HID modification

[Mayareira]

If you can't do it right(or afford it right), don't do it. Period.
Its quite awesome when done right or simply bought the car w/em, but fucktards around simply replace the bulb...which ends up being terrible for everyone.

[booly]

Unless you live 100 miles from any urban area and have long, vacant stretches of rural road to drive on, there is no need for anything brighter than a factory Halogen or Xenon bulb.

Hell, in half the cities I've been to, you can probably commute just fine at night without turning your headlights on at all.

And to the guy that said something about them drawing less power for other things: You are probably one of those annoying bastards with a stereo you can hear for blocks. Deafened AND blinded. Awesome

so what your saying is there is no need to be able to see better at night? i beg to differ, you have obviously not driven enough at night when lots of people/bikers/animals are around. visibility is key at night and anything thats appropriately aimed to help is a good thing. HID's light up street signs like speed limit, on/off ramps, street names, construction zones brighter than daylight and that helps out alot!

and who gives a fuck if someone has a loud stereo in their car? let them be, get over it. You are probly one of those annoying shitheads who cant afford/appreciate a good stereo when they hear one, like these worthless peices of shit- Lower the Boom! im not saying rattling is good, but some people perfer a nice system in their car as much as their home. but thats a whole new thread

[Ramor]

Here at BG, we can turn just about anything into a flame thread!

Oddly enough, I think spam has the least amount of legitimate flaming done.

edit: also, if you people are going to take the "don't stare at the lights like a fucktard" route then i'm going to take the "pay attention to the road while you're driving" route; basically, if you aren't able to see on city streets with your standard bulbs then you aren't paying enough attention (my argument is equally as retarded as yours)

[Tirrock]

What do these lights do that isn't covered by high beams? See better at night. Blind the people coming your way. The only difference I see (other than color) is that now you always have really bright headlights, instead of only when you need them.

[Rhinox]

so what your saying is there is no need to be able to see better at night? i beg to differ, you have obviously not driven enough at night when lots of people/bikers/animals are around. visibility is key at night and anything thats appropriately aimed to help is a good thing. HID's light up street signs like speed limit, on/off ramps, street names, construction zones brighter than daylight and that helps out alot!

and who gives a fuck if someone has a loud stereo in their car? let them be, get over it. You are probly one of those annoying shitheads who cant afford/appreciate a good stereo when they hear one, like these worthless peices of shit- Lower the Boom! im not saying rattling is good, but some people perfer a nice system in their car as much as their home. but thats a whole new thread

As a professional driver that drives the majority of the time during the night I can tell you the lights that come with the Trucks/Cars are adequate enough. Unless of course you want to have a drive one of those PoS imports and try to be Fast and the Furious.

[Senoska]

so what your saying is there is no need to be able to see better at night? i beg to differ, you have obviously not driven enough at night when lots of people/bikers/animals are around. visibility is key at night and anything thats appropriately aimed to help is a good thing. HID's light up street signs like speed limit, on/off ramps, street names, construction zones brighter than daylight and that helps out alot!

You're only proving everyone's point. It's great that YOU can see but every fucker you're behind/oncoming cant see a fucking thing. Get the fuck out.

[LiquidFriend]

As a professional driver that drives the majority of the time during the night I can tell you the lights that come with the Trucks/Cars are adequate enough. Unless of course you want to have a drive one of those PoS imports and try to be Fast and the Furious.

Yeah this. If normal factory lights aren't adequate enough, your vision sucks. If your vision sucks, you probably shouldn't be driving anyways.

HIDs are tolerable if they are installed properly, but they are almost never installed right. That's where all the problems begin.

[booly]

As a professional driver that drives the majority of the time during the night I can tell you the lights that come with the Trucks/Cars are adequate enough. Unless of course you want to have a drive one of those PoS imports and try to be Fast and the Furious.

standard halogen lights are adequate enough if you havnt seen HID's from the drivers point of view. if u get a chance, ride passenger in a car with HID's and notice a difference cuz its far from small. i will try to get a picture of street signs lit up just to show that benefit of having them.

all im saying is give them a chance, im almost positive you point of view on HID's will change if you saw what they do from inside the car.

[LiquidFriend]

standard halogen lights are adequate enough if you havnt seen HID's from the drivers point of view. if u get a chance, ride passenger in a car with HID's and notice a difference cuz its far from small. i will try to get a picture of street signs lit up just to show that benefit of having them.

all im saying is give them a chance, im almost positive you point of view on HID's will change if you saw what they do from inside the car.

What the fuck does that have anything to do with the fact that they are completely unnecessary? Installing a giant wing on my Taurus would make it easier to find in a parking lot, but that doesn't mean it's a smart idea.

[Rhinox]

standard halogen lights are adequate enough if you havnt seen HID's from the drivers point of view. if u get a chance, ride passenger in a car with HID's and notice a difference cuz its far from small. i will try to get a picture of street signs lit up just to show that benefit of having them.

all im saying is give them a chance, im almost positive you point of view on HID's will change if you saw what they do from inside the car.

I'm not here to flame you I'm just giving my honest opinion. I'm sure I'd love the way it would look from the driver seat or passenger seat. My problem is that they bug the fuck out of every else on the road not that they wouldn't make driving at night a whole lot easier.

[booly]

What the fuck does that have anything to do with the fact that they are completely unnecessary? Installing a giant wing on my Taurus would make it easier to find in a parking lot, but that doesn't mean it's a smart idea.

thats like saying a flashlight in a dark room is good enough but having a light turned on is unnecessary. my point is for the OP, HID's offer a much better source of light for night driving and aimed properly are not a hazard to other drivers, they may be a distraction but look at all the other distractions on the road e.g. DVD players, nice cars, accidents, construction zones, bad drivers. just cause you choose to stare at the brighter light doesnt mean its unsafe. its just as easy to keep ur eye on the road as it is to look at some bright light.

[LiquidFriend]

HID's offer a much better source of light for night driving and aimed properly are not a hazard to other drivers

That's the problem though.

[booly]

I'm not here to flame you I'm just giving my honest opinion. I'm sure I'd love the way it would look from the driver seat or passenger seat. My problem is that they bug the fuck out of every else on the road not that they wouldn't make driving at night a whole lot easier.

i appreciate your honest opinion in which you can justify a point without calling us douchebags. and i understand what everyone is saying by bashing HID's cuz i didnt always have them and i was distracted by seeing them on the road. i wanted to know what the big deal was and once i saw them i understood the benefit of having them and the importance of adjusting them so they werent a hazard. and if sooo many new cars have them installed, they cant be that bad.

the whole point is, yes you can see just fine without them for regular headlights have not changed for who knows how long. they are unnecessary for a typical driver who lives in a well lit area that doesnt drive much. they are not for everybody. they are bright and distracting.

on the other hand....they are much brighter than regular lights, this provides the driver with greater vision at night. signs, people, animals, objects and streets are lit up as if it was daylight which is the ultimate safety feature for a vehicle. installed properly the beams will not shine into eyes of opposing drivers but this is the problem with vehicles not typically set up for HID's. most dont take the time to adjust therefore making it unsafe.

its a shame so many people buy them and swap the bulb leaving it at that. it ruins it for the people that take time to set-up it up properly for these are the ones that know the dangers of them but use them for the benefit they have to offer.

"Some motorists are concerned about what they perceive as brighter lights. Lighting specialists at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) say that some people are more sensitive to light but that HID meets the same intensity and beam pattern standards in place since 1978 (the last time the government made a major revision to its standards)."

"HID kits dramatically change the way a driver can see. It is said some 60% of accidents are caused due to poor lighting conditions. HID kits illuminate the road ahead for hundreds of feet. It is useful in rainy or wet situations where the lines are usually hard to see. Back roads are a breeze when you can see the danger ahead. These kits are also designed to last up to 10 times longer than conventional halogen bulbs. Since there is no filament to break, road bumps and shock cannot damage the lamp."

[Penthesilea]

You do realize that when a car is oncoming and has it's brights on, you look to the shoulder and away from the light right?

I try not to ride my bike at night, and when I'm taking a turn around dusk my vision is pretty much reduced to nothing due to the angle of the bike.

[Sesar]

Stopped reading right there.

Because you missed the point completely or because the words were too big to continue? Maybe both?

If you do it because you like it or because it's cool, fine, but there is nothing to indicate that HID lamps are more safe than any regular Halogen bulb. As a matter of fact the NHTSA receives complaints about HID lights regularly and yet their benefits, other than draining your wallet, still remain to be seen. And no, a light that lasts 10 times as long but also costs 10 times as much as a normal bulb is not a benefit.

USATODAY.com - Bright lights, big controversy

NHTSA Notice: Glare from Headlamps and other Front Mounted Lamps - FMVSS 108

[EdgeMoragan]

How is this even an argument? From the moment I began driving I hated the hell out of people with those annoying blue lights. If they want to have their car glow underneath or wear sets fine with me. Fucking everyone else on the road cause you can't see well or want to look cool is no god damn excuse. Douchebags with lights like those deserve it when their cars get completely keyed by someone.

No offense to anyone who knows how to "properly install" them. Never once have I witnessed them being installed in a fashion that isn't completely assfaced though.

[izembo]

you can see properly with factory lights, that is enough. if you "need" more, you don't. you're an asshole.

[alt]

Like booly just quoted...

Correctly installed and aimed HIDs, such as those coming standard on higher end cars, (like Acuras, BMW, Lexus, etc) have to meet than same safety specifications as all other car headlights, so they really arent any brighter. The argument is due to glare because of the effect of light closer to the blue end of the spectrum, not specifically brightness per se.

It is a perception that many people have because the type of light is much closer to a true white color (even though they appear to be of a blueish or purpleish tint) compared to the common halogen lights (which are closer to yellow).

However this light type, when driving at night HIDs provide a much clearer image of objects, and objects are seen much closer to their true color compared to other types of illumination.

HIDs are more power efficient, last longer, and provide a much clearer illumination while driving at night.

I agree though, that improperly installed or aimed HIDs are a hazard. Just like any improperly installed and aimed headlight...

And FYI i have standard halogen lights on my car, with no intention of converting to HIDs.

[alt]

Because you missed the point completely or because the words were too big to continue? Maybe both?

If you do it because you like it or because it's cool, fine, but there is nothing to indicate that HID lamps are more safe than any regular Halogen bulb. As a matter of fact the NHTSA receives complaints about HID lights regularly and yet their benefits, other than draining your wallet, still remain to be seen. And no, a light that lasts 10 times as long but also costs 10 times as much as a normal bulb is not a benefit.

USATODAY.com - Bright lights, big controversy

NHTSA Notice: Glare from Headlamps and other Front Mounted Lamps - FMVSS 108

Here is a quote from the USAToday article:

Despite complaints from oncoming drivers, the glare from HID lights doesn't seem to cause accidents, hard as that might be to swallow. NHTSA knows of no injuries or deaths caused by HID glare. And University of Michigan studies of HID glare found that, while it annoys oncoming drivers, it doesn't disable them.

"Discomfort glare is not always related to disability glare. Our result is about discomfort," says Michael Flannagan, research scientist at the university's Transportation Research Institute.

The university has spent at least 10 years trying to quantify the problem, and thinks it has done so. The short version: Oncoming drivers are bothered by HID glare because of its harsher, blue light. Light from conventional tungsten-halogen headlights is toward the softer, red end of the spectrum. Halogens have to put out 1.5 times as much light as HID lights do to cause the same wincing, squinting and looking away. "We think there is some problem with glare, but we think it's a good trade-off," Flannagan says. "Our overall opinion of HIDs is that they are good things. HID lamps can be, and normally are, better for seeing."

[Avinor]

"HID kits dramatically change the way a driver can see. It is said some 60% of accidents are caused due to poor lighting conditions. HID kits illuminate the road ahead for hundreds of feet. It is useful in rainy or wet situations where the lines are usually hard to see. Back roads are a breeze when you can see the danger ahead. These kits are also designed to last up to 10 times longer than conventional halogen bulbs. Since there is no filament to break, road bumps and shock cannot damage the lamp."

When was the last time you had a bulb - any bulb - break from a road bump or shock? And how often have you had to change a bulb - any bulb - on your car after 10+ years? This is infomercial-grade marketing here.

Bottom line - HIDs are fashion first, function second. I don't mind them, the only lights I've remembered being annoyances are clearly aftermarket jobs, though Acuras seem to be bluer and brighter than the Germans and others. Its your money, but make sure you do it right, and remember - you usually get what you pay for.