the usual myths/rumours surface now and again.
firstly, main beam xenons....total waste of time.
foglight xenons......the light is to white in fog, and causes glare, the more yellow the light, the better.
lenses, as has been said, you need a proper projector lense to get the correct beam/benefit, but in some cases a normal lense will show some improvment.
this is an e46 bi xenon lense.
notice the shutter.
this drops when full beam is activated, giving 90% of the bulbs ability, its like driving a lighthouse.
there is no extra bulb involved, just a single unit.
i shall probably have a go at putting these into an e30 light soon, just to see how it goes.
the reason for h/lamp wash, is dirt diffuses the light, making it dangerous.
i beleive xenons are now banned from new cars in italy, because of this.
lastly, if you do retrofit an hid kit, try to stick with the hella based one, as the amount of trouble i've had with the korean/chinese/japanese based ones is unbeleivable
you can see the difference in bulb colour in this picture
8000k mains, and 4300k (oem) dipped.
notice the different colours on the wall.
the lower the 'k'.....the brighter the light, hth
