R56 How many with xenons?
#1
How many with xenons?
Just wondering if dealer pre-ordered cars with xenons are a rarity? I've been in contact with my 'local' dealer trying to decide between getting one of their remaining '09s, getting an existing '10, or ordering a '10. I really like xenon lamps but I swear the vast majority of the cars on my dealer's lot are equipped with halogens. In fact, unless something has changed since last weekend, I can only remember them having maybe 5 out of 30 cars with them. My MA told me that they didn't have any cars down the pipeline that would be equipped with xenons.
Is it atypical for dealers everywhere to order xenon equipped cars? Surely that extra $500 (vs like $2k later for post production dealer installed xenons!!) wouldn't be enough of a price deterrent to make people decide against getting a MINI. But maybe I'm missing something...
Is it atypical for dealers everywhere to order xenon equipped cars? Surely that extra $500 (vs like $2k later for post production dealer installed xenons!!) wouldn't be enough of a price deterrent to make people decide against getting a MINI. But maybe I'm missing something...
#4
They aren't a deal breaker for me really, I've just been very surprised that they seem so rare in already existing dealer inventories. I've spoken with a couple of other dealers and even there, halogens are by far the norm.
I do hear ya on the comfort accessories (although "comfort" is debatable when considering that piddly screen mesh on the moon roof). My ideal car would be an S equipped with xenons and CW pack. Finding an existing one of those on a dealer lot is not gonna happen. Makes perfect sense to me though!!
I do hear ya on the comfort accessories (although "comfort" is debatable when considering that piddly screen mesh on the moon roof). My ideal car would be an S equipped with xenons and CW pack. Finding an existing one of those on a dealer lot is not gonna happen. Makes perfect sense to me though!!
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Those must be the improperly installed or aftermarket ones then unless it is a truck or SUV. the beam cutters rae very distinct on the prorpelry aligned Xenon's and they will not blind you if they come up on you form the rear, in fact they will show less light into your car than halogen. Again this is only if they are aligned/aimed properly.
#10
I have them and think they were a mistake (came in the 2007 Sport Package). The only place they are useful is on empty country roads. As soon as you have oncoming traffic, they are a disadvantage.
If there is oncoming traffic, you have to use the low beams, which suck. Xenons don't dim the light for low-beams, they just drop a mask over the top area. So, on low-beam, there is an overly bright area that has a very distinct cut-off. While the cut-off is necessary for other drivers, it is a problem for the driver. Your eyes adjust to bright light level. With very little scatter of light beyond the cutoff, your light-adapted eyes can't see into the unlit area. With low beams, halogens allow you to see further, IMO.
If there is oncoming traffic, you have to use the low beams, which suck. Xenons don't dim the light for low-beams, they just drop a mask over the top area. So, on low-beam, there is an overly bright area that has a very distinct cut-off. While the cut-off is necessary for other drivers, it is a problem for the driver. Your eyes adjust to bright light level. With very little scatter of light beyond the cutoff, your light-adapted eyes can't see into the unlit area. With low beams, halogens allow you to see further, IMO.
#11
Yeah, I've driven cars with xenons, and currently drive a car that has xenons. There definitely is a sharp cut off and I have on more than one occasion wondered, when driving on a lonely country road and meeting another vehicle, if a deer would materialize from the void before I had time to correct or break.
I'm not going to turn down a great deal on a car because it doesn't have xenons, though I would prefer them despite their shortcomings. Honestly though, I have to ask myself if I want them so badly because of their utility or because of the way they look to other cars. I know that sounds about as shallow as it can but in being honest with myself I truly do wonder.
Right now my local dealer has an S that is great in every aspect but the xenons. I have a strong feeling I'll be driving that car the 3 hrs home tomorrow.
I'm not going to turn down a great deal on a car because it doesn't have xenons, though I would prefer them despite their shortcomings. Honestly though, I have to ask myself if I want them so badly because of their utility or because of the way they look to other cars. I know that sounds about as shallow as it can but in being honest with myself I truly do wonder.
Right now my local dealer has an S that is great in every aspect but the xenons. I have a strong feeling I'll be driving that car the 3 hrs home tomorrow.
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Those must be the improperly installed or aftermarket ones then unless it is a truck or SUV. the beam cutters rae very distinct on the prorpelry aligned Xenon's and they will not blind you if they come up on you form the rear, in fact they will show less light into your car than halogen. Again this is only if they are aligned/aimed properly.
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Xenons are one of the only options that have dropped in price over the past few years. They were $550 when I ordered my 05 in 04.
count me in the pro-xenon crowd. I dont know what Casady and others are talking about, but I love them. my pickup has halogens, and let's just say I'd prefer not to drive that thing at night. Xenons, working with the fogs (which spread more light down and out to the sides), allow me to see deer and other big car-crunching critters long before the halogens would allow.
SO: Xenons yay, halogens nay.
count me in the pro-xenon crowd. I dont know what Casady and others are talking about, but I love them. my pickup has halogens, and let's just say I'd prefer not to drive that thing at night. Xenons, working with the fogs (which spread more light down and out to the sides), allow me to see deer and other big car-crunching critters long before the halogens would allow.
SO: Xenons yay, halogens nay.
#18
Fogs are no use to you with deer unless it is foggy and/or you are driving very very slowly. By the time they would illuminate the deer, you are too close to avoid it. Running fogs when there is no fog serves only to annoy other drivers.
However, if you are talking about high-beam Xenons. I don't have much argument with you. They put out lots of light and spread it wide. It is when you drop the low-beam shutter on them that you are in trouble.
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Illusions. You think you have good visibility because the area right in front of you is very very bright. However, it is working against you. The area you really want to see on a country road (45 mph +) is beyond the reach of your low beams. That deer will suddenly appear out of the black, and there will be little you can do about it....It is when you drop the low-beam shutter on them that you are in trouble.
*Xenon arc lamps (slightly different technology) are used in almost all theater protectors for accurate color reproduction.
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The ultraviolet will reflect much more off a deer's coat and eyes than limited spectrum Halogens will. This also make reading road signs a snap and from a long distance. *Plus the wider more natural light helps the brain in more quickly identifying unexpected objects
*Xenon arc lamps (slightly different technology) are used in almost all theater protectors for accurate color reproduction.
*Xenon arc lamps (slightly different technology) are used in almost all theater protectors for accurate color reproduction.
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Also Xenon's have a much wider light spectrum (along with being closer to 6500 Kelvin (and not 6500º Kelvin)) including more ultraviolet. The ultraviolet will reflect much more off a deer's coat and eyes than limited spectrum Halogens will. This also make reading road signs a snap and from a long distance. *Plus the wider more natural light helps the brain in more quickly identifying unexpected objects.
Violet and blue lightwaves are the least useful for distinguishing objects (such as deer in foliage). Here is why:
The visual perception of intensely blue objects is less distinct than the perception of objects of red and green. This reduced acuity is attributed to two effects. First, the blue cones are outside the fovea, where the close-packed cones give the greatest resolution. All of our most distinct vision comes from focusing the light on the fovea. Second, the refractive index for blue light is enough different from red and green that when they are in focus, the blue is slightly out of focus (chromatic aberration).