HID lights
 

Are HIDs illegal or not? I barely see people driving with HIDs anymore.. thinking that its illegal. I amp planning to buy a set of 6000k for my civic and where's the best palce to get one?

all after market HID kits are illegal, it cleanly says on the box for off road use only

hmm...i don't think so. HID's that is way too blue/purple like 10000K to 12000K are illegal. It's only the colour that makes it illegal.

anything ranging from 4300K-6000K-8000K are ok. IMO, I think it's more safe to be using HID's as you can see more.

i see more cars with HIDs then without lol
annoying.

They're really great! I think it will become a standard very soon. You can get them from the HID guy on the site. Check out HID Lighting Sales on the main page near the bottom.

with HIDs, I can see more popo's on the street.

it got 6000k... just got to aim them correctly so the light is not all over the place.

Light will be all over the place if you don't have projectors...

mine r just fine.

For yourself, or for the oncoming traffic?

Aimed or not aimed, HID's belong in projectors, and only projectors. Otherwise, you're just one of them pesky drivers that are loathed by all. :faint2:

Illegal, very much. Will you be hassled?-- With a proper retrofit, probably not--without?-- Chances are you won't, but your chances are significantly higher when you have a blob of blue light, and encounter a cop, low on coffee and doughnuts, and on a power trip.

i have asked my friends if they r blinded by the light when i drive by and they say no and i got 6000k so its a white light not blue

the rule is HID's are not illegal (since they are found on some popular new vehicles from the factory)....HOWEVER,

front mounted lights must be casting a light beam of 300 lumens or lower; either amber or white in color; and aimed properly.

If a police officer believes to find you in breech of any one of the above criteria, he will pull you over and threaten to give you a ticket for the infraction.

Lumens are a hard thing to measure so no matter what light beam you use whether HID or not, be darn sure you aim them properly.

that's not completely accurate, the new Altima Coupe has HID's and no projectors..regular reflector. So aim your lights people.

I have a 6k kit that I've had no problems with yet. I had 300k yellow non HID bulbs and was pulled over for it but I was up north in a little hick town and was pulled over by an O.P.P. just starting his shift. I had those in for a long time and never an issue. Even going through ride programs I never had an issue. I used to have dual halo projectors with blue-ish hue to the headlights, turn signals and halo's and never had a problem in the GTA but I did get warned about them by an officer back home in Brockville.

you should get retro fitted projectors as they will look and perform best and avoid hassle. I plan to do this in the future but I see enough HID kits that I think you'll be alright.

sorry martin I know you hate double posts but ^^that was my 666 post

HID and projector are not necessary to be together, like IS300, volvo s70, CSX (premium and type-S) etc they all come with HID in stock but without projectors......their headlights are well decided in proper angle and shape to maximize lighting output and also reduce glare, and the color temperature are usually between 4000-4800K, so it's not annoying when you look at the oncoming traffic with OEM HID.

If you install aftermaket HID into your stock lens which is only decided for halogen bulb, then it's illegal. It's easy to casue accident and draw cop's attention. Do some retrofit before you install and go for 6000K max IMO. Don't be one of those guys with big aluminum wing, non-perfect fit body kit, hanging CD under the rear view mirror and HID in stock lens !!

sorry spelling mistake :faint2:.....I mean designed not decided :sorry:

Thats actually incorrect.

Any car that didn't come with HID's stock from the manufacturer is technically illegal. It doesn't matter what the colour temperature is or if you are using a projector or not.

Of course using a projector and doing a proper retrofit is safer and gives much better performance as well.

I want HID's. so they're not illeagal? How much do they go for and are they easy to install? I know nothing about cars. My sister has HIDs and I think they look awesome so I want them.

HID's are much better now then they use to be for aftermarket kits.

When they were first available, you could only get them in 2 or 3 bulb types, which were the same as the OEM styles. Meaning you had to retrofit if you wanted them.

Then they became available for every type of bulb. H1, H4, 9006 and so on, but the bulb itself was bigger, longer. So although they would fit in any headlight assembly the actual source where the light was emitting from was in a different location causing terrible terrible glare. These kits are still available, they're cheap, usually the ones on ebay.

These days the newer kits, the bulbs are much better for stock-swapping. Styles like H4 can come with a seperate halogen bulb built in for high's, or a mechanical reflector that moves the beam when you switch to high. (Pictured below)
http://www.sircivik.ca/pimages/h4-hal.jpg http://www.sircivik.ca/pimages/h4-mech.jpg


If you compare matching types of halogen and HID bulbs side by side, you'll see now that the little bulb in the hid is in the exact same spot as the filiment in the halogen. So glare is greatly reduced in a stock-swap situation. Light is emitting from the exact location as a halogen, therefore it reflects very similarly out the lens.

However, you must keep in mind, halogen reflectors and halogen projectors (which dominate ebay) are designed to throw a small percentage of the light everywhere, small enough to not annoy other drivers, but enough to illuminate surrounding street signs. So when you swap a much brighter HID in a halogen lens, that percentage increases. So who notices? well that's your problem, wheather it's police or other motorists that's what gets you in trouble.

Then there's more you need to consider. Some bulbs, like the 9006, the halogen version has an opaque dipped tip to prevent direct foward throw of light (pictured below). The HID version cannot be dipped. So light will glare more from this setup in a stock lens.
http://www.sircivik.ca/pimages/9006bulb.jpg