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Ban the bloody things, get rid of them.
I can't tell you the number of times HID lights on oncomming vehicles have made it very hard to see. especially when the road is wet.
The driver using them might be able to see better but the poor bugger comming towards him can't, they may well kill the driver who uses them because he blinds the driver approaching him.
They are illegal unless factory fitted and I wish the coppers would crack down on them.
Steve
With you all the way 110.
See http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...nversions.html
and
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVuSSdZNsZw&feature=player_embedded"]‪Illegal HID Convesion Kits Explained‬‏ - YouTube[/ame]
I think some people get carried away with the big numbers, thinking that a 12000K light must be better, 'brighter', than a lower number, but it's not correct. I think the European car HID's are mostly about 4300K. The high numbers just produce more blue, but reduce in visibility effectiveness.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sprint
Yep ........... never seems to amaze me the number of people who think that the bigger the "K" number, the better lights they've got.Quote:
Originally Posted by rijidij
I've got HID converted headlights, both high and low beam, plus a pair of Hella Predators on the front of the Disco. Mine are all only 3600K and that's plenty bright enough.
I know that there are people on here who disagree with converting headlights to HID - but all that I can say is that they've never seen it done properly - either that or they've had one or two bad experiences with poor installations, and wrongly assume that all such installations must be the same. I have never had any problem with "blinding" oncoming traffic - have never been "flashed", and have been told by many on the radio when I've asked them that, while my lights appear to be very "white", they are correctly adjusted and do not cause any glare or discomfort to oncoming traffic.
Personally, I've experienced way more issues with incorrectly adjusted halogen headlights than I've ever come across with HID. One of the worst offenders (and pretty regular around here) is the muppet who drives with one low beam headlight globe blown - the remaining one is usually much brighter than it should be. When I was travelling daily to Kambalda a while back, there were at least a couple of vehicles like this that I saw virtually every day for periods of months or more. These are the people who should be pulled up and booked by the coppers - but they seem to get away with it.
And "fog" lights - no, I can't see the point of driving with them on at the same time as the headlights - but at the same time, they don't bother me. Maybe there's something wrong with my eyesight. :p
What you say may be true in your case but unless everyone who wants to convert to HID will pay for proper engineer based certification and then paint their car bright pink with blue spots so the cops know at a glance that it is legal, then ALL after market HID setups must go.
When I sold lights in the 4wd industry the reps for a major player told us that putting HID kits in normal headlights will never work properly because the refector pattern is based on a different light source pattern. Nothing will change that, the lights are dangerous.
Steve
It's good to see you have done your conversion properly, but unfortunatly most conversions are done by muppets who have no idea what they are trying to achieve, and have no idea how to set them up correctly, so I think they are rightly illegal. Had 3 people the other night coming back from Adelaide who has crap HID conversions that almost blinded me. Would have been ok in the Rangie, as I could have given it to them with all the lights I have on that, but, alas, I only had the puny dunny door lights to try and put them in thier place...Quote:
Originally Posted by BMKal
Yeah - I've heard that one before, and basically it is crap.Quote:
Originally Posted by Landy110
Simple physics will tell you - light travels in a straight line, and when it meets a reflector, the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection - regardless of the light source.
So ............ provided that both light sources are placed in the same position relative to the reflector, the "refector pattern" as you call it cannot possibly be any different.
The "diffraction" of light at different wavelengths through the same lens however, may possibly give different results.
But I always have a bit of a chuckle when I hear the one about different "reflection" patterns off the same reflector from a different light source. ;)
In fact I think you'll find that most of the "blue" lights that most people complain about are not HID conversions at all - but simply blue tinted halogen globes like "Narva Cool Blue" and similar that you buy from Supercheap for the **** factor. There's dozens of these things running around Kalgoorlie, and some of them are a pain in the arse. As far as light performance goes though - they are absolutely useless. My son's RX7 had a set of them in it when he bought it. Apart from him being unable to get it registered over here with these globes in it (they registered it without any issues in NSW) - he quickly took them out and replaced them with conventional halogen globes, because he couldn't see where he was going with them fitted.
Fortunately, "blue" lights will tend to get you a bit of unwanted attention around here - but the cops have got enough sense to not bother with converted headlights if they are set up properly and are not annoying to other road users (it is actually reasonably common here - you can either buy the kits or have the conversion done for you at most of the local auto electricial businesses - don't need to buy Chinese imports from e-bay). The "nanny state" mentality has so far not taken over so much around here.
That's true, however the problem is that the filament placement in a H4 or H7 globe compared to the location of the arc in a lot of the cheapass Chinese fleabay junk is quite different. This generates different angles in the reflector causing a lot more stray light and is the cause of a lot of the complaints people have about HID unfortunately.Quote:
Originally Posted by BMKal
Using Capitals, the difference between helping your Uncle Jack off a horse or helping your uncle jack off a horse...
This is my favourite (soap-box) subject... Its not just the fact of having HID's in luminaires designed for halogen filaments that is the problem so much as the attitude that goes along with it.
-Which is along the lines of ''Bugger you Jack, I'm all right..."
High beam is to see as far and wide as possible, and can be argued that 'Brighter is Better & Safer' I don't see any real problems with bright, effective High-Beam(s) alone or with 'spotties' reaching kilometres away...
Low beam has a differant function. Sufficient light to see where you're going - yet aimed beneath the vision of oncoming drivers so as not to Distract or Dazzle them.
The other side to the equation is 'maintenance'. - Setting up the beams correctly so that the light goes where is should...and NOT where it isn't supposed to go. At all times...
Congratulations to those who do. You're an endangered species.
The rest of the herd either don't know or don't want to know. We see that in mis-aligned headlights, bulbs obviously replaced incorrectly, - 'masturbatory' lights being used out of place is bad enough, but they're likely to be aimed all over the place!
If Coppers want public support for their wage increases, they could do worse than 'educating' and/or booking these idiots. - But that would mean getting off their backsides and doing their jobs properly....:wasntme: -
As a parting shot, the colour temp of many retrofit HID lamps is way too high. Bluer light is more dazzling...and a bulb running at 7000 degrees puts out much less 'lumens' than one at 3800.
Or to put it another way... A re-chargeable MAGLITE puts out a couple hundred lumens. My LED torch puts out more, but its a colder coloured light, and actually less useable in the open than the Maglite, with its grossly inefficient filament lamp. Markedly so when used into bush or road-verge foliage...
Horses for courses.
James the Luddite.