Are the Bi-zenons really worth the money?

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This has been disscused before, you can do a search and find the thread. And yes they are way worth it.

Please do a search. There is a healthy discussion or two about these with most saying YES.

Fiebru, I had the same dilema, but there are plenty of good reasons why its worth gettting them. Look under search and you will see several threads on this same subject. In fact, what I read from many, that is a must option. I personnaly went for them since I plan to do some night driving around town, I know this for a fact because I am sure that after work I will need a very bright lantern to tease this croc off the pond. Chao COCO Edited by - Cocodrilo on 01/24/2006 5:02:32 PM

If I only drove during daylight hours I would have passed on the Bi-Xenons. /fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/shades_smile.gif Edmunds reports that Bi-Xenons are a typically Equipped Option on their web site . <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" width="100%" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="chartdark"></td> <td class="chartdark"> T </td> <td class="chartdark" width="50%">P74 Xenon Headlamp Package info </td> <td class="chartdark" align="right" width="25%">$1,090</td> <td class="chartdark" align="right" width="25%">$927</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" width="100%" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="chartlight"></td> <td class="chartlight"> T </td> <td class="chartlight" colspan="4">Typically Equipped Option</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

They should be a standard equipment on a car like this - sadly they are not, and many feel that they are a safety issue and worth getting. In addition to looking 'modern' I like them because any small potholes in the road show up much better letting me avoid possible problems.

The refrain to this chorus "They should be staaadard, ohhhh oooo"

I would defiinitely say they are worth it after experiencing them on the dark Arizona desert roads!!!!

The lights are extremely good; not only clarity and brightness of of light but the wider field of vision is impressive. I live in an area where there are a lot of deer and the Xenons light up the periphery very well.

I realize there are other threads that address - but to add a recent real world example I picked up my Cayman on the 11th and driving to work at 6:30am the 12th the lights were very handy when there were 5 deer standing in the middle of a curve I was taking at 70mph. Sighted and stopped with zero problem, the lights seems to bring a lot of clarity to your vision right up to the end of their range. I highly recommend.

They are also a huge plus to have while selling your car. I predict that Zenons and PCMwill bethe 2 most important options that used cayman buyers will look for a couple years from now.

YES! If you get any option get the bi-Xenons they are well worth it! I too think a car of this caliber should have them standard as well. They are on many Japanese cars these days as well as the higher priced BMW's, eck BMW's have adaptive headlights. Why does Porsche continue to nickel and dime customers on the simpilist of options? I don't get it. I mean come on, $340 for the Porsche crest in the seats!!!! It's their crest on their car!!!!!!! I also agree with the above poster, when I look at used cars,if theydon't have Xenons I am not interested. BTW, just to clarify if any didn't already, Bi-Xenons are Xenons the are low-beam ANDhigh-beam. Regular Xenons are low-beam only. Edited by - Flyer on 01/25/2006 12:01:14 PM

Thanks for all the advice. I will keep them on my order. Thanks for the explanation about what Bi-Xenon stood for. Some kid at a dealer explained it backwards. So with the Bi-Xenon, both hi and lo beams are Xenon bulbs? That makes more sense.

<div>'Bi' xenons are actually just 2 xenons (one for left and one for right) and movable reflector/mirror that re-aims the xenons for high beam operation. There are NOT 4 xenon bulbs. There's a rotating cutoff that blocks the upper portion of the thrown light when the 'high beams' aren't engaged. Push the stalk forward and the cutoff rotates to allow the upper portion of the pattern to be thrown. The low beam pattern doesn't change when the high beams are engaged which indicates that the lights are not being re-aimed.</div> <div></div> <div>The reasoning of the re-aiming is because xenons do not reach their optimum operating color temperature immediately because the ballast needsto 'ignite' the xenon gas and that would take too long if there were if there was a separate bulb for the high-beams.</div> <div></div> <div>So to answer you question Fiebru there is only one each Xenon bulb and each acts as the low-beam and high-beam.</div> <div></div> <div>I hope this helps and the explaination made sense.</div> <div></div> <div>BTW, I do want to say that this is how my Bi-xenons in my BMW work and I am assuming that they all work similarly. </div> Edited by - Flyer on 01/25/2006 8:14:28 PM

1. They are a 'big' theft risk as of late, according to a recent article I read. 2. $1k to receive about 15% better lighting. How often do you drive at night? If you only drive at night, maybe it's worth the money. If you spend 90% driving during the day, well...probably not worth it? 3. I have the Bi-xenon lights now and if I had to pay any extra for them, I wouldn't bother. I bounce back and forth between my car that has them and the one that doesn't and there is very little difference (perhaps my eyes just suck), if ANY at all. 4. Last comment. All bi-xenons are not created equal. Many are actually worse than a standard H5 or H7 halogen, and are not as safe in bad weather due to very bad scatter. On average a halogen has excellent lighting to 50 meters and the bi-xenon to 60 meters. The bi-xenons are typically much better at curbside illumination (lateral), however. Not sure if that is worth the extra money or not. Paul

If I was more of a night driver I would have added Xenons, but really no need for me. And I might mention that the standard Hologens are awesome! I was surprised at how vivid and bright they are. Almost as good as my BMW Xenons, without the blue tint. Russ

<div>That does raise a good question and whether you do a lot of driving at night. IMO they are well worth it. It is true they are much better laterally than Halogens and if you drive some windy roads with not good lighting then they are a god send oposed to Halogens. </div> <div>Yes, I'm sure there is the theft issue but that is what insurance is for, heck they could steal the whole car. And resale value to some 'knowing ' customers especially if selling privatly will help a lot.</div> <div></div> <div></div>

Are they worth it? I think most people would say they should be included at the price of the cars. Having said that, the question is should you buy them. 1)Will you drive this car at night? 2) Will you drive this car in bad weather (rain, snow, etc)? 3) Are you concerned about resale value of the car? 4) Do you think the brightness and blue colour helps your self esteem? /fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/wink_smile.gifBelieve me there are people out there like this - not that they would admit who they are. They are the kind of people who drive around with their fog lights on, on sunny days. Anyway, the more questions you answered yes, the more this option is for you.

I think I was in the catagory of 'I like to have something that is different, and all the fancy cars have them' people. I also like the blue tint when I had them. Russ

I ordered them as alot of my driving is at night, working the 3-11pm shift. My experience using them on our trip told me it was worth the money while highway driving through the desert. It is hard for me to change over to the wife's car which does not have them. I am sure that they could have been standard eqt. but then I believe I saw they were optioned on the GT as well.