Thread: - RANT - HID low beam conversions

My wife can barely see at night now that 30% of cars on the road have badly aimed low beam. Add to that the fog lamps and illegal HID conversions it's beyond a joke. Could someone please wake up the police and get them to do some night-time headlamp checking for a month or so? That should fix it.

The simple fact is, such HID conversions are illegal, and for good reasons, as illustrated by your experience Steve.

Cheers
KarlB

I put one of these kits in my Prado...... had it in for 2 weeks then took it out.

It was awesome from my pov, they lit up the whole street
I never got flashed, but I was paranoid about a cop coming the other way, would have been an instant canary.

I think the reflectors have to be specifically made for HID. Been tempted to try the kit in my Disco but think its better to get Rigid Industries LED lightbar

Ahhh, I feel better already

Zuno - you have nailed it on the head "awesome from my point of view" = essentially selfish I am glad to hear you took them out!

I would guess that you maybe didnt get flashed by others drivers when in the city / brightly lit arterial roads as other drivers eyes are not as adjusted to the low light situation... if you were out in the black between Carbine and Lakeland I would have flashed you!

Steve

I think a lot of these people set up the lights with no load on, and then when they load up the back it lifts the beam.

G'day Roverrescue


I fully agree with you as living in a semi rural area it is also a problem, particulary with HID conversions fitted to cars which have rubberband tyres, they bounce all over the road and constantly flash your eyes, it would be interesting to know the %age of single vehicle accidents caused by such things(bad light adjustment) as in Qld there is no yearly RWC and maladjusted/connected headlights is rife.


BTW.here is an interesting light upgrade now available from JW Speaker in the states,LED's 7inch round,in LHD and RHD and "E11" being sold in UK now, www.jwspeaker.com not cheap but very interesting sight.


cheers

You need to reach an equilibrium between the benefit to the driver and the threat to oncoming traffic. This usually precludes HID low beams (aftermarket). Just because you haven't been flashed doesn't mean its not annoying. How many women are likely to flash a bloke in a big, modded 4x4 alone at night?

A significant issue here is insurance cover in an accident. If you have fitted HIDs illegally and you are in an accident and the other party says they were 'blinded' by your lights, then the insurance company will wipe you quicker than you can wipe your bum. You will have no cover for the damage to your vehicle and the other poor bugger (who you temporarily blinded) may end up in a bit of an insurance limbo as his/her insurance company sues you to recover the damage incurred by their client. You could loose your house. Worse for you could be if some one was seriously injured or killed in the collision. After all, you have caused an accident, seriously injuring some one, by knowingly driving an unroadworthy vehicle.

KarlB