I understand that HID is newer and you have to spend tons of money for an upgrade.
What about xenon? What is it? Is the light white?
I don't like those bluish lights...it look too ricies for me.
Is it better to install xenon lights instead of using the hi beam light bulbs and having to shave off the middle grove/ridge of the prong (don't know the correct terminology)

 

The words xenon and HID are synonymous. Xenon is the gas used in HID's. Basically a high intensity discharged lighting system uses xenon gas inside the bulb that is ignited by an arc of electricity producing a bright light, more efficient than a current passing through a filament. Less heat too.

-nick

 

Thanks Nick

 

Xenon is a noble gas that is fairly large and heavy. It is used in HID lighting as a main ingredient and in halogen as a catalyst ingredient. In HID, xenon is the gas that discharges photon particles (light) when excited by a surge of electrical charge. Xenon is used instead of sodium/mercury vapor due to the neccessity of a shortened "warm-up" period. In halogen lamps xenon is used as a buffer to slow tungsten evaporation and ultimately increase the bulb's lifespan. The voltage of halogen is too low for xenon to actively effect it's color temperature or brightness directly. This fact, combined with the fact that argon, krypton, and other smaller noble gases are more effective buffers, leads me to believe that they used "xenon" in halogens PURELY for marketing purposes.