Aftermarket HID's, anyone been defected for them?

[Storm Shadow]

Hey guys, just a general query here.

I have had my fair share of after market globes in both my cars. From the really good Philips ones to the cheap shitty blue ones. Currently I have OSRAM nightbreakers from Europe, and bar HID, they are the best after market globe I have come across, they are awesome. Very very bright and white with out a hint of blue, compared to other aftermarket globes.

I have done extensive research into theses bulbs and HID so know a fair bit about lumens vs colour temp etc. Also the differences between using HID in projector lights vs reflector lights. I am also very aware of the ADR's regarding HID and the need for washers and auto-levelers etc.

My question is has anyone, or do you know of anyone being defected for having after market HID's without the washers and leveling.

Here in SA the authorities are hot on any headlight that is anything other then standard yellow halogen. Two of my friends have been pulled over, one in his S2000 and the other in his R34 GTR. Both had to explain left right and center that these where standard from the factory, and then their cars got the once over while the authorities where at it.

Now I know the obvious answer is if you attract the attention you will probably get pulled over. That is why i am considering going for the 4300k HID as it is the highest lumen output while remaining white. 4300k is the OEM colour temperature for factory BMW, Honda etc for their HID's. Apparently 6000k is less lumen's on the road and very much a blue.

Appreciate your help input etc.

[poita]

the blue doesnt appear until u go to 8000k afaik
i ahve 6000k in the calibra and tehre is no blue
but they are very bright indeed

[gslrallysport]

the blue doesnt appear until u go to 8000k afaik
Ah no... :o

Anything above 4300K will be a blue light, even 5000K. We now only sell the 4300K to the rally and road market due to them just being a very white, very high output light, that looks similar to a good halogen and keeps the attention on them down. If you've seen 4300,5000,6000k side by side then you'll definately appreciate that anything above 4300k is a blue light. 8000k and above is just a serious wank...

[RobCDX]

i have 6000k without projectors, washers n auto level... havent had any issues with the police (touch wood) but its very white with the blue tinge only at the headlight. apart from some patchiness im very happy with them

[tuzinski]

i also have 6000k ones, in projector angels.
no issues with them yet!

[JR]

anyone who says 6000k has no "blue" in it, has gotta get their eyes checked!!!
i used to have 6000k hids, but changed them to 5000k globes because the 6k globes had a blue tinge, looked blue-ish to oncoming traffic (aka cops) and wasn't good in wet weather (because it had less lumens n "blue-ish" can't penetrate rain).

world of a difference with 4300k & 5000k globes.

if u want performance lighting without the "look at me" b**shit, get 4300k or 5k hid globes.
don't even bother with 8k unless u have a show car, n don't use it for street driving.

touch wood, i haven't had an issues with coppers with regards to auto-leveling n headlamp washers. then again, i'm always adjusting my lowbeam angle using the 0,1,2,3 headlight position switch, when going uphill against oncoming traffic. effectively - "manual auto-leveling".

[RobCDX]

my lights they appear white on the road with only a slight tinge of blue, if you looked straight at the headlight then it's white with a stronger tinge but nothing that stands out like a sore thumb.
at the time i bought them i couldnt get anything below 6000k, if i could i would've but i havent had any issues. maybe the attention is more drawn towards cars that are slightly lower or more standout'ish.
i think my car is quite plain, just rims and the HID's. driving alongside and behind police cars can get quite daunting but havent had any issues

[daaaaavek]

A dead giveaway too is when people fit HID's to headlights that were designed for halogen bulbs .. those of us with projector lamps are probably less likely to be pulled up.

I've been breath tested numerous times at night, and the only time the offices told me off was for having my fog lights on.

[poita]

I've never seen teh different lights next to each other so havent ever been able to compare them.
Going from the 6000k I have in the calibra, they don't seem that blue.
But like i said, havent seen them next to 500k or 8000k.
Just dont seem very blue to me

[glider]

A dead giveaway too is when people fit HID's to headlights that were designed for halogen bulbs

you mean reflector lamps

[JR]

A dead giveaway too is when people fit HID's to headlights that were designed for halogen bulbs .. those of us with projector lamps are probably less likely to be pulled up.


+1

those who have hids in their standard halogen reflector lamps standout like a sore thumb.

if u have projector lamps, its harder for the cop to know whether or not ur car comes with it factory fitted option n if it id, did it come with halogen or hid globes?
almost 2 out of 5 cars out there now have projector lamps n its hard to distinguish which one has halogen or hid. the only tell-tale signs are the washers (or washer hat) on the bumper during the day. at night, u can only tell by the light output n color.
hence the bluer, purple, purple-ish the hid, the easier it is for the cop to know u might b having hids.
some of the more expensive 6000k globes have less blue in them, cause they were manufactured more closely/acccurately to achieve its optimum kelvins.

so to avoid being a 'defect notice target', stick with 4300k or something. unless ofcourse u do fit aftermarket washers n autolevelers.

if ur gonna put hids in ur standard halogen reflector type lamps - use D2R (shielded) globes and again, stick to 4300k.

having said that - there r heaps out there with 6k n 8k hids who haven't attracted the boyz in blue.

[Wraith]

A dead giveaway too is when people fit HID's to headlights that were designed for halogen bulbs .. those of us with projector lamps are probably less likely to be pulled up.

I've been breath tested numerous times at night, and the only time the offices told me off was for having my fog lights on.

+ 2

The 2 cars mentioned by shadow storm shouldn't have been fitted with HID's to begin with...unless they have been fitted with aftermaket projector headlamp assemblies...although still not entirely legal, at least the brightness of the HID's is far more controlled and you'll avoid attention and uneccessary blinding to other road users !

This is the main problem and 'attention grabber' with HID installs - too many people are fitting them into 'normal' reflective back headlight units and this can cause an extreme amount of blinding/dazling to other road users and bring attention to those people by the law !

Also with the kind of law in action in SA, if anyone is planning on a HID install, then also try to stick to temp/light range of 4000-5000k to further avoid attention, as there will be no blue-ish hue in this range !

[glider]

thats because reflectors just scatter light everywhere, projectors have the lens to regulate the light output

[Wraith]

thats because reflectors just scatter light everywhere, projectors have the lens to regulate the light output

Correct !

Unfortunately too many people just go for the quick easy fix of just installing the HID globes, since they are very cheap to purchase these days...

I had a moron behind me the other night with one of those old Jeeps, you know the ones that stand high off the ground and have large round 'normal' headlights mounted way up on the sides and yes whilst behind, it was blinding the f#*k out of me, even just from the side mirrors.

Having HID's myself on 2 of my cars, I immediately recognised he had HID's installed in those enormous stock round healights LOL - I can only hope he gets plastered from the cops :D as in his case, IMHO he's being a nuisance and possible danger to other road users at night !!!

[JR]

here in canberra i c heaps of that in the form of old utes!!
u know - the utes dumped on it hydraulic ass, bling wheels etc etc.
a few of them knobs driving em around with HIDs in them - friggin idiots!!!

i'd rather a person with high beams drive behind, or past me!!!

[MatsHolden]

thats because reflectors just scatter light everywhere, projectors have the lens to regulate the light output

Unless they've been designed specifically for HID which is the case with some cars that actually do have HID with reflector housings from the factory.

[JR]

Unless they've been designed specifically for HID which is the case with some cars that actually do have HID with reflector housings from the factory.

yup dats is true too. some of the lexus range, mercedes & subaru cars have hids with reflector housings as factory standard.

[Havabigjuan]

to those running HID kits

what kits do you use?

and/ or what are the most reliable?

[Greg K]

factory xenons for me! :P

[Wraith]

to those running HID kits

what kits do you use?

and/ or what are the most reliable?

Any of the available kits out there will do...

Main brands (Bosch, Hella, Phillips etc.) will cost more than alot of the cheaper ebay kits, but as long as they come with at least a 12 month warranty, they should be fine, but personally I'd stick to the better brands for better chance of longevity, even if they cost more, I have a set of Bosch' in my Calibra that have been running for over 3 years now, with no probs...

Stay away from gimmicks like coloured glass HID sets (quite a few of these around) designed to give different looking light colours...don't know why they're necessary anyway, if you want that effect, you could just opt for a higher K rating.

But as said earlier in this thread, in some states that may be a prob.

Also if your putting these on an Opel, I hope you'll go the the extra effort of getting a set of projector beam headlights, although still not 100% legal, they will difinitely help from getting unnecessary attention and blinding other road users :)

[Wraith]

factory xenons for me! :P

These are always the best - I'm going to make sure my next new car will have a set of these along with all the support gadgets they come with - headlight cleaners, automatic dipping etc. :)

[bornwild]

I've looked around for some projector headlights on ebay for my Astra H but no luck. Found one pair but they look exactly the same as mine? Do the H's have projectors as stock? :S

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Opel-Vauxhall-ASTRA-H-Projection-HEADLIGHTS-Light-Left_W0QQitemZ380064244209QQihZ025QQcategoryZ23009 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[cocacola]

here you go:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=120305588521&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=002

[bornwild]

I can install a HID kit in those?

[JR]

the astra h in the uk have projector headlamp versions as an option to have HIDs.
have a look at their VXRs. aussieinlondon has them on his hot red vxr :D

[bornwild]

Yeah yeah, I know. They look completely different to our normal headlights.

So, how much would those cost?

[sooty]

Yeah yeah, I know. They look completely different to our normal headlights.

So, how much would those cost?

How many limbs have you got spare?:p

[Greg K]

what he said ^^^^

way too expensive for most people to consider... definitely looking at something in the order of +$2k by the time you get them shipped and fitted etc