Very Nice Cheap H.I.D.'s

[07_aveo]

I have encountered countless cars with various HID systems that didnt come from the factory, they dont bother me at all.

Same here. Almost everyone in town has HID's and they're not that bad. I've installed several kits at work and have met that person on the roads at night and haven't been blinded. People towing trailers or with incorrectly aimed headlights will blind people far worse.

[manorness7]

Not to be a party pooper, but Aveodude is right. Your housings are not designed for HID period. I don't care what you say about adjusting, reflectors, etc., HID and standard bulbs produce light differently and putting an HID bulb in a standard housing produces a scattered light and blinds people. THIS IS ILLEGAL and selfish. NO AFTERMARKET HIDs are legal, nor are any DOT approved, because they have to submit the entire light fixture and they can't because they only sell the bulb and ballast. PERIOD. Do your research, or better yet ask your local law enforcement. Now the debate over blue and purple producing better visability is another farce...but when you pay money for something, you WANT it to be brighter....just like those "blue" halogens....like silver stars...OMG...Good quality halogens work great.

Before you start ranting, how about you check into HID lights then tell me they all produce a scattered beam. It depends on the type of kit you buy if they will produce this scattered beam you speak of. My kit does not produce a scattered beam and in fact I have never and I repeat NEVER been flashed because of my lights, I have also driven by and with cops without any issues. I even kept one halogen bulb in the housing to see if the HIDs produced a different light pattern and it was the same consistant beam all the way through.

So I would have to say that it does in fact depend on the kit you buy. My kit came with reflectors, and it was the slim design.

[flaveo5]

didnt mean to open a can of worms lol

but im still leaning toward getting them

[Wolfman AK907]

I dont much care for the law if that helps close this issue. When it comes to my car I do what I want. It is not selfish to run HIDs, see what happens when you hit a kid crossing the street becuase of poor light quality. I live in alaska where HIDs are almost neccasary or you'll hit a moose or a drunk eskimo in the street lol.

[manorness7]

Oh yeah I had a few instances when I wouldn't have seen some deer until they jumped in front of me. And sometimes we get some heavy blizzardous snow falls up here near the canadian border. They can be a life saver.

[manorness7]

didnt mean to open a can of worms lol

but im still leaning toward getting them

LOL and I will have a set in every car I own now.

[Wolfman AK907]

Oh yeah I had a few instances when I wouldn't have seen some deer until they jumped in front of me. And sometimes we get some heavy blizzardous snow falls up here near the canadian border. They can be a life saver.

Yeah the snow can get pretty crazy here too, we dont have deer though...we have moose and caribou and bears. You hit one of those in an aveo and your f-ing dead so I think the rest of you bitching about HIDs can be blind for the whole 2.5 seconds it takes me to pass you.

[flaveo5]

yeah its block with moose and caribou here in newfoundland and winters are ****ty..

I work out of my car for 9-10 hours a day so i think these will do me more good then they will do others harm

[AveoRob]

Not to be a party pooper, but Aveodude is right. Your housings are not designed for HID period. I don't care what you say about adjusting, reflectors, etc., HID and standard bulbs produce light differently and putting an HID bulb in a standard housing produces a scattered light and blinds people. THIS IS ILLEGAL and selfish. NO AFTERMARKET HIDs are legal, nor are any DOT approved, because they have to submit the entire light fixture and they can't because they only sell the bulb and ballast. PERIOD. Do your research, or better yet ask your local law enforcement. Now the debate over blue and purple producing better visability is another farce...but when you pay money for something, you WANT it to be brighter....just like those "blue" halogens....like silver stars...OMG...Good quality halogens work great.

Before you start ranting, how about you check into HID lights then tell me they all produce a scattered beam. It depends on the type of kit you buy if they will produce this scattered beam you speak of. My kit does not produce a scattered beam and in fact I have never and I repeat NEVER been flashed because of my lights, I have also driven by and with cops without any issues. I even kept one halogen bulb in the housing to see if the HIDs produced a different light pattern and it was the same consistant beam all the way through.

So I would have to say that it does in fact depend on the kit you buy. My kit came with reflectors, and it was the slim design.

Well there you have it then...backed up with....exactly. Give me a minute to produce the literature for you since you know so much. BRB

These response are from law enforcement.

Here:

First of all the statement DOT APPROVED is misleading. NHTSA, an arm of the U.S. DOT, does not approve or disapprove MV equipment. It does set Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for all MV equipment. FMVSS 108 covers lights. Manufacturers SELF-CERTIFY that their product meets the standard.

Several years ago when the aftermarket tail light/lens first became popular, there were many versions and most of them did not comply with FMVSS 108 even though the packaging said legal in 50 states or DOT approved. The products also have DOT numbers imprinted on them. These letters/numbers indicate certain parts of the product are compliant such as rear lens, rear color, rear reflector, side reflector, side lens, side color etc. There were DOT numbers on many of these aftermarket lenses but usually all of the numbers were not present. This indicates that parts of the lens were not compliant. Also see http://fmvss108.tripod.com-this is a NON-government site with lots of info about lights-mostly taillights.

HID headlights-If it has a transformer (ballast) it is an HID light. A true HID light casts a white light (looks like light blue tint). There are cheap imitations which are a plain bulb with a blue coating and these cast a blue light. When I stop a car with suspect headlights I hold a piece of white paper in front of the light. If the paper turns blue, that is illegal and driver gets "Norked" (gets a ticket). See the following NHTSA Interp letter at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/int ... tv.html-It says, "SAE J578c defines white by blue, yellow, green, red and purple boundaries within a chromaticity diagram. Thus, it is possible to design a headlamp that emits a light that approaches the blue boundary and is perceived as having a blue tint but which nevertheless remains within the boundaries that define "white"".

As far as what state you live in it does not matter. All states light laws follow FMVSS 108 for the basic MV lights.
The FMVSS 108 site is http://fmvss108.tripod.com

The NHTSA interp is http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/int ... 8.ztv.html

Another

My understanding is that NHTSA has threatened to fine sellers of "HID conversion kits" $10,000 per kit sold. You CANNOT install a HID bulb in a headlight designed for a halogen bulb. There is no way you can control the light output properly and you end up blinding oncoming cars and you cannot see properly yourself. Read the fine print on some of these websites selling them..not legal for on-road use....where else do you use a car? They are an illegal & unsafe install. I park any car I find using them.

http://isearch.nhtsa.gov/files/Shih.3.html

http://isearch.nhtsa.gov/files/deetz.ztv.html

http://isearch.nhtsa.gov/files/kim.ztv.html

On this issue, enforcement could vary state to state depending on your state's motor vehicle statutes and motor vehicle regulations. Some states have regulations adopting FMVSS 108 into their laws by reference and if a lighting device does not meet FMVSS 108 you could be ticketed. That would be IF the officers in your area are aware of this. In CT there is no training on DMV Regulations and the Motor Vehicle statutes on equipment are treated lightly with no practical info on current equipment violation trends or inspection methods. But Joe Citizen is from CA where there is a large street racer culture. If Joe gets stopped by a CA officer who regularly deals with this clientel he or she will probably be able to determine if the lights are a conversion kit.

Where I work, it is the color of the lights that draw enforcement attention.
Another:

Installing HID's into a vehicle not originally equipped with them from the factory is technically illegal. Practically speaking, you stand little chance of being cited for them provided you educate yourself on the requirements of HID lighting and take the necessary steps to ensure you have the right equipment and adjustments to keep it safe. That is, make sure your vehicle's headlight assembly uses an appropriately designed projector lense (as opposed to a reflector), and of course that your headlights are properly aligned after installation. Many newer vehicles use projector lenses because stock halogen bulbs also benefit from the "light shaping", but having just any old projector lense does not necessarily ensure that the beam pattern will be correct. It is absolutely essential for HID's to give the light output a sharp cutoff line to prevent blinding oncoming traffic. As HID's become more popular, aftermarket projector housings are being produced for some vehicles.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) states that improperly-installed HID's are getting a lot of complaints. Vendors will usually include a disclaimer that they are intended for offroad use only, but it's no secret that people don't follow this rule. Now, there are a lot of aftermarket automotive parts that qualify as illegal but aren't strictly enforced. Logically, the safety implications of blinding oncoming drivers are more serious than, say, an exhaust that exceeds the legal noise level. So the DOT has actively gone after vendors of HID conversion kits, threatening monetary fines if they continue selling them, and consequently there are now fewer places to buy them.

And for all the Vdub fans:

http://www.my-gti.com/734/retrofitting- ... r-housings

Enough??????

[AveoRob]

I dont much care for the law if that helps close this issue. When it comes to my car I do what I want. It is not selfish to run HIDs,

I would love to be a fly on the wall in the court room when you tell the judge that one. HAHAHA...