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Re: Headlight thread
Hmm, interesting comment about why HID was developed, becuase of wanting to package cooler light source in cheaper plastic housings.
I was a lighting engineer at a major OEM supplier for 17+ years. I designed multiple different HID headlamps that you probably see everyday. the reason for HID was for the incredible amount of light that comes out of them versus halogen. Plus they last longer because there's no filament to burn out.
Just for your information, it takes more space and higher temperature materials for HID due to the importance of an accurate reflector optical design. Cheap plastics warp and cause glare. You can't make a legal, good performing headlamp with cheap plastic reflectors. and you can't change the lens material due to impact resistance.
Now, that being said. Yes, LED is the new deal. HID's will phase out. Mostly due to the high cost and the difficulty packaging the HID bulbs. Plus, you block most of the light coming out of the bulb (actually called a burner) to avoid it hitting unwanted internal surfaces and causing illegal glare. THIS IS WHY YOU DON'T PUT THEM INTO REFLECTORS THEY WEREN'T DESIGNED FOR.
There's a couple of guys on my way to work that I meet on a regular basis who have illegal HID's in their vehicles. Looks stupid, probably isn't creating a lot of useful light and if there was ever a cop who understood how to check for DOT compliance they wouldn't have them.
That's my $.02
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