andyroo

Hi, I've been looking around the forum and I've seen people with new HIDs and such, and I was going through that option, but I found that changing just the bulbs of the car is much cheaper and almost just as efficient? I was wondering if I were to jsut change the bulbs on my car to PIAA xtreme whites or Razo platinums, would my lights still have autoleveling? Also, is there a noticable difference if anyone has used them before? Thanks for the replies!

mofogasm

just changing the bulbs isn't close to being the same as an HID kit

jlin101

changing the bulbs alone will not give you autoleveling or adaptive front lighting, not that you will need them with halogen bulbs, since the light output from ANY halogen bulbs does not come close to HID (unless you use high-wattage bulbs, which burn much hotter, and die quickly). Even aftermarket HID bulb/ballast are not as effective as OEM HID's due to the difference in optics. The only gain you get from those "xtreme white" bulbs is slightly whiter light and the appearance, to untrained eyes, that you have HID. In reality you may even lose light output if the bulbs are simply tinted. Simply using whiter halogen bulbs is akin to installing a louder muffler and thinking that you've gained more horsepower. Without getting an expensive package that has HID, your best bet is to go with HID/ballast conversion (about $300 a pair).

andyroo

I thought the new IS's already came with autoleveling in the head-unit so that if you just change the bulbs, it would still have auto-leveling because you're not actually taking out the unit, and just replacing the bulbs? or am I wrong?

amy011079

In short, opt for the HIDs. It will save you time and money in the long run.

wolverine

iTrader: (9)

i think auto-leveling only comes with the lux package or the sport package

jlin101

autoleveling is useful for HID to avoid blinding the oncoming traffic with the high light output. With the relatively low output of halogen bulbs, autoleveling would be an unnecessary and wasted feature. There are some Japanese cars, such as G35 and TL, that have HID without autoleveling, but not vice versa.