I ordered a A4 2.8 without the Xenon option. Now, after reading alot of posts, I'm second guessing my decision.
Questions:

1.Is there a large benefit to the Xenons over the stock headlights? (The archives aren't working)
2.Can you have them installed aftermarket? How much would that cost?
3.My car order was already placed. If I want the Xenons, would changing my order push back delivery big time?

Thanks.

I can't say for sure but a friend of mine works at a VW\AUDI dealership and from what I've heard at least half of the A4's that come in don't have the Xenon lights so you won't have to make a factory order out of it = no real wait

It was the main reason I ordered my 2k 1.8TQMS, they are really worth it IMHO.
as to your ?'s:



<I>1.Is there a large benefit to the Xenons over the stock headlights? </I>

Yes, the light is much "whiter" and more like daylight. they give better depth perception
and increase peripheral vision dramaticly

<I>2.Can you have them installed aftermarket? How much would that cost?</I>
I really don't recommend this route. You will pay over $1000 fit may be dicey and depending
on where you live they may be illegal

<I> 3.My car order was already placed. If I want the Xenons, would changing my
order push back delivery big time?</I>

Probably NOT! This would be the way to go, I ordered on June 25 for Sept. production. I'm told
that options are still modifiable on this car and won't affect production time. My best guess is
that the factory option will cost $500 +/-$100 My dealer says that he has been ordering xenon
on most of his allocated cars because it is so cool. He said it really is a selling point on new 3
series Bimmers too.

I ordered them in my '00 1.8T also

I would definitely go with the Xenon order. I installed aftermarket one's on my A4 and have to say they are way better than stock. Whenever I drive my parents car or friends, it feels like I don't even have my headlights on.. Keep your order as it is.. You'll be happy that you got em!

Dmak 1.8TQMSX

$200 from the dealer.

what a great way to announce to cops that you're driving a high performance car. Yeah, that's exactly what I want to do with my car....draw more attention to it.

I prefer the sleeper look. I make mods to my car for performance reasons only....not to impress anyone else. I prefer that people NOT be able to tell immediately, from the exterior, what's actually under my car. Many cops can't tell the difference yet between real xenons and illegal blue wanna-be pieces of #@##. So either way, you're opening yourself up to extra attention by police--either you have a real performance car or you're some kind of rice boy with fakes. That's all most cops are going to see right now from your xenons. And if a cop is dozing by the roadside, you bet your xenons may just attract his attention.

Considering that I think the benefit of xenons is negligible (especially over the stock headlights in the 99.5 and later), I voted to skip them.

But, you've got your own life and your own money to spend. So do whatever makes you happy. If the xenons make you happy and they're important to you, then don't worry about it and just be happy with your choice. If you use this board as your measuring stick, you'll never be able to keep up with the Jones's.

Planetman

I put the LLTek imported HIDs on my car six months ago...if you really think that HIDs have a negligible effect on night driving, I suggest you go test drive a car with Xenons at night.

Let me address each of your comments one by one:
1) While HIDs may impress, they are not purely aesthetic. HIDs put out a far purer light than any bulb, filling the driver's front view with a more uniform light than a standard bulb. If you drive with normal headlamps, you'll notice that the light starts to "fade" at the edges. HID light is bright and uniform all the way to the cutoffs.

2)Illegal blue bulbs and xenons appear completely different; I had plasma blue (PIAAs) on my car before switching to the HIDs and the difference is astounding. Blues illuminate and color everything in your field of view a blue tint; HIDs illuminate an object to its natural color.

3)The performance of stock 99.5 and newer A4 lamps is considerably lower than HIDs. While the projector lamps are far more effective than the A4 lamps from 99 and earlier, they still rely on a tungsten-filament bulb. HIDs, on the other hand, use two prongs to create an electrical arc in a pocket of xenon gas to create a light that is far more intense and pure. The result: better illumination to the sides, and far greater illumination to the front. If your 99.5 stock lamps can illuminate a road sign 1000 yards away, you let me know.

If HIDs are as useless as you say they are, then why are so many good car companies sinking into your so-called trap?

Mercedes-Benz: C-class, E-class, CLK, S-class, and CL-class cars all offer HIDs.

BMW: 3-series, 5-series, 7-series, and M cars all offer HIDs.

Audi: S cars, A6 and A8 offer HIDs.

Lexus: LS400, GS300 and GS400 offer HIDs.

Do you really think these companies don't know what they're doing? Please...

Jason G
98.5 A!2.8 (HMIIs and HIDs)

My fault for digressing into my opinion as to benefits. My main point was that HIDs are cop magnets. I understand perfectly well the difference between HIDs and others...I have driven cars with HIDs. I understand the technical difference and I understand the real-life, driven-it-myself difference. I still personally prefer the stock lamps. But that wasn't my main point.

The 'trap' I was trying to explain was not whether they are worth the money or not, or whether there is a difference or not. It was that COPS can't tell the difference. Cops can barely tell if your car is lowered too much, if the exhaust is legal, etc.....you think your average cop can differentiate between HIDs in a high performance car, and PIAA'a put into anything else? You're a very trusting, optimistic soul if you believe that.

A cop sees HIDs and most think two things: ooohhh, here comes a real performance car (like the list you rattled off, of legitimate, fancy European performance cars) or a rice boy with fakes. Either way, it singles you out as someone that fits a profile....a profile that equates, from many cops' perspectives, to a person that he/she wants to subject to additional scrutiny.

Me....I don't want to do anything that attracts more scrutiny from law enforcement. I want to blend in, and go my way unnoticed.

That was my point. And one that I don't see talked about much on this board, which is why I brought it up. It came up at dinner the other night, with drivers of Audi's and BMW's...all of whom had considered HIDs and decided against, largely because cops aren't educated enough yet to discern the difference.

Planetman

...but I would have to say that there are a lot of other things that will make a police officer target you; yes, seeing HIDs will make a cop immediately pay more attention, but seeing that the car is an A4, and thus european, will put you into a different group than so-called Rice-boys (except under extreme duress; an A4 can be made to become a Rice rocket if given enough stickers :))

I understand your position, but I want Paul G. to have both the pros and cons on his plate before he decides for or against HIDs.

Jason G
98.5 A!2.8 (HMIIs and HIDs)

I was pulled over for "blue headlights" and actually ticketed. The ticket was immediately dismissed of course because they were real HID lights, but it made me think. Roughly till the sun set, that is. Then it was no question.

If they wanted to train cops so that they can tell HIDs from blue fakes, all you need to do is to turn it off and back on. If it flickers, it's HID, otherwise it's obviously a fake. I think that the cops will get trained fast while you will have permanent advantage of the Xenons.

- Stan

Yes, more and more cars will have Xenon in the next few years (just check the new car ads)--hence the Xenons will no longer be a cop magnet.

As a driver of a GS400 with XENON headlamps (boohoo), they definitely are a improvement over regular halogen bulbs. They light up a wide perimeter, and a lot more if your headlamp assembly is motorized to keep the sight of your lamps always at the right angle. If an officer pulls you over and you have real HID lighting, point out the high voltage warning stickers, the ballasts of the HID light system or show him the bulb of your xenon system (which should be around 35 watts compared to 55 watts of halogen systems).

HID lights also take a while to warm up when cold, they will actually turn from yellow to white to a bluish tint.

I would definitely recommend them. It is a good investment.

If it attrats cops, it will also make sure other driver's see you more easily (less accidents)

yes, cops will become more educated over time. And HID's are getting more popular, so you're going to start seeing more and more of them. But...the process of HID's becoming commonplace will be slow. Are they offered as options on most higher-end cars, particularly European cars? Yes, absolutely. So while the issue of 'are they real or not' (i.e. are they legal ones or not) will become less of an issue, they will still single you out as driving a high end car. So while you shouldn't face the harrassment of being ticketed for having illegal lights (which sucks...can't believe that happened to you even recently), you're still going to attract attention. They still signal you out as being something special.

In the dark of night, it just means that you're giving a cop a heads-up from quite a distance that you're not driving your average putter-putter American family car. So in terms of a range of moving violations, a lot of cops still hold people who drive fancy, high-end cars to higher standards than they do other people. It's going to be a long time (some years) before HID's are so commonplace that you avoid attracting this kind of attention. HID's are still going to be associated with high-end performance cars for quite a while.

So, completely separate from the issue of are-they-real-or-not is the idea that I just don't want a cop to have that much advanced warning that me (and my fancy car) are coming his way. It's just my personal prejudice, but I think if you came through a cops radar at 76 mph, you might get treated differently if that radar reading was preceeded by fancy HIDs lights or just regular halogen.

Hope I'm not beating a dead horse here with this one. The HIDs definitely look cool, and they definitely do provide you with a very different night driving experience. Glad to hear about everyone who has them and is so happy with them. I'm sure in a few years, when they're more commonplace (and cheaper), I'll probably end up with a car that has them. But for now, I'm going to wait a while.

Planetman