HID conversions are illegal?

gksmith · 04-08-2008, 09:41 AM

I was talking to a guy today who insisted that HID conversions are illegal. He pointed me to http://www.hella.com/produktion/Hell...erformance.jsp

There is one paragraph that reads:

Quote:

Install a gas discharge conversion kit

There are kits available i which you replace the halogen bulb with a gas discharge bulb. The gas discharge light source is 2.5 times as bright as the halogen bulb and does not focus correctly within the headlamp, as the headlamp was not designed for this bulb. This creates excessive glare (up to 100 times), which blinds oncoming drivers, and is very dangerous.

So, did I just become illegal by installing HIDs in my low beams and am I going to be more illegal by installing them in my fogs?

**roy365** · 04-08-2008, 09:46 AM

Yes you did, and are. I have a fix I have been preaching on here for a while but no one really listens.

Here is the only legal "bulb" sold for our trucks to convert to HID. You need a D2R.

http://www.hidexpert.com/p9006_rebased_bulbs.html

The fogs are really the only ones that should be illegal IMO. They are super bright. You can aim either location down, but the glare is also super bright.

shdw03 · 04-08-2008, 12:46 PM

just a question. aren't all HID kits rebased bulbs? I understand that the D2R are for reflectors, but as far as I am concerned, if you get a 4300K kit, you shouldn't have a problem. Its just the 6000K and Higher that get people in trouble

Justintoxicated · 04-08-2008, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shdw03

just a question. aren't all HID kits rebased bulbs? I understand that the D2R are for reflectors, but as far as I am concerned, if you get a 4300K kit, you shouldn't have a problem. Its just the 6000K and Higher that get people in trouble

Depends on state laws. In Cali, anything above but not including 8000k are illegal. Most retrofits are illegal unless the housing specificaly has the certifications on it that identify it as an HID housing. This is because many people put them into housings that have no reflector and these assholes blind the **** out of people on the road.
The titan has a decent reflector so you will probably get by with them fine, they are better than the majority of vehicles anyways. I would not worry too much. I have pulled up to cops with both HID's on and my foglights on and never recieved a ticket. I belive they can confisgate your HID's and give you a fix it ticket, although I don't know anyone with a titan this has happened to. For what it's worth on our truck I have always wondered if I could jsut pay someone to certify them that they are compatable with HID's but the cost would probably be crazy. IMO Other housings made for HID's could be even worse than ours and certified.

Just learn to adjust your lights and you will be fine. Too many people have them where I am for the cops to worry I suppose. Esp with all the jackasses with regular headlights that have them pointed at the top of my truck, or drive around with their highbeams on.

So it's not the bulbs that are illeagl (Unless over 8000k), but the housing for the lights which they are installed in.

FourDoor · 04-08-2008, 01:19 PM

It doesn't matter if it is a D2S or a D2R HID bulb. If a cop deems your HID lights in your truck are too bright, you will get fix it ticket to remove them. All of these kits are/should be advertised as offroad use only. But we all know that is not the case.

Even those who have created a retrofited HID headlight by installing proper projectors for the HID lights are techinically illegal as they are not OEM and DOT approved.

At the end of the day, we are at the cops discretion on weather or not he will enforce the law and give you a ticket on them. Best way to avoid this is not do anything stupid in front of the cop and adjust your headlights down if you installed HIDs in your Titan.

Justintoxicated · 04-08-2008, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FourDoor

It doesn't matter if it is a D2S or a D2R HID bulb. If a cop deems your HID lights in your truck are too bright, you will get fix it ticket to remove them. All of these kits are/should be advertised as offroad use only. But we all know that is not the case.

Even those who have created a retrofited HID headlight by installing proper projectors for the HID lights are techinically illegal as they are not OEM and DOT approved.

At the end of the day, we are at the cops discretion on weather or not he will enforce the law and give you a ticket on them. Best way to avoid this is not do anything stupid in front of the cop and adjust your headlights down if you installed HIDs in your Titan.

I th ink they need a light meter to prove they are too bright or not, but it's really easy to prove the housing does not say it is dot approved.

gabriel c. · 04-08-2008, 07:05 PM

but what cop really tickets for bright low beams, at least not here. they have other things to worry about.

**roy365** · 04-08-2008, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shdw03

just a question. aren't all HID kits rebased bulbs? I understand that the D2R are for reflectors, but as far as I am concerned, if you get a 4300K kit, you shouldn't have a problem. Its just the 6000K and Higher that get people in trouble

Dude....if you all would just read and listen to me! Check my link i posted.....then check a normal 9006 HID bulb. There arent the covered spots like on your OEM halogen bulbs like on the rebased HID's. It's not even the color or Kelvin if you want to get technical, it's the location of the beam that they deem illegal. Peep game.

nyc07_king.titan · 04-08-2008, 07:40 PM

if they really trying this in new york it would clear da streets. i see most cars minivans and every thing you can think of with hids. take your headlights out!!wtf at night....hhhahah ya aight not here at night they got way too much to worry about akready......best of luck cali ridas

MARKSOWN96 · 04-08-2008, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roy365

Dude....if you all would just read and listen to me!:

OK dude I've read and I checked out the link you posted...but...do have any night pics of your truck with the D2R bulb kit. Thanks in advance

dragonhead08 · 04-08-2008, 10:25 PM

Very illegal, but then again so is not having front license plate. Comes down to wether a cop really notices. There are so many HID equipped vehicles out they have no idea what is and isnt legit. Just aim em low to reduce the glare.

daptech · 04-09-2008, 07:44 AM

HID conversions have always been illegal, however in about
2006 the reason they are illegal changed in a technical sense.
Before the change, just putting an HID bulb into a halogen
reflector was illegal. SEMA went crying to NHTSA & got
the ruling modified. It is now performance based.
If the HID conversion meets the photometric standards of
FMVSS 108, then it is not illegal. But, it is back to the
same starting point.....ILLEGAL. NHTSA knows of no HID
conversion that meets the photometric standards of FMVSS 108.

Steamguy · 04-09-2008, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gabriel c.

but what cop really tickets for bright low beams, at least not here. they have other things to worry about.

You're lucky then. Here (Washington) they will pull you over if your truck is lifted so that the bumper is above a certain point. This has been in the paper a few times locally - I think they're tough right now because some guy in a goat-roper (our local term for ridiculously high lift) truck killed someone in a small car.

Once the cop has you over for that, they will go over every inch of your truck for safety violations. They will check absolutely everything for safety; the story in the paper talked about including checks for the existence of catalytic converters and a restrictor plate for leaded fuel. Not sure why we're bothering with that any more, since you can't get leaded fuel any more... Anyway, the mods that they deem unsafe, they issue a fix-it ticket, and the judges are reportedly not sympathetic. The local paper has made a couple notes of actually towing the violators. Perhaps to "teach the rest of us a lesson..."

Oh, but we do get to run without front license plates.

**roy365** · 04-09-2008, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MARKSOWN96

OK dude I've read and I checked out the link you posted...but...do have any night pics of your truck with the D2R bulb kit. Thanks in advance

Well dude......i think i may. However night pics of headlights all look the same, bright and blurry for the most part. I will see what i can find for you.

MARKSOWN96 · 04-09-2008, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roy365

Well dude......i think i may. However night pics of headlights all look the same, bright and blurry for the most part. I will see what i can find for you.

Thanks roy...well I guess what I really want to know is how much of a glare issue do you get with the D2R bulb kit. I know with the "normal HID conversion kit you get a ton of glare, and also how much of a "cutoff" (if any) do you get with the D2R's. Sorry bout all the questions, but as far as I found, you're the only one running the D2R HID kit, just want something to compare the rest too.