car, too, keeps the HID’s on when the brights are flipped on - on mine it’s done differently. It uses the same HID bulb for both low and high beams. When you flip on the high beams, a shutter moves, exposing more of the reflector to enlarge the light beam.

I always have my headlights on, so that isn’t much of a problem for me.

"I always have my headlights on, so that isn't much of a problem for me."
I turned our DTR lights off to save fuel and bulb life.

fog lights and high beams are never supposed to be on at the same time

@RobertGift

“I turned our DTR lights off to save fuel and bulb life.”

Come on, man

I had my 1995 Corolla for 9 years

I left my headlights on the entire time (because they would turn off with the ignition)

I never once had to replace the headlight bulbs in that entire time, and I racked up some miles

One thing I’m getting confused about in this discussion. It’s sort of a mishmash of HID, LED, Halogen, and convetional incandescent. It’s definitely true that HID lights should be turned on and off as little as possible. It substantially shortens the ages of the tubes. Until recently, carmakers got around that by making only the low beams HID, with the high beams being halogen. They could be flashed or turned on and off with only minor shortening of the life of a cheap bulb. On those cars the low beams always stay on when the highs are switched on. A few newer models use a single hid unit per side with metal flap that blocks the section of the beam illuminated by the high. Beams. Turn the high beans on, the shuttle gets ojt lf the way and the single HID unit lights the whole road. Good technology that has to be changed to meet US headlight standards, veryx different from EU standards. A true international standardwould save a lot of money for everyone.

I never once had to replace the headlight bulbs in that entire time, and I racked up some miles
Unfortunately, I must do much night driving. Have had bulbs burn out. Also, their output noticeably slightly diminishes with use. My main reason is the little extra load on the engine with their needless daytime operation.

I turned our DTR lights off to save fuel and bulb life.

My main reason is the little extra load on the engine with their needless daytime operation.

If DRLs are “needless daytime operation”, have you let the Canadian Government know?

I remember the first car my parents got with seat belts - a used 1963 Chevy II Nova, and I decided to remove them because they were “in the way”. I laugh now at how stupid I was.

As a child, I wore seat-belts the first time I saw them. Have worn them without fail ever since.
In all this time I HAVE NEVER NEEDED THEM! (Hope to never need them.)
DRLs can be of benefit in Canaduh. In usually sunny Coldorado, they are a waste of gas. (I drive not relying upon others seeing myehicle.)

I turned our DTR lights off to save fuel and bulb life.
I bet that really get the MPG's up there.
Have had bulbs burn out.
Really? Who hasn't?
My main reason is the little extra load on the engine with their needless daytime operation.
Your engine doesn't even notice or care.
As a child, I wore seat-belts the first time I saw them. Have worn them without fail ever since. In all this time I HAVE NEVER NEEDED THEM! (Hope to never need them.) DRLs can be of benefit in Canaduh. In usually sunny Coldorado, they are a waste of gas. (I drive not relying upon others seeing myehicle.)

And the laughs just keep coming !!!

Your engine doesn't even notice or care.
The tiny additional load does use a tiny amount of fuel. If of benefit, I turn the lights on. When I am driving thousands of miles without them being needed, they are off.

I’m a hypermiling wannabe who also drives an Expedition.

@RobertGift

Come on, man!

On that car I mentioned, the low beams were on any time the ignition was on, because that’s the way I wanted it. I simply left the headlight switch in the low beam position, because I knew they would turn off with the ignition switch.

It didn’t cost me any fuel economy

I got 37mpg, with the headlights on for all those years. Not too bad, if I may say so.

Not too bad at all, considering the car had old technology, power windows and locks, power steering, air conditioning, 4 doors, and was significantly bigger than a Metro

No offense intended, @cwatkin

I'm a hypermiling wannabe who also drives an Expedition.

That would just be sad, if it weren’t so stupidly funny.