I think HIDs are like moon roofs in a way. It's one of those things that a person looks for when buying certain used vehicles. a lot of people want a moon roof when they buy a used car and then never use it.
I'd like to know how many people actually get into accidents that could have been avoided if their car was equipped wih HIDs???? of course there is no way to ever know..... What i do know is they havent helped me spot deer any better at night.

I think it comes down to looks and resale. cars with them will bring more $$$$ on the used market and people will want them more.....just like useless moon roofs!

Non HID looks archaic when so many cars now have them. Plus at night, lets face it, they just look cooler!

 

I probably wouldn't have ordered one with them, but the one the dealer had on the lot happened to have them. I am glad I did though; they're a lot brighter than standard halogens.

 

I really like the HID's on my 2011, you can see much better at night

 

I won't buy a new car without HIDs. They came standard on my 2002 TL Type-S and I've been hooked ever since.

 

I posted this in another thread before I saw this but I don't like the HIDs with the standard fogs. The different visual style is unappealing to me with the lights so close together -- even during the day. I think it looks fine with the GT/CS fogs.

As far as the light goes, I came from HIDs and enjoyed the brightness but I can't say that I really miss them. But I really I don't drive in super dark areas either.

 

only thing I didn't like about the HIDs was the silver buckets (though they look great on silver cars). i like mine now...

 

Wow, now that is a hott car! I like what you've done to that!

The HID's are kind of in two tiers...ours are in the projector housings and have a more focused beam than say an HID in a traditional housing. Isn't this right? I've also heard HID's are not supposed to be flashed on and off quickly or they'll burn out prematurely. I like the way they work in the Mustang but I can see fine in my other cars without them.

 

HID's (xenons's) cannot be put in normal housings as they would blind the heck out of people. An HID has to be VERY directed and managed and there are rules that require them to have autoleveling features. They use less power and put out many more lumens.

The problem with poorly designed HID's is that they don't take other drivers into consideration. The HID's in my 12 year old BMW are much better than the HID's in the 2011 Mustang. Although I'd take the 2011 HID's or halogens anyday.

When you say flashed on and off, I'm assuming you mean turned on and off as apposed to flashed. You can flash them all day long, they are already heated up enough and they can arc.

 

I'm glad I ordered them as I do a lot of night driving and mostly rural. They are not as "good" as I had thought they would be though. As someone else mentioned, I thought I'd be able to see "wildlife" along the side of the road much better (or sooner) than with my 2004's halogens upgraded to Silverstar bulbs but this is just not the case.

Even with stock bulbs in the '04, I'd get flashed with my low beams on a few times a year and NO they were not improperly adjusted ... with the '11 HID low beams on maybe once or twice in 30k miles. With factory "smoked" headlamps I thought the '04 would be worse than my '98, but they were actually better. My point is, the stock '04 Halogens were probably the best factory lamps I had to date and the '11 HIDS offer just marginally better visability than these did with Silverstar bulbs.


When you activate 2010-up Mustang HID "High Beams", a solenoid moves a shutter that alters the beam pattern ... there is no 2nd filament (like regular halogens) nor does the brightness of the lamps change. I'd guess this is how all HID's work, so "flashing" your high beams all the time will not shorten the HID lamp life ... however it may shorten the life of the "shutter solenoids".

Doug

 

The HIDs may not prevent accidents but you can still see a bit more clear. Less straining as the HIDs light up road signs, side markers, or anything reflective more intense from a further distance. I think the head lamp assembly looks better with HIDs. Just my opinion.

 

Thanks, Reuben!

 

i see the HIDs popping up more and more on kbb, and edmunds as an item to raise value when estimating value on a used car so its definitely something buyers are looking for.

 

My 2012 5.0 GT did not come with HID lights installed. I too like the look of them, but I also think it would look stupid to have bright white lights mixed with "yellow" in the center. Is there an HID kit for the center lights or fog lights? I read elsewhere that aftermarket HIDs have issues after a year or so. Anyone have first hand knowledge with this? If HID lights were installed in the headlights, would LED bulbs match color wise in the center and fog lights?

 

I frequently find my headlights lighting the road in front of the car ahead of me better than that car's headlights do. That is pretty sad.

 

After having them on my '03 Acura CL, HIDs were on my "Must Have" list, and am extremely glad I have them...

Vastly longer "reach", and any reflective surface within the same zip code pops out of the darkness ahead of you....

Don't leave home without them...

 

There are special plug-n-play replacement bulbs you can buy for the factory fogs which match the "color" of the factory HIDs. The user "MontrealPonies" (or similar) has them & knows how to get them. No mismatch, no problem.

 

Google Hoen XenonMatch for the fog light bulbs just mentioned. I have a set installed in my car and they're pretty nice. They match well.





The bulb on the passenger side is the stock bulb.

 

I chose HID lamps only because of the inboard location since it looks more like a 1970 mustang. Now that I have seen the difference at night I like them even more.

 

I didn't have a choice, but even if I did I would have opted for the HID.

 

I don't doubt that better lights are worth the money..
...but in my opinion, they really hurt the look of the front end of the car. Actually...I hate them.

Plus, the fact that they don't match the fog lights just emphasizes that the car was designed around the halogen style lights.

Purely personal taste...they just look out of place to me.