//:: HID Headlights

"Here we go ranting about driving again ... Installing aftermarket HID headlight units to make you ride appear more luxurious is daft!"

It's late in the evening and you're driving down a 2 lane 2-way road when you notice that an oncoming vehicle has its bluish-white lights on a high beam. You quickly and politely flash your headlights to alert the oncoming car but there is no response from the other driver coming towards you. As you vehicles pass each other, the glare is so intense that you almost veer off the road.

Does this sound familiar? If so, join the cub. You, like countless others, have just become a victim of aftermarket HID glare. Commonly cause by the fitment for halogen bulb, this kind of modification is illegal in the UK and the US. An HID, or high-intensity discharge lamp, produces about 250 percent more light than a standard halogen bulb. Due to the increase in lighting capacity, a projector lens (similar to that of a camera's) must be used to focus the light properly on the road surface and shine below the windshield level of approaching cars. Vehicles equipped with original HID do not cause glare because they have these lenses.

Developed by Robert Bosch GmbH, the first passenger-car application of HID lights was on the BMW 7-Series of 1986 to 1994. The glass capsule has two wires separated by a void filled with xenon gas, mercury and halide salts that take the place of the filament found in a halogen bulb. When high-voltage current is introduced to the capsule, it arcs across the void, ignites the xenon gas, and produces a brilliant white light.

However, unlike the filament of a halogen bulb, which is shielded when the low-beam material is lit (limiting the area of the illuminated reflector), the single capsule of an HID bulb simulates the full beam filament of a halogen bulb.

The absence of shielding is what makes the aftermarket HID conversion kits a genuine road hazard. They cannot be dipped and will momentarily blind oncoming drivers. The trend of mimicking high-end cars with HID has led to the misguided popularity of aftermarket HID conversion kits. We recommend using premium halogen bulbs from responsible OEM suppliers like Bosch instead.

I just wish the government will act to this aftermarket selling of HID's ... Is our high-way patrol officers doing something about it? PNOY has asked the removal of wangwang's (sirens) so maybe they can do something about aftermarket HID's.

HID is good! don't get me wrong ... it helps you drive safely during the night or even when it's raining but you must have the proper equipment. If your car did not come with HID fitted as standard then don't get an aftermarket HID. You're just making roads much more dangerous to drive on too! You're not helping out. You're just being a FLASH GORDON! Wanting to impress somebody with your flashy headlamps fitted to your box with 4-wheels.

HID, Headlight glare, Driving in the Philippines, aftermarket HID //TAGS

//:: Ferrari 458 Challenge

Back in August we saw a Ferrari 458 Challenge test mule in action at Fiorano. Now a new video has emerged showing the car being tested at Monza.

The 458 Challenge was presented at the Ferrari Annual Dealer Meeting on 14 July 2010. Ferrari say their newest Challenge racer can lap the Fiorano test track in 1:16.5, which is two seconds faster than its F430 Challenge predecessor and only .2 second slower than the Ferrari FXX.

A racing version of their latest V8 super car the Ferrari 458 Italia. uses the same engine perhaps abit tweaked (no details released yet), better suspension, better chassis, better brakes all in the name of performance.

Pictures released by Ferrari of what the Ferrari 458 Challenge will look like.

What is the Ferrari Challege?

Ferrari Challenge is a one-make racing series created by Ferrari. The cars used for this racing series are the mid-engine V8 GT cars created by Ferrari. This series started in 1993 and is still going upto the present. The very first Challenge was based on the Ferrari 348 and was called the 348 Challenge which started in 1993, in 1995 saw the arrival of the F355 Challenge which was then based from the F355, in 2000 the 360 Challenge replaced the F355 Challenge which also was based on the 360 Modena, in 2006 the F430 Challenge replaced the 360 Challenge and in 2011 the latest GT car, the 458 Italia will have it's own challenge series and guess what the car will be called?

What Ferrari does with the challenge car. Basically, what they do is Make the lighter by stripping it out and changing some heavy metal and aluminum parts into carbon fiber materials. They also fiddle about with the engine to improve engine management not necessarily to increase power. They make the chassis and suspension alot stiffer for better cornering and handling. They improve the brakes by making it bigger and using better materials for breaking late coming into the corner and lastly they improve the aerodynamics of the car by adding bits of pieces on the body work to help it push itself more into the ground at higher speeds. Oh don't forget, the do add roll cages inside and change the seat into racing bucket seats and put racing harness' for safety... no airbags in racing!

All of these changes adds up to it's performance. It doesn't necessarily make it faster up it's top speed but it makes it quicker and much more stable in corners. So they may sometimes be same on it's top end speed but the challenge car will be alot quicker going around corners, much faster to reach it's top speed and can brake much later when approaching a corner which means it can go around a track much quicker than the car it's based on.

Want a longer and boring way of understanding what the Ferrari Challenge is? click here

Ferrari 458 Challenge, Racing Car, Monza, Italy, Race, 458 Italia //Tags