Hey guys,

I got my Consumer Reports auto issue in the mail today and they had a feature story on headlights. Addressing the differences between halogen and HID, conversions, the cheap blue tinted knock offs, glare etc... A good article.

In the middle of the article they did a test to see which cars threw light the furthest down the road. I quote:

We compared 31 cars and trucks with halogen lights and 10 with HIDs, measuring their ability to ligh the road ahead and along the sides as well as checking them for glare.

Six out of 10 vehicles with HIDs and 9 out of 31 with halogens reached the 400-foot marker on our test course with low beams, compared with an average of 335 feet for all models tested.

The farthest so far: the inexpensive, halogen-equipped MAZDA PROTEGE5 Its low beams illuminated our 600-foot marker without creating a glare problem.

Both types of lights produce our worst performers. The HID equipped Audi TT's low beams lit only to our 200-foot marker, while the halogen-equippped Chrysler Sebring and Pontiac Grand Prix provided weak, nonuniform light.


Not bad news for our Protege5 eh?

 

Sweet.....

 

i'm no "expert" or nothing, but when i first got my 5 i thought (and everyone else noticed) my headlights were by far the best i've ever had, whether it was my car or driving someone else's. i was surprised at the range and brightness compared to all the other cars i've owned and/or driven.

nice job mazda.

 

We need to show this thread to all the members who think "upgraded" bulbs are worth all the $$ and blown bulbs.

I've said tons of times that the P5 lights are waaaaaayyy better than most out there, and can't understand why so many ppl think they need to be brighter or "blue" or "hyper white" or whatever.

And my P5 will be 2 years old in June, and I haven't changed a bulb yet.

Good find, man!

~HH

 

Did they say anything about halogen lamps with an aftermarket HID kit in them???

I'd be curious to see which cars had those and "passed" decently.

Was that 600 ft. with halogens on low beam???

Did they do tests for high beams on the cars too???

~A

 

I occasionally have other cars flashing their high beams at me, I guess because of the great brightness and range of the Pro5's lows. Sorry other cars, I am not responsible for the little puddles of light in front of your bumper!

 

Not having the chance to read the report, did they take into consideration of whether the lights are properly aimed when they do the comparison? Don't get me wrong, I'm not questioning the light output of the P5, just have my doubt about Consumer Reports' competency when it comes to testing methodology.

 

i like the stock headlights but i will still be installing an aftermarket hid kit. I have seen a p5 with it and honestly couldnt see much of a difference except the light looked much whiter and purer and i thought the kid was driving a lexus. -=)

 

i've had my car for almost 2 yrs also and i have to replace my stock low beam bulbs all the time, i changed to a better bulb and they keep burning out, but they are brighter....ofcourse i believe that when i drive, it would be day light ALL the time, ofcourse the other drivers don't like it

 

If you didn't see a difference, then you're either stupid or blind. There is a HUGE difference. Those light housings are made for a halogen bulb, and that is IT. Nothing else. If you put a HID kit in there, there WILL be glare, enough to cause an accident even. The colour is determined by a few factors. The lens, the bulb itself, and the manufacturer. You'll get a light increase, more middle fingers because you will deserve them, and a colour that signals "COPS pull me over!"

Good luck.

~A

 

does anyone know if the lights on the sedan (ES specifically) are the same?

 

I dunno I saw a yellow P5 in my area with an HID retrofit kit and it looked very "stock " to me. No glare, and good uniform output.

Does anyone know if the JDM Familia SP20 Wagon with HID use the same reflector unit, except it has a left bias instead of our right?

 

either im blind or im a moron? well let me tell usomething here guy.. first the kit is a 4500k kit which is just a brighter purer white light. second it wont blind people if u aim the headlights correctly -=) so before u come on and start flaming me why dont u do a little research.. maybe ull learn something instead of how to run your yap an make yourself look ignorant. -=)
John

 

For wahtever reason I wasn't getting email notices that this thread had responses. Anyways I'll address questions here.

1. They briefly mentioned Halogen lamps with aftermarket HID kits. Techincally they are not allowed by law in the United States, and as part of the article they addressed how halogen housings and HID housings diffuse the light in different patterns. Essentially for them to have tested HID bulbs in halogen housings would not have made sense, since it is Consumer Reports and they need to abide by the law.

2. 600 ft is the distance with low beams, I don't recall if they tested high beams, but I am pretty sure they didn't.

 

The lights on the sedan are different. They are a single bulb set-up with an H4 bulb vs. the two bulb set-up in the Protege5. The article didn't have a report of how all the models finished, just mentioned a few models of cars. It was mostly just talking about concepts and what not.