Smoked headlights = less output?

[KevRC4130]

Are smoked lights less bright? I would think that DIY smokeys would be substancially less bright than normal lights, but how about OEM Hella smoked lights?

Does the smoking make a difference in HID color? For example, will the HID's look more/less purple when projected through smoked lenses?

Thanks

[asubimmer]

no you don't smoke the glass. they are fine

[MrK]

OEM Hella smokes are not really SMOKED per se... let me explain:

The driving lights (or headlights) consist of an ellipsoid lens, a reflective bulb housing, and an outer surround for the ellips. Hella just makes the outer surround black, so the reflective lens and the ellips itself are not affected, and light output is exaclty the same.

Hella smoked highbeams simply have a 'crosshair' inserted into the parabolic reflector so that when the light is off, all you see is the black crosshair (which is parallel to the highbeam rays) being reflected. Result, the highbeam LOOKS black, but shines white.

Pretty smart ey?

(note: the explanations above are a result of me closely inspecting my own OEM Hella smokes)

[KevRC4130]

Ah, now I see. Thanks!